1.Sara Zydowicz — Direct/Cross/Redirect
656 lines(The following proceedings were resumed October 21, 2024, at 9:44 a.m., with appearances as previously noted; stenographically reported by Breean Crisp.)
COURT CLERK: Case No. 2020-CF-2603, the State of Florida vs. Sarah Boone.
Parties, announce your names for the record, beginning with the State.
MR. CACCIATORE: Dave Cacciatore on behalf of the State.
COURT CLERK: Defense?
MR. OWENS: James Owens for Sarah Boone.
MR. HENDERSON: Tony Henderson for Sarah Boone.
COURT CLERK: Ms. Boone, raise your right hand to be sworn, please.
(Defendant sworn.)
SARAH BOONE: I do.
THE COURT: Good morning, ma'am. Could you state your full name and date of birth for the record for me?
SARAH BOONE: Sarah Boone, 10/10/77.
THE COURT: Ms. Boone is seated at counsels' table wearing a black jacket and a white multicolored shirt. Looks like some splotching on it. She is in custody, however, she's not wearing any restraints, so we will be standing when our jury panel enters and exits.
The parties may approach.
(At the bench.)
THE COURT: Yes, sir?
MR. OWENS: Judge, I understand there was a delay. The security said that on Mondays, it's a really long line trying to get in the courthouse --
THE COURT: Correct.
MR. OWENS: -- so they have to go through security. Is there any way -- I'm just suggesting, is there any way they could get some kind of a secret pass to get through that side door, like we do?
THE COURT: I don't believe so.
MR. JAY: At the front of the courthouse, the far right is the juror entrance. I just think you should remind them that they can use that far right entrance and not get into the long line.
THE COURT: Sure, I can do that.
MR. OWENS: That's probably what happened.
THE COURT: Yeah, that'd be my guess.
Okay. Anything else we need to talk about?
MR. OWENS: No, sir.
THE COURT: All right. Very good.
(In open court.)
THE COURT: All right. State, anything we need to address before we bring in our panel this morning?
MR. CACCIATORE: Not from the State.
THE COURT: Defense?
MR. OWENS: No, sir.
THE COURT: All right. Ms. Boone, just a couple of questions before we bring in our panel this morning. Are you still satisfied with your lawyers' representation of you in this matter?
SARAH BOONE: Very much so.
THE COURT: And are you still on board with the strategy that they are utilizing in your defense?
SARAH BOONE: Yes.
THE COURT: All right. Very good.
Let's go ahead and stand and bring in our panel.
COURT STAFF: Jury entering.
(Jury entered.)
THE COURT: State, do you recognize our jury?
MR. CACCIATORE: Yes, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Defense, do you recognize our jury?
MR. OWENS: Yes.
THE COURT: All right. Everyone can be seated.
Members of the jury, good morning. Welcome back to 12-Alpha of the Orange County Courthouse. I hope that you-all had a restful weekend and enjoyed your time with your loved ones, your friends, and your family.
Just if you could, I gave you a long instruction on Friday before we broke. If you could please confirm that you complied with the Court's instructions by raising your hand at this time.
The record will reflect that all members of our panel have raised their hands.
Now, members of the jury, I know the line to get in this morning was quite long, so the lawyers have reminded me that on the right side of the entrance of the courthouse is a jury only line. So if you can make your way all the way to the far right side of the entrance, there's a jury only line.
Yes, sir, Juror No. 2 in the back?
JUROR: It was still quite long.
THE COURT: Huh?
JUROR: It was still quite long.
JUROR: That's what we did.
THE COURT: It was still quite long?
JUROR: Yeah.
THE COURT: Okay. Thank you.
Just wanted to bring that to your attention if you did not know. Obviously, if you're stuck, you know, we're waiting on you, so don't feel anxiety or anything. If you're stuck in that line, we can't start until you-all get here. And I appreciate, again, your sacrifice and your attentiveness in this process.
With that, State, you can call your next witness.
MR. CACCIATORE: State would call Dr. Sara Zydowicz.
SARA ZYDOWICZ, M.D.,
being called as a witness, and having first been duly sworn,
testified as follows:
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
COURT CLERK: Thank you.
THE COURT: Good morning, Doctor.
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Good morning.
THE COURT: Can you please state and spell your name for the record for us?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Sara Zydowicz, S-a-r-a Z-y-d-o-w-i-c-z.
THE COURT: Thank you.
You may inquire.
DIRECT EXAMINATION
BY MR. CACCIATORE:
MR. CACCIATORE: Good morning, ma'am.
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Good morning.
MR. CACCIATORE: Can you tell us, what do you do for a living?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: I'm a forensic pathologist.
MR. CACCIATORE: And whom do you work for?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: I work for Orange County. We cover Orange County and Osceola County.
MR. CACCIATORE: And how long have you been a forensic pathologist?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: I've been at this office for about 12 years, and then one year in Tampa, so about 13 years.
MR. CACCIATORE: And what type of educational background do you have to have to be a forensic pathologist?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: So I have a bachelor's degree in kinesiology from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. I went to medical school in Kansas City, Missouri. After that, I went to Cleveland, Ohio, to do a one-year rotating clinical internship. After that, I went back to the University of Wisconsin. I did my residency in anatomic pathology and clinical pathology. I have two fellowships or subspecialty training. One is in cytopathology from Northwestern University in Chicago and then I did my forensic pathology fellowship in Tampa.
MR. CACCIATORE: Is continuing education something that you must maintain in order to hold your position?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes. I have to do continuing education for my board certifications, which is in anatomic pathology, clinical pathology, and forensic pathology. And I also do separate continuing medical education to maintain my medical license for the State of Florida.
MR. CACCIATORE: So tell us, what are your duties as a medical examiner?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: So we're involved in what's called the medicolegal investigation of deaths, and that just means that we investigate certain types of deaths. And there's a Florida statute or a Florida law that states which types of deaths that we'll be involved in investigating. And in general, they're deaths that are not natural -- so accidents, suicides, homicides -- or deaths that are natural, but may be unexpected. Those are the types of cases that we're involved in. And, again, that Florida statute lays out exactly which types of cases that we'll be involved in. And the reason we're involved in that is our goal is to determine cause of death and manner of death in those individuals that we're investigating.
MR. CACCIATORE: Could you tell us what an autopsy is, generally speaking?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: So an autopsy is also called a post-mortem or after-death examination, and there are kind of two main parts to it. The first part is what's called an external examination, which it's just as it sounds, so that's making observations about individuals. So hair color, eye color, height, any sort of unique markings, like scars or tattoos. And at that time, we're also looking for any external signs of diseases or injuries.
