arielilane
Justice for Liz Barraza
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Next witness: Dr. Bernadette Derussy, Deputy Medical Examiner, Travis County Medical Examiner's Office.Note before we continue: I will transcribe the things I hear, as always. Additionally, if pictures are shown, I will also be describing what I am seeing. Please use caution as the material may be considered graphic.
Autopsy of Mo Wilson performed May 12, 2022. External exam performed first, looking for signs of disease and injury. Internal is next, organs are removed and dissected to look for evidence of disease.
Wilson's body came in a sealed body bag. She was wrapped in a trace evidence blanket. She had not been cleaned up, she was in the same state and condition as the crime scene. Derussy says no clothing had been removed.
Derussy says photos were taken and trace evidence was collected. The ME will clean the body after photos are taken. Photos are taken again since blood and dirt can often obscure injuries.
Consulting her notes, Derussy says the first injury noted is a gunshot wound to the right side of the face. The exit wound was on the left side of the jaw. Derussy points to her own face and shows the jury where the entrance wound is. The bullet went in by the nose and through the front of her face and out the left jaw. Right to left, slightly downward, slightly front to back. Associated injuries include bruising around left eye, bleeding of the whites of left eye and bleeding and bone fragments along bullet pathway.
2nd wound: gunshot wound to right temporal scalp. It is the side of the head, with the bullet exiting the area beneath the chin. Associated injuries: bleeding beneath the scalp, hemorrhaging in the layers surrounding the brain, bleeding surrounding the brain, bone fragments along the bullet's path.
3rd wound: Gunshot wound to the left side of the chest. Entering the chest and exiting the back. Using her own chest, Derussy points to the area right above her own heart. Exit wound was consistent with a shored exit wound, meaning there was a wide irregular abrasion (top layer of skin scraped away), consistent with the body being pushed against a firm surface upon entry (she was laying on the bathroom floor when this shot was fired).
4th wound: Gunshot wound of the right index finger. There were two defects on the finger. Couldn't tell entrance from exit. Derussy explains what a defensive wound is (a wound sustained when trying to protect oneself), but cannot say for certain if the finger injury is a defensive wound.
Additional injuries to lower extremities: scape on the left thigh, bruising on the thigh. A scrape on the right leg. Additional bruising on the legs. Derussy says these are indicative of bullet grazes. Official cause of death: gunshot wounds.
Derussy says the ME's office performed a toxicology exam to test blood to look for alcohol, medications and drugs. Ethanol was detected, meaning alcohol. Blood alcohol content was .04. There was no evidence of controlled substance use.
GRAPHIC WARNING: We are now looking at photos from the autopsy. I will be transcribing what I see. A photo of the seal on the body bag. Shows chain of custody. There is a date listed and a medical examiner's number. There is a closeup of Mo Wilson face. There is a bullet wound showing the entrance by the nose. Her right eye is slightly opened. Her left eye is swollen shut. A different angle of her face showing the entrance and exit wound. The exit wound is right below her ear on the jaw line. You can see swelling in the area.The back of her skull is now shown with a different entrance wound. It is right behind her right ear. It is slightly difficult to see because of the hair, but when a closeup is shown and her hair pulled to the side, it is clearly visible.
GRAPHIC: The hair is now shaved by the ME to clearly show the gunshot wound. It is only a few centimeters long. Even less wide. Now the exit wound from that same bullet that exited out of the base of her chin. There is extensive bruising on the bottom of her chin. A close up of her chest showing the third bullet wound to her chest. Mo Wilson is naked and you can see it went right through her heart. Her body is flipped and we can see the exit wound out of her back. Derussy stands up to the monitor to show the jury how the abrasion is irregular, leading her to believe the body was laying down when the bullet exited.
Inside the courtroom, Kaitlin Armstrong is averting her eyes. She is holding a pen, but doesn't appear to be writing with it. Armstrong's father and mother are looking at the wounds being depicted on the screen. Jury members are closely examining their individual screens in front of them.GRAPHIC: Photos of her legs, showing possible graze wounds. Photos of the gunshot wounds to her index finger. Derussy says it is her sworn testimony that a bullet entered and exited her finger. Finally, photos of projectile fragments that were found from the head.
State attorney Guillermo Gonzalez has taken off his coat and has asked Derussy to step off the stand. She is using a long stick to indicate the path the bullets went through Mo Wilson's body, but using his body as the example. The jury members are paying close attention to this demonstration. Kaitlin Armstrong doesn't seem interested in watching.
Witness passed.
Defense's turn.
When determining distance, Derussy says she looks for muzzle imprint, soot (burned gunpowder after a gun is fired), abrasions around entrance wound and tissue searing.
Per the report, for gunshot wound one, two and three, there was no soot, muzzle imprint, tissue searing, meaning they couldn't determine distance the shots were fired. Derussy doesn't want to speculate.
No further questions from defense.
State redirect: When a distance cannot be determined, Derussy says it is likely because the shot was fired from more than 2-3 feet away and/or something, like clothing, was blocking the path to the entrance wound.
No further questions.
Witness dismissed.
We are taking a 10 minute recess.
