1 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF

2 JACKSON COUNTY, MISSOURT,

3 S I TT ING AT KANSAS CI TY
4

5 STATE OF MI SSOURI,
6 Plaintiff,
7 vs. No. CR200l--03527
I BYRON CASE,

9 De fendant
L0

1-1

L2

13

* L4

15

16

L7

1_8 DEPOSITION OF CHASE.BLANCHARD, MD, a

L9 Vnitness, taken on behalf of the Defendant before
20 Amy L. Farmer, CSR, pursuant to Agreement on the
2L sth day of March, 2002r dt the offices of The
22 Jackson County Medical Examiner, 660 East 2AEr-
23 Street, Kansas City, Missouri.
24

U
25
CGPY
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 1 APPEARANCES

2 Appearing for the Plaintiff was

3 Ms. Theresa Crayon of The ,fackson County

4 Prosecutor's Office, 415 East L2th Street, Kansas
5 City, MO 6401 6.
6 Appearing for the Defendant was

7 Mr. Horton Lance of The Missouri State Public

I Defender Syst€Irrr TriaI Division-District L6, Oak

9 Tower / 2}th FIoor, 324 East LLth Street, Kansas

10 City, MO 64L06.
11_

T2

13

I L4 INDEX

L5 WTTNESS: PAGE:

16 CHASE BLANCHARD, MD

T7 Examination by Mr. Lance 3

18 Examlnation by Ms. Crayon 44

19

20 EXHIBITS:
2L (None )

22

23

24

25

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 1_ (Deposition comnenced at 3:00 p.m.
2 CHASE BLANCHARD, MD,
3 being first duly sworn, testified und.er oath as
4 follows:
5 EXA}4INATION

6 BY MR. LANCE:
7 Q. For the record, please state your name.
B A. Doctor Chase Blanchard, B-L-A-N-C-H-A-R-D.
9 Q. You understand wetve alI convened here
10 today for purposes of what I s called a deposition?
11 A. Yes.
L2 Q. Actua l1y I think Ms. Crayon wanted to
13 make a record..
L4 MS. CRAYON: Just for purposes of
15 everybody being clear as to why re having
we !

L6 Dr. Blanchard. testify in this case. Dr. Thomas

L7 Young who actually authored the autopsy report is
18 unavailable for trial the week of Apri} 29th and
l_9 because we had such a difficult time getting all
20 the parties together on a special setting, rather
2L than try to reset when Dr. Young was going to be
22 1n town and available to testify, Dr; Blanchard
23 agreed to testify on his behalf off of his report.
24 I I m sure Mr. .Lance will cover her qualifications
25 and a I1 of that, but that I s the purpose for taking

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 1 her deposition instead of Dr. Young'so
2 Q. (By Mr . Lance ) for the record, ptease
3 state your current employment
4 A. Itm the deputy medical examiner at the
5 Jackson County Medical Examinert s Office in Kansas
6 City, Missouri.
7 A. Who is the medical examiner?
B A. .Doctor Thomas Young
9 O. How many deputy medical examiners are
10 there ?

11_ A. One.

T2 O. What was your start date with the ,fackson

13 County Medical Exarnj-ner's Office
L4 A. ,June 2O0L.
L5 O. What is your undergraduate degree?
16 A. A BA at Dartmouth College in philosophy
L7 and psychology
18 O. your graduate studies?
What was
19 A. Graduate studies, I got an MD at
2A Hahnemann University in Philadelphia,
2L Pennsylvania.
22 O. What year did you graduate med school?
23 A. 1989.
24 0. Where was your residency?
25 A. At MCP Hahnemann University in

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 L Philadelphia. That was a residency in combined
t 2 anatomic and clinical pathology.
your first after your
J O. What was employment
4 re s idency?
5 A. I did a year of post-graduate specialty
6 training 1n forensic pathology. I was a forensic
7 pathology fellow in Philadelphia from ,Ju1y of 2000
I to .June of 2001 before I came to Kansas City
9 0. Would those studies have been at a
10 particular institution?
L1 A. At the medical examiner I s office in
L2 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
13 O. Is that under the title of a particular
L4 county or was it a city?
15 A. Itrs a city medical examinerrs office.
L6 The fellowship that I did was affiliated with MCP
L7 Hahnemann University in Philadelphia.
18 O. Who was your direct supervisor during
19 that fellowship?
2A A. Doctor Haresh Mirchandani,
2L M- I-R.C-H-A-N-D.A.N- I .

22 O.After your residency and your fellowship,

23 what was your next employment?
24 A. The employment that I am at at this
25 current time.
I
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 1 Q. That ' s been s ince ,June ?

t 2

3
A. Correct.
Less than a year?
Q.

4 A. Correct.
5 Q. Are you board certified in pathology?
6 A. Yes. Irm board certified in anatomic and
7 clinical pathology and I have a separate board
B certification in forensic pathology.
9 O. The board certification in forensic
10 pathology, when did you obtain that?
11 A. In November, 2001.
T2 O. Have you had a chance before we began
13 today to review Dr. Youngrs autopsy report?
T4 A; Yes.
15 Q. In addition to reviewing his typewritten
16 report, what other steps did you take to prepare
T7 for today' s deposition?
18 A. I reviewed photographs and the toxj.cology
1e report and the medical investigator I s scene
20 repo rt .

2L Q. The photographs you review€d, are those

22 the photographs that I can see out on the t ab le
23 to day ?