After that, we go to what's called the internal examination, so that means that we open the body cavities, we remove all of the organs, and dissect all of the organs. And, again, as we're doing that, we're looking for any signs of diseases or injuries that might help explain why that person died.
And we can also add ancillary tests or other tests, so things like toxicology, microbiology. It's a little bit dependent on each case, but we -- we have options for other testing as well.
MR. CACCIATORE: Can you tell us, what is the cause and manner of death and is this something that you document?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes. So cause of death is either a disease or an injury that ultimately results in an individual's death, so it's very individual and unique to that individual.
Manner of death is a way to categorize or group Similar types of deaths together. And for manner of death, there's only five choices. So there would be natural, accident, suicide, homicide, or undetermined. So those are the manners of death.
MR. CACCIATORE: In your career, approximately how many autopsies have you performed?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Around 3,000.
MR. CACCIATORE: And have you previously testified as an expert witness in court?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. CACCIATORE: How many times?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Between 75 to 80.
MR. CACCIATORE: And in what areas have you testified as an expert witness?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Forensic pathology.
MR. CACCIATORE: Turning our attention to this case, did you perform the autopsy?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. CACCIATORE: And what were your findings as to cause and manner of death?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: So the cause of death, which I put on the death certificate, is positional asphyxia with environmental suffocation, and the manner of death I classified as homicide.
MR. CACCIATORE: Now, when you perform your autopsy, what information do you have at the time that you begin that examination?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: It's incredibly variable. I can have a lot of background information. Sometimes I have none. It just depends on the particular case.
MR. CACCIATORE: In this case, what information were you provided ahead of time?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: So the information I had was that the decedent was with his girlfriend, and at some point in time in the night, he got into a suitcase, which was then zippered shut. At another point at time, I believe she went to bed and then the next morning, discovered that he was still in the Suitcase. And I think that was about an 11-hour time frame from the information that I had.
MR. CACCIATORE: You mentioned asphyxia. Can you explain for us what asphyxia is?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Sure.
So asphyxia is a very general term. It would be kind of like saying, you know, I drive a car, right? That's very generic and we know that there are many different types of cars out there, right? So asphyxia simply means lack of oxygen or inadequate oxygen for an individual, and there are different categories of asphyxia.
So you can have suffocation, which just means that there's obstruction of the airways. So that can be smothering, that can be somebody choking on a piece of food, or maybe just being in an environment where there's not enough oxygen in the air to sustain that individual. There's a category called strangulation, and that would be compression of the neck, either blood vessels or airways. There's another category called mechanical asphyxia. That can be when the body is in an unusual or abnormal position where the actual mechanics of breathing can't occur. So that can be the position of the body or it can be, like, let's say if a heavy object fell on somebody and you simply can't breathe because of the weight of that object. That would be mechanical asphyxia. And then there's drowning, that's a different type of asphyxia. And there are a couple of other categories as well that are much less common.
MR. CACCIATORE: Is there a most common type of asphyxia?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: The most common would be ligature compression of the neck, so that would be, like, an event of hanging. That would be the most common that we would see.
MR. CACCIATORE: You also mentioned environmental suffocation. Could you tell us a little bit more what that means in more layman's terms?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: So that just means there's not enough oxygen in the environment that the person is in. You can think of somebody who's in an enclosed space where there's a fixed amount of oxygen. So as that oxygen is -- you know, as that person is breathing, they're using up all the oxygen, and once that's gone, there's no oxygen left; or you can think of maybe people who are, you know, climbing Mount Everest, there's not as much oxygen up there and that's why they have oxygen tanks. So it just means that the amount of oxygen available in the air around that person is not enough to sustain them.
MR. CACCIATORE: In this case, what can you tell us about how long Jorge Torres was in that suitcase?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: There's not a really good way for me to give you a time frame as to how long he was in that suitcase, again, because there was both the component of positional asphyxia, being in an unusual position for a period of time, and then also the environmental suffocation component. Because, you know, within that suitcase, certainly there's going to be oxygen, but it's not going to be the same as if you were sitting in a room like this. And because there are those multiple components happening at the same time, there's not a really good way to estimate or say with scientific certainty, Oh, he was in for X amount of time. There's really not a good way to do that.
MR. CACCIATORE: How about, is there any good way to approximate or determine the time that Jorge Torres died?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: There's not a good way to do that either, again, because there are so many different components at play at the time of his death. You know, sitting in a normal room like this, the percentage of oxygen that's available is about 20 to 21 percent. If that were to drop to 10 to 15 percent, the person can be impaired with judgment, they can be impaired with activity. Once that percentage drops between 8 to 10 percent, most people will lose consciousness. And at a percentage of 8 percent oxygen or less, that's when we would expect the death to occur. And so, again, there's not a really good way to measure the amount of oxygen that would have been available to him in that suitcase, in addition to the fact that he was in an unusual position.
MR. CACCIATORE: What position were you able to determine he was in in that suitcase?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: I wasn't able to see what position he was in. By the time that our medicolegal death investigators were at the scene, he was already removed from the suitcase. Based on some of the findings, I favor that he was most likely in, like, a fetal-type position, so knees flexed, arms flexed, and the head most likely flexed forward. But, again, that's from my findings. I didn't see what position he was in.
MR. CACCIATORE: What side of his body would he be resting on in this fetal position?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: That's -- most likely his left side, however, I do say the caveat that some of the findings are dependent on time. Meaning that, you know, if that suitcase had been moved or flipped over, my -- that could be different than what I'm seeing at the time of my examination.
MR. CACCIATORE: Tell us, what is skin slippage?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: So after death, the body goes through a series of progressive changes, and one of those changes is skin slippage. And what that does is it tells me that that person is a little bit further away from the actual time of death. So it's not something that's going to occur immediately after death for most people. It's something that would occur a little bit later on in that process of changes that happens after death.
MR. CACCIATORE: And tell us, what is rigor mortis?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: So rigor mortis is also called post-mortem stiffening of muscles. And, again, that's one of the changes that occurs after death. Most of the times, that will occur before we see skin slippage, but these changes are very variable from individual to individual, and it also depends on the environment the person is in.
So, for example, those changes that we're going to see happen more quickly in a warm environment. Somebody who maybe is engaged in a physical or violent struggle, those changes are going to occur more rapidly. And then it also depends on the person themselves, you know, their relative Size, their relative health. Those things can all impact the changes that we see after death.
