Like a contestant awaiting the judges' scores on Dancing with the Stars.
After lunch, Galveston County Medical Examiner Sanjay Sanjeev took the stand. Dr. Sanjeev appeared unaffected by the cameras; he wore a rumpled cotton suit, a blue shirt, and a black tie loosened at his neck. He was a board-certified pathologist, and he testified from his notes like an old med school professor teaching a class.
He had arrived at the crime scene at just after 5:00 A.M. on Friday, June 5th. The deceased was "found dead." He pronounced Trey Rawlins dead at 5:15 A.M. He observed the body on the bed and the knife in the body. His death investigator took photos of the body in situ. The body was then removed from the scene under his supervision at approximately 8:00 A.M. without removal of the knife. The body was transported to the medical examiner's office where he conducted a complete autopsy later that morning. It was his medical opinion that Trey Rawlins had died from a sharp force injury to the chest, that is, a stab wound that severed his descending aorta resulting in a sudden and massive blood loss; that he was alive at the time he was stabbed; that time of death was between midnight and 3:00 A.M. on Friday, June 5th; that manner of death was homicide. The Assistant D.A. did not show the autopsy photos to the jury.
Karen handed the autopsy report to Bobby. He stood.
"Dr. Sanjeev, you conducted a complete autopsy of Trey Rawlins' body, correct?"
"Yes. I performed an external examination, an internal examination, toxicology, and microscopics."
"What did you find on your external examination?"
"The deceased was a well-nourished white male, well-developed musculature, seventy-two inches tall, one hundred eighty pounds, age-appropriate, blond hair, no scars, no tattoos. The body was unclothed."
"Did you find any evidence that Mr. Rawlins had recently engaged in a physical confrontation? A fight?"
"Yes. There was bruising on his upper body indicating that he had been grabbed forcefully, there were scratch marks on his upper arms and shoulders, and his upper lip was swollen and blood vessels inside had been broken."
"As if someone had recently hit him in the mouth?"
"Yes."
"Dr. Sanjeev, was sand recovered from the body of Trey Rawlins?"
"Yes, it was."
"From what part of the body?"
"The backside. In his hair, on his back, in his buttocks."
"Indicating that Mr. Rawlins had lain in the sand recently and prior to his death?"
"Yes."
"What did you do with the sand?"
"Bagged it, gave it to the criminologist. It's in the inventory."
"Other than the bruises and abrasions on the body-and the knife embedded in the body, of course-were than any other remarkable findings?"
"Yes."
"And what was that?"
"I found cocaine particles in the nostrils."
"Indicating recent use?"
"Yes."
"You then removed the knife from the body?"
"No. I first X-rayed the body in its entirety then clipped each fingernail and toenail."
"Did you find anything?"
"No. I then examined the body with a forensic light, but that was of no value as the skin surface was saturated with his own blood. I took samples of the external blood and oral and rectal swabs and hair samples, head and pubic. I then took fingerprints and DNA samples."
"Did you find anyone else's blood on the body?"
"No."
"Did you then remove the knife?"
"Yes. The knife handle was first bagged then the blade retracted from the body. It was photographed and measured then placed in an evidence bag and delivered to the criminologist who was attending the autopsy. There had been no medical intervention."
"Which means?"
"The deceased had not been administered medical treatment for the stab wound in an effort to save his life. So the wound was unaltered."
"Would you please describe the wound?"
"The wound was located approximately nineteen centimeters above the navel and measured four centimeters in width and extended almost through the entirety of the body. It was a fatal wound."
"Did you then conduct an internal examination?"
"Yes. I removed and examined and took tissue samples from all major organs and glands. I collected and examined the gastric contents and peripheral blood for a tox screen."
"And did the screen come back with any positives?"
"Yes. For alcohol and cocaine. So I collected liver and kidney tissue for follow-up tests. The deceased's blood alcohol level was point-two-six and there was cocaine in his system, six hundred nanograms per milliliter."
"Indicating that Mr. Rawlins had drunk a significant amount of alcohol and ingested cocaine immediately prior to his death?"
"Yes."
"Thank you, Dr. Sanjeev."
During a short recess, the D.A. stepped over to Scott and said, "Sanjay, he's a bit dry. Someone dies in a house fire, he calls it a 'thermal event.' "
Outside, Renee was interviewing Dr. Sanjeev.
After the recess, the county criminologist, Herman Deeks, thirty-five, took the stand. He looked nothing like the cool crime scene guys on CSI Miami. He looked more like the guy working behind the counter at the neighborhood video store. He had arrived directly from a murder scene in shirt sleeves. The judge gave him a hard look then said, "Mr. Deeks, is that blood on your shirt?"
"What?" Deeks checked his shirt. "Oh, yeah. Nasty crime scene on the mainland, shotgun to the head. Blood splatter was pretty spectacular and-"
"Thank you."
Deeks testified on direct about his collection of evidence from the crime scene and from the body at the autopsy. He collected fingerprints from the murder weapon; fingerprints, handprints, and footprints in the bedroom, the outside deck, and elsewhere in the residence; blood samples from the victim and the defendant and from the scene; clothing worn by the defendant; bedding; sand from the bed and floor; sand and DNA from the defendant's underwear; hair from the victim, the defendant, and unidentified blond hair from the victim's closet.
Bobby stood and asked, "Mr. Deeks, you were just at a murder scene?"
"Yes."
"Did you wear latex gloves while processing the scene?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"So I didn't get blood on my hands."
"And so you didn't leave your fingerprints on the evidence?"
"Yes."
"And so you didn't disturb fingerprints already on the evidence?"
"Yes."
"Did you wear latex gloves at the Rawlins crime scene?"
"Yes."
"Mr. Deeks, what did you do with the prints you collected?"
"Sent them to the DPS lab."
"Were any prints found that did not belong to either the victim or the defendant?"
"Yes. I found prints that belonged to Rosie Gonzales and three sets of unidentified prints-one set on the island counter in the kitchen, another on the headboard of the bed in the master suite, and another on the mirror in the master closet."
"Have you subsequently identified those prints?"
"I have not. I turned the file over to Hank Kowalski, the district attorney's investigator. I understand that he followed up on those prints."
"Mr. Deeks, you examined and photographed Ms. Fenney that night, correct?"
"Yes."
"Did you find any evidence that Ms. Fenney had engaged in a recent physical struggle?"
"No."
"Did you find any skin tissue under her fingernails?"
"No."
"Did you find any bruises or abrasions on her knuckles indicating that she had recently hit someone?"
"No."
"What was the form of the DNA collected from Ms. Fenney's underwear?"
"Semen."
"And to whom did that belong?"
"The victim. Trey Rawlins."
"Indicating recent sexual intercourse?"
"Yes."
"And was sand recovered from Ms. Fenney's underwear?"
"Yes."