Good afternoon, everyone. This intro will be a quickie — life interruptus. The morning started with Judge Cahill questioning one juror without audio/video. Presumably from the press pool who were also present, the juror received a text from her mother about the defense and the judge asked if he/she were planning on writing a book about the case. It seems the juror satisfied judge that it wasn’t grounds for dismissal from jury. There are 2 alternates.
This morning’s expert witness was Dr. Lindsey Thomas, forensic pathologist. She had great presentation on top of her impressive expertise. Dr. Thomas built very well on Dr. Martin Tobin’s testimony yesterday. Her importance is that she addressed the autopsy report. What the media has repeated is that the autopsy report is at odds with the prosecution’s position. Her testimony put that to rest but we’ll see what happens. Dr. Thomas knows the medical examiner, Dr. Baker very well — he was an intern under her instruction years ago. They are still friends. She hasn’t discussed the case with him.
Defense Attorney Nelson spent most of his time on drugs, heart conditions, and confusing the witness. Dr. Thomas wasn’t off-putting or arrogant but seemed to be dealing with a particularly dull student or a reporter from Fox. Prosecutor Blackwell cleaned up the mess.
Afternoon witness is Dr. Andrew Baker, Hennepin County Medical Examiner.
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