Page 9 of The 1 Lawyer

“Yes, I did.”

“What injuries, if any, did you notice on the exterior of the body?”

“Aside from postmortem injuries that occurred when the body was submerged in water, I observed a gunshot wound on her chest and marked fingertip bruises on and around her neck.”

“Is it possible to tell if the gunshot wound was an entrance wound or an exit wound?”

“It is. The entrance wound was in the center of her chest.”

“Doctor, I’d like you to explain to the jury the significance of the fingertip bruises.”

“They are consistent with strangulation, someone using their hands to forcibly choke the victim.”

“Dr. Ellis, regarding the gunshot wound—please describe the path of the bullet through her body.”

Ellis walked the jury through it. As a witness, he was wooden, but he got the point across. And there were more photos—the entrance wound, the exit wound, the bruises circling the neck. One close-up of the neck displayed the bruises so vividly that the killer’s grip was apparent even to the untrained eye.

“Did you observe other injuries during the external exam?”

“I observed genital injury—abrasions and bruises in the genitals and a laceration in the vagina. Upon discovering the injuries, I took forensic samples and preserved them.”

“Doctor, tell the jury what this forensic medical examination is commonly called.”

“It’s called a rape kit.”

The jury understood the significance of that response. A female juror in her forties closed her eyes and bowed her head. The stuffy medical examiner was a star witness in this trial. And Gordon-James wasn’t done with him, not by a long shot.

“Doctor, did you perform an internal examination of the body of Aurora Gates?”

“I did.”

“What were the findings of the internal examination?”

Ellis didn’t answer immediately. From the stand, he looked past Gordon-James and stared at the defense table, first focusing on Daniel Caro and then shifting his gaze to me. Then he swiveled his chair slightly toward the jury and addressed them directly.

“At the time of her death, Aurora Gates was pregnant.”

CHAPTER 8

IF THE prosecution had concluded questioning at that point, I could have jumped into the fray and used the cross to redirect the jurors’ thoughts. But the direct exam went on.

The medical examiner said, “I found the fetus during the internal examination when I performed an internal pelvic dissection. I removed the pelvic organs and inspected them.”

Gordon-James nodded. “Describe the fetus, Dr. Ellis.”

“It was fully formed, about two and one-half inches in length. It weighed half an ounce. I estimate that it was at approximately twelve weeks gestation.”

As the testimony continued, my eyes slid to the jury box. The jurors were hanging on his every word; several of them were literally sitting on the edge of their seats. I glanced surreptitiously at my client. I wished that Caro would display some compassion or concern, but he just sat there, unemotional and aloof, looking unaffected by the revelations coming from the witness stand.

Gordon-James said, “Based on your experience and training, do you have an opinion to a degree of medical certainty as to the cause of death of Aurora Gates?”

“I do.”

“What is that opinion?”

“Aurora Gates died of the gunshot wound to the chest. It injured one lung and the aorta and also the superior vena cava, the large vein that carries blood from the head and upper body to the heart.”

“Doctor, you have testified that you also observed bruises around the victim’s neck. Can you describe those further?”

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