PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — Jurors in the Curtis Reeves movie theater shooting trial on Wednesday heard from an expert about the man shot and killed, Chad Oulson.
What You Need To Know
- A medical examiner on Wednesday walked jurors through Chad Oulson's wounds received in the January 2014 shooting
- Both Oulson and his wife had "stippling,” or gun powder embedded near their wounds
- Curtis Reeves, 79, faces life in prison if convicted
- BELOW: Courtroom updates from Spectrum Bay News 9's Sarah Blazonis
Reeves, 79, is facing charges of second-degree murder and aggravated battery and could likely spend the rest of his life in jail if found guilty.
The defense claims Reeves shot Oulson in self-defense.
A medical examiner walked jurors through Oulson's wounds received in the January 2014 shooting.
Dr. Jon Thogmartin said a combination of the bullet wounds both Oulson and his wife, Nicole, suffered, along with gun powder marks on both, paint a picture of the position both were in at the time.
Thogmartin says Chad Oulson had a bullet wound on the left side of his chest, as well as a graze wound on his right wrist.
Jurors learned from previous testimony that Nicole Oulson's hand was on her husband's chest at the time of the shooting, and her finger was also injured.
Thogmartin said both of them also had "stippling,” or gun powder embedded near their wounds.
He and a prosecutor showed jurors what that tells him about where Oulson's hand was at the time.
Jurors also heard an interview a detective conducted with Reeves shortly after the shooting. The shooting happened after an argument over Chad Oulson’s use of a cell phone before a movie.
Reeves described Oulson as being unnecessarily "explosive" and said he hit him with something - possibly his cell phone.
Questions have come up throughout this week about whether anything was thrown.
Prosecutors showed Thogmartin photos of Reeves taken more than two hours after the incident.
He said he saw no visible evidence of injury to Reeves.
On cross examination, he told the defense just looking at a photo to make determinations about any kind of injury is never ideal.
"Certainly, you can't make any determination based on the hypothetical posed to you by the prosecutor that, number one, an iPhone or a cell phone was thrown or not thrown in this case, right?" Thogmartin was asked.
"Yeah, I have no idea,” he answered.
Chad Oulson and his wife, Nicole. (Facebook photo)
"And certainly, you cannot testify as to whether an iPhone thrown caused or didn't cause any injuries?” he was asked.
Thogmartin said: "Right. I don't have enough information. Like, I don't have velocity, i don't have weight. I have insufficient information."
Thogmartin did tell prosecutors that he would expect the glasses Reeves was wearing to protect his eyes unless hit so hard the glasses broke.
ADDITIONAL TESTIMONY HEARD WEDNESDAY
Spectrum Bay News 9's Sarah Blazonis also recapped the testimony of others Wednesday.
Craig DeJonge, driver/engineer/paramedic for Pasco Fire Rescue: He responded to the movie theater the day Oulson was shot. He attended to Reeves, who said he felt he had something in his eye. DeJonge looked, but didn't see anything. He flushed Reeves' eye, but he said he still felt something. On cross examination, DeJonge said he did not check his eye a second time or have special equipment to look at his eyes.
Todd Koenig, Pasco Sheriff's Office Deputy: He interviewed Reeves in a squad car after the shooting. He saw Reeves rubbing his eye throughout the interview. Pre-interview, his eye looked normal. Looked red afterwards. On cross examination, Koenig told defense attorneys he is not a doctor.
Susan Miller, Pasco Sheriff's Office forensic science investigator: She processed Reeves after the shooting - took photos, collected clothes and shoes as evidence, got a mouth swab, fingernail clippings and scrapings. She photographed Reeves' left eye area because she thought it looked red. No one called her attention to this - she said she noticed it on her own.
We are covering this entire trial and will be in the courtroom throughout the proceedings. You can follow along with reporter Sarah Blazonis below: