Chapter Five
Supreme Court Trial
Part 2
"Dr. Rodgers, when you did the autopsy, what did you conclude?" asked Connie.
"The cause of death was two gunshot wounds. One bullet pierced the victim's left lung, the other her heart. The second shot was the one that ended her suffering because it would have stopped her heart immediately."
"Thank you. Nothing further."
Supreme Court Trial
Part 10
"Your Honor, the people wish to call our next witness, Nichole Chase," said Connie.
When Nichole was sworn in, Connie began her questioning.
"Miss Chase, please describe your role in the investigation."
"I work in the forensics lab."
"People's one, Your Honor," said Connie, picking up a plastic bag from off the prosecution table. It contained a gun. "This is the murder weapon, correct?"
"Yes, it's a 9mm."
"Where was it found?"
"CSU retrieved it outside the victim's apartment building, wrapped in a coat and buried in a dumpster."
"Were you able to tie this gun to the defendant?"
"Yes."
"How?"
"We lifted prints off of it. They were a fifteen-point match."
"Would you please explain the significance of that to the jury?"
"Yes. It means that the odds of the prints belonging to anyone other than the defendant are more than a million to one."
"People's two, Your Honor," said Connie, retrieving a different plastic bag. "These are 9mm shell casings?"
"Yes."
"Where did you find these?"
"CSU retrieved them from the victim's apartment."
"And what do they have to do with the defendant?"
"Ballistics matched them to that gun."
"So one can logically conclude from this evidence that the defendant used that specific gun to shoot Gail Sullivan?"
"Yes."
"You found no other prints on the gun, nothing else of significance?"
"No."
"So there is no forensic evidence to suggest that anyone other than the defendant fired it?"
"Correct."