1.Katherine Lindstrom — Direct
243 linesP R O C E E D I N G S
COURT CLERK: All rise for the Court and the jury.
(The Court and jury enter the courtroom at 9:12 a.m.)
COURT CLERK: Be seated.
THE COURT: Good morning, jurors.
JUROR: Good morning, your Honor.
THE COURT: Let me just ask you after a long weekend whether you've been able to avoid news reports about the case and avoided any discussion with anyone, including among yourselves?
(No verbal response.)
THE COURT: Okay. Mr. Mellin?
MR. MELLIN: Good morning, your Honor. The United States calls Dr. Katherine Lindstrom.
KATHERINE LINDSTROM, M.D., duly sworn
COURT CLERK: State your name, spell your last name for the record, keep your voice up and speak into the mic.
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: Katherine Lindstrom, L-I-N-D-S-T-R-O-M.
DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. MELLIN:
MR. MELLIN: Good morning, Dr. Lindstrom.
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: Good morning.
MR. MELLIN: Where are you employed?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: The Boston Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
MR. MELLIN: How long have you been there?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: Approximately four years.
MR. MELLIN: Let's go back through your education. Where did you go undergrad?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: I did undergraduate at the University of Iowa.
MR. MELLIN: And what degree did you get?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: A bachelor of science in chemistry.
MR. MELLIN: After that, did you go to medical school?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: I did.
MR. MELLIN: Where did you go to medical school?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: At the University of Iowa as well.
MR. MELLIN: If you could do me a favor and try to keep your voice up a little bit, and maybe you could pull the microphone closer. After you got your degree, where did you go?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: I did a general pathology residency at the University of Virginia.
MR. MELLIN: What is a general pathology residency?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: Basically it covers all areas of pathology which includes surgical pathology, which is examination of surgical specimens, blood banking, chemistry, laboratory medicine, things like that.
MR. MELLIN: After that time at UVA, what did you do?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: I stayed at UVA for two more years to do a neuropathology fellowship.
MR. MELLIN: Okay. What is neuropathology?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: Study of the brain.
MR. MELLIN: And what did you do after that?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: Then I went to the University of New Mexico to do a forensic pathology fellowship.
MR. MELLIN: What is a forensic pathology fellowship?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: Basically it's learning to do autopsies in order to determine cause and manner of death.
MR. MELLIN: How long was that fellowship?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: One year.
MR. MELLIN: During that time, how many autopsies did you either perform or see performed?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: During my fellowship, a little over 200.
MR. MELLIN: And then after your fellowship was over, where did you go?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: Here to the Boston office.
MR. MELLIN: Okay. And you came here what year again?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: 2011.
MR. MELLIN: So from 2011 until today in 2015, approximately how many autopsies have you done?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: Probably around 800 or so.
MR. MELLIN: Have you testified as an expert before as a forensic pathologist?
MR. MELLIN: Approximately how many times have you testified?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: About a dozen or so.
MR. MELLIN: Back on April 16th of 2013, did you perform an autopsy on Lingzi Lu?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: I did.
MR. MELLIN: At that time can you just generally describe the procedures that you followed in performing that autopsy?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: So the first thing we do is a complete external examination of the body. So we note what they're dressed in and any external injuries to the body along with any defining characteristics, such as hair color, eye color. We follow that with an internal examination of the chest cavity, abdominal cavity and the head.
MR. MELLIN: Okay. Did you also prepare a report?
MR. MELLIN: Your Honor, if I may approach with Exhibit 1586, which is the doctor's report of the examination.
THE COURT: All right.
BY MR. MELLIN:
MR. MELLIN: And, Dr. Lindstrom, is that your report of the autopsy?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: Yes, it is.
MR. MELLIN: And if you need it as you go through your testimony, feel free to refer to it. Did you determine the cause and manner of Lingzi Lu's death?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: I did.
MR. MELLIN: What did you determine those to be?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: The cause of death was blast injuries of the lower extremities and the manner was homicide.
MR. MELLIN: When you say the cause of death was the blast injuries, what do you mean by that?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: So a bomb blast can cause a variety of injuries. In this case her injuries were caused by debris hitting her body and going through her body.
MR. MELLIN: In particular, what parts of her body were hit by debris?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: Predominantly her lower legs. Her legs.
MR. MELLIN: Were you able to determine how quickly she died?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: It would have been not immediate but relatively quickly, within seconds to minutes.
MR. MELLIN: You said her lower body was affected. What part of her lower body?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: So both her thighs and lower legs had injuries. Predominantly her thighs had the major injuries.
MR. MELLIN: Did those injuries involve the severing of nerves?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: Yes, they would have.
MR. MELLIN: Did they involve cutting through and gashing muscle?
MR. MELLIN: How painful would those injuries have been?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: They would have been very painful.
MR. MELLIN: The injury to her right leg, on page 3 of your report you described it as a perforating injury of the right upper thigh?
MR. MELLIN: What do you mean by a perforating injury?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: That the injury went completely through her thigh.
