Coroner's report

Office of the Yoknapatawpha County Coroner

DATE and HOUR AUTOPSY PERFORMED:
December 1, 8:30 A.M. by

Manish Agarwal, M.D.
555 Jackson Avenue
Oxford, MS 38655
662-234-XXXX (FAX 662-234-XXXX)

Assistant:
Victoria Witte, M.D.

Full Autopsy Performed

SUMMARY REPORT OF AUTOPSY

Name:
 JORDAN, Caroline Marie

Coroner's Case #:
 171

Age:
 26

Sex:
 Female

Body Identified by:
 Bonnie Duncan, neighbor of the deceased

Investigative Agency:
 Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department (Case # 006391)

EVIDENCE OF TREATMENT

N/A

EXTERNAL EXAMINATION - SUMMARY

The autopsy is begun at 8:30 A.M. on December 1. The body is presented in a black body bag. The victim is wearing a red-and-green elf costume and red slippers with two green pompoms on each slipper. Both hands are bagged, which was done at the crime scene by the Coroner's Inspector to preserve evidence.

The body is that of a normally developed, well-nourished white female measuring 68 inches (173 cm) and weighing 130 (59 kg) pounds, and appearing generally consistent with the stated age of twenty-six years. The body is cold and unembalmed. Lividity is fixed on the posterior of the torso and extremities.

The hair is brown and approximately 48 cm in length. The body hair is female and average. The head is symmetric, and the eyes are open. The irises are brown, and the pupils measure 0.4 cm. The teeth are natural and well-maintained.

The anterior chest and abdomen are symmetric, and a single, penetrating sharp force injury is present on the anterior left chest wall, located approximately 2 cm superior to the superior border of the left breast (Injury #1), to be described below. The back is symmetrical and intact. The genitalia are those of an adult female, and there is no evidence of injury.

The upper and lower extremities are equal, symmetrically developed, and show no evidence of injury.

There is a tattoo of a violet and a rose on the inner right ankle area. There are no other tattoos, residual scars, or markings.

INTERNAL EXAMINATION - SUMMARY

All organs are within normal limits. No underlying pathological disease conditions or congenital anomalies were observed.

Examination of the pelvic area indicates the subject had not given birth. Subject was not pregnant at the time of death. There is no evidence of recent forced or consensual sexual activity.

CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM: There is massive hemopericardium, estimated to be 650 mL of unclotted and clotted blood, consistent with acute exsanguination into the pericardial space.

RESPIRATORY SYSTEM: A moderate hemothorax (blood within the left pleural cavity) is also noted, estimated at 300 mL.

TOXICOLOGY: Samples of blood, vitreous humor, and urine are collected and submitted for toxicologic analysis. Stomach contents are saved.

DESCRIPTION OF INJURIES - SUMMARY

(1) A single, penetrating sharp force injury (stab wound) is present on the anterior left chest wall, located approximately 2 cm superior to the superior border of the left breast.

Opinion: This is a fatal injury.

External injury examination

  • The external skin wound is a single-edged, elliptical, or slit-like defect, oriented primarily in a horizontal or slightly oblique plane.
  • The skin defect measures 3.0 cm in its longest external dimension. The edges are clean-cut and sharp, with no significant abrasion or contusion collar noted around the entry site, consistent with a relatively clean insertion and withdrawal of a sharp object.
  • The superior margin of the wound demonstrates a blunt or square-shaped termination, while the inferior margin terminates in an acute, sharply-pointed angle, suggesting the passage of a knife with a single cutting edge.

Internal injury examination

  • The wound track is measured at 12.5 cm in length, passing through the subcutaneous fat and pectoralis major muscle of the left chest wall and the costal cartilage of the third rib, where a sharp, clean-cut defect is noted (estimated length of this defect: 2.8 cm).
  • The instrument penetrated the anterior mediastinum and the pericardial sac, creating a sharp, approximately 3.0 cm defect in the parietal pericardium.
  • The trajectory continued, entering the anterior wall of the left ventricle. The defect in the left ventricular wall is slit-like, measuring 2.5 cm in length, oriented obliquely.
  • No significant injury to major great vessels (aorta, vena cava) or lung parenchyma is observed.

LABORATORY DATA

Drug Screen Results:

Urine screen {Immunoassay} was NEGATIVE.
Ethanol: 0.03 gm/dl, Blood (Heart)
Ethanol: 0.03 gm/dl, Vitreous

Additional analysis results are pending.

Millicent Schmid, Ph.D.
Chief Toxicologist
December 3

EVIDENCE COLLECTED

1. One (1) elf costume

2. One (1) pair elf slippers

3. One (1) bra

4. One (1) pair women's bikini-style underwear

5. Samples of hair, blood (type B+), vitreous humor, urine, bile, and tissue (heart, lung, brain, kidney, liver, spleen)

7. Two (2) standard fingerprint cards

8. Four (4) autopsy photographs.

9. One postmortem CT scan.

10. One postmortem MRI.

Biological samples and one of the fingerprint cards were transferred to the Crime Lab for further analysis and comparison.

OPINION

Time of Death: Body temperature, rigor and livor mortis, stomach contents, and the time the body was discovered approximate the time of death between 10:00 and 11:00 P.M. on November 30.

Immediate Cause of Death: Penetrating sharp force wound to the chest with cardiac tamponade

Manner of Death: Homicide

//Manish Agarwal, M.D.
Yoknapatawpha County Coroner's Office
December 2