 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Hall v. State8/22/2005
him as the person who had investigated the burning of her car on April 6, 1991. The victim told Commander Atchley that the same person was responsible for both incidents. Commander Atchley recovered a melted plastic container next to the driver's side of the victim's car, and a tupperware lid, which was not as badly melted, near the car.
The victim was taken to Erlanger Hospital where she was treated by Dr. Sonya Merriman, a plastic surgeon and burn specialist. Describing the victim's condition, Dr. Merriman stated, "She had a 95 percent, what we call a total body surface area burn, 95 percent of her body was burned, and all but about two to three percent of that was third degree burns." The victim's teeth were charred, and the hair was burned off her body. Based upon the consistency and uniformity of the burns over the victim's entire body, except the soles of her feet, Dr. Merriman opined that the victim's body had been doused with gasoline, rather than splattered or splashed. Although Dr. Merriman had treated nearly one hundred burn cases, she had never seen a worse or more uniform pattern of burning on an individual.
The victim was treated with intravenous fluids and incisions in her body designed to allow tissue expansion. Nonetheless, the victim's condition deteriorated. Her tongue swelled until it protruded from her mouth, and her eyelids became inverted from the swelling. Despite the gravity and extent of her injuries, however, Dr. Merriman testified that the victim remained conscious. She was also in constant pain. According to Dr. Merriman, the medication administered to the victim would not have been strong enough to alleviate her pain, and the victim did not sleep for long periods of time or lose consciousness until just before her death. The victim, according to Dr. Merriman, sustained an unsurvivable burn from which there was never any chance of recovery.
Ed Forester, an investigator with the Arson Division of the Chattanooga Police Department, examined the victim's car after both the April 6 and April 16 fires. His investigation of the April 6 fire revealed that an accelerant had been poured around the exterior edges of the car which melted the fenders and bumpers. A yellow plastic jug found at the scene tested positive for gasoline. Forester obtained an arrest warrant for the defendant based, in part, upon the statements of the victim's uncle.
Forester testified that the vehicle burned on April 6 was the same automobile involved in the fire on April 16, 1991. The most extensive damage resulting from the fire on April 16 was to the driver's side of the car. The metal was discolored; the roof sagged; and the seat springs were weakened. The glass on the passenger side was fire and carbon stained; however, glass found on the driver's side had no such markings. The lack of fire or carbon staining indicated that the glass on the driver's side had been broken out before the fire was started. A melted plastic container was found near the open driver's door of the victim's vehicle. The victim's socks, shoes, and clothing remains were recovered and later tested positive for the presence of gasoline. Car keys were found some thirty feet away from the victim's car.
Mike Donnelly, an arson investigator with the State of Tennessee Fire Marshall's Office, also examined the victim's car. He found evidence of three separate fires to the car. Based upon the extent of damage, Donnelly opined that the April 16 fire had been started on the driver's side of the vehicle. Based upon his examination of the car and his review of photographs of the victim, Donnelly testified that gasoline had been poured directly onto the victim.
Testifying for the defe
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 Tennessee Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|