Autopsies

In the pre-dawn hours of September 29th Kim and her two children were transported to the Kentucky Medical Examiner's Office in downtown Louisville to await their autopsies later that day.

The autopsy of Kim that was conducted by Doctor Donna Hunsaker was through and exhaustive. As with all autopsies, the forensic pathologist began by making visual observations of the body and clothing and also by noting the physical weight and height of the victim. Photographs were also obtained by the Medical Examiner's staff. Detectives Sammy Sarkisian and David Makowsky were present to secure photographs and fingerprints of the victims, accept certain evidence and to relay observations of the pathologists to the other investigators.

The autopsy determined that Kim had probably fought her attacker or attackers and had also been injured prior to her murder. A portion of her fingernail on her right index finger was missing and she also had multiple injuries such as bruising and abrasions to her:

• neck
• left chin
• left lower face
• back of right elbow
• back of left elbow
• anterior left knee
• front of right knee
• top of right 3rd toe
• top of right 4th toe
• top of right foot
• top of left 5th toe
• top of left 2nd toe
• top of left great toe
• top of left foot

The injuries to both elbows and both knees meant that Kim was possibly forced to the hard concrete floor of the garage, meaning that she could have been tackled by her assailant. No significance, however, was placed by the police or prosecution on any of Kim's injuries other than the gunshot wound to her head which was the cause of death.

Of particular interest was the fact that the tops of both feet had bruising and cuts worse then any other injury other than the gunshot wound itself. It was as though her feet and toes, which had chipped, partial nail polish, had themselves been a target of the assailant's attack, possibly by being stomped with a hard sole shoe. As with a lot of other evidence, however, the attacks on her feet were ignored and the injuries were dismissed as irrelevant.

Regarding the gunshot wound, it entered above and slightly in front of the left ear and exited behind the right ear in a downward route prior to traveling through the open door of the Bronco and smashing the lower middle of the front windshield.

Based upon the trajectory of the bullet through Kim's head and on into the windshield, Kim, at 5'4" and 123 pounds, was possibly shot by an individual who was taller than she.

The autopsy conducted by Dr. Donna Hunsaker also determined the wound to have been the result of a gunshot fired from an indeterminate range. A pathologist can form an opinion as to the distance from the victim's wound to the muzzle of the gun through information contained from the crime scene investigation including information obtained from the victim, shooter, and any witnesses.

Of course the pathologist also can validate or form an opinion based upon her visual observation of the entry wound including finding any soot deposits, stippling and contact impressions. Dr. Hunsaker opined that the distance was of indeterminate range meaning that based upon the evidence presented to her she couldn't render an opinion as to the distance the shooter was from Kim when she was shot and killed other than to say it wasn't hard contact between the muzzle of the gun and the scalp.

Dr. Hunsaker also testified that after being shot in the head that Kim's heart could have pumped for as long as five more minutes. That would help explain the large volume of blood. Dr. Hunsaker also stated that Kim could have suffered seizure like movements after being shot. That could explain why her feet were slightly under the Bronco and her hair was flopped from her right side onto the right side of her face.

Dr. Hunsaker also visited the crime scene and witnessed first hand the massive amount of blood and fluid that flowed out of the garage and onto the driveway. She had seen such separation of blood and serum (liquid part of the blood) many times before and testified that it was a very natural phenomenon.

Dr. Hunsaker also allowed the "blood spatter expert" as she called Rob Stites, into the medical examiner's office to view Kim and the gunshot entrance and exit wounds.

Dr. Hunsaker also noted that Kim's panties had been rolled inward.

What did that mean? Most women would tell you that they don't go through the day with their panties rolled inward nor do women who wear white pants also wear black panties. The possibility that Kim had been ordered to remove her pants and that the panties she was wearing when killed were not those she had been wearing earlier that day wasn't entertained by the police.

Brad's autopsy was commenced just prior to noon on September 29th by Doctor Tracy Corey-Handy, the Chief Medical Examiner. An external examination confirmed what he was wearing but also revealed that he was wearing black swim trunks underneath his pants. That meant that he was like most kids in that he simply put his pants over his swimming trunks after practice rather than removing them in the dressing room.

(Note: Those trunks and why he was still wearing them weren't a factor in the first probable cause affidavit, however, when the assertion was made that David Camm killed his family between 9:15 and 9:30PM, or over two hours after they left swim practice; the fact that Jill was still strapped into her seatbelt also was ignored when the probable cause affidavit was put before the judge.)

Dr. Corey-Handy's physical examination revealed a normal seven year old boy who was just a shade over four and a half feet tall and weighed 69 pounds. The examination revealed a gunshot entrance wound on the upper portion of his left front chest just below the top of the shoulder with the exit wound located on his right back, also just below the top of the shoulder.

The bullet had traveled from the upper left front of Brad's body to the upper right back of his body in approximately a 45 degree angle and was basically horizontal in its flight. While en route to its exit, however, it passed through the spinal column and spinal cord. Death wasn't immediate, however, inasmuch as Brad possibly lived several minutes after being shot. There was nothing to indicate that he lost consciousness according to Dr. Corey-Handy's testimony.

