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SALT LAKE CITY — The fact that Uta von Schwedler had drugs in her system, cutting or stabbing marks on her body and drowned in her bathtub makes it unlikely she was the victim of a homicide, a pathology expert testified Monday.
The trial of Johnny Wall, 51, accused of killing his ex-wife, entered its 11th day of testimony Monday with Wall's defense team calling Dr. Judy Melinek to the stand. Melinek is a pathology consultant and former medical examiner in California.
For more than three hours she was questioned about why she believes von Schwedler's death was the result of an accident or suicide, but not the result of a homicide.
She said what is known as "multiple modality," or having drowning, sharp trauma and drugs all happening in the same death is extremely rare in murder cases. But not in accidental deaths or suicides.
The body of von Schwedler, 49, was discovered in an overflowing bathtub in her Salt Lake home at 1433 E. Harrison Ave. (1625 South) on Sept. 27, 2011. Investigators believe she likely died late on the evening of Sept. 26 or early in the morning of the 27th. But Melinek said she believes based on the fact that von Schwedler's fingers weren't wrinkled like a person who had been sitting in a tub full of water for hours, that she likely died closer to when she was found rather than when she was last seen the night before by Wall.
Among her other conclusions, Melinek said the injuries on von Schwedler's wrists were linear, something that's more likely seen in a person inflicting injuries on herself to see how much pain the person can withstand rather than someone cut during a violent struggle. Melinek believes the cut on von Schwedler's leg was also self-inflicted. At one point during his direct examination, defense attorney Fred Metos even got on the courtroom floor to show jurors how a person in a bathtub would be able to easily cut their own legs.
There is no sign of a significant, or any, struggle here at all. … This scene is not consistent with a homicide.
–Dr. Judy Melinek
Melinek further questioned how the knife found under von Schwedler's body would have gotten there if she was murdered. She said the lack of other injuries on von Schwedler's body is inconsistent with a struggle or strangulation. That, in addition to the lack of a crime scene helped her reach her conclusion.
She also questioned why a person who would try to stage a homicide scene to look like a drug overdose would pick Xanax. It would take up to an hour for Xanax to knock von Schwedler out to the point that someone could have lifted her body and carried into the bathtub, she said. Melinek said she would have expected someone like von Schwedler to fight for an hour, but those injuries were not there.
Furthermore, anyone trying to stage a suicide would have left evidence of Xanax in the house to make it look like a drug overdose, she said.
"It doesn't look typical for a staging, I'm sorry," she said after being pressed during cross examination. "My conclusion is she was intoxicated when she committed a self-destructive act."
"There is no sign of a significant, or any, struggle here at all. … This scene is not consistent with a homicide."
Melinek believes von Schwedler ingested the Xanax pills on her own. She also pointed to a photo album found floating in the tub with her, noting that many people who commit suicide have a personal item of great importance with them when they carry through with the act.
Melinek said she also believes Wall's explanation about his an eye injury is plausible. He told investigators his dog scratched his eye about the same time as his ex-wife's death. Prosecutors contend it was the result of von Schwedler trying to fight back.
Melinek repeated several times — especially when cross-examined by prosecutors — that her conclusion that she wasn't murdered is based on an "incomplete" investigation.
During cross-examination, prosecutors noted that Melinek was not a crime scene expert and that the medical examiner who conducted von Schