unfortunately, the only evidence they have against GD is the condom wrapper.
Medical examiner testifies
Story date: April 24, 2010
No physical sign Dirksmeyer raped, doctor says, but its a possibility
By Mary Kincy
[email protected]
CLARKSVILLE Nona Dirksmeyers killer probably intended to slash her throat, but was unable to do so due to her struggles, a state medical examiner testified in the capital murder trial of Gary Dunn.
It was simply unsuccessful and at that point, another weapon, evidently the lamp, was sought, Dr. Charles Kokes told the jury of 12 men and women who as early as next week may decide whether Dunn will live or die. He is facing life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty if convicted.
Kokes testimony came amid the introduction Friday of nearly two dozen graphic autopsy photos that detailed the injuries sustained by Dirksmeyer. Multiple contusions marked her forehead, nose and chin, while a cluster of knife wounds marred her neck and shoulder areas.
But the killing blow was a revealed as a three-inch laceration on the back of her skull, a photo of which showed the skin and flesh torn and gaping. The exposed skull was depressed three-eighths of an inch, Kokes testified.
One juror covered her mouth when the grisliest of the photos flashed on a projector screen, while anothers jaw ticked repeatedly. Most showed no visible reaction.
An attorney for Dunn, Jeff Rosenzweig, asked whether Dirksmeyer could have survived the blow.
In all likelihood, no, he said. Even if you had an ambulance there and an operating room ready, thats an extremely damaging injury.
A gap between a series of cuts on Dirksmeyers neck and others on her shoulder indicate she attempted to defend herself from her attacker, Kokes testified. Prosecutors point to Dunn, Dirksmeyers neighbor, in that role, but his defense claims the real killer was Dirksmeyers boyfriend, Kevin Jones.
These injuries are typical of a phase in the assault when there was likely an attempt being made to cut Ms. Dirksmeyers throat, Kokes testified. The way you would try and potentially keep that assailant from getting to that area is by hunching ones shoulder into the right side of the neck.
The positioning of the cuts suggests a right-handed attacker, Kokes said.
In addition, Dirksmeyer suffered direct blows to the face, and was choked using a squeezing or compressive force hard enough to cause hemorrhaging behind her eyelids and a small bone in her neck to fracture.
The fatal wound came last, as Dirksmeyer was lying facedown, Kokes testified. A flash of lightning followed by a rolling boom of thunder shook the courtroom as he told of it. The storm, part of a severe weather system moving across the state, had been brewing all day.
Another, less damaging laceration on the top of Dirksmeyers head was also consistent with the lamp base investigators have identified as the murder weapon being wielded like a sledgehammer, Kokes testified.
He said the entire attack likely unfolded in a matter of minutes.
Prosecutors used the testimony to try to shore up their case against Dunn, who has slipped into the background this week amid testimony about and from Jones.
Jack McQuary repeatedly appeared before the jury wearing a bright blue latex glove on his right hand.
He drew attention to a deep red abrasion on one side of Dirksmeyers nose.
Could that be caused by the wearing of gloves (while) pinching the nose? he asked. Would that be consistent with that?
Kokes agreed gloves would likely be more abrasive than a bare hand, and that a gloved hand could cause the wound.
But no evidence has so far been presented to link Dunn, or anyone else, to a pair of gloves.
Time of death
Based on the level of rigor mortis and the areas of lividity on her body, Dirksmeyer died sometime between 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Dec. 15, 2005, Kokes testified.
Rigor mortis is a phenomenon that occurs in the hours after death in which the bodys muscles tighten, causing a stiffening of the limbs. Lividity refers to the manner in which blood pools in the body, visible through the skin, about six hours after death.
Dirksmeyers body showed a limited amount of rigor mortis, Kokes testified, but lividity visible on both sides of her body, front and back, indicate she was moved from a prone position to one in which she was on her backside at least six hours after she died. Jones moved Dirksmeyer when he found her body about 6:30 p.m., setting the latest time she might have been killed at a conservative 1 p.m., Kokes testified.
A teacher spoke with Dirksmeyer on the phone at 10:24 a.m.
Sexual assault?
Despite prosecutors assertion Dunn was sexually motivated in perpetrating the attack, Kokes testified Dirksmeyers body showed no sign of sexual assault.
Does that mean that no sex occurred or no sexual assault or no rape or no attempted rape? McQuary asked.
No, I cant answer that because when you find physical evidence or physical trauma, that only indicates an excessive amount of force was used, Kokes said. As far as my examination is concerned, it doesnt rule out the possibility of sexual penetration, sexual contact.
Walls dont talk
An exhaustive search for DNA on items seized from Dirksmeyers apartment in the wake of her death yielded little information, testimony proffered before Kokes took the stand showed.
State Crime Laboratory forensic DNA examiner Melissa Myhand said swabs from a greeting card, mini blinds, a bottle of carpet cleaner, underwear, a pair of sweaters and a bed sheet found at the scene returned no usable human DNA not linked to Dirksmeyer.
A knife, bra, candle and a pair of jeans all revealed at least partial DNA profiles not linked to Jones or Dunn. But special prosecutor McQuary reminded the jury numerous individuals not wearing gloves potentially handled the items during Jones trial.
A pair of shoes, a multipurpose tool, clippings of Dirksmeyers fingernails and swabs from her mouth and genitalia were free of useful data, as was an examination of the murder weapon, Myhand testified.
McQuary, his gestures highlighted by the blue latex glove, asked Myhand why a sexual assault might generate no DNA.
If a condom was used, if there was penile penetration, if there was no ejaculation, if there was a low sperm count, those would be exceptions that might prevent DNA transmission, she said.
DNA findings were compared to a range of individuals including Dirksmeyer, Jones and Dunn in addition to Duane Dipert, Dirksmeyers stepfather, and Jamie Dunn, the defendants brother, according to Myhands testimony.
She said it was not surprising so little was recovered in the testing, some of which came years after the crime.
What helps preserve the DNA is how its packaged and what kind of (circumstances) its preserved in, she said.
McQuary used Myhands testimony to try to reinforce the condom wrapper DNA previously entered into evidence that prosecutors claim has only a 1 in 120 million chance of being someone other than Dunns.
He asked whether information garnered from a MiniFiler test like the one used to match the trace DNA sample to Dunn was less valid or good than more established tests.
If we get results, we would report on those, she said. It is up to the examiner to note any qualifications or exceptions related to the findings, she added.
Another Crime Lab expert, Bobby Humphries, earlier testified latent prints observed on the base of the murder weapon were not detailed enough for comparison.
McQuary, debuting the blue glove, asked whether anything might prevent someone from leaving fingerprints.
If you put a barrier over your hands, that would definitely prevent you from leaving a print on a surface, Humphries said.
The trial begins its third week at 8:30 a.m. Monday.