Dr. Corey-Handy's examination also revealed stippling to the left side of Brad's face. There were no soot deposits indicating to Dr. Handy that the distance from Brad to the gun's muzzle was of intermediate range. The stippling to the face also meant that Brad was in all probability looking at his murderer when the shot was fired.

Brad also had red discoloration on the inside of his upper right arm, just below his armpit. Dr. Corey-Handy didn't speculate as to how that occurred, but did indicate that it looked somewhat like a thermal burn.

The finding that the shot was from intermediate range also was significant based upon Dave's description that Brad was draped over the back seat behind the driver's side. His description was verified by the forensic evidence but more importantly that range determination meant that the shot was quite possibly fired from within the interior of the Bronco.

The unknown palm print found on the passenger door jamb, behind the passenger door, would have given the shooter stability as the shot was fired or as the shooter was entering the vehicle to try and control Brad, as evidenced by the discoloration on his upper right arm in order to get a closer shot at him. Brad was out of his seatbelt and attempting to climb over the seat to the rear of the vehicle. He was attempting to flee and didn't provide a stable target. That could explain why the shooter was unable to shoot him in the head like he did with Kim and Jill.

Jill was the last one to be examined. Her autopsy was conducted by Dr. Tracy Corey-Handy and the gunshot entrance wound was to the right side of her head, almost to the top of her head, and slightly behind her ear, if an imaginary line were drawn. The exit wound was located immediately behind her left ear. The examiner also noted that Jill's hair was over six inches in length.

Jill's stomach contained the remains of what probably were the cookies given to her by her grandmother after dance class. Her bladder contained no urine.

The entrance wound had an "abrasion collar" and there was also a small area of stippling noted. Dr. Corey-Handy's opinion was that Jill was shot from a distance of close to intermediate range.

The Medical Examiner also observed a large amount of petechiae, or small pinprick size red dots on the surface of the skin, due to the rupturing of the small blood vessels. Petechiae was noted on Jill's upper arms, her head and the front of her neck and upper torso.

Petechiae can be caused by a number of things and depositions and interviews with numerous medical professionals failed to determine a reason for the large amount of petechiae on Jill's body. Could the seatbelt have contributed to the condition if Jill was struggling? Did someone apply pressure upon her? There were a number of possibilities but there was no definitive reason provided by Dr. Corey-Handy or later by others.

The petechiae would have been noticeable by others had she exhibited that condition earlier in the day. However her grandmother and teachers failed to notice any such condition earlier in the day. The petechiae therefore probably occurred shortly prior to her death.

Continued observation of Jill revealed that she had numerous contusions on her body, including four half-inch contusions on her left knee. The Medical Examiner deemed those to be "wear and tear" type injuries normal for a five year old.

Dr. Corey-Handy also discovered what she deemed to be non-specific blunt force trauma to Jill's genitalia which also had a small superficial laceration. Petechiae was present as well as a small amount of blood in her introitus. Her hymen bore no evidence of having been damaged and was intact.

Dr. Corey-Handy later testified in the first trial that Jill's genital injuries probably were acute in nature, meaning that they had only occurred within 24 hours of death and had shown no signs of healing. She also testified that they could have been the result of sexual abuse or of a straddle injury. She also denied ever telling anyone that Jill had been the victim of sexual intercourse.

The Medical Examiner also noted that the injuries probably wouldn't have been painful unless Jill was urinating. As noted, her autopsy revealed that her bladder had no urine and if she was urinating and feeling pain, her mother, grandmother, or schoolteachers would have been alerted to the problem. There was no such problem during the day and the probability exists that her injuries occurred close to the time of her death.

During Jill's autopsy Detectives Makowsky and Sarkisian were present. According to Clemons' later testimony, he said that Sarkisian called him and told him that Jill's genitalia injuries were consistent with sexual intercourse.

After Clemons got the message, however, the allegation took on a life of its own, for in the probable cause affidavit, written two days later, it was claimed that Jill had a "recent tear in the vaginal area consistent with sexual intercourse."

That allegation didn't adequately describe the injuries nor did it ascribe to the injuries the fact that the blunt force trauma was "non-specific" as the Medical Examiner has repeatedly testified. In fact, the injuries to Jill could have been the result of any number of things, including a straddle injury or even an enraged person jamming the barrel of a gun between her legs as she sat helplessly in the back seat of the Bronco.

(Note: Once the investigators on the scene were told that little Jill had been molested the attitude towards Dave greatly changed and he was assumed to have been responsible for his little girl's injuries, although it was undisputed that Dave hadn't seen his daughter for at least 12 hours prior to her death and that she was the same happy and normal child the day of her death as she had been in the days, weeks, and months before. Regardless, it was obvious to everyone including Dave that he was being treated as a suspect although he didn't know why. The whole tenor of the investigation shifted appreciably and with the arrival of the blood spatter "expert" the next day, Dave's days of freedom were numbered.)