Henry Nields testified that Martin Richard died from blast injuries, principally through blood loss, and identified autopsy evidence on Day 41. He qualified some fragment identifications and pain assessments; the defense asked no questions.
WitnessCommonwealth of Massachusetts
Henry Nields
Chief medical examiner for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Appeared2015 Federal Trial
152 lines·2 proceedings·2 mentions
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Henry Nields testified for the prosecution on Day 41 about his April 16, 2013, autopsy of eight-year-old Martin Richard. The chief medical examiner described extensive blast injuries and concluded that Richard died principally from blood loss. He classified the death as homicide.
Under Nadine Pellegrini's questioning, Nields explained damage to major abdominal organs and blood vessels, partial injury to the spinal cord, and near severing of the left forearm. He believed the injuries overall would have been painful, while qualifying his assessment of stomach and intestinal pain.
Nields identified clothing and recovered material, including nails, a metal pellet, wood, and black plastic. He distinguished material recovered from the body from material he believed came from the body bag, and described a separate clothing fragment as consistent with the back exit wound. He qualified some identifications rather than claiming certainty. Clothing, recovered fragments, photographs of material, and two autopsy photographs were admitted; the autopsy photographs remained subject to prior rulings.
The defense asked no questions, and the government rested after Nields was excused. His autopsy findings also informed David King's testimony. After reviewing Nields's report and findings, King concluded that Richard died from rapid blood loss rather than instantaneously and explained the pain associated with the abdominal injuries.
Trial Record (2)
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