Presumption Of Death

“Please summarize the autopsy findings for the court.”

“Certainly. The most conspicuous feature presenting externally was massive flame burns over about eighty percent of the skin. The burns penetrated very deeply into underlying musculature and internal organs in places. As I noted, this made it impossible at first to determine ethnicity, weight, nourishment, or age. We were able to tell that the body was that of a male over six feet in height. Almost all the clothing was burned away. However, we had an immediate break. As we turned over the body I noted that the posterior side had not been burned.”

“Go on.”

“The body, when I first saw it, was on its left side with the arms drawn up in a pugilistic attitude, common in burn victims. However, Monterey County sheriffs reported that when found on the mountain, the decedent lay on his back in that position. There had been a fire that had passed over him, but it didn’t burn the body so severely that it could get to the back. Therefore, when we turned it over, we saw clothing and skin. I was then able to identify the decedent as a young male, probably Hispanic, no particular identifying marks on the skin. He wore the remains of an army camouflage jacket, a white T-shirt, and jeans. Also the remains of a pair of steel-shanked boots were still on the feet. Around the waist, under the jacket, we found the remains of a black leather belt with silver conchos attached.”

“What kind of condition was this belt in?”

“In the back, good condition. There were six conchos still attached in back. In the front, the belt was burned but was still in one piece. There were four conchos, and two more were missing. CVPD did not locate those in the vicinity.”

Salas, Nina, and Jaime all scribbled a note.

“What else could you determine from the exterior of the body?”

“The hair in front had burned away. However, in back there remained hair on the scalp that was long and black. No scars, tattoos, moles in back. In front, impossible to determine. You have the autopsy photos, correct?”

“Yes, thank you, they are in evidence by stipulation. What did you do after this initial evaluation?”

“We attempted to take fingerprints, without success. We also took photos for identification. I then began a detailed examination of the body. Charring from direct contact with flames was extensive in front. We are talking about fourth-degree burns, which are incinerating injuries extending deeper than the skin. In general, however, the skin was burned away in front, with muscle exposed and ruptured. Unburned skin had a seared and leathery consistency. There was a partial skeletonization of the face due to soft tissue being burned away. Portions of the outer table of the skull had fallen away in the right frontal region.”

“And the clothing had been destroyed in front?”

“The camouflage jacket was made of cotton, which transmits more thermal energy than polyester, and provided almost no protection. The undershorts were of polyester, which protected the genitalia to some extent.”

“Which is how you knew immediately it was a male.” Paul was grimacing.

“Yes. Our dental consultant came in at that point and prepared a dental chart and took X rays of the remaining teeth to attempt to identify the body. When he was finished, I began examining the skull area. I observed some heat fractures on the skull.”

“What else, if anything, did you observe with regard to the skull?” Jaime said.

“I observed a severe linear skull fracture in the parietal area, obviously an impact injury. The fracture was several inches long and the skull had been slightly deformed by the impact of the object. I took photographs and called Detective Crockett to see if any objects near the body had been collected that might have been impact objects. Detective Crockett brought over a Canon camera with the remains of a long strap, a surprisingly heavy camera. I tried fitting it in various ways and found that the base fit the injury. At first I was puzzled because even though it was heavy I wondered how hitting the skull with a camera in your hand could cause such a severe injury. Then I tried swinging the camera by a portion of the strap. This added considerable impact velocity.”

“And what, if anything, did you conclude regarding-”

“Before I could come to any conclusions I completed the autopsy, including weighing and examining the internal organs. I was interested in the possibility of carbon-monoxide poisoning, what is sometimes referred to as smoke-inhalation injury, but the skin in back didn’t exhibit the cherry-red coloration I would expect and the subsequent lab tests confirmed there was very little CO in the blood. I also checked very carefully for soot around the nostril and in the trachea. There were only traces.”

Dr. Rittenhauer sat back. Her face said, There you have it.

Jaime said, “Those were your major findings?”

“Yes. I can go into much more detail if you have particular questions.”

“I think we have enough of a factual basis. I would now like to ask you some of the conclusions you may have come to pursuant to the autopsy.”

“Very well.”

“Could you identify the body?”

“Not as a result of the autopsy. I was informed that a report had been made of a missing person and for the first two days was working on the assumption that the victim might be Mr. Whitefeather. Apparently the shoes were a match to Doc Martens Mr. Whitefeather was known to wear. However, the next day, I believe it was, the uncle of the victim came in. He was able to make the identification based on the remains of the camouflage jacket, the concho belt, the long hair, the general build and height, the color of skin in back, and other factors.”

“And that identification was?”

“That the victim’s name was Daniel Cervantes.”

“All right. Could you determine whether the victim was alive at the time of the fire?”

“That’s difficult. It’s hard to tell if burning occurred before or after. There was no inflammatory reaction, which might tend toward an assumption that the burns took place after death. I would expect soot and perhaps some evidence of internal burns to be found around the breathing passages if the person was breathing at the time of the burn and for the CO level to be higher. I therefore concluded that the burns occurred postmortem.”

“What, in your opinion, was the immediate cause of death?”

“A skull fracture caused by blunt-force trauma.”

“Nothing further. Thank you, Doctor.”

The Court took its afternoon recess. “You had a call from Megan Ballard,” Sandy told Nina from the office. “She says it’s very urgent. She wants a consultation.”

“What about?”

“She won’t go into it.”

“I’ll give her a call after court. Call her back and let her know.”

“Okay. I checked the hospital. Britta Cowan is conscious.”

Nina put her hand over the receiver. “Paul, Britta’s awake. Can you try to go and see her?”

“You don’t need me this afternoon?”

“I’ll bring you up to date tonight at di

“Okay. I’ll go over there right now.”

“Sandy, call David Cowan and see if Britta has said anything to him about who struck her.”

“Will do.”

“Anything else happening?”

“A couple of German tourists got into a fight at the Hog’s Breath. They knocked over a couple of tables. The cops came.”

“Stay with it.”

“I’ll be here.”

Nina returned to court without Paul, already missing his comforting presence.

“Your witness,” Judge Salas said. Dr. Rittenhauer had already taken her seat.

“Doctor, isn’t it true that no fingerprints were found on the camera?” Crockett had told her that in the begi

“Not immediately,” Dr. Rittenhauer answered. “However, I just heard from Detective Crockett this morning. There was in fact one fingerprint found. Fortunately, the camera was found partly under the body, where a portion of the lens was protected from the flames.”