NORWICH – Twelve-year-old baby sitter Shyanne Somers died within minutes after being hit by a truck in July 2007, according to the expert testimony of a medical examiner.
Forensic Pathologist Dr. James Terzian, who performed the autopsy on Somers, testified for the prosecution in the second degree murder trial of George Ford Jr. Tuesday, saying the girl suffered from massive blunt force injuries, breaking numerous bones, rupturing internal organs and even fracturing her skull. Although the injuries would have rendered Somers unconscious, Terzian said stress damage found inside her heart and chest cavity indicated the moment of death took place minutes after the initial impact.
“She had stress hemorrhages in the heart, and those take a few minutes to develop,” Terzian said.
During direct examination by District Attorney Joseph A. McBride, Terzian also said he found fluid in Shyanne’s eyes that tested “weakly positive” for THC, the active chemical in marijuana.
However, on cross-examination by defense attorney Randel Scharf, Terzian said blood and urine tests later performed on the victim came back negative for the substance.
The pathologist said he administered a “rape kit” on the victim, which later was found to be negative. He said he found no evidence of trauma from any sexual activity.
Readings taken from Somers’ body at Chenango Memorial Hospital led Terzian to estimate that the girl’s time of death was “somewhere between midnight and 4 a.m.,” he said.
Ford, 43, of Piscataway, N.J., is charged with the July 2007 second degree murder of the Otselic girl. Ford arrived at Chenango Memorial Hospital with the victim’s body at 4:40 a.m., claiming he accidentally ran over the girl four hours earlier, while turning his truck around on Will Warner Road in the Town of Otselic. Ford told police he was upset over the scene and became disoriented on his way to the hospital, causing the journey to take over four hours. Police initially charged Ford with first degree reckless endangerment.
Sheriff’s investigators later discovered a GPS tracking system inside the truck that recorded Ford’s travels on the night in question. Police claim the GPS showed the vehicle arriving at the scene of Somers’ death at 3:03 a.m. and in the three hours prior to that, it was parked behind a vacant home a half-mile from where she was killed. They say the device then shows the truck traveling on a number of back roads and past the hospital.
New York State Police Investigator Aaron J. Lewis, an accident reconstruction expert, said evidence at the Town of Otselic scene supported the GPS information more than the scenario Ford gave investigators. According to Ford, he was heading west, up a hill on the road, while the GPS evidence played in court showed him coming down it.
Lewis said he examined Ford’s vehicle and tire marks at the scene.
“In my opinion, the victim was struck while the vehicle was going down the hill based on the direction of the blood on the road and the damage done to the embankment,” said Lewis.
The investigator also added that debris and tissue was found on the driver’s side of the truck, showing that it went off the road to the left. He explained that if Ford had been going up the hill, he would have had to swerve to the right, based on where the damage to the embankment was found, and hit the victim with his passenger side instead.
Lewis also aided in the search of Ford’s truck, which included the discovery of a bag of marijuana, M80 fire crackers and several other items.
Under cross-examination by Scharf, Lewis said, “I can’t tell you directionality of the marks,” referring to the scene where a number of scuff marks covered the road.
When asked by Scharf if he had any conclusion about Somers’ manner of death, Lewis responded, “I don’t know what it was other than the victim was struck going down hill.”
New York State Police Forensic Scientist Urfan Mukhtar said he found DNA from Ford, Shyanne and an unidentified female in a sample cut from Ford’s pants. Mukhtar said it was not usual to find traces of semen on a man’s pants.
Investigators took blood and semen samples from a number of locations in Ford’s truck, the scene, victim’s and defendant’s clothes. Scharf said the during the course of the accident, Ford moved the girl’s body into his truck, dripping blood on himself and the vehicle and that none of findings indicated anything suspicious.
Mukhtar also confirmed that a syringe found at the abandoned seasonal home had blood on it that belonged to Ford.
Both of Shyanne’s parents, James and Kathryn Somers, along with Ford’s wife Cindy, have been at the courthouse every day of the proceedings. The three spend the days sitting in the building’s jury room and have been prevented from being in the courtroom because Scharf said he may call them as witnesses. James Somers and Cindy Ford were among the first witnesses called in the case last week. Cindy said she had served George Ford Jr. divorce papers and was waiting for them to be returned.
McBride said he expected to rest the prosecution case by noon Wednesday. Ford has waived his right to a jury trial, electing instead to have the verdict decided solely by Broome County Judge Joseph F. Cawley. Ford is currently being held at the Chenango County Correctional Facility without bail. If convicted of second degree murder, he could face a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in state prison.