Chapter 46 Leila
Leila
R v Jack Millman
The pathologist is next.
Always a vital witness in any murder trial because the prosecution must prove that the defendant’s act caused the victim’s death.
The jury sit up as he walks into the witness box.
After undertaking years of training and experience to get where they are, pathologists are aware that in situations such as these, people hang on to their every word.
They’re capable of ending a case with their opinion alone.
Dr. Parker is the kind of man who looks as if he knows what he’s doing.
The sort of man who never makes bad choices but does make sound financial investments.
Clean-shaven, with silver-rimmed glasses sitting perfectly on his face, his black hair marks him out as someone who’s reached the professional level he’s attained at such a young age through hard work and dedication.
Julian runs through his qualifications before moving on to the postmortem itself.
It’s written using clinical and medical terms—something juries often struggle with.
It’s a win for Julian, of course. Using these terms makes the offense more brutal, minimizing this father, husband, and friend into a series of stark facts: male, five foot nine, fourteen and a half stone.
At the time of his death, he had seventy-eight milligrams of alcohol per one hundred milliliters of blood in his body.
Eighty milligrams is over the limit to drive.
“Mr. Smythe suffered a dynamic head injury, or a blunt head trauma, in more common terms. This went on to cause a subdural hematoma and his eventual death.”
“Can you please explain to the jury what that is?”
“A collection of blood. There’s a very small gap between the brain and the skull, and if the layer around the brain is torn as a result of trauma or impact, it can bleed into that subdural space.”
“And what happens if this occurs?”
“It exerts pressure on the brain stem, which controls breathing. Death is quick if medical assistance isn’t sought rapidly.”
Julian pauses for a second, allowing the jury to process what they’ve just heard.
“Dr. Parker, if I could ask about the impact itself,” he goes on. “Where exactly was the victim struck?”
“On the right temple, just above his right eye. An incredibly vulnerable area.”
“What about the direction of impact?”
“It’s unlikely it came from the front. I suspect it came from the side or behind the victim.”
“I really want the jury to be clear on this. You’re saying it’s very unlikely this blow was delivered from a place where the victim could see it coming?”
Smart. He’s shutting off any opportunity to raise self-defense before we get started.
Setting up intent to kill.
“I would say so, yes.”
“How did the impact site present?” Julian goes on.
“Very slightly raised. The skin was not broken, which suggests he was struck with a heavy but smooth object.”
“If I could ask you to clarify for the jury,” he asks, in his patronizing voice, “is it normal to be struck with such a heavy object and for there to be no swelling or bruising?”
“With trauma to the head, yes,” Dr. Parker confirms. “The impact is directed inward, so the blood vessels that connect the brain to the skull are severed. All of the damage is internal.”
He is an extraordinarily calm witness who speaks clinically but clearly. He’s eloquent and takes care that the jury understand what he’s saying. Dr. Parker stands upright in the witness box, hands in front of him. He is an excellent professional witness, and that terrifies me.
“If I could take you to tab number five in your jury bundle, you’ll see a photo of a ten-kilogram kettlebell. This was found at the scene. Could this have inflicted the injury you detail?”
“Kettlebells are designed to be swung. With enough momentum, someone could deliver a fatal impact with it, yes.”
“With an injury such as the one you’ve outlined, how much time would have elapsed between impact and death?”
“As I said, death is rapid with this kind of injury once the blow has been delivered. It entirely depends on each individual’s circumstances and the medical situation of the person involved, whether they have any underlying conditions.
But survival is possible if they get help quickly. A longer delay diminishes that chance.”
“To clarify for the jury, survival is possible if medical attention is sought quickly?”
Oh no. I know where he’s going with this.
“Certainly.”
“It’s impossible for you to comment upon how quickly the defendant called 999 after the fatal blow was delivered, of course. But is it possible to say, in this case, how much time elapsed between Mr. Smythe receiving the injury and receiving medical help?”
Dr. Parker glances at the jury, and I watch as he delivers the subtlest smile. It’s then that I realize he is very much hoping that Jack is convicted, despite his evidence supposedly being unbiased.
“Well, no. But Mr. Smythe is dead, isn’t he?”
Sometimes a witness delivers such a devastating blow, there’s no need for them to elaborate on what they’ve just said.
The impact of it sits quietly between the words.
That’s the true indicator of a professional witness—someone who understands how a jury works.
He doesn’t need to say anything else, and Julian, being as skilled as he is, doesn’t push further.
In a courtroom, silence is golden; a well-timed pause holds more power than a hundred careless words.
“Thank you, Dr. Parker,” Julian says, after a few moments, once he’s allowed the jury to swallow his last line. “I don’t have any further questions.”
Standing up, I’m reminded that going against a solid expert witness when defending is always difficult.
“Dr. Parker, did Mr. Smythe have any other injuries when you examined him?”
“Minor bruising to right cheek and light grazing to the knuckles on his left hand.”
“It’s right to say he was left-hand dominant, isn’t it?”
“That’s correct.”
“These minor injuries are consistent with a physical altercation, or a struggle of some kind, aren’t they?”
“Possibly, but I would generally expect more physical evidence on the body if such a struggle had occurred. It would be unusual to have only these two injuries. They’re barely even injuries.”
I look down at my notebook for a second, taking a moment. This witness is incredibly dangerous for us.
“The kettlebell was ten kilos. As you can see, Mr. Millman is a broad, strong man. He used to go to the gym every day. Wouldn’t you expect more injuries if he had swung the weapon?”
“The victim is dead, Miss Reynolds. How much more injured could he be?”
Jesus. I need to shut this down.
“I mean superficially,” I go on confidently, in an attempt to present this as anything other than the train wreck it is. “Around the trauma site?”
“As I have already said, with assaults of this type, you often don’t see bruises or swelling. The damage is internal.”
I can almost hear Julian gloating from where he sits. I need to get this witness away from the jury quickly before he damages my case further.
“No further questions, Your Ladyship.”
“Thank you for attending court to give evidence, Dr. Parker. I wonder whether this might be a good opportunity to pause for lunch?” the judge asks. “Let’s resume at 2:15 p.m.”
Two witnesses down, and the prosecution’s case is definitely stronger.
I need to turn this around, fast.