MR. CACCIATORE: How does skin slippage and rigor mortis inform your findings about how long Jorge Torres was likely in that suitcase?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: So, again, you know, the time frame that I had was about 11 hours just from the last time that he was known to be in the suitcase versus the time that he was found, so I'm basing it off of that, so about an 11-hour time period. Well, when I did my examination, the rigor mortis was already dissipating or leaving. Also, there were some skin slippage. And so if he had not been in the suitcase, if he had been out of the suitcase, I would not expect that advanced amount of change.
So it's compatible with him being in that suitcase for a longer period of time. It would have been warmer. And, also, if he had been, you know, struggling to get himself out, you know, engaging in that physical activity, those are things that are going to accelerate or speed up that process. So my findings at the time of the examination are compatible with that 11-hour time period or, you know, somewhere around there.
MR. CACCIATORE: Additionally, did you note any injuries to the body of Jorge Torres?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. CACCIATORE: These injuries that you noted to the body of Jorge Torres, did you document them on what's called a body chart?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes, the diagram on a body chart, and we also take pictures as I'm going through my examination.
MR. CACCIATORE: Your Honor, may I approach the witness with what's been previously marked for identification and shown to defense as State's R?
THE COURT: You may.
BY MR. CACCIATORE:
MR. CACCIATORE: Matam, I'm showing you what's been marked for identification as State's R. Do you recognize this document?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. CACCIATORE: And can you tell us, what is this document?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: It's a copy of my body diagram.
MR. CACCIATORE: I'm sorry?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Oh. It's a copy of my body diagram.
MR. CACCIATORE: And does this fairly and accurately represent the diagram that you created in this case for Jorge Torres?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. CACCIATORE: Your Honor, at this time I'd like to move what's previously been marked for identification as State's R into evidence.
MR. OWENS: No objection.
THE COURT: What was premarked as State's R will be received into evidence without objection as State's 12.
(State's Exhibit No. 12 was received in evidence.)
MR. CACCIATORE: And, Your Honor, request permission to publish?
THE COURT: Yes, sir.
BY MR. CACCIATORE:
MR. CACCIATORE: So, ma'am, on this body chart, can you describe for us and point out, what was the first blunt impact injury that you identified?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: So there was some blunt impact injuries to his head. I don't think it's on this one, but there was some blunt impact injuries to his head right up here around the eye and on the mouth area.
MR. CACCIATORE: And then, did you notate any injuries to his hand?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes. So there were some ecchymoses or you can think of that as, like, a large kind of bruise on both hands.
MR. CACCIATORE: What other blunt impact injuries did you identify?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: So there's a series of ecchymoses on the left side of the back right about here.
MR. CACCIATORE: And any others?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: There were some on the forearms as well.
MR. CACCIATORE: And you use this body chart, you say, in addition to photographing the -- the injuries that you document, correct?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. CACCIATORE: As part of your examination -- and I believe it's on the body chart itself -- do you document the height and weight of the person as well?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. CACCIATORE: And what was the height of Mr. Torres in this case?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: So -- yeah. So, technically, for us, it's length. Height is the measurement that's taken while someone is standing. So his length was 62 inches and his weight was 103 pounds.
MR. CACCIATORE: In regards to these blunt impact injuries, how is it that you come to the conclusion that these injuries were the result of blunt impacts?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: So these are typical wounding patterns for blunt force trauma. And when I say blunt force trauma, that can mean something striking a part of the body or, on the other hand, it can be the body striking an object. And that causes injury to the skin and to the soft tissue and sometimes the deeper tissues depending on how severe or how strong that blunt force trauma is.
MR. CACCIATORE: Are these injuries consistent with a person being struck with a baseball bat?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: They could be, yes.
MR. CACCIATORE: Are they consistent with a person being pushed down a flight of stairs?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: They could be, yes.
MR. CACCIATORE: Can you say whether or not these injuries occurred while Jorge Torres was in the suitcase?
MR. CACCIATORE: Why is it that you cannot say that?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: So the -- the -- all of these injuries seem to have occurred around the same time, meaning that they're relatively acute or new. They're not -- they're not things that are healing or something that happened last week. So they all occurred around the same time, but there's -- you can't really look at a bruise or a contusion and say, Oh, well, that happened two hours ago. There's not a good way to do that.
MR. CACCIATORE: Are these injuries consistent with -- with them occurring while he was inside the suitcase?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes, they could be.
MR. CACCIATORE: As part of your examination, do you also check the toxicology of Jorge Torres?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. CACCIATORE: And is that something that's pretty standard in any autopsy?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. CACCIATORE: And what were the toxicology results for Jorge Torres?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: So there was a blood alcohol level of -139 milligrams per deciliter, and there was also caffeine and nicotine detected as well.
MR. CACCIATORE: That level of alcohol, is that over the legal limit in the state of Florida to drive?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Sure. So for driving under the influence, that's a .08, so that is higher than that.
MR. CACCIATORE: What does that alcohol level at the time of your autopsy tell you about Jorge Torres' level of impairment 11 hours earlier?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: So I don't necessarily know that it was 11 hours earlier, but it was at the time of death -- at or near the time of his death, that's what the blood alcohol level was. So that level, you know, everyone reacts a little bit differently to alcohol, and some of it has to do with whether or not somebody is accustomed to drinking alcohol or if they've never had alcohol, so you can develop tolerance. But at that level, there's going to be impairment of judgment. There can be impairment of motor skills. There can be slurring of words, something that's called disinhibition or lack of inhibition. And, again, it's really variable from person to person, but those are the common things that you would see at that level.
MR. CACCIATORE: Would that level of alcohol impair the ability to problem-solve?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: It can, yes.
MR. CACCIATORE: You also stated earlier that you document your autopsy findings also photographically, correct?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. CACCIATORE: Your Honor, may I approach the witness with what's been marked for identification as State's Q and been shown to defense?
THE COURT: You may.
BY MR. CACCIATORE:
MR. CACCIATORE: Matam, I'm showing you what's been marked for identification as State's Q. Could you take a look at these composite of photographs to yourself and then look up once you're finished?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: (Complied.)
MR. CACCIATORE: Ma'am, do you recognize these photographs?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. CACCIATORE: Are these photographs a portion of the photographs that you took in your autopsy of Jorge Torres in this case?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. CACCIATORE: Do they fairly and accurately represent how he appeared and how his injuries appeared to you at the time you performed your autopsy?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. CACCIATORE: Your Honor, at this time I'd like to move what's previously been marked for identification as State's Q into evidence.
MR. OWENS: No objection.
THE COURT: What was premarked as State's Q will be received into evidence without objection as State's 13.
(State's Exhibit No. 13 was received in evidence.)
MR. CACCIATORE: And, Your Honor, request permission to publish?
THE COURT: You may do so.