24 A. Yes.
25 O. I understand that there were also some

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 1_ crj-me scene photos of the body where it was found
2 l ying at the cr ime s cerle . Have you Ioo ked at
3 anything like that'?
4 A. No.
5 O. So when you are referring to photos, you
6 are talking about photos that were taken during
7 the actual autopsy?
B A. Correct.
9 Q. Itrave you had a chance to review any other
L0 photos?
1-1 A. Noo

T2 0r Did Dr. Young take what f would calt

13 bench notes, hand.written notes of what he was
L4 do ing during the autops y?
15 A. Yes.
L6 Q. Have you had a chance to look at
L7 Dr . Young t s bench notes ?

LB A. Briefly I glanced at these notes which

19 you put on a body diagram.
20 Q. AlI right. Is it fair to say you haven t t
2L studied that intensively?
22 A. Correct, not in detail. Everything on
23 this in routine events wilt be record.ed in the
24 autopsy report.
25 Q. Do you believe all the handwriting there
t
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 1 is Dr. Young's?
2 A. Yes.
3 Q., What did you call that diagram?
4 A. Body diagram
5 O. Are there any other existing bench notes
6 from Dr. Youngts work?
7 A. Not that I reviewed.
I O. .That I s f ine. The very f irst page of
9 Dr. Youngrs report indicates cause of death,
10 gunshot wound?
11 A. Yes.
L2 Q. Unknown type of gun?
13 A. Co rre ct .

I T4 O. Did you notice anything that you feel

15 should have been included in Dr. Youngrs report?
I6 A. No.
T7 O. Anything stand out that you would have
1B put into the report that is not in there?
L9 A. No.
2A O. Irm trying to be more specific as to a
2L finding as to the type of weapon involved. Is
22 there anything additional you would have put into
23 the report as to the comment about unknown
24 fi rearm?
25 A. No

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 1 Q. As an expert in pathology, do you have a
2 belief as to which type of firearm would have been
3 us ed in this case most likely?

4 A. I believe it could have been either a

5 handgun or a rifle most likely.
6 Q. There is mention in the autopsy of a
7 bullet tragment?
B A. Correct.
9 O. Have you looked at the bullet fragment
10 itsel f?
11 A. No, I did not .
L2 0. Have you looked at any photographs of the
13 bullet fragment?
L4 A. No, I did not.
1-5 Q. What is your opinion as to whether or not
16 a shotgun may have been possibly used?
L7 A. Shotgun, thatfs possible, but more likely
18 to be a rifle or a handgun.
19 O. What factors in the autopsy stood out
20 that as an expert would give you the opinion that
2L it t s more likely to be a rifle than a. shotgun?
22 A. Because the type of wound is in the nose.
23 When you reapproximate the skin, there is a
24 circular defect and the wound travels through the
25 head and there is an exit in the back. Doctor

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 1 Young visualized soot within the wound under the
2 dissecting scope. Both of these these
3 characteristics are seen with either handgun or
4 ri f l-e wounds .
5 A shotgun wound., especially if the
6 shotgun had pelIets, would look a lot different.
.

7 You would see individual pellets in the brain,

B which he .didntt find or because of the soot within
9 the wound, you should. have found a wadd.ing from
10 the shotgun possibly within the head.
11 O. Is it possible that this fatal wound
I2 could have been from a shotgun with a slug as:
13 oppos ed to pel lets ?
I L4 A. That is possible.
15 Q. So it's within the realm of possibility?
L6 A. Co rre ct .

1,7 Q. And for some reason the wadding was not

18 I o cat ed?
19 A. Correct.
20 O. Again, back to your expert opinion. I
2L dontt want to put word.s in your mouth. Are you
22 saying that j.t's more likeIy that a rifle was used
23 instead of a shotgun or is that going too far?
24 A. The most likely is a rifle or a handgun.
25 Shotgun is possible, but less likely in my

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 1
tt

op l-n ]. oll .

2 Q. If we di d narrow it down to a rifle and a

J handgurrr is one of those options more I i ke 1y than
4 the o the r?
l^
J A. I couldnlt teII you from reviewing the
6 repo rt a

7 Q. If we re ached a conclus ion a ri f Ie was

I us€d, would you have any way of estimating the
9 caliber of the rifle involved?
L0 A. Noo

11 If we ever did reach the opinion a

Q.
T2 handgun was usedr. do you have any way of knowing
13 the caliber of the handgun that was used?
L4 A. No, not from reviewing this report or
15 looking at these picture.
T6 so this fatal wound could have been from
Q.

L7 a .22 caliber pistol?

1_8 A. It I s possible o

L9 Q. I noticed you hesitated. Can you explain

20 that for the record?
2T In my opinion, it seems that there was
A. a

22 higher velocity with this wound. .22 is a little

23 lower velocity. It t s within the realm of
24 possibility.
25 Q. Was this the type of wound to be more

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 1 consistent with like a .38 caliber pistol?
2 A. I canl t answer -- I cantt answer that
3 fron my review of the report and phoLographs.
4 Q. Today do you have any opinion on what
5 type of caliber weapon was used in this homicide?
6 A.
7 O. Today do you have an opinion whether or
8 not a pistol was used or a rifle?
9 A. No.
10 Q. What type of additional information would
11 you probably need in order to make that type of
L2 determination if it was a rifle or not?
L3 A. PosSibly examination of the bullet
I L4 fragment might be of some use.
L5 O. Are you telling us today that your
L6 opinion could change after you have looked at the
L7 actual bul-1et fragment?
LB A. That's not my area of expertise. If one
L9 want ed to explore areas to differentiate between a
2A rifle or a handgun, that might with be one way to
2L look. That is not my particular area.
22 Q.. f misunderstood. I thought you were
23 suggesting you could look. Youfre saying higher
24 ballistics experts?
25 A. Co rre ct .

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 L Q. To your knowledge, h?s any ballistics
2 rev].
j

ew been done on that bul l et f ragment ?

3 A. To my knowledge, there is nothing in

4 these records that indicates that.
5 I just want to clarify because I think we
Q.

