Adrianne Reynolds - Pathologist testifies about cause of teen's death
Indigo Ace
Pathologist testifies about cause of teen's death
DIXON, Ill. — The pathologist who performed the autopsy on the remains
of Adrianne Reynolds testified Thursday about several possible ways
the teenager may have been choked to death.
During Sarah Kolb’s first trial on a murder charge stemming from
Reynolds’ slaying and dismemberment, Dr. Jessica Bowman testified that
Kolb has a debilitating hand injury, suggesting she may not have
strangled Reynolds because Kolb does not have the necessary strength
to do so.
Prosecutors are aware of the potential for more testimony about the
hand injury in Kolb’s retrial, which began this week in Lee County
Circuit Court, where the case was moved because of extensive media
coverage in the Quad-City area.
So they questioned the pathologist Thursday morning about other
possible ways Reynolds may have been asphyxiated. Bowman said it is
possible that someone strangled the teenager by using a choke hold or
an elbow by simply applying pressure against her neck while her body
was in a fixed position.
Jurors also heard some very graphic testimony about Reynolds’ remains,
which were examined in six pieces during the autopsy. About 90 percent
of the girl’s skin was charred “like charcoal,” Bowman said.
Reynolds’ burned and dismembered body was found at a state park in
Rock Island and a Mercer County farm owned by Kolb’s grandparents.
Kolb, 17, of Milan, Ill., is charged with murder and concealing a
homicide in connection with the January 2005 slaying and dismemberment
of Reynolds, 16, of East Moline. Cory Gregory, 18, of Moline, faces
the same charges and is scheduled for trial in May.
Kolb’s first trial, held during November in Rock Island County Circuit
Court, ended without a verdict when the jury voted 11-1 in favor of a
conviction.
http://www.qctimes.net/articles/2006/02/09/news/local/doc43eb6ba2950bc163836472.txt
From the Quad-Cities Online--
Jurors calm during grisly testimony
By Brian Krans, staff writer
DIXON -- Jurors in Sarah Kolb's murder retrial sat quietly this
morning as they heard details about the charred remains of Adrianne
Reynolds, whose orange sweatshirt was melted onto a blue tarp when her
body was partially burned.
No photos are being shown in court.
The first two witnesses today included John Hatfield, an Illinois
State Police crime scene investigator who removed pieces of burned
tarp and cloth from the Mercer County site where human remains were
found.
Ms. Kolb is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and
concealment of a homicide in the Jan. 21, 2005, strangulation death
and dismemberment of Ms. Reynolds, 16, of East Moline. Her retrial was
moved to Lee County because of extensive publicity surrounding the
case in the Quad-Cities area. Her first trial ended in a hung jury.
Prosecutors allege Ms. Kolb and Cory Gregory killed Ms. Reynolds at a
parking lot outside a Taco Bell on Avenue of the Cities in Moline and
then burned and dismembered her body at Ms. Kolb's grandparents’ farm.
Mr. Hatfield also testified that Ms. Kolb's black t-shirt and bra were
recovered, also melted together.
The other witness to take the stand this morning was Jessica Bowman, a
forensic pathologist. She said a definite cause of death could not be
established because of the condition of the remains, although gunshot
could be ruled out. She said there was evidence of minor trauma to the
head, and the teeth were intact. At the first trial, Ms. Bowman said
her theories on the cause of death were smothering or strangulation.
Sean McKittrick, who will testify later today, was in the courthouse
this morning. Ms. Kolb's boyfriend at the time, he went with her, Ms.
Reynolds and Mr. Gregory to the Taco Bell for lunch the day Ms.
Reynolds disappeared. He said he got out of the car and left the area
after Ms. Kolb started a fight with Ms. Reynolds and refused his
request to stop.
In Wednesday's testimony, jurors got a glimpse of the details in the
death of Adrianne Reynolds -- details rife with tales of teen sex,
jealousy and death threats.
A few of the jurors grimaced as they heard of Ms. Reynolds'
dismemberment, while others glanced at the 17-year-old Milan
defendant.
'Adrianne's fatal mistake was that she tried to befriend the
defendant, Sarah Kolb,' Rock Island County State's Attorney Jeff
Terronez said in his opening statement.
One key fact the jury learned Wednesday was that Ms. Kolb's
co-defendant, Cory Gregory – who is being tried separately -- led
investigators to Ms. Reynolds' dismembered body at Black Hawk State
Historical Site in Rock Island, and the farm.
Mr. Gregory, 18, of Moline, was visible in a tape played Wednesday and
during Ms. Kolb's first trial pointing out the location of Ms.
Reynolds' remains.
During the first trial, which ended in a hung jury in November, jurors
weren't told the teen in the black hooded sweatshirt on the video was
Mr. Gregory. 'It was a matter of strategy at the time,' Mr. Terronez
said.
Before proceedings began Wednesday, Judge James Teros excused the
first juror selected, a truck driver, because his company wouldn't pay
him while he served on the jury. An alternate -- a business
representative for a carpenters' union -- replaced him, keeping the
ratio at seven men and five women, with three men as alternates.
A few jurors squirmed during the grisly testimony of Lt. Tim Steines
of the Rock Island Police Department. He testified to seeing a bone
protruding from a plastic bag found at the bottom of a manhole at the
historic site in Rock Island.
'There was a head and two arms, badly burned,' Lt. Steines testified
about what he found as he was lowered into the manhole.
After opening statements Wednesday, Mr. Terronez presented six other
witnesses, including classmates of Ms. Kolb, Mr. Gregory and Ms.
Reynolds at the Black Hawk Outreach Center.
Kassi VanVooren and Sarah Harlow testified how a relationship between
Ms. Kolb and Ms. Reynolds soured when Ms. Reynolds had sex with two of
Ms. Kolb's friends at a house in Rock Island.
'She (Ms. Kolb) wished she could kill her,' Ms. VanVooren said.
Public defender David Hoffman warned the jurors in his opening
statement to examine where much of witnesses’ information is coming
from.
'I don't want you to confuse rumor, innuendo, opinion and what
purports to be news as fact,' Mr. Hoffman said. 'I ask you to remember
you are dealing with teenagers.'
East Moline police officer Kevin Johnson testified about a phone
conversation he had with Ms. Kolb the day after Ms. Reynolds was
reported missing. Ms. Kolb admitted to fighting with Ms. Reynolds at
the Taco Bell, but said she dropped Ms. Reynolds off at a McDonald's
by her house, he testified.
East Moline police Sgt. Brian Foltz testified about an interview he
conducted with Ms. Kolb, her mother and an attorney at the police
department Jan. 24, 2005. Then, too, Ms. Kolb allegedly said Ms.
Reynolds was fine when she last saw her.
'She said she didn't know what happened to her,' Sgt. Foltz said.
Ms. Kolb was held overnight at the jail adjacent to the Lee County
Courts Building.
http://qconline.com/archives/qco/sections.cgi?prcss=display&id=275173
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