Pathologist testifies: death by asphyxiation
NORWICH – Only three testified Thursday as the sixth day of testimony in the third murder trial of Peter Wlasiuk continues.
Wlasiuk has twice been convicted of second degree murder, accused of killing his wife, Patricia, at the couple’s Oxford home. The Chenango County District Attorney’s Office alleges that Wlasiuk then engineered a Guilford Lake truck accident to cover up the crime. Both convictions have been successfully appealed in 2006 and 2011, respectively.
Forensic pathologist Dr. James Terzian, of Binghamton, took the stand for the majority of yesterday’s testimony, offering the jury a detailed description of the multiple injuries sustained by Patricia the night of her death.
Terzian’s determination as to the cause of Patricia’s death: Asphyxiation by smothering.
According to Terzian, the autopsy he performed on Patricia showed numerous injuries, including multiple scrapes to her right eyebrow, bruising on her upper lip, kneecap and lower back, bleeding on the inside of her lip, multiple scrapes to her chin, severe bruising below her left earlobe and right shoulder, a scrape on her left shoulder and right kneecap, scrapes on the right hand side of the upper back, a red contusion on the right hip on the backside, and blood out of the left ear.
Photographs of those injuries were presented to the jury yesterday – the first time jurors have had a chance to see the alleged murder victim. Patricia’s fractured sternum – caused by “aggressive” CPR, according to defense attorney Mark Loughran – most likely occurred while Patricia was alive, testified Terzian. According to the forensic pathologist, Patricia did not die in an automobile accident and did not drown, but instead was a victim of homicide. Burdocks in Patricia’s hair and on her clothes, as well as the injuries she sustained, led Terzian to that conclusion, he said.
According to the prosecution, there are no burdocks in the area around – or in – Guilford Lake. Additional evidence submitted by District Attorney Joseph McBride included a burdock branch taken from the Wlasiuks’ Oxford residence, one that allegedly has strands of Patricia’s hair tangled in it.
The jury was excused at approximately 3:30 p.m. Thursday and will not return until 9 a.m. Monday. More details will appear in Monday’s Evening Sun.
Wlasiuk has twice been convicted of second degree murder, accused of killing his wife, Patricia, at the couple’s Oxford home. The Chenango County District Attorney’s Office alleges that Wlasiuk then engineered a Guilford Lake truck accident to cover up the crime. Both convictions have been successfully appealed in 2006 and 2011, respectively.
Forensic pathologist Dr. James Terzian, of Binghamton, took the stand for the majority of yesterday’s testimony, offering the jury a detailed description of the multiple injuries sustained by Patricia the night of her death.
Terzian’s determination as to the cause of Patricia’s death: Asphyxiation by smothering.
According to Terzian, the autopsy he performed on Patricia showed numerous injuries, including multiple scrapes to her right eyebrow, bruising on her upper lip, kneecap and lower back, bleeding on the inside of her lip, multiple scrapes to her chin, severe bruising below her left earlobe and right shoulder, a scrape on her left shoulder and right kneecap, scrapes on the right hand side of the upper back, a red contusion on the right hip on the backside, and blood out of the left ear.
Photographs of those injuries were presented to the jury yesterday – the first time jurors have had a chance to see the alleged murder victim. Patricia’s fractured sternum – caused by “aggressive” CPR, according to defense attorney Mark Loughran – most likely occurred while Patricia was alive, testified Terzian. According to the forensic pathologist, Patricia did not die in an automobile accident and did not drown, but instead was a victim of homicide. Burdocks in Patricia’s hair and on her clothes, as well as the injuries she sustained, led Terzian to that conclusion, he said.
According to the prosecution, there are no burdocks in the area around – or in – Guilford Lake. Additional evidence submitted by District Attorney Joseph McBride included a burdock branch taken from the Wlasiuks’ Oxford residence, one that allegedly has strands of Patricia’s hair tangled in it.
The jury was excused at approximately 3:30 p.m. Thursday and will not return until 9 a.m. Monday. More details will appear in Monday’s Evening Sun.
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