Friday, April 12, 2013

Calvin Barry and Associates- Defence Counsel on Murder trial of Daniel Jimenez-Acosta

Pathologist testifies at second-degree murder trial of Daniel Jimenez-Acosta in London 



By Jane Sims, The London Free Press

Patricia Pacheco-Hernandez’s mangled, bloodied hands told a story of terrible violence.

On her right hand, her ring finger and the tip of her thumb were almost amputated.

The ring finger of her left hand was almost cut off.

Several of her digits were fractured and twisted in unnatural ways. Her long fingernails were intact.

Photographs of her hands were shown Monday to the Superior Court jury at the trial of the woman’s husband, Daniel Jimenez-Acosta, during testimony from Edward Tweedie, the forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy on the woman’s body.

Tweedie said Pacheco-­Hernandez, 41, died from multiple blunt and sharp force head wounds on May 18, 2011, from at least 20 hits to her head.

The hand injuries were restricted to the top of the hands, an indication she put her hands onto her head attempting to ward off the blows, Tweedie said.

Jimenez-Acosta, 45, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder.

Tweedie said there were 49 different groups of wounds. The most significant were to her head and hands.

A large group of cuts and lacerations were at the top left and back of the scalp. Parts of the skull were visible, Tweedie said, and there were more than 20 depressed fractures of the skull.

Throughout the injuries were “innumerable fragments of broken glass in the hair and head,” as well as in her hands.

More injury was found on the back of the head and near the forehead. Tweedie said it was difficult to count how many times Pacheco-Hernandez was hit in the head, but gave a conservative estimate of at least 20 times.

The wounds would cause a lot of bleeding and blood had pooled on the floor when police discovered her in the laundry room

Tweedie said there was a “marked depletion of blood left in her body” at the time of autopsy.

Though there weren’t any visible injuries to the brain, Tweedie said he couldn’t rule out a concussion that could result in unconsciousness or death.

Though there were some scattered bruises on the back of her neck, there was no internal fractures consistent with strangulation.

Tweedie was shown the broken base of a lead-glass vase. He held it and remarked on its “significant weight” and that he saw photos of glass fragments that could have come from it.

Tweedie was asked by the police to comment on photos of Jimenez-Acosta that were taken by the police at the time of his arrest.

There were scrapes on his chest and four linear marks over the breast bone. Two more scrapes showed up on his leg. Dried blood was on the back of the fingers on the right hand.

None of the wounds were in an advanced stage of healing.

The chest injuries were “consistent with fingernails” scraped across the skin and could be Pacheco-Hernandez trying to defend herself, Tweedie said.

Defence lawyer Martin Montes narrowed his focus to broken shards of glass found in a front porch planter at the couple’s southeast London townhouse and asked if they could have caused Jimenez-Acosta’s injuries.

Tweedie said it was “not entirely impossible, but unlikely.”

Forensic scientist James Currie testified that DNA found under Pacheco-Hernandez’s fingernails were a match to Jimenez-Acosta’s profile. The odds of it belonging to someone else was placed at one in 240 trillion.

Currie explained that their testing showed that another person’s DNA can only show up under nails from more intimate or forced contact. It only shows up in 60% even with a heavy scratch and can easily be washed away.

The trial takes a day off Tuesday and returns on Wednesday.

jane.sims@sunmedia.ca
http://www.lfpress.com/2013/04/08/pathologist-testifies-at-second-degree-murder-trial-of-daniel-jimenez-acosta-in-london#.UWW_rq_E-CE.email