MR. MELLIN: You described it as a gaping laceration that measured six inches by two inches. Is that right?
MR. MELLIN: And you said that there was another gaping laceration that measured seven and a half inches long after reapproximation of the skin?
MR. MELLIN: What do you mean by that?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: So the injuries were gaping open, or basically they were pulled open by just the skin tension. So when you put the skin back together, that's how long it measured.
MR. MELLIN: When you think about that injury, how large would you describe it, in general terms?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: The -- I'm sorry. Which part of the injury?
MR. MELLIN: The right upper thigh injury.
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: So there was basically a cavity left in the muscle tissue probably approximately around this size that went completely through her upper thigh.
MR. MELLIN: And for the record, you put your fingers together in somewhat of a circle. Is that right?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: Right. It would be a couple of inches in diameter, two or three inches.
MR. MELLIN: And then regarding her left leg, were there injuries to her left leg as well?
MR. MELLIN: What injuries did she have to her left leg?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: So her left upper thigh had a large cavity in it that had been caused by the debris going through; her skin was torn almost completely around her upper thigh; her left femoral artery and left femoral vein were also transected, or cut in half.
MR. MELLIN: When you say "transected," meaning that it was completely cut through?
MR. MELLIN: All right. What effect would that have on her ability to sustain life?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: It would have caused her to bleed out, or lose her blood volume relatively quickly.
MR. MELLIN: And the femoral artery, what is the significance of that?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: It's basically the major artery carrying blood down to the leg.
MR. MELLIN: Again, did that injury have a large perforating -- or a large laceration?
MR. MELLIN: And when you looked at those two leg injuries, did you notice that there were any -- was there any debris in the injuries?
MR. MELLIN: What type of debris was in the injuries?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: So there were round metal pellets, small nails, there was some larger pieces of silver-colored metal, and then there was also some other things like plastic and fabric and things like that.
MR. MELLIN: You found pieces of silver metal in her body?
MR. MELLIN: Did you also find a large piece of metal somewhere else?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: Yes, there was a large piece of metal that had torn into her purse, and it was basically inside her purse.
MR. MELLIN: If I could have you look at a few photographs.
MR. MELLIN: Mr. Bruemmer, if we could pull up Exhibit 662.
Your Honor, Mr. Bruemmer makes a good point. Are the monitors off?
THE COURT: Yes. All right. Do you want to test it?
MR. MACELHINEY: Yes. Do you want to put something up? Anything. Okay. None are on.
THE COURT: None? All right.
MR. MELLIN: Thank you, your Honor.
BY MR. MELLIN:
MR. MELLIN: Dr. Lindstrom, I'm going to pull up three photos for you to look at very quickly just so you can identify them, all right?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: All right.
MR. MELLIN: Exhibit 662.
THE COURT: Let me just be sure that this camera is not shooting the monitor that Mr. Bruck is looking at.
MR. MACELHINEY: No, it's not.
THE COURT: All right.
BY MR. MELLIN:
MR. MELLIN: And just very briefly, do you recognize that as a photo from the autopsy?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: There's nothing on my screen.
MR. MELLIN: Excellent. Anything on your screen yet?
THE COURT: It should be. No, never mind. I'm sorry. My mistake. It should be now.
MR. MELLIN: Anything on your screen yet?
MR. MELLIN: Do you recognize that photograph?
MR. MELLIN: Okay. Is that one of the photos from the autopsy?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: It is.
MR. MELLIN: Okay. If we could move on to Photo 667, please. And do you recognize that photo as one of the photographs from the autopsy?
MR. MELLIN: And then finally 668. Do you recognize that as yet another photograph from the autopsy?
MR. MELLIN: And were all three of those photos fair and accurate photographs of the photos that were taken at the autopsy?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: They are.
MR. MELLIN: Your Honor, we would move into evidence Exhibits 662, 667 and 668.
THE COURT: All right. And they may be exhibited to the jury.
MR. BRUCK: As noted.
THE COURT: Yes, of course.
(Government Exhibit Nos. 662, 667 and 668 received into evidence.)
THE COURT: And again, jurors, these are graphic photographs.
MR. MELLIN: If we could go back to 662, Mr. Bruemmer.
BY MR. MELLIN:
MR. MELLIN: Dr. Lindstrom, as you look at Exhibit 662, that is Lingzi Lu in the photograph. Is that right?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: It is.
MR. MELLIN: And now can you describe -- as you look at it, can you please describe what you see on the left side of her left leg?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: So on her left thigh you can see a large -- basically a tear through the skin and muscle that leaves kind of a gaping cavity. It goes completely through her left thigh.
MR. MELLIN: On the inner portion of her left thigh there appears to be injuries as well. Is that right?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: Yes, there was a separate laceration there, or tear in the skin.
MR. MELLIN: And just for the record, as we're looking at this, this is -- she is laying face up in this photograph?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: Correct.
MR. MELLIN: Okay. And then as you look at this, there also appears to be some injury to her right thigh that is visibile on the inside. Is that right?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: You can see part of it here. There's a tear on the inner right thigh.