Next witness: Dr. Bernadette Derussy, Deputy Medical Examiner, Travis County Medical Examiner's Office.Note before we continue: I will transcribe the things I hear, as always. Additionally, if pictures are shown, I will also be describing what I am seeing. Please use caution as the material may be considered graphic.
Autopsy of Mo Wilson performed May 12, 2022. External exam performed first, looking for signs of disease and injury. Internal is next, organs are removed and dissected to look for evidence of disease.
Wilson's body came in a sealed body bag. She was wrapped in a trace evidence blanket. She had not been cleaned up, she was in the same state and condition as the crime scene. Derussy says no clothing had been removed.
Derussy says photos were taken and trace evidence was collected. The ME will clean the body after photos are taken. Photos are taken again since blood and dirt can often obscure injuries.
Consulting her notes, Derussy says the first injury noted is a gunshot wound to the right side of the face. The exit wound was on the left side of the jaw. Derussy points to her own face and shows the jury where the entrance wound is. The bullet went in by the nose and through the front of her face and out the left jaw. Right to left, slightly downward, slightly front to back. Associated injuries include bruising around left eye, bleeding of the whites of left eye and bleeding and bone fragments along bullet pathway.
2nd wound: gunshot wound to right temporal scalp. It is the side of the head, with the bullet exiting the area beneath the chin. Associated injuries: bleeding beneath the scalp, hemorrhaging in the layers surrounding the brain, bleeding surrounding the brain, bone fragments along the bullet's path.
3rd wound: Gunshot wound to the left side of the chest. Entering the chest and exiting the back. Using her own chest, Derussy points to the area right above her own heart. Exit wound was consistent with a shored exit wound, meaning there was a wide irregular abrasion (top layer of skin scraped away), consistent with the body being pushed against a firm surface upon entry (she was laying on the bathroom floor when this shot was fired).
4th wound: Gunshot wound of the right index finger. There were two defects on the finger. Couldn't tell entrance from exit. Derussy explains what a defensive wound is (a wound sustained when trying to protect oneself), but cannot say for certain if the finger injury is a defensive wound.
Additional injuries to lower extremities: scape on the left thigh, bruising on the thigh. A scrape on the right leg. Additional bruising on the legs. Derussy says these are indicative of bullet grazes. Official cause of death: gunshot wounds.
Derussy says the ME's office performed a toxicology exam to test blood to look for alcohol, medications and drugs. Ethanol was detected, meaning alcohol. Blood alcohol content was .04. There was no evidence of controlled substance use.
GRAPHIC WARNING: We are now looking at photos from the autopsy. I will be transcribing what I see. A photo of the seal on the body bag. Shows chain of custody. There is a date listed and a medical examiner's number. There is a closeup of Mo Wilson face. There is a bullet wound showing the entrance by the nose. Her right eye is slightly opened. Her left eye is swollen shut. A different angle of her face showing the entrance and exit wound. The exit wound is right below her ear on the jaw line. You can see swelling in the area.The back of her skull is now shown with a different entrance wound. It is right behind her right ear. It is slightly difficult to see because of the hair, but when a closeup is shown and her hair pulled to the side, it is clearly visible.
GRAPHIC: The hair is now shaved by the ME to clearly show the gunshot wound. It is only a few centimeters long. Even less wide. Now the exit wound from that same bullet that exited out of the base of her chin. There is extensive bruising on the bottom of her chin. A close up of her chest showing the third bullet wound to her chest. Mo Wilson is naked and you can see it went right through her heart. Her body is flipped and we can see the exit wound out of her back. Derussy stands up to the monitor to show the jury how the abrasion is irregular, leading her to believe the body was laying down when the bullet exited.
Inside the courtroom, Kaitlin Armstrong is averting her eyes. She is holding a pen, but doesn't appear to be writing with it. Armstrong's father and mother are looking at the wounds being depicted on the screen. Jury members are closely examining their individual screens in front of them.GRAPHIC: Photos of her legs, showing possible graze wounds. Photos of the gunshot wounds to her index finger. Derussy says it is her sworn testimony that a bullet entered and exited her finger. Finally, photos of projectile fragments that were found from the head.
State attorney Guillermo Gonzalez has taken off his coat and has asked Derussy to step off the stand. She is using a long stick to indicate the path the bullets went through Mo Wilson's body, but using his body as the example. The jury members are paying close attention to this demonstration. Kaitlin Armstrong doesn't seem interested in watching.
Witness passed.
Defense's turn.
When determining distance, Derussy says she looks for muzzle imprint, soot (burned gunpowder after a gun is fired), abrasions around entrance wound and tissue searing.
Per the report, for gunshot wound one, two and three, there was no soot, muzzle imprint, tissue searing, meaning they couldn't determine distance the shots were fired. Derussy doesn't want to speculate.
No further questions from defense.
State redirect: When a distance cannot be determined, Derussy says it is likely because the shot was fired from more than 2-3 feet away and/or something, like clothing, was blocking the path to the entrance wound.
No further questions.
Witness dismissed.
We are taking a 10 minute recess.
It's disturbing.