BY MR. CACCIATORE:
MR. CACCIATORE: Ma'am, I'm showing you photo 1 from State's Composite. Tell us, what is this a photo of?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: So this is the identification photo that's basically just showing from about the level of the collarbones up.
MR. CACCIATORE: And this is Jorge Torres?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. CACCIATORE: Did you note any signs of injury in this photo?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes. So there's some ecchymoses around the left eye. This picture is a little bit hard to see, but I think there's another one coming up. There's also an area of ecchymoses up here on the left side of the forehead with also some swelling associated with that. The lips have some contusions and small lacerations. And then on the left shoulder here, you can see a little bit of some ecchymoses here -- or, again, ecchymoses are kind of like big bruises.
MR. CACCIATORE: Okay. Turning to photo 2 from State's Composite. What are we looking at in this photograph?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: So this is his right arm near the elbow, and right here you can see this kind of darker area. So this looks Similar to an abrasion, but it's actually -- it's what's called drying artifact. And, again, this is one of the reasons that I think that he was in that suitcase for a little bit longer. Most likely that was a pressure point where part of that suitcase was resting on his elbow in that area. And then after death, that tissue dries out, and that's the discoloration that you're seeing there.
MR. CACCIATORE: Turning to State's 3 from the composite.
SARA ZYDOWICZ: So here you can see a little bit better. I don't know if you can get a feeling for this, but this area is what we call edema or swelling. So this whole area is edema. It's a little bit discolored, so ecchymoses. And then, again, really at the corner of the eye here, you can see that darker discoloration, and so that's -- those are injuries from blunt force trauma.
MR. CACCIATORE: State's 4 from the composite.
SARA ZYDOWICZ: So this is the left shoulder and arm. So you can see this kind of red to purple area, so this is all ecchymoses. And then a couple of linear abrasions or scratches.
MR. CACCIATORE: State's 5 from the composite.
SARA ZYDOWICZ: This is the same area, just a little bit closer up. So you can see this whole area of ecchymoses. It's a little bit variegated and differential in color, but, again, that's all blunt force trauma.
MR. CACCIATORE: And what part of the body is this we're looking at?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: This is the left shoulder.
MR. CACCIATORE: State's 6 from the composite.
SARA ZYDOWICZ: That's the same area, but in this picture, we have a scale or the ruler.
MR. CACCIATORE: And why do we use scales and rulers?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: That's just to give an idea of how big the area is or how large the injury is.
MR. CACCIATORE: State's 7 from the composite.
SARA ZYDOWICZ: So this is the left forearm and hand, and you can see the area right here, there is a little bit red to purple, and then also right here on the left hand right here and here. Those are all areas of ecchymoses. Again, blunt force trauma.
MR. CACCIATORE: State's 8 from the composite.
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Again, the left arm just from a little bit of a different angle. So you can see a little bit of the elbow too here, but you can see all these areas of ecchymoses.
MR. CACCIATORE: State's 9 from the composite.
SARA ZYDOWICZ: And now looking at the left hand a little bit closer up, so you can kind of see a little bit better these areas of ecchymoses.
MR. CACCIATORE: State's 10 from the composite.
SARA ZYDOWICZ: And, again, the left hand, just closer up.
MR. CACCIATORE: State's 11 from the composite.
SARA ZYDOWICZ: So now we're looking at the back and you can see that there are these linear abrasions in the mid back.
MR. CACCIATORE: Are those scratch marks or --
SARA ZYDOWICZ: They can be scratch marks. They can also be blunt impact, more of just a straight-on blunt impact, especially, you know, being in that suitcase, if there are objects in there.
MR. CACCIATORE: What is the discoloration that we see around his shoulders and -- and then -- and some other spots on his back as well?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Sure. So you're talking about this area?
MR. CACCIATORE: Yes.
SARA ZYDOWICZ: So that's called livor mortis or lividity, and that's one of the changes that we see, again, after death. And basically what that is, is it's post-mortem, after death, settling of blood in the blood vessels, and so it's dependent on gravity and it's dependent on a person's position. So what I mean by that is, we're seeing it on his back because, after the time of death, at some point in time he was more positioned on his back. And the areas that are lighter, that's because -- for a couple of reasons. It could be the position of the body, meaning that it's not in the, you know, gravity-dependent position, or there could be something pressing on it. So either one of those.
MR. CACCIATORE: State's 12 from the composite.
SARA ZYDOWICZ: So those are those linear abrasions just shown a little bit closer up.
MR. CACCIATORE: State's 13 from the composite.
SARA ZYDOWICZ: And the same, but with a scale.
MR. CACCIATORE: State's 14 from the composite.
SARA ZYDOWICZ: So now you're seeing the left side of his back and also the back of his left arm and you can see these areas here of ecchymoses, and these are a lot darker than some of the others that we've seen. One of the things that I did is I looked underneath the skin in these areas because they're so much darker and so much more dense, so I wanted to see if there was injury of the deeper tissues. So these areas are associated with hemorrhage or bleeding into the skeletal muscle, so the deeper tissues, and so that's just indicating more force applied to that area.
MR. CACCIATORE: And when you did your internal exam, did you examine this area and did that inform your findings?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. CACCIATORE: State's 15 from the composite.
SARA ZYDOWICZ: And that's showing those areas a little bit closer up. So you can see that they are much more dense. There's at least three distinct areas here. There could be more than three impacts, but there's at least three separate ones that can be seen.
MR. CACCIATORE: State's 16 from the composite.
SARA ZYDOWICZ: And this is just showing the upper back and the back of the neck. We've got a linear abrasion right here on the back of the neck and these were the ones shown in the earlier pictures.
MR. CACCIATORE: And State's 17 from the composite.
SARA ZYDOWICZ: And this is just showing the same area of the back and the back of the arm, but just at a different angle.
MR. CACCIATORE: So we have discussed and seen evidence of many different injuries. In total, how many blunt impact injuries did you identify?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: I can't give you an exact number. Again, you know, you can have multiple impacts in a very close area, so it can be hard to discern each one. They can overlay each other or they can be so close to each other, so -- but at least, you know, five to six, most likely more than that.
MR. CACCIATORE: And when you were going through your body chart as well, and I guess we also saw some of it photographically, you also mentioned impact to the left side of the head?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. CACCIATORE: And I believe that was subgaleal?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Subgaleal. So kind of similar to what I was describing on the back. I looked at the underside of the scalp, and so in those areas on the left side of his forehead where there was the edema, when we reflect or when we fold the scalp over, there was hemorrhage, or bleeding, that was -- went through the entire scalp and was deposited on the skull. There was no associated skull fracture and there was no bleeding inside of the skull, but it was all in the scalp and deposited on the outer surface of the skull.