MR. MELLIN: Now, as you look at this photograph, also just below her right knee there appears to be some black marks. Do you see those?
MR. MELLIN: What are those?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: So they are abrasions and small lacerations on her skin that were caused by debris hitting it.
MR. MELLIN: You mentioned -- or do you know the term "pseudo stippling"?
MR. MELLIN: What is that?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: Basically it just means, again, like abrasions or small lacerations usually from debris hitting the skin. And it's called "pseudo stippling" because it's not made by gunpowder, which it would be called "stippling," just plain "stippling."
MR. MELLIN: And you noted areas of pseudo stippling throughout her lower extremities?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: They are mostly -- so on the back, on the side of her left leg -- so along the side of her left leg, and then along this side of her right leg, so the medial, or the middle back part of her right leg.
MR. MELLIN: And for the record, you indicated the left sides of both of the legs. Is that right?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: Correct.
MR. MELLIN: All right.
MR. MELLIN: If we could then pull up Exhibit 667, please.
MR. MELLIN: For the record, what are we looking at?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: So this is her body basically turned face down.
MR. MELLIN: All right. And as you now look at this photograph on her left leg, do you see the injury to her left leg better?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: Yes. So you can see the back side of the cavity that we saw from the front over here on the outside of her left leg.
MR. MELLIN: And you mentioned before that both her femoral artery and femoral vein were transected. Is that right?
MR. MELLIN: And would that be somewhere located in this injury?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: Within the tissue. You can't see it in this photograph.
MR. MELLIN: And again, you see there is some injury to her right leg as well. Is that right?
MR. MELLIN: Can you describe that?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: So you can see a tear on the middle part of her right leg here and then on the outer part of her right leg here where the debris went through.
MR. MELLIN: You just indicated that the debris went through from left to right. Is that right?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: Yes. Based on her injuries that's what appears to have happened.
MR. MELLIN: And then finally, if we could please look at Exhibit 668. What is Exhibit 668?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: So this is, again, the back side of her body, slightly closer-up view of injuries.
MR. MELLIN: Thank you. You mentioned there was the piece of metal -- well, let me ask you: When she came in to see -- into the autopsy, were there tourniquets on either of her legs?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: There were two belts around her right leg.
MR. MELLIN: Did you notice any head injuries?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: She did have a bruise underneath the skin on her -- on her right side of her head.
MR. MELLIN: You mentioned in your report there was a one-inch by one-inch hemorrhage. What do you mean by that?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: So it's basically a bruise on the muscle and under the skin on the right side of the head.
MR. MELLIN: What impact would that bruise have on her ability for her brain to function?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: It was a relatively minor injury, probably didn't have any impact on the....
MR. MELLIN: So while she was bleeding to death, her brain was functioning properly at that time?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: It would have been, yes.
MR. MELLIN: She would have been conscious until she bled to death?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: Possibly, yes.
MR. MELLIN: If I could have you also, then, look at Exhibit 672. Do you recognize Exhibit 672?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: Yes, I do.
MR. MELLIN: What is that?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: So these are pieces of metal that I recovered. The three small pieces of metal were recovered from within her right leg, and the large piece of metal was the piece that was in her purse.
MR. MELLIN: Your Honor, I would move into evidence and ask to publish Exhibit 672.
MR. BRUCK: No objection.
THE COURT: Okay.
(Government Exhibit No. 672 received into evidence.)
BY MR. MELLIN:
MR. MELLIN: As we look at Exhibit 672, can you describe the pieces of metal that you found in Ms. Lu's body?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: So the three smaller pieces of metal are silver-colored metal. They're jagged, twisted, have sharp edges.
MR. MELLIN: And as you look at them on this photograph, they're the three smaller pieces on the left side?
MR. MELLIN: And the large piece of metal to the right?
MR. MELLIN: Where did you find that?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: So that had torn into her purse.
MR. MELLIN: And would that piece of metal, would that be consistent with something that would have been consistent with the gashing of her legs?
MR. MELLIN: Your Honor, if I may approach with Exhibit 844.
MR. MELLIN: Dr. Lindstrom, 844 has a package inside of it. Can you pull that out and tell me if you recognize it?
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: And so one of these pieces is the large piece of metal that was found in her purse, and then there's a small envelope with one of the smaller pieces of metal that was in her right leg.
MR. MELLIN: Your Honor, I'd move into evidence Exhibit 844 and ask to publish the large piece of metal.
THE COURT: Okay.
(Government Exhibit No. 844 received into evidence.)
MR. MELLIN: If I may retrieve it.
(Exhibit No. 844 displayed to the jurors.)
MR. MELLIN: Thank you, your Honor. Nothing further.
MR. BRUCK: No questions for the witness.
THE COURT: All right. Thank you, Dr. Lindstrom. You may step down.
KATHERINE LINDSTROM: Thank you.
(The witness is excused.)
MR. WEINREB: Good morning, your Honor. The United States calls Michelle Gamble.