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“Were there any other factors that helped you rule out drowning?”
“Yes. When I dissected the lungs, I found no algae, sand, bits of seaweed, seagrass, or other particles commonly floating in Biscayne Bay.”
“Why is that important?”
“It’s a critically important fact if you think about what happens when you drown. Your normal reaction when the head goes underwater is to hold your breath. Eventually, you can’t do it any longer, and your body is forced to gasp for air. That presents a major problem if you can’t reach the surface.”
“Or if you are chained alive to a piling and the tide is rising.”
“Yes. If the victim were alive in that circumstance, he would start gulping water into the mouth and throat, literally inhaling water into the lungs. This, of course, sends the victim into an even more frenzied panic, and the struggle becomes more desperate. If he can’t keep hishead above water, the lungs continue to fill, resulting in a vicious cycle of struggling and gasping that can last several minutes, until breathing stops.”
“And as the victim breathes in the water, his lungs also fill with whatever else is in the water. Do I have that right, Doctor?”
“Exactly right.”
“None of which was found in the lungs of Mr. McCormick.”
“Correct,” said the witness. “Which leads me to conclude that Mr. McCormick was dead before he was chained to the piling.”
“How much longer before?”
The witness paused. “That’s difficult to determine when a body is found in water, especially water as warm as Biscayne Bay. Water affects the natural rate of decomposition, which complicates the estimation of the time of death.”
“Understood,” said the prosecutor. “Let me ask the question this way. If I told you that Mr. McCormick’s cellphone records show that he last used his cell thirty-eight hours before the recovery of his body, would it be your opinion that he died more than thirty-eight hours or less than thirty-eight hours before the recovery of his body?”
Jack rose. “Objection, Your Honor. Cellphone records are way outside the scope of this witness’s medical and forensic expertise.”
“Overruled. The witness can estimate time of death.”
“I would say that thirty-six to thirty-eight hours would be consistent with my observations as to the condition of the body.”
“Thank you,” said Owens. “We’ve covered cause of death and time of death. What is your professional opinion as to manner of death?”
“My conclusion is that the manner of death is homicide.”
“How did you conclude it was a homicide?”
“First of all, suicide by ligature strangulation is extremely rare. So the first step is to rule out the possibility that the asphyxiation was due to hanging, which could raise the possibility of suicide.”
“In the case of Mr. McCormick, were you able to rule out hanging?”
“Yes. With hanging, there is typically a classic V-shaped bruise running up the neck and behind the ear. It’s easy to visualize if you picture a rope tied to the rafters in the garage and the body hanging straightdown with toes pointed to the floor. That rope around the neck will be jerked upward from below the chin and running up both sides of the neck and head, thus causing the V-shaped bruise.”
“Did Mr. McCormick’s body have the V-shaped bruise?”
“No, he had a straight-line bruise from the front of the throat to the back of the neck.”
“What does that tell you?”
“It tells me this was not a suicide by hanging. It was a homicide by ligature strangulation, probably from behind.”
“Thank you, Dr. Leed. I have no further questions.”
The judge looked toward the defense. “Cross-examination, Mr. Swyteck?”
Jack rose, thanked the judge, and approached the witness. There were times to be an assassin in cross-examination, and times not to be. A seasoned trial lawyer knew the difference. It wasn’t Jack’s goal to make the medical examiner his enemy. His plan was to use him to his client’s own benefit. Dr. Leed could be most useful in blunting the hurtful—and potentially salacious—testimony that Jack knew was coming from the state’s star witness, FSP inmate Douglas Paxton.
“Dr. Leed, are you familiar with a condition called postmortem erection?”