MR. CACCIATORE: So under the skin, but not under the skull?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Correct.
MR. CACCIATORE: Your Honor, I have no further questions at this time.
THE COURT: Thank you.
Any cross-examination?
MR. OWENS: Yes.
CROSS-EXAMINATION
BY MR. OWENS:
MR. OWENS: Doctor, good morning.
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Good morning.
MR. OWENS: My name is James Owens and I'm one of the lawyers that represents Sarah Boone here today, and I've got a few questions.
Can we first talk -- talk about the toxicology that you did?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: The alcohol. You said you've done approximately 3,000 autopsies, and of those autopsies, how many years would that have been over that period of time?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Twelve years.
MR. OWENS: Okay. So when you first got down here from Tampa, I think you were up in the northeast, you came down here to Tampa, that's when you started?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: Okay. And you would agree you've interpreted toxicology results in all or most of those cases?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Most, yes.
MR. OWENS: Okay. And you did order the blood alcohol test of the decedent in this case, and you said he was a .38?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: No. .139.
MR. OWENS: .138 [sic]?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: And you also ordered the vitreous level of alcohol as well?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: And the result was a .213?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: And you would agree that's about -- that's about three times the legal limit?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Close, yes.
MR. OWENS: Okay. Now, you would agree that at those levels, there are some pharmacologic effects from the ethanol in the body?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: And I know you mentioned some, but you agree that that -- that level of alcohol in the body would impair somebody's judgment?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: For most people, yes.
MR. OWENS: And their decision-making abilities?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: And it would release inhibitions?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: And they would be more apt to take risks that they otherwise would not?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: And, of course, it would impair motor skills and potentially loss of balance?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: It would also impair coordination?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: Hand-eye coordination, as well as fine motor skills?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: It also impairs memory, alcohol does?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: So there are lots of effects that ethanol has on the body?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: Now, you're aware in this case that Jorge Torres, the decedent, stepped into the suitcase under his own power in a game of hide-and-seek?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: That's how it was reported to me, yes.
MR. OWENS: All right. Do you have any evidence to dispute that?
MR. OWENS: Okay. Can you tell us when Mr. Torres drank the last drink he had prior to getting in the suitcase?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: That, I can't tell you, because, you know, if somebody had been drinking either periodically throughout a time period or continually throughout a time period, that's difficult to say.
MR. OWENS: So he could have stopped drinking an hour before he got into the suitcase or five minutes before he got into the suitcase or four hours before he got in the suitcase?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: We just don't know at this point?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Correct.
MR. OWENS: Do you have any idea at the time of the autopsy whether or not he was in the elimination phase of metabolism?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: So he was in the metabolic phase, yes.
MR. OWENS: The elimination phase is what I refer to it as, but...
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: Okay. All right. Now, I want to talk about time of death determination. It's fair to say that you did not go to the scene that day that Mr. Torres was found?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: No. A medicolegal death investigator from our office went to the scene.
MR. OWENS: So there was an investigator with your agency named Ashlee Hammermeister --
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: -- that went to the scene?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: And she would have prepared a report?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: And you would have reviewed that report?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: Do you agree that fire and rescue assessed Mr. Torres at 1:07 p.m. on that date, February 24th of 2020?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: Does that sound about right based on your case file?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: Okay. And so this investigator that we mentioned, she did not arrive on scene until 6:27 p.m. So nearly six hours after the body was discovered, she arrived?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: And the body was laying supine, stretched out?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: In front of the suitcase?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: Now, you examined and assessed the body of Mr. Torres at the time of the autopsy?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: And you said that the body was ambient temperature?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: And is that -- is that the normal air temperature we're in today?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Whichever environment you are in, yes.
MR. OWENS: Okay. So the body was not stored in a cooler for 24 hours?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: No. The body was stored in a cooler, but in the mornings, when we get there, the bodies are brought out of the cooler.
MR. OWENS: Okay. How long had the body been out of the cooler before it was examined by you, do you know?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Most likely an hour to an hour and a half.
MR. OWENS: Now, you said that the lividity was in the back, correct?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: There was lividity in the back, and also on the left side of the body as well.
MR. OWENS: And you agree, the body is stored at the morgue on its back?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Correct.
MR. OWENS: Now, were you aware of the last time that Ms. Boone, my client, actually saw her boyfriend alive or observed him in the video -- in the suitcase via video from her phone?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: I think in the report it was around 12:30 or 1:00 in the morning or somewhere around there.
MR. OWENS: Have you looked at either one of those videos from her phone?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: I briefly saw one that the detective showed me.
MR. OWENS: All right. Do you know if that was the 2-minute video or the 22-second video?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: I believe it was the shorter one.
MR. OWENS: Okay. So would it be fair -- if I said the time last seen was around 11:30, would you dispute that or --
MR. OWENS: Okay. So, really, from the time -- I guess it was 11:30 that evening were the videos and then you understood that the body was found around 12 hours later the next day or so. Would you agree that the death occurred sometime within those two periods of time?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes, I would agree.
MR. OWENS: But we don't know exactly when that is?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: So it would be a guess if we tried to speculate about that?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: Now, considering the 3,000 autopsies, how many cases have you ruled the cause of death as positional or postural asphyxia?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: A handful of times. It's not very common.
MR. OWENS: So about five times or less?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: And we're going to talk about environmental suffocation ina little bit, but let's talk about this positional asphyxia component.
What was your ruling in those five cases that you ruled that it was positional asphyxia? What was your ruling in terms of your diagnosis?
MR. CACCIATORE: Your Honor, I'm going to object as to relevance.
THE COURT: Approach.
(At the bench.)
THE COURT: What's the relevance of those prior findings?
MR. OWENS: I think, number one, she's going to say it's accident, and I think the literature says that the majority of those type of positional asphyxias are accident cases.
THE COURT: So how is that relevant?
MR. OWENS: Well, it just shows that in this type scenario, with this type asphyxia, positional asphyxia, that the majority of the cases are accident.
THE COURT: Okay. You repeated the same thing again. How is that relevant?
MR. OWENS: That's all I've got.
THE COURT: Okay. I'm going to sustain the objection.
(In open court.)
THE COURT: The objection is sustained.
BY MR. OWENS:
MR. OWENS: Doctor, you're familiar with Dr. DiMaio -- Vincent DiMaio's textbook of Forensic Pathology?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: Would you agree that that's authoritative?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: I'm sorry?