6 were both talking at the same time. Are you

7 saying that if you personally looked at the bullet
8 fragment, would that give you any insight?
9 A. No.
1-0 Not you personally?
Q.

t-1 A. Not me personall.y.

L2 Q. Are the .autopsy findings in this homicide
1-3 consistent with death by a gunshot from a rifle?
L4 A. Yes, you could say itts consistent with.
L5 O. Are the autopsy findings in this homicide
16 consistent with a gunshot from a shotgun?
L7 A. I would. not say unless there was a
1_B slug, not a shotgun wound with peIlet ammunj-tion.
19 O. Are the autopsy findings in this homicide
2o consistent with a gunshot wound from a handgun?
2L A. It could be.
22 Q. In your expert opinion, is there any way
23 to deternine i f this homicide was committed by a

24 stranger or an acquaintance of the victim?

25 A. Noo

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 1 O. Is there any way you could determine that
I 2 from reviewing the autopsy report?
3 A. No.
4 Q. Just for example, i s the re anything in
5 the autopsy report that to you points that this
6 woul-d have been an a cqua i nt ance o f the vi ct im?
7 A. No.
B Q. .Do you have any further op inion as to
9 whether it was an acquaintance or a sE,ranger or I

10 anything?
1-L A. ,Just from reviewing the report and
T2 looking at the pictures, I personally canf t tel1
13 whether the person who did this was an
T4 acquaintance or a stranger. AII I can tell is the
15 nature of the wound.
T6 O. Have you formed an opinion as to whether
L7 this homicide was caused by an acquaintance or a

1_B stranger?
L9 A. No.
20 Q. ,Just so you know whe re I 'm go ing, I , m
2L going to try to page through some parts of this
22 autopsy report with yol].
23 A. Certainly.
24 a. This is the autopsy that was conducted on
25 October 23rd of t97?

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 1 A. Correct.
2 Q. At 9:30 in the mornin g?
3 A. Co rre ct .

4 Q. the next page it talks about the

On
5 medical examiner investigator t s report. Have you
6 reviewed that document ?
7 A. Yes.
I Q. Actually for the record, you are holding
9 up some paperwork. Is that the report that is
1-0 re ferred to by Dr. Young?
11 .A. Yes, the medical examiner investigator
L2 report.
13 0. How many pages is that report?
L4 A. Two .
1-5 A. Who would. have cond.ucted that or who
L6 would have filled out that report?
L7 A. The j-nvestigator from the medical
1-I examiner I s office.
19 O. That personfs name would. be?
20 A. Boyd Harlan.
21, O. Is there anyone assisting him or is it
22 simply Boyd HarIan?
23 A. r believe it was just rnvestigator Boyd
24 Harlarl .

25 Q. You said you had a chance to review that

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 1 two-page document ?

2 A. Yes.
3 Q. I s there anything in that two-page
4 do cument that would change any o f the. opinions
tr
\.J that you have stated so far today?
6 A. No

7 Q. Referring back to Dr. Youngts report

I then, a l.ot of this is just because I'm not a
9 doctor and I rm not familiar with the medical
10 terminology. This terrn herer radiodense bullet
11 fragments, what is that referring to?
L2 A. That j us t means you can s ee it in the
13 x-ray. It looks like a white blob in the x-ray.
T4 Q. In Dr . Young t s report it mentions bul let
15 fragmengs, plural. Is that your understanding that
T6 there were -:
T7 A. Yes.
1B Q. Have you looked at these X-rays?
19 A. No, I have not.
20 Q. Do you know how many f ragments we I re

2L talking about?
22 A. No.
23 O. If you looked at .the x-rays and saw how
24 many fragments we I re talking about, would that
25 perhaps change you opinion about anything we have

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 L discussed so far today?
2 A. Perhdps r but I doubt it.
3 Q. If you have an impression,
you know i f do

4 these are very small bullet fragments or you don t t

I

5 know how big they are?

6 A. On the x-ray, generally the x-ray
7 magnifies any fragments. When you are doing the
B autopsy, most of the time you are able to find the
9 largest fragment perhaps. The other ones, if they
L0 are very small, you are unable to find them.
LL O. Do you think itrs possible they talk
L2 about multiple fragments, could that indicate
13 these are shotgun pellets?
I L4 A. Noo

1-5 Q. You know that without looking at the

L6 x- rays ?

L7 A. In my opinion, it would have been

18 described as pellets. It Looks a lot different
1_9 It's little round circles.
20 Q. That is based on your experience as a

2L pathologist?
22 A. Correct.
23 O. At the bottom of that page it mentions
24 rigor mortis. For the record, what is rigor
25 morti s?

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 1 A. That is stiffening of the muscles after
2 de ath .

3 Q. The indi cat ion i s it ' s we 1I deve loped .

4 Does that help you estimate a time a death?

5 A. It is helpful in estimation of time of
6 death
7 O. Did Dr. Young in his report estimate a
I time of death?
9 A. He did not specify a time of death
l-0 O. .In your expert opinion from reviewing alL
11 these documents, can you estimate a time of death?
L2 A. From the description of rigor mortis
13 being well developed and livor mortis, which is
L4 lividity, that I s blood settling after the person
t-5 dies . He r says j.t's mostly f ixed but f ocally
L6 blanching. Approximately t2 hours give or take
L7 several hours. Eight to !2, anywhere from eight
18 to L2 to 'perhaps 16 . That depends on the
19 temperature also
20 O. You are estimating hours back from the
2L time of the actual autopsy?
22 A. That would be from the time that the
23 person died to the time of the autopsy. That
24 could be putting the person in the cooler can
25 slow everything down. Itfs more from the time the

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 1 person died to maybe the time the person came to
2 the medical examinerts office. Itrs extremely
3 variable. points are that there is no
The main
4 decomposition and there is some rigorr so it would
5 be anywhere from between six up to even 24 hours
6 if you take into account that the person was put
7 into the body cooler.
B O. Again, just for the record, six to 24
9 hours f rom the time o f the autopsy?
10 A. Correct. It could be even more than 24

11 hour s l-r the pe rson was in a coo l er .

L2 O. Skipping back to Boyd Harlanr s report for
L3 just a second. On the top of page 2 it says the
I L4 body is a plus two rigor mortj-s. Do you have any
15 idea what they are talking about?
16 A. That means thatrs very subjective. I
L7 dontt even know what the top number is that he is
L8 referring to, whether itrs three plus or ten pIus.
t-9 To me that means there is some rigor mortis that
20 he can appreclate. This 1s probably the most
2L accurate report to look at is what thg
22 lnvestigator found at the scene in terms of when
23 the person. died, so this would be anywhere from
24 eight to L2 hours. That is the range.
25 Q. Do you work with Boyd Harlan?

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 1 A. No.
2 Q. Have you eve r rne t Bo yd Har l an ?
J A. No.
4 Q. Do you know if Boyd Harlan is a doctor?
5 A. He t s an investigator. f believe he I s
6 passed away.
7 A. Do you know if he was a pathologist?
B A. .No. He I s an inves tigator .

9 Q. When it says two plusr is he tal king

1_0 about two hours or is that a scale that I'm not
11 familiar with?
L2 A. Irve seen people use that to mean

L3 moderate rigor mortj.s.

t L4

15
0.
necessarily?
So two plus doesntt mean two hours

1-6 A. No, no, no. Itrs just a very subjective

T7 way of saying like zero I would take to mean
L8 that there was no rigor mortis, the body is just
19 floppyi one plus, there is a little bit; two plus
2A there is more; three plusr'there is a lot. I
2T would say moderate.
22 O. So for the record, when Mr. Harlan refers
23 to two plus rigor mortis, hets not referring to
24 two hours in any way?
25 A. No.

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 1 Q. I tm sorry to jump around. Back to
2 Dr. Ygungts report. At the top of page 3 of
3 Dr. Youngts report, in the s econd l ine i t ment ions
4 three fine punctate abras ions ?
5 A. Co rre ct .

6 Q. What are punctate abrasions?

7 A. Punctate abrasions, basically an abrasion
I is a scrape and punctate to me means very small,
9 circular type thing.
1_0 O. Is there any significance to these
11 abrasions in relation to the shooting death?
L2 A. Not that I can see.
13 Q. Again, not as a doctorr I just have to
L4 ask these questions if that is something irnportant
1_5 that points to that it was a shooting. Is there
16 any way to tell if these abrasions occurred at the
L7 moment of shooting?
18 A. No, it's not. In my opinion, these are
19 not important in terms of helping us with the
20 description of the gunshot wound.
2L Q. Is it possible these three fine abrasions
22 occurred at the moment of the homicid.e when the
23 person fell to the ground for example?
24 A. ftrs possible, yes.
25 Q. The next sentence mentions lesions Is

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 22

1 there any significance to that at all?

2 A. The face reveals fine acneiform lesions.
3 Q, It ' s re f erring to acne ?
4 A. Yes, just some aclLe.
5 Q. Itm sorry. I can see that that is not
6 s i gni fi cant . Let I s
to the bottom
s kip down

7 paragraph, description of the gunshot wound.. It I s

:

8 described as a contact gunshot wound. What does

9 that mean?

10 A. Contact means the basically the muzzle of

Ll- the weapon is actually at the person's skin almost
L2 touching the skin or pressing into the skin,
L3 contacting.
L4 O. How d.oes the pathologist know it was a
L5 contact wound as opposed to a sniper shooting from
L6 50 yards away?
L7 A. One of the main findings is to find soot
18 within the depths of the wound. Other times
19 depending on the type of weapon, you might see a
2A mrtzzle abrasionr or you might see the wound has
2L this stellate appearance, which is star-shaped
22 lacerations coming out, which she does have. That
23 occurs when there is an explosion gas underneath
24 the skin and it explodes back and causes these
25 tears. You can see that with a contact.

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 1 Q. Does that star type pattern occur from
2 50-yard distance?
3 A. No.
4 Q. So that rs one of the indicators here?
5 A. Co rre ct
6 Q. How far back does a gunman have to be
7 before there i s no longer soot appearing on the
B vi ct im' s face?
9 A. Generally six inches. Thatfs variable
10 depend.ing on the weapon and the ammunition.
11 O. Are you telling us in your opinion the
T2 gun was closer than six j-nches away from the
13 victi.mr s face?
I L4 A. Closer than six inches and in contact
1_5 because of the other features I mentioned with the
16 tears and there was soot within the wound, in the
L7 depths of the wound, that you saw.
1B O. Can that occur from six inches away?
L9 A. It t s possible. Six inches away would
2A look more like a round hol-e and another circle
2! around it with soot.
22 O. What do we have here, just one torn?
23 A. There is basically these stellate
24 lesions. If you put it back together, there is a

25 hole. Instead of the soot being around it in a

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 1 circular pattern, it's inside the wound.
2 O. .These obviously aren t t your f indings . Do

3 you agree this was a contact gunshot wound.?

