Uvalde Victims' Gunshot Wounds Detailed In Medical Examiner's Trial Testimony

Gary Phillips, deputy chief medical examiner at the Bexar County, Texas, Medical Examiner's Office, had the grim task today of testifying about the cause of deaths for the children in the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde on May 24, 2022. Phillips is not the one who conducted the autopsies, but he's conducted more than 500 of his own since 2020, and he reviewed the autopsies in the Uvalde case so he could testify in the trial of school police officer Adrian Gonzales. His testified for about 40 minutes today (Friday, January 9, day 3). He identified significant injuries, such as gunshot wounds to the brain, lungs, and spinal cord, and discussed the presence of soot and powder tattooing, indicating close-range firing. Judge Sid Harle ordered the exhibits sealed from public view. 04:20 "And so in reviewing somebody's autopsy, how do you do that?" "The key is going to be going through the autopsy report, going through all of the ancillary documentation, such as the investigative report, and as well. Going through any photographs again, this is going to vary depending on the complexity of the case, but ultimately, the review is geared towards whether or not you agree with the original pathologist conclusion of cause and manner of death." 06:14 "Were all of the autopsies in this case conducted by one pathologist? "No. "Was there a number of pathologists?" "It was." 08:25 "We are limiting our questioning to you and to description of wounds in your opinion as to cause of death, which wounds cause death, which wounds did not cause death? But as far as photographs, we're not going to be showing photographs of those wounds," Prosecutor Bill Turner said 14:00 Defense: "I'm sorry if I could make a recommendation just to reduce the secondary trauma that can be suffered. If we can just, we don't have to have the picture up while we're talking about distance and things like that." 20:49 "In this case, there were 12 gunshot wounds" 22:09 "So this would be indicative of close range firing. And that would be, that would be the powder tattooing. So as we described it, the intermediate range." 25:01 "In this case, the heart wound itself would probably have been sufficient, but the rest were significant as well." 31:24 "In this case, there was one gunshot wound which injured the heart, right lung, liver." 33:16 "In this case, there were two gunshot wounds. The major internal injury was the brain. The additional wound was a superficial gunshot wound to the back and states exhibit 755." 36:33 Cross-exam: "Dr. Phillips, you and I, we know each other, actually." "Yes, sir." "I'll tell you this. I hate to see you here, but I do appreciate what you did to document what that monster did to those children, and I'll pass the witness." ****************************************************************************** Become a member of Meghann's YouTube channel to show your support:    / @meghanncuniff   Subscribe to Legal Affairs and Trials with Meghann Cuniff: https://www.legalaffairsandtrials.com... Support Meghann on Patreon:   / meghanncuniff   BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/meghanncunif... Tik Tok:   / meghannmcuniff   Instagram:   / meghanncuniff   Facebook:   / meghanncuniff   Threads: https://www.threads.net/@meghanncuniff Venmo: MeghannCuniff