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Some of the evidence gathered by Walsh in his search for the truth, which includes the testimony of certified authorities in forensic medicine. | |
The first thing Walsh did after returning to St. Petersburg was to visit the Medical Examiner’s Office.
“I knew from the day I received a copy of the autopsy report that something was wrong,” Mark Walsh said. “I knew my mom would never try to eat a piece of meat that size.” The news of the broken arm had compounded his doubts. But the Medical Examiner’s record added another mystery – Catherine Elliott had also suffered “multiple small facial abrasions” —26 in all.
According to Walsh, his mother was killed shortly after midnight, when the alleged murderer forced the meat down her throat as she lay in her bed. He believes his mother fought back, her arms flailing. In the struggle to keep her mouth shut, Walsh surmises, the assailant’s fingernails caused numerous lacerations to her face. The arm was broken in the fray and any remaining resistance was smothered with brute force.
Shortly thereafter, says Walsh, the murderer must have carried the body from the bedroom to the dining room, arranging it to appear as though Catherine had gotten up in the middle of the night to get something to eat.
Walsh has two reasons for thinking his mother was carried to the dining room after she was murdered in her bed. The medical evidence itself presents the first reason.
Rigor mortis normally sets in roughly six hours after death. During that time, blood pools in the lower part of the body. If a person dies lying on their back, blood will pool in the back, leaving a permanent mark, known as lividity. Conversely, lying face-down, blood will pool in the front of the body.
The autopsy report stated, “Lividity is noted over the back. Additional lividity is noted on the anterior [front] portions of the body.” The report, confirming lividity on the front and back, documented that the body had been moved.
Walsh also noted that an ashtray beside his mother’s bed had been shattered – further evidence suggesting a violent struggle in the bedroom.
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