Prosecution rests in Goodman DUI manslaughter trial

Jurors in John Goodman's DUI-manslaughter trial Monday saw their first image of the young man the Wellington polo mogul is accused of killing: an autopsy photograph showing Scott Wilson's lacerated and battered face.

Prosecutors ended their case with the testimony of Palm Beach County Medical Examiner Dr. Michael Bell, who told jurors that Wilson, 23, would have survived the February 2010 crash if he had not drowned after his Hyundai was broadsided by Goodman's Bentley and was flipped upside down into a Wellington canal.

Wilson suffered abrasions, bruises and lacerations on various parts of his body, and tears to his diaphragm and liver, Bell testified. "I would call them non-life threatening. They are relatively minor," he said.
Surveillance Video: Check out these videos of crimes caught on camera

"Would Scott Wilson have survived this crash?" prosecutor Ellen Roberts asked.

"Yes, if he had not drowned," Bell replied.

The defense had only one question for Bell: How long can a person survive if they can't breathe? Four to five minutes, the medical examiner said. As he testified, Wilson's mother, Lili, wiped her eyes in the gallery.

Prosecutors allege Goodman, 48, had a blood-alcohol level of at least .2 percent, more than twice the legal limit, at the time of the crash, which took place about 1 a.m. on Feb. 12, 2010. They say he left the scene afterward.

The lead traffic-homicide investigator testified Goodman was driving his Bentley at 63 mph and blew through a stop sign at 120th Avenue and smashed into Wilson's Hyundai, after he had been drinking at two Wellington watering holes that cater to the polo community.

After prosecutors rested, Miami defense attorney Roy Black asked Palm Beach Circuit Judge Jeffrey Colbath to acquit his client, arguing that prosecutors failed to meet their legal burdens in proving charges of DUI-manslaughter and vehicular homicide, punishable by up to 30 years in prison. The judge denied the motion.

The defense has told jurors that Goodman suffered a concussion in the crash, causing him to be confused and disoriented afterward, and that he found a bottle of alcohol in a nearby barn and drank from it to relieve the pain of his injuries.

A defense witness testified Monday that Goodman fractured his wrist. A photograph taken of Goodman at the hospital that night also shows a bump to his forehead.

A key defense witness, Robert Hamilton, a neuropsychologist, testified that Goodman's demeanor after the crash could have been the result of a concussion, although the paramedics and doctors who examined him detected no signs of a brain injury.

On cross-examination, Hamilton admitted his opinion was based solely on being told that Goodman hit his head and shattered his driver's-side window, a point disputed by! prosecu tors. Hamilton testified he did not review Goodman's medical records or paramedic reports, nor did he examine Goodman.

The defense also told jurors that the Bentley's computer systems failed, causing the car to surge forward out of control. Jurors could hear from the defense's crash-reconstruction expert on Tuesday. pfranceschina@tribune.com or 561-243-6605 or Twitter @pfranceschina

Read More @ Source

Could manslaughter be a boss?

Could manslaughter be a boss?

Video Rating: 4 / 5



Criminal Stories Here

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Charges dismissed in grisly Ypsilanti Township triple homicide

Image
For nearly six years, they were locked up facing a possible death sentence for a grisly 2001 triple homicide in Ypsilanti Township. On Friday, a federal judge dismissed the charges against Deondre Byrd and three other men after a federal prosecutor said new evidence came to light last Friday that prevented the government from taking the case to trial. It was the second time in three years that Byrd escaped murder charges. He has been imprisoned in recent years for both the triple homicide and the slaying of a 16-year-old girl in Ann Arbor, but he has been convicted on only a federal gun charge. "Obviously, I'm pretty upset that almost 11 years later, we still don't have any answers," said Christy Brown, 30, a close family friend of the victims of the triple homicide. She said she got a call from federal prosecutors Thursday saying the case was being dropped, but they wouldn't elaborate. "I was very surprised. I honestly thought they were making some...
Keep reading

Flint's battlefield: A three-year murder map

Image
FLINT, MI -- There have been 189 murders in the city since 2010. Below is a map of the locations of each murder in the last three years, as well as the names of the slain on Flint's battlefield. The spike in murders occurred almost immediately after large-scale layoffs in March of 2010. By year's end the city had set a record with 66 murders, breaking the previous mark of 61 set in 1986. Killing continued in 2011 with 57 murders. A look at the map shows the majority of the murders took place on the north and east sides, historically the most economically depressed areas of the city. Just 25 murders in the last three years occurred south of Court Street. The map is color-coded by year. Green markers denote 2012 murders while red markers are from 2011 and blue from 2010. 2012 No. 1: Jan. 11: Kevin Berger, 55, died Jan. 11 after a Jan. 10 double shooting at his home on Keller Avenue near Welch Boulevard around 10:15 pm. Darius McGee, 25, was also critically shot. He survi...
Keep reading

Deputies: Two men sought in connection to May murder

Image
By Bianca Prieto, Orlando Sentinel 4:56 p.m. EST, June 20, 2012 Lorenzo Holmes and Willie Bryant III are persons of interest in the shooting death of DeAnthony Ryles. (Orange County Sheriff's Office, Orange County Sheriff's Office / Jun 20, 2012) Orange County murder detectives are looking for two people of interest in the shooting death of DeAnthony Ryles last month. Detectives identified the persons of interest as 23-year-old Lorenzo Holmes and 22-year-old Willie Bryant III. DeAnthony "D.A." Ryles was gunned down around 2:43 a.m. May 21 near the intersection of Lee Road and Kingswood Drive. Ryles and his friends first encountered another group of men at Firestone Live in downtown Orlando, and then later met at aMcDonald'srestaurant north of downtown. The two groups of men began shooting at each other as they drove along Lee Road. Ryles was injured during the shooting and crashed his car into the Fifth Third bank on Lee Road. ...
Keep reading