MR. OWENS: Would you agree that's authoritative or well-accepted book?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: Environmental suffocation is a lack of oxygen, you would agree?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: Now, how many of those cases of the 3,000 that you've done where you found environmental suffocation?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Probably two to three.
MR. OWENS: Okay. So very few?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: In a positional asphyxia case, that's kind of an example, like, you get stuck in a hole and, as you breathe, you sink deeper into the hole or it tightens?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: It can be anything that impairs the actual physical aspect of breathing. So that could be, if the neck is flexed very much forward and so that way cutting off the air supply up towards the top of the head. That could be something compressing around the torso, so not being able to take a full breath. So those are examples of -- of position.
MR. OWENS: Well, another example may be falling out of a tree stand and getting suspended upside down --
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: -- where the majority of the blood gets in the top half of the body?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: Would you agree, in those type situations, that the deaths occur fairly quickly, usually within an hour?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: It can. It depends, again, on the situation.
MR. OWENS: Now, you said Mr. Torres was five-two and 103 pounds?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: Do you know how big the suitcase was that Mr. Torres was in?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: I don't have the exact measurements with me.
MR. OWENS: So if I told you the measurements, you wouldn't know one way or the other what -- what they were?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: No. I think they were described to me and I saw the pictures from the scene and I was able to review crime scene photos to see what the actual suitcase was like.
MR. OWENS: Okay. Do you know the crown to rump length of Mr. Torres?
MR. OWENS: Did you do any demonstrative study on the suitcase to determine what kind of spacing he would have inside that enclosure?
MR. OWENS: And you don't know the position that Mr. Torres or his orientation at the time that he was in the suitcase was?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Again, I favor a fetal position, but, again, I didn't observe him in the suitcase.
MR. OWENS: Okay. But you don't know exactly what the positional component was that caused -- or what led you to believe caused his death?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Correct. I mean, based on his stature and what the suitcase was, he would have had to have flexed at the hips and knees to be able to fit into the suitcase.
MR. OWENS: So based on what you've said, you would agree you didn't know how much Mr. Torres would have been able to move and stretch his various extremities inside the suitcase, do you?
MR. OWENS: Okay. So you would agree that his repositioning inside the suitcase would have been easier if he -- if he didn't have so much alcohol in his bloodstream?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: I don't know that I would agree with that.
MR. OWENS: Excuse me?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: I don't know that I would agree with that.
MR. OWENS: Well, you say his fine motor skills would be impaired by the alcohol.
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Oh, okay. I'm sorry, I thought you meant his ability to just move.
MR. OWENS: Yeah, to reposition himself inside the -- that would be limited, to some degree, by the alcohol he consumed?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: It could be. I mean, that's not really a fine motor skill.
MR. OWENS: Okay. Or the use of his hands to unzip the suitcase --
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Sure.
MR. OWENS: -- would be affected by the alcohol that he had consumed?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Sure, that could be.
MR. OWENS: Okay. Now, the environmental suffocation deals with a lack of oxygen, correct?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: And due to that insufficient oxygen that we breathe in the air -- so you essentially run out of the oxygen in the space?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: So I guess the -- years ago, how this sometimes would occur was a child would somehow get into an old refrigerator and it would be enclosed, so it was airtight, and eventually you would run out of oxygen?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: You would agree with that?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: And I think you said the normal makeup of air has about 20 percent oxygen?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: So he had either a decrease in the oxygen levels or a low concentration of oxygen in the suitcase?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes, yes.
MR. OWENS: Okay.
SARA ZYDOWICZ: And, also, you know, keep in mind that while he's in there, every time he is exhaling, he's pushing out carbon dioxide, okay? So, again, whatever oxygen is there is most likely diminished because it is an enclosed space. It doesn't have to be no oxygen, but it's decreased from what we would have ina normal room. But every time that he's exhaling, there's more carbon dioxide that's in that space as well, so that displaces any oxygen that might be there too.
MR. OWENS: So what volume of air do we inhale and exhale ina normal breath at rest?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Well, it depends. I mean, you can take a deep breath, you can take a shallow breath. It depends. And then there's also the rate at which people breathe, so that's variable.
MR. OWENS: So if it was average, would you say 500 milliliters, on average?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: It depends on the person.
MR. OWENS: Well, would you agree that at rest, you take a normal number of breaths per minute of 12 to 14?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: That would be considered the normal range, yes.
MR. OWENS: Okay. So 6 to 7 liters per minute at rest?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: Do you know the volume of room air contained in that suitcase?
MR. OWENS: Do you know how porous the fabric of that suitcase was?
MR. OWENS: Did you run any tests on the suitcase?
MR. OWENS: Were you aware that the suitcase, the lock on it or the zipper on it was broken, the pull handles were broken?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes, I did know that.
MR. OWENS: Do you agree, if there is a portion of the zipper that's open, that air can travel in and out of that space?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: Do you know what the anticipated exchange of gases would be through that fabric?
MR. OWENS: Do you know if, you know, the suitcase was out in the rain and it rained, do you know, you know, whether or not rain or the liquid would pierce the interior?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: I don't know.
MR. OWENS: So from what I -- from what I gather, no studies were done on the suitcase?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Not that I'm aware of.
MR. OWENS: Okay. So we don't know, that zipper being busted, what exchange of air could go in and out?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Correct.
MR. OWENS: And I think you said there are physiological effects once the value or percentage of oxygen is decreased from the norm?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: You said 8 to 10 percent, you become unconscious?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: And then a value of less than 8 percent, death occurs?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: For most people, yes.
MR. OWENS: Excuse me?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: For most people.
MR. OWENS: And the normal oxygen saturation in adults and children is 95 to 100 percent?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: So if it decreases -- the oxygen decreases less than 10 percent, someone would lose consciousness and die within less than 30 minutes?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: So that's hard to give a time frame on that. Studies have been done, shown if the oxygen, you know, content is anywhere from 4 to 6, unconsciousness can occur in less than a minute, death within minutes, but those have been empirical studies.
MR. OWENS: So -- and I know that's kind of -- maybe -- you tell me. That's kind of why you gave the -- the two different diagnoses, the environmental and the positional, is because the environmental may have had an affect or the positional may have had an affect, you just -- you're not sure, so you listed them both?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: It's not that I'm not sure. I think that both mechanisms were at play at the same time. And that's not unusual in deaths, is there can be multiple factors occurring at the same time.
MR. OWENS: But you don't know the percentages; 50 percent for one or 70 percent for one, 30 for the other? You don't know?
MR. OWENS: But you would agree, in concert -- if these two causes, the positional, as well as the environmental, if they were acting in concert, that would render a relatively short amount of survival time?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: I can't say.
