Dr. Lilly met the defendant the day after Eleanor was admitted and spoke with him almost every day until she died. Dr. Lilly was present when the defendant presented a power of attorney and advance directive to the patient as she sat propped up in her bed. Others were present, including Dr. Connor Wilkes. Dr. Lilly viewed the situation as unusual, but the defendant did a thorough job of explaining the necessity of the documents and, more important, making sure Eleanor understood what she was doing. At no time did Dr. Lilly feel as though Eleanor was being unduly pressured or taken advantage of. However, given the situation, it was obvious she was being advised by her attorney, the defendant.
Earlier, in a private conversation in the hallway, the defendant had admitted to Dr. Lilly that he felt uncomfortable having control over the patient’s medical directives, but there was simply no one else to do so. No family, no friends.
As her condition deteriorated, the defendant was close by and appeared deeply concerned with what was happening. The patient was placed on a ventilator, as she could not breathe on her own. During her last twenty-four hours, Dr. Lilly, Dr. Wilkes, and two other doctors, along with the defendant, met to discuss their options. Mr. Latch was adamant that he would not make the decision to terminate care. He said it was a medical decision. Once they were unable to detect activity in the brain, Dr. Lilly decided to remove the ventilator. The defendant agreed, but once again said it was a medical decision. The patient died ninety minutes later. Dr. Lilly and his staff were of the unanimous opinion that she had died of acute viral pneumonia. At no time did they suspect the patient had been poisoned.
During a lengthy and methodical cross-examination, Raymond slowly walked the doctor through the last two days of Eleanor’s treatment, and repeatedly drove home the point that Simon Latch had been reluctant to take part in the conversations about her care. He was obviously troubled by what was happening and felt out of place.
When Dr. Lilly was excused and walked out of the courtroom, Simon and Raymond knew his testimony could not have been better.
The next expert was Dr. Dendra Brock, the longtime medical examiner for the Commonwealth. She was a highly respected pathologist with thousands of autopsies under her belt. She had taught, lectured here and there, and published dozens of articles, even a book. An impressive résumé. As Cora began the stock questions to establish her preeminence in the field, Raymond stood with a smile and said, “Your Honor, if I may interrupt. The defense is perfectly willing to stipulate that Dr. Brock is more than qualified as an expert in her field. Indeed, we feel honored to have her in Virginia and are grateful for her long record of outstanding public service.”
Ms. Cook nodded and smiled at Raymond. Judge Shyam smiled at both and said, “Very well, Dr. Brock is hereby qualified as an expert in the field of forensic pathology. You may proceed.”
In a Q&A that was obviously well rehearsed, Ms. Cook and Dr. Brock went back and forth to establish the groundwork for the autopsy of Eleanor Barnett. Her body arrived from Braxton on December 31 and was kept in the freezer until Monday, January 4, the day Dr. Brock performed the autopsy. She had been advised by Detective Roger Barr that there was a possibility of poisoning, and she explained in layman’s terms how important this was to her work. There were no external signs of a crime, though the body was badly bruised. At first glance, she knew the bruises were several days old and not related to whatever caused her death. She read Dr. Lilly’s notes and knew the deceased had been in an automobile accident.
It was standard procedure to video and photograph each autopsy. Eleanor’s lasted for two hours and ten minutes. Simon and Raymond had watched it in his office, with Simon barely keeping it together. He swore he would never watch another one.
Raymond stood again and said, “May it please the court, we are stipulating that Eleanor Barnett died not from pneumonia but from acute toxic poisoning. We have never denied this, not denying it now. It is simply not necessary to drag this jury through the details of the autopsy. We know how she died. We know the cause of death.”
Judge Shyam agreed and said, “How in-depth do you plan to go, Ms. Cook?”
“Well, Your Honor, we want the jury to get a clear picture of what caused her death.”
“But the defense is stipulating that the cause of death was acute toxic poisoning.”
“Just some background, Your Honor, if I may.”
“We will proceed slowly.”
Raymond sat down, but was on the edge of his seat, ready for more objections.
Dr. Brock had testified many times and was completely at ease. She knew her stuff and connected with the jurors by avoiding most of the medical jargon. Working with two assistants, she had begun the autopsy by draining the bladder and collecting urine samples. She drained the blood. The deceased had eaten very little but she was able to retrieve about 11 grams of ingested food. One sample was large enough to be dissected, and it was composed of bleached flour, white sugar, processed ginger root, and molasses. As Cora was preparing to flash on the screen a photo of the remains of the cookie, Raymond stood and, quite exasperated, said, “Your Honor, really? Do we need to subject the jurors to viewing this?”
“No. Sustained. We get the picture, Ms. Cook, please move along.”
The urine and blood contained moderate levels of an unusual substance, later identified as thallium. Dr. Brock compared specimens of urine and blood taken from the corpse with those taken upon admission to the hospital, to prove the thallium was ingested while the deceased was a patient. On the screen opposite the jurors, Ms. Cook projected a color photograph of the liver on a lab plate, all two pounds, thirteen ounces of it. The average weight of a human liver is 3.3 pounds, but it varies, Dr. Brock casually explained to the jury. It was generally pink in color, but around the left side there were darker blotches, clear signs, to her anyway, that the liver had been heavily damaged. Next to it, Ms. Cook projected an image of a healthy liver, no splotches. Much like an expert chatting with students, Dr. Brock explained that the liver is where the body metabolizes most drugs and toxicants; thus, they are concentrated there.
While watching the video of the autopsy two weeks earlier, Simon could almost feel a pain in his own liver, and vowed again to cut back on the bourbon.
Other bright color photos followed: microscopic images of liver tissues from both a once-healthy person and from the deceased; the right kidney, weighing in at 1.6 pounds and showing darkened areas that, at least in her opinion, proved irreversible damage due to toxins; slides of kidney tissues; then on to the gallbladder with the spleen on deck.
After an hour of gawking at Eleanor’s organs, the jurors had had enough. Raymond stood again, even more exasperated, and said, “Please, Your Honor, we’re trying to stipulate to the obvious here. Ms. Barnett died of toxic poisoning. Someone poisoned her. The problem is that the Commonwealth has the wrong defendant.”
If he sounded like a broken record, it was intentional. Say something over and over and eventually folks will start to believe it. Ms. Cook was tired of the self-serving nature of Raymond’s objections and snapped, “Oh, we have the right defendant, Your Honor.”
“Please, please,” Judge Shyam said, both hands in the air. “How much longer with this witness?”
Ms. Cook lost her cool and said, “Oh, I don’t know, Judge. I didn’t realize we had a time limit.”
“There is no time limit, Ms. Cook. It’s just that you have proven what needs to be proven with this witness, and the defense has agreed. Can we please move along?”
“Certainly.”