Warning, Graphic
This is what you don't get via bad reporting. What if she was still alive when he dumped her ... Generally speaking, this could be established by the presence of "dirt" (that's my professional/technical term) in the nostrils, airways, etc. We got the shocking stuff, but not the practical.
Should this go to trial, the forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy will be called as a witness for the state. He/She will indicate a range of time prior to being physically found that Sierah passed. I don't think most defense attorneys are stupid enough to pull over the old "you called it then, but my client was in custody." In any event, I don't think there's much of an argument here that the sole actions of JDW resulted in the proximate cause of death of Sierah Joughin, and he deserves to (dare I say) die for what he did. I'm not even a big fan of the death penalty, but it seems like this is as good a case as there could possibly be in favor of capital punishment.
I want to see a copy of the report with my own eyes. Grrrrr.