Game of Justice (Brad Madison Legal Thriller Series Book 3) by J.J. Miller

Author:J.J. Miller [Miller, J.J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Innkeeper Publishing
Published: 2020-02-09T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 28

Haviland opened by calling Dr. Arnold Nguyen, the forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy on Nicola Beauchamp. I guess Haviland wanted to crush the suicide theory from the outset. He stood with his hands clasped in front of him as Dr. Nguyen was sworn in. Then, without moving from that position, he established the doctor’s credentials and experience.

Dr. Nguyen estimated he’d performed hundreds of autopsies and had found the examination of Ms. Beauchamp’s body to be straightforward.

“Could you please tell us how Ms. Beauchamp died?”

“She died as the result of severe blunt force trauma to the head, neck and upper body, consistent with that of landing head first on rocks at high speed.”

“The sort of injuries you would expect if someone jumped off a cliff?”

“Well, no.”

“No?” Haviland said, flicking wide eyes at the jury.

“She landed head first. It is highly unusual—no, I would say rare, hardly ever—for suicides who jump from great heights to land head first. They almost always land feet first. Even in such desperation they do not dive. That would be too—how should I say?—exuberant.”

“Dr. Nguyen,” Haviland said. “You reported there was a medium-high level of alcohol in the victim’s blood, is that right?”

“Yes, it was twice the legal driving limit.”

“Were traces of any drugs besides alcohol found in the victim’s blood?”

“Yes. There were positive results for cocaine and flunitrazepam.”

“Flunitrazepam?”

“Most people know it as Rohypnol.”

Haviland took a sheet of paper and walked it over to Dr. Nguyen.

“This is exhibit five-seven. Dr. Nguyen, is this the medical report you prepared after completing your examination of Nicola Beauchamp’s body?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Could you please read what you entered for the concentration of flunitrazepam found in Ms. Beauchamp’s blood.”

“It was fifty-seven micrograms per liter.”

“Is that a lot?”

“It’s more than twice what you would find in someone who has been prescribed the drug as a sedative. Anything more than fifty micrograms per liter and the drug begins to seriously impair motor skills, judgment, coordination, and reaction time balance.”

“It reduces your capacity to fend for yourself?”

“Most definitely. That’s the very reason it is used as a date-rape drug.”

“Now, you found a concentration of fifty-seven micrograms per liter. How much time had passed between Nicola Beauchamp’s death and your examination?”

“About twelve hours.”

“Twelve hours. I see. But the concentration of the drug would have been higher at the time of Nicola Beauchamp’s death, wouldn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“What would the concentration have been?”

“Based on the known half-life of the drug, the concentration at the time of death would have been up around ninety micrograms per liter.”

“Is that high?”

“Very. Once you get over a hundred, you’re looking at overdose.”

“Can you please help us understand Nicola Beauchamp’s state at the time of her death?”

“A blood concentration of ninety is enough to incapacitate some people. Knock them out, essentially.”

“Could she have walked freely by herself?”

“Objection,” I called, getting to my feet. “Calls for speculation.”

Haviland shot me a hot glance. “Your Honor, Dr. Nguyen is eminently qualified to surmise the degree to which Ms. Beauchamp would have been in control of her body at the time of her death.

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