4 A. Yes

5 Q. In your opinion, how close was the nuzzle

6 of the gun when the fatal wound was fired?
7 A. In my opinion, it was touching the skin
I or extremely close.
9 Q. The skin of the victim's nose?
10 A. Correct.
11 Q. In that same first line it says, "The
T2 entry wound four and a half inches inf erior. 'r
L3 What does that mean?
L4 A. that just means he is describing where it
15 was. The entry wound is four and a half inches to
16 the top of the head. It is four and a half inches
T7 below the top of the head in the midfine.
18 O. The next phrase Ifm sorry. I had a
19 questj-on. It says, "Superiorly along the nasaL
2A septum. "
2T A. Okay.
22 Q. Irm not famifiar with that phraser
23 superiorly.
24 A. Superior means above. Basically this
25 whole sentencer "Gaping, rad.ially oriented
I
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 1 lacerations extend into the skin superior to the
2 vermilion border of the upper lip. r' That t s right
3 here. AIl he is saying is that there are all
4 these l-acerations radially extending like the
5 spokes of a wheel all the way to this border of
6 the upper lip along both nasal labial folds along
7 here on the side of the nose'and superiorly along
I the nasal septum.
9 Q. Superiorly means above the nasal septum?
10 A. Yes.
l-1 Q. Okay.
L2 A. The way he is describing it
-- if you
13 look at the pictures, this wound does cause a
T4 defect in the area of the nose so that he can
15 actually see this laceration kind of going j-nto
16 the nose where the septum is in the middle of the
L7 no se

18 0. The next sentence mentions when he tries

19 to put a size on the entry defect, he says it's
20 measured about three-eighths in diameter.
2L A. Correct.
22 O. Does that help you make an opinion as to
23 what type of firearm was used?
24 A. No.
25 Q. Thatts no help at all?

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 1 A. No.
2 O. The next sentence mentions rnuttiple dark
3 particl-es'which appear to be gun powder particles.
4 Does that mean that he is not sure that they are
5 gunpowder particlesr ox what is your opinion
6 there ?

7 A. No. I think he means it I s gunpowder

B particles.. Itrs just the way he's writing.
9 0. It says, "They appear to be gunpowder
10 particles and they adhere to the skin of the
11 face. " Is this the same thing as the soot that we
T2 have already talked about or is this somethj-ng
13 different ?
L4 A. Thatts a slight difference. A gunpowd.er
15 particle usually is a piece of gunpowd.er that
L6 night not be fully burned or the soot is Like
L7 carbonaceous debris and is very, very fine like
18 soot you would see if you had a fire in a
1_9 fireplace. Gunpowder particl-es actually are maybe
20 a little bit bigger than the soot. Thatfs the
2L -di f f erence that I see .

22 O. He mentions some of these gunpowder

23 particLes ar'€ around the lips and. the anterior
24 chin. Where is the anterior chin?
25 A. Here

I
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 L Q. Ri ght up front ?
2 A. Ye s, j us t the front o f the chin .

3 Q. What would you call this part of the

4 chin?
5 A. Under . That ' s the i-nf erio r . The
6 anterior chin is here. Anterior is forward.
7 0. A slight dark sooty deposit is noted
B around the face. Does.that influence your opinion
9 as to whether the gun cou1d have been six inches
10 away or farther?
11 A. This sentence is not extremely specific
L2 as to where it is, so i t doe sn t t inf luence my

13 opinion either way. AII the other descriptions

L4 that he has are more influential in my opinion
15 than that sentence.
L6 O. When you reviewed the autopsy
L7 photographs, were you able to see the slight dark
L8 sooty deposit?
L9 A. Not from these photographs.
20 Q. For the record, you are looking at the
2L autopsy photographs ?

22 A. Co rre ct .

23 Q. What was your answer?

24 A. Not specifically the sooty deposit
25 These photographs are too reduced in size.

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 28

L 0. The last sentence says no stippling.

2 What is he referring to there?
3 A. Stippling is an effect that you get on
4 the skin if a piece of gunpowder actually makes a
5 tattoo into the skin. It looks like a red dot.
6 Some of the gun powder wifl be soot, some of it
7 stays in smal-l particles. If it hits your skin,
B it will m,ake a red dot. That usually means if you
9 see gunpowder stippling, that the muzzle of the
10 weapon is
;
anywhere from six inches to three feet
11 away.
T2 From a certain distance -- in other
13 words, from say six inches or closer, yout1l only
L4 get soot. If the weapon is from sj-x inches to
15 three feet, youf 11 get some soot and stippling.
16 Actuaffy, youf11 get stippling. Itrs an overlap.
L7 Halfway in between you might get a little bit of
1B soot, but you'1I get some stippling. Back to
Lg three feetr you are only going to get stippling
2A and no soot
2L O. The fact that there is no stippling
22 present, is that an important factor in
23 determining whether this was a contact gunshot
24 wound?

25 A. rt t s important in determining that it's

I
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 1 another very good sign that it was less than six
2 inches. If it had been greater than approximately
3 six inches, you would have seen stippling.
4 Q. Just for the record, wetre not talking
5 about a sniper shoot ing f rom 10 0 yards ?

6 A. Co rre ct .

7 Q. That's not possible herer is it?

B A. Co rre ct .

9 O. Flipping over to the top of page 4 of

L0 Dr. Youngr s report, it mentions, rrThe f acial
L1 structures reveal palpable comminuted fractures.
L2 First of all, what are palpable comminuted
13 fracture s ?
I L4 A. Palpable just means you can feel it.
L5 Comminuted juqt means mu1tip1e. Basically he puts
L6 his hand.s on the face and he could feet that it
L7 was all cracked underneath and fractured just by
1B feeling it.
19 Q. Her cheekbones were cracked?
20 A. Correct.
2T Q. It says there -- it sounds like there
22 were muttiple fractures?
23 A. Yes. Both inferior orbital rims, thatfs
24 just underneath the bottom of the ey€r the zygome
25 is the cheeks, the maxilla is the upper jaw and

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 L the mandible is the lower jaw.
2 Q. The fact that there were mult ipl e

3 fractures/ does that give you any indi cat ion o f

4 what type of weapon was used?
5 A. Noo

6 Q. Li ke a high caliber or does ir matter at

7 alI?
B A. Because it! s a contact wound, itls very
9 difficult. I cantt tell you.
1_0 Q. The mult ipl e comminuted fractures, is
1-L that an indication to you that a ri f 1e was used?
L2 A. It t s possible.
L3 Q. Okay.
L4 A. It doesn't teII me either wdy, the
L5 fracture s .