MR. OWENS: Okay. You just don't know?
MR. OWENS: Now, we talked about these blunt force injuries, correct?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: Okay. Would it be fair to the jury to say that there were no broken bones?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: There were no broken bones.
MR. OWENS: Okay. And it would be fair to say that the blunt force injuries on his body that the jury has seen here today did not contribute to the cause of his death?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Not likely.
MR. OWENS: Okay. And I think you didn't put that anywhere on your report --
MR. OWENS: -- that it did not --
SARA ZYDOWICZ: I included it in my report. I did not include it on the death certificate.
MR. OWENS: As the reason or cause -- contributing cause of the death?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Correct.
MR. OWENS: Okay. Judge, can I put up a couple of those exhibits?
THE COURT: Yes, sir.
BY MR. OWENS:
MR. OWENS: Now, Doctor, are you aware that there was a baseball bat that was gathered into evidence in this case?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: I didn't hear about that until later.
MR. OWENS: When is later? When did you first learn about a potential baseball bat?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: That might have been around the time that I was sitting for a deposition, but I can't quite remember.
MR. OWENS: Do you know when your deposition was taken?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: I don't have the file folder. I don't know when I was deposed.
MR. OWENS: I'm going to show you this exhibit, and this is -- it's number 14. And this composite exhibit is State's Exhibit, I believe, No. 13, and this is picture number 14. Do you see -- do you see the -- you said they were circular-type injuries?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: Okay. And you've seen a regular baseball bat ora kid's baseball bat --
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: -- the wooden bat? And if you were to swing that bat and hit someone, hit somebody's body or hit a suitcase and the blunt force, that would be a linear line across that person, would it not?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: It could be, depending on the position of the body, the position of the suitcase, and the position or how the object came into contact.
MR. OWENS: What does linear -- a linear injury mean?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: So linear injury is if you think, you know, linear, it's more like a line.
MR. OWENS: Okay. Now, if you took the barrel of the bat, the very end of the barrel of the bat, and you poked into the Suitcase with the barrel of that bat, would those spots there in this exhibit, is that consistent?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: That's compatible with that, yes.
MR. OWENS: Excuse me?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: That's compatible.
MR. OWENS: And then here's a closeup. This is picture -- picture number 15. Again, a closeup. Same question, would that be consistent with poking of the suitcase if he's in the suitcase at the time, thrusting the barrel of that bat -- the crown of that bat would potentially make those type of injuries?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes, it's compatible with that.
MR. OWENS: Now, I want to draw your attention to the cardiovascular system. Do you have your report there?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: I do.
MR. OWENS: Okay. You describe, The proximal third of the left interior descending coronary artery having greater than a 75 percent narrowing of the lumen due to a centrically-placed firm yellow/white fibro-lipid atherosclerotic plaque?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: And is that pretty much verbatim of what you said in the report?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: Okay. And that terminology is synonymous with a single vessel high-grade atherosclerotic coronary artery disease?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: Okay. And in that location, it's kind of a classic location for what people refer to as the widowmaker?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: Because of the location in that vessel that supplies most of the circulation to the left ventricle?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: If he had a spasm in that artery, that could nearly totally obstruct the lumen and cause a fatal heart attack, could it not?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: It could. It could cause a dysrhythmia, yes.
MR. OWENS: I'm sorry?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: A dysrhythmia or abnormal beating of the heart.
MR. OWENS: But that could kill him?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: It could.
MR. OWENS: The lumen is the inside space of the tubular structure --
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: -- of that, and so that was blocked over 75 percent?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: It was, but there was no evidence of myocardial scarring. So when the vessels become blocked, you prevent blood from getting to the muscle of the heart. So there was no evidence that there was any scarring. There was no evidence that there was anything that happened acutely. When that happens, we can see changes in the actual muscle of the heart. So there were no changes suggestive of that.
MR. OWENS: Well, let me ask you something. If he were to get out of the suitcase on his own and he would have passed out or fell asleep on the couch and she would have woken up the next day about that time and came down and he was dead on the couch and you did this autopsy, would it be fair to say that in your ruling on cause of death, that that single vessel coronary artery arthrosclerosis would be your probable cause of death?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: It could be, but, you know, any sort of injury overrides natural disease if the injury is significant. So you don't have to be a perfectly healthy person to have trauma and die, so it's very common that we see people that have --
THE COURT: Bless you.
SARA ZYDOWICZ: -- injuries for whatever reason, but also have a lot of natural disease. What we look at is the injuries override the natural disease, because especially atherosclerotic disease, that's -- that's considered long-term, right? So that's been going on for years and years. People walk around with that all the time. So what's different is that we have trauma and so that overrides natural disease. And sometimes natural disease can contribute, but, again, it depends on the individual, it depends on the circumstances.
BY MR. OWENS:
MR. OWENS: So absent the positional asphyxia or the environmental asphyxia and he was dead and you did the autopsy, it would be fair to say that you would -- you would determine this was a natural death from an isolated coronary heart disease, would you not?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: It would depend on the circumstances. I mean, I can speculate on this case because I know what I know about it.
MR. OWENS: But if you had nothing else, the widowmaker would have caused his death; or you would've had to have assumed, having nothing else, that that would have caused his death?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: I most likely would have given him cardiovascular disease.
MR. OWENS: Now, this ethanol metabolism that we talked about earlier, and there was a question about you believing he was in the elimination phase, correct?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: Okay. Is it fair to say that Jorge Torres, the decedent, was in the elimination phase since the blood ethanol was below the vitreous value?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: Given the vitreous value was a 213, is it justified in saying the decedent's blood ethanol level was at least a .213 prior to starting the elimination phase?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: And now you know that the normal elimination rate is, I believe, .015 percent per hour?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: Is that standard?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: It's an estimate.
MR. OWENS: Okay. And so we have a difference of a .138 to the 213, so roughly five hours of elimination. Does that sound about right?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: So in other words, you would agree there's a short interval where the vitreous and the blood are identical?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: And then the blood drops beneath the vitreous value as ethanol is metabolized in the blood?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: So is it fair to say, given the significant difference in the blood and the vitreous ethanol values, that the true vitreous and blood ethanol level had to be much higher than what is reported in your report at the time that he passed?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: At the time that he passed?
MR. OWENS: Yes.
SARA ZYDOWICZ: No. This is reflective at the time that he passed.
MR. OWENS: Say again.
SARA ZYDOWICZ: This is reflective -- the .139, that's reflective of the time that he passed. There's not -- you know, there's not metabolism after death of the alcohol.
MR. OWENS: All right. Well, let me -- what I'm saying is, he could have been -- prior to that time of passing, he could have -- his blood alcohol level would have been much higher?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: It was at least at the same level as the vitreous.
MR. OWENS: At least the 213?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: But could have been much higher?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: It could have been, yes.
MR. OWENS: Judge, if I could approach the witness?
THE COURT: You may.
MR. OWENS: This is Defense Composite Exhibit, for identification, J.
THE COURT: Has the State seen it?
MR. OWENS: Yes.
MR. CACCIATORE: We'd stipulate J into evidence.
THE COURT: All right. What was premarked as Defense J will be received into evidence without objection as Defense 1.
(Defendant's Exhibit No. 1 was received in evidence.)
MR. OWENS: Judge, can I publish these?
THE COURT: You may.
BY MR. OWENS:
MR. OWENS: Matam, there's five photographs. They're just from the autopsy. I want to ask you, the first one is number 5, what does this depict?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: So that's the left hand. So we're looking at the -- at the outer surface of the hand, the knuckles, and then three of the fingers.
MR. OWENS: And you noted that bruise there on the top of his left hand?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: All right. And then the same for picture number 4.
SARA ZYDOWICZ: So that's the same, just a little bit further away and without a scale.
MR. OWENS: And then here is picture number 3.
SARA ZYDOWICZ: So you're looking at the thumb and the index finger.
MR. OWENS: All right. And then it shows some bruising on the hand?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: And here's picture number 2.
SARA ZYDOWICZ: So what you're seeing here is, you know, from the scene, our investigators put brown bags over the decedent's hands, and that's -- we collect evidence at the time of the autopsy. So at the scene, brown bags are put on the hands to preserve any evidence. And so that's why you're seeing this, because this is a picture that we take -- we cut the bag open and we take a picture to show exactly what the hands look like.
MR. OWENS: You agree there's the bruising here on the back of the hand?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: And also up around the knuckle area --
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: -- near the fingers, and also on this section here?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: And then here's the last picture, number 5, which, again, is the left hand?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: Showing the bruising on the top of the hand, as well as the knuckle area?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. OWENS: Thank you, Doctor. That's all.
Thank you.
THE COURT: Any redirect examination?
MR. CACCIATORE: Yes, Your Honor.
THE COURT: You may proceed.
REDIRECT EXAMINATION
BY MR. CACCIATORE:
MR. CACCIATORE: You were asked several questions on cross-examination about the alcohol level in this case, and I believe there was a term metabolic phase or elimination phase. Could you just explain for us what that is?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: sure.
So in the toxicology testing, there's two different levels that I ordered for levels of alcohol. One is they look in the blood to see the level of alcohol. The other is in what's called vitreous fluid or eye fluid. And we look at both areas because that can give us an idea of whether somebody is metabolizing through the alcohol or whether it's still rising. It just gives us an idea sometimes of how close to death they were when, you know, the ingestion of alcohol happened.
But, basically, the level in the eye fluid trails behind what we see in the blood. There will be a small point in time, as we discussed earlier, that they will be almost the same. But if you can just think of it as, the blood alcohol goes up, and then a brief period of time later the alcohol in the eye fluid will -- will start to show. So, again, it's just to give us an idea of whether somebody is metabolizing or whether they're still -- you know, the level is still rising or if they're still, you know, intaking alcohol.
MR. CACCIATORE: So the result in this case was indicative that Jorge Torres' level was coming down?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. CACCIATORE: And I think some of the math was a little bit difficult to -- to follow on the fly, but with that rate of dissipation, would it be fair to say that he would have been in that suitcase for approximately five hours -- because he couldn't be drinking whilst in the suitcase -- that we're seeing this rate decrease between these two levels?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Well, you have to be careful how you interpret it because, you know, the numbers that I have from toxicology testing, that's from one point in time. I mean, that's -- we're collecting those specimens at the time of the autopsy, so that's only one point in time. It's possible, but I can't say for certain. All I can tell you is that, at some point in time, his blood alcohol was at least the higher level that we saw on the vitreous fluid. So if, you know -- and the calculation of the five hours, that's an estimate because, again, everyone is a little bit different, but I think it's reasonable to say five hours, yes, that's at least -- that's within reason to say that.
MR. CACCIATORE: And, obviously, a pretty obvious point, but we don't continue to metabolize alcohol after death?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Correct.
MR. CACCIATORE: You were asked about studies or tests being performed on the suitcase in this case.
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Correct.
MR. CACCIATORE: Would the presence of objects in that suitcase also affect the length of time a person may have survived in that suitcase?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: I guess if there were a lot of other objects in there that maybe could, you know, occlude the mouth or nose or maybe if that means that there's more -- if there's more stuff in the suitcase, there's less room for the person, so I guess.
MR. CACCIATORE: Another variable that would also be present would be the opening of that zipper, would it not?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yes.
MR. CACCIATORE: So if the zipper was further open, potentially more oxygen could be coming into that area. Would that be fair to say?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Yeah. There could be more oxygen coming in, but there's always the question is, you know, there was -- would it be enough? Because you can still have oxygen there, but it may not be enough, again, for kind of the factors that I talked about before.
MR. CACCIATORE: And there would be no way to know exactly how far that zipper was potentially forced opened?
SARA ZYDOWICZ: Correct.
MR. CACCIATORE: I have no further questions.
THE COURT: Can this witness be released?
MR. CACCIATORE: Yes, Your Honor.
MR. OWENS: Yes, Judge.
THE COURT: All right. Thank you, ma'am.
(Witness excused.)
THE COURT: Can the parties approach for a moment?
(At the bench.)
THE COURT: Where are we in the State's case, presentation perspective?
MR. CACCIATORE: We have two witnesses on deck. I would imagine Ms. McCaskill would be the shorter of the two witnesses. We also have Ms. Uadan whose testimony I think is going to be a little longer. I'll leave it to Mr. Jay, he's handling those witnesses, as to affixing a time frame.
THE COURT: Well, the reason I'm asking is it's 11:00. I don't know if we want to take our mid-morning break at this point in time. And then with the late start, we didn't start until approximately 9:45, I'm on board with working a little bit later this morning.
MR. JAY: We can ask them if they need a break, otherwise we're ready to do two more witnesses before the lunch break.
THE COURT: Perfect. Okay. Very good.
(In open court.)
THE COURT: Members of the jury, it's 11:01. We did get a bit of a later start this morning due to security issues. Do any of you-all need to take a break at this point in time? Raise your hands if you do.
All right. Court seeing no hands.
State, you may call your next witness.
MR. CACCIATORE: Your Honor, may we approach one more moment?
THE COURT: Yes.