L6 Q. It could have been a pistol stitl?

L1 A. Yes o

18 0. When we talk about the -- I believe he

19 was talking about the exit wound where he mentions
20 gaping fractures.
2L A. Correct.
22 Q. Hets tatking about the exit wound there,
23 right?
24 A. No. Thatts further down.
25 0. It says, "Gaping fractures involve the
I
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 1 anterior cranial fossae." What is the anterior
2 cranial fossa?
3 A. Thatts just the front of the brairr . He I s
4 saying there were gaping fractures bas ica 1 1y in
5 the bone in the f ront o f the bra in and from those,
6 more fractures came out from there and went
7 basically through the skul1.
8 Q. The fact that Dr. Young determi ned gaping
9 fractures, is he trying to say these are larger
10 than normally seen?
L1_ A. Yes. He is describing to describe that
L2 instead of just a hairline fracture where you
1-3 could see a line, that you might actually be able
L4 to see a separation in the bones. That I s what I
15 take it to mean
16 O. In your expert opinion, does that help
L7 you to determine what type of firearm may have
18 been used?
19 A. No.
20 Q. Then in the next s ent en c e he talks about
2T the exit wound, right?
22 A. Co rre ct . It say$r ttFive-and-d.-hatf-inch
23 long transverse laceration lies in the posterior
24 scalp. rr

25 Q. Does that strike you as unusual that the

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 1 exit wound would be five and a half inches long?
2 A. Not necessarily.
3 O. As a Iay person, that just sounds like a
4 huge l-aceration
5 A. Exit wounds can look all different ways.
6 The nain po int that he s ays in here is that there
7 is no marginal abras ion .

B O. $fhat does that mean?

9 A. A margj-naI abrasion is somethi-ng you see

1-0 on an entrance wound when the bullet is passing
11 through the skin and it j.ndents the skin and
L2 you'11 see an abrasion around the outside. One of
l-3 the hallmarks of an exit wound is that it does not
L4 have the marginal abrasion.
1_5 Q. The fact that the exit wound created a
L6 five-and-a-ha1f-inch laceration, does that
L1 indicate to you something stronger than a pistol
1_B was used?
19 A. I can t t teI I you either way.
20 Q. It says r " The conf luence o f thes e
2L lacerati-ons lie in the midline four inches
22 i-nferior. " Do you see that sentence?
23 A. Yes. IIe is just basically positioning
24 where the wound is, saying the midd.le part of
25 where this is is four inches below the top of the

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 1 head
2 0. I believe the entry wound was four and a
3 half inches inferior?
4 A. Right
5 O. And he is now saying the exit wound was
6 four inches inferior?
7 A. Ri ght .

B Q. So in your expert opinion, was the bullet

9 traveling slightly downward?
10 A. That would be slightly up if you have
11 the head. in the anatomlcal position, and that I s
T2 the key phrase, just standing like this and itts
13 four and a half inches down, it goes in and it
t L4

15
comes out four inches, it I s going to be slightly
upwards. Do you see what T mean? If the entrance
l-6 is four and a half inches below, thatts a half
L7 inch lower than where it is coming out.
1B O. Thatrs assuming she is in the straight-up
19 position?
20 A. Correct. All I can telI you is that is
2L how it traveled through her body. I can, t tell
22 you how her head was at the time that the wound
23 happened.
24 O. So if the vict.im were stand.ing straight
25 up at the time of the gunshot, the bullet would

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 1 have been traveling slightly downward?
2 A. No, slightly upward.
3 Q. 'Slightly upward?
4 A. Thatrs depending you could be ,standing
5 straight up, but you could have your chin down or
6 your chin up. Therets so many variables that the
7 only thing I can telI you is if the body is in the
B anatomic position, it was going from front to back
9 and slightly upward.. Thatts all I can tell you.
L0 O. So just for example, the variabLes you
11 are talking about, if she had tipped her head or
T2 leaned forward at the moment of the gunshot, all
13 bets are off?
t T4

15
A.

Q.
Correct.
Another example would be if she had tried
16 to avoid the wound by jerking her head backwards,
T7 that might affect the wound path also?
18 A. Any of those would affect the wound path.
19 Q. All of those are possible, right? I
20 guess I only gave two examples . Both examples are
2L possible, right?
i
22 A. Those are possible.
23 O. The next paragraph talks about fractures
24 in the foramen magnum. What is a foramen magnum?
25 A. The foramen magnum is basically a

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 1 circular hole at the bottom of your skull where
2 your spinal cord connects to the bottom of your
3 brain
4 Q. The f oramen magnurrrr it t s not a bone?
5 A.It I s more a hole and a bone, foramen sort
6 of means hole, magnum means big. If you picture
7 your brain inside your skull and your spinal cord
B is coming out to go down, there has to be some
9 kind of hole in the bottom for your spinal cord to
10 pass through. Thatrs where it goes through the
1L f oramen magntlm.
L2 0. It doesnrt make sense to me. He says
1_3 there is fractures in the foramen magnum.
L4 A. Yes. That actually pathologists
15 the technical term of the foramen magnum is of the
16 hole. A lot of times it's described as a fracture
T7 extending toward or possibly through the foramen
1B magnum. If you see a fracture going right to that
l-9 hole and then maybe where the hole is there is
20 nothing, but on the other side it continues again,
2L if that makes sense.
22 Think of a kitchen sink and you have the
23 bottom of the d.rain. If you had a big crack in
24 the bottom of the sink and then right where the
25 drain hole is it I s not there, but it continues on

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 36

L the other sides of it, it continues through that

2 area.
3 ' Q. In that same sentenc€r Dr. Young mentions
4 fractured upper vertebtdr so --
5 A. Correct.
6 0. I just want to see if I understand that.
7 The impact of the bullet fractured part of her
B upper neck vertebrae?
9 A. Co rre ct .

10 Q. Is it possible those fractures occurred

11 when she fell and hit the ground?
L2 A.' Itrs possible, but more likely associated
13 with the gunshot wound
L4 Q. If the fractured upper vertebrae did
1-5 occur at the moment of the gunshot wound, d.oes
1_6 that give you an indication of what type of weapon
L7 was used? (

L8 A. No

19 Q. A couple of lines down it saysr "The

20 cerebeLlum and brainstem are not identified. " Vnlhy

2T is that significant or is it significant?

22 A. To mean that means they were destroyed
23 basically from the gunshot wound.
24 O. When the bullet passed through, it
25 destroyed her brainstem?

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 I A. Co rre ct .

2 Q. Does that give you an indi cat ion o f what

3 type o f weapon was used?
4 A. No.
5 O. Skipping on down the page to where it
6 says neck. It says, rrThere is slight hemorrhage.'f
7 Do you see that sentence?
8 A. Uh-huh.
9 O. Is there anything significant about the
L0 slight hemorrhage in the neck?
Ll- A. No. He says, "Slight hemorrhage lies
L2 beneath the precervical fascj.a in the upper
1_3 spine." That is just some fibrous tissues that
L4 are in front of where the spine is. Probably when
L5 this vertebra got broken, it leaked down a little
1-6 bit. Other than that, there is nothing extremely
L7 s i gni fi cant

1_8 O. This slight hemorrh?g€r was he taking

19 that into account when he was trying to determine
2o if this was a contact wound?
2L A. This is way inside the neck. I donrt
22 know. I donrt think so. The answer is no. It
23 has nothing to do with whether it's a contact
24 wound or not. Itts walz in the back of your neck
25 almost. You would have to remove the personfs

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 38

1 neck.
2 O. So see what he is talking about?
3 A. Yes. Itrs like way back here. You would
4 only see it in an autopsy.
5 O. A couple of lines down it mentions some
6 hemorrhage around the pharynx. Anything
7 sigrnificant about that?
8 A. No

9 Q. What could cause a sllght hemorrhage

10 around the victimt s pharynx?
1-L A. With gunshot wounds she has some

L2 facial fractures. Thatrs very conmon. Some of

13 the blood can seep down if you have fractures in
t L4

l_5
your face and jaw.
So hets not even saying necessarily the
Q.

L6 pharynx was injured?

L7 A. No. He is just shying that he did see
1B some hemorrhage. My interpretation is that it I s
19 from probably some seepage from the facj-a1
20 fractures.
2T Q. Flipping over to page 5. In the summary
22 again it says the contact wound?
23 A. Correct.
24 Q. I s there anything that we have t al ked
25 about so far today that would make you o f the

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 l- opinion that.possibly this wag not a contact
2 wound.?

3 A. No.
4 Q. You stand by Dr. Young's finding there?
5 A. Yes.
6 O. Beneath that under the large capital C,

7 again when he talks about the exit wound, he calls

B it a gaping defect. As a lay person, to me
9 picture it had to be a shotgun or something. I
10 just want to ask one more time. The fact that he
11 says it I s a gaping lacerated defect, does that
L2 indicate to you what type of weapon was used?
13 A.Not necessarily.
L4 Q. I believe you did say today thi s fatal
15 wound could have been consistent with a shotgun
L6 be ing us ed?

L7 A. Iy
ending on the t yp e o f
Po s s ib dep

1-8 amrnunition, not shotgun with pellet ammunition.

L9 Q. rs this fatal homicide wound consistent
20 with a gunshot being used with a slug?
2L A. Say that agairl .

22 Q. fs it consistent with a gunshot wound

23 from a shotgun slug?
24 A. f t's possible.
25 Q. There is a lab report somewhere. You may

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 L not have even seenit. It says the buIlet
2 f ragment weighed 56.L grains. Does. that mean
3 anything to you?
4 A. No. That is beyond my area of expertise
5 Q. Do you know how much a grain of a bullet
6 is?
7 A. No.
B Q. There is another l ab report . Aga in, you
9 may not have seen it. ft in,Ci cate s thi s vi ct irn
10 was s tanding when she was shot. Have you read
L1 that lab report?
L2 A. No

13 MR. LANCE: what r would like to do

L4 is go off the record. for a second and have her
15 look at that Iab report if thatts okay.
16 . CRAYON: Yes .
MS

L7 (Of f the record. )

18 O (By Mr. Lance) Doctor Blanchard., prior

19 to today, had you looked at any lab reports from
20 the regional crime Iab?
2L A. No

22 Q. Today have I asked you to look at a

23 report thatts calLed report No. 3 by Robert F.
24 Booth?
25 A. Yes

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 1 O. I guess I want to focus on the very last
2 paragraph there on page 1 of 2. The author of
3 this report from the crime lab states, "The victim
4 must have been standing. " The sentence goes on.
5 IIm interested in that quote, 'f The victim must
6 have been standing. " In your expert opinion. you
7 have looked at all the autopsy photographs and the
B autopsy itself, do you feel comfortable that
9 somebody could make that kind of a statement?
L0 A. This is not my area of expertise, but
t-1 reading that statement, I would think that there
L2 might be some more latitude than just saying must
13 have been standin g.
L4 Q. For the record, I agree with you. Why do
L5 you say that is not your area of expertise?
L6 A. This is criminalistics. I rm a forensic
L7 pathologist. It I s related, but it I s not my area,
1-8 just like ballistics is not my area. I would
L9 think from reading this report that itrs
20 consistent with the person standing and. falling
2L backwards from the injuries I saw on the body. To
22 say must have been standing, I can think of some
23 other scenarios. If for some reason the person
24 might have been crouching a little bit or I
25 think the word must is littIe too strong.

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 42

1 Q. Do you agree that it t s possible this

2 vi ctim coul d have been wa I ki*9, f o r. ex amp 1e,
3 starting to walk away from the person who shot
4 them?
5 A. Yes a

6 Q. Do you think it's possible that the

7 victim could have even been running as she was
B shot?
9 A. It I s possible. I tm not this is from
10 my

11_ photos, not from this report.

L2 O. Not from
13 A. Not from reading thj-s.
L4 Q. This being lab report No . 3?

15 A. Correct.
L6 0.. I think Irm about ready to wrap up. I
T7 want to make sure I t m not putting word.s in your
18 mouth. In your expert opinion as a pathologist,
19 this victim could have been walking also when she
20 was shot?
2L A. It I s possible, yes.
22 O. Her body could have fallen into that same
23 position?
24 A. Yes, it is possible.
25 Q. Do you agree that it's also pos sible the

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 1 victim could have been threatened and already
2 lying on the ground and succumb to a person and
3 then was shot ?
4 A. I canft teII that from the review of the
5 report.
6 O. Would that be consistent with the autopsy
7 findings ?
I A. The autopsy findings, it would be
9 possible from the autopsy findings.
10 O. Again, I feel like Itm almost leading you
l-1 too much there. Is there anything in the autopsy
!2 findings that would prove conclusj-ve1y that this
13 victim was not lying on her back already when she
L4 was shot?
15 A. No. There is nothing in the autopsy
T6 findings that would conclude either way real1y
L7 whether she was lying down or standing up.
1B O. Maybe that was the question I should have
19 asked. Is there anything in the autopsy that
20 woutd indicate conclusively if the victim was
2L standing or sitting or lying down when she was
22 shot ?

23 A. No.

24 Q. Any way f or you as an expert pathologist

25 to make that determination?

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 1 A. No.
2 Q. You agree she could have been sitting up
3 when she was shot and killed?
4 A. f t ts possible o

5 MR. LANCE: That' s aII the

6 questions that I brought with I don' t
me today.
7 know if the state's attorney has any que stions .
B EXAMINAT ION

9 BY MS . CRAYON:

10 0. To make sure on this last group of

11 questions that Mr . Lance asked your your opinion
L2 based on whether she was s itt ing or she i s
13 standing or Iying down and all those possibilities
L4 that we have gone through are based on what you I re
15 Iooking at in the autopsy report, not what is
16 be ing out I i ned. in the gional crime lab report;
L7 is that correct?
1-B A. 'Thatf s correct
19 O. That's because the regional crime lab
20 report as you have stated deals with the
2L criminalistics end of it, which is not your area
22 of expertise?
23 A. Correct.
24 O. I I 11 briefly just run through we have
25 taken a look Mr. Lance referred to the fact

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 1 that there were toxicology reports and you
C 2 r evi ewed tho se as well; is that right?
3 A. Yes.
4 O. ,fust briefly for the record state what
5 the findings were regarding any kind of alcohol or
6 drug content in the victim
7 A. The findings there were negative for
I alcohoL or drugs in the victim.
9 O. Up on the top part of that report it
10 says, "Specimen submitted, " and lists blood,
1-1 vitreous, is that how you pronounce that?
L2 A. Vi treous .

13 0. Vi treous , urine, Iiver,

brain, those are
L4 al l specimens that are submitted for them to look
1-5 at in order to come to the conclusion yourve
T6 just --
L7 A. Those were submitted. What theyrll do j-s
1_8 they will test they will do a screen in blood
L9 and urine and double-check it. In the blood and
20 the urine they d.idnrt find any alcohol or drugs.
2L ,If they have to do further tests, then they might
22 check the vitreous and the liver and the brain.
23 Q. Thi s i s authored by somebody at osbo rn
24 Laboratories. It I s not done by the doctors or any
25 of the people here at the medical examinerts

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 1 officei is that right?
2 A. Correct
3 O. It t s standard. for you guys to submit
4 specimens to Osborn Laboratories and receive
.

5 copies of the reports?

6 A. Correct.
7 MS. CRAYOI\T: I donrt think I have
I anything .el se .

9 MR. LANCE: No further questions.

1_0 (Deposition conluded at 3: 50 p .m. )

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 1 (Whereupon, it. was stiputated by
t 2 counsel and the witness that submis'sion of the
3 transcribed deposition to the witness for
4 examination, reading and signing is waived and
5 that said deposition shall possess the same force
6 and effect as though read and signed by the
7 witness. )

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 1 CERTIFICATE
2 I, Amy L. Farm€rr a Notary Pub1ic for
3 the State of Missouti, do hereby certify:
4 That prior to being examined the witness
5 was by me duly sworni
6 That said deposition was taken down by
7 me in shorthand at the time and place hereinbefore
B stated and was thereafter reduced to writing under
9 my direction;
10 That I am not a relative or employee or
11 attorney or counsel- of any of the parties, or a
L2 relative or employee of such attorney or counsel,
1-3 or financially interested in the action.
;r

L4 WITNESS my hand and seal this

1-5 day of ,2A
L6

L7

1B

1_9

20 Amy L. Farmer
2L FEES DUE METROPOLITAN COURT REPORTERS, INC :

22 $ Attorney for Plaintiff

23 Attorney for Defendant
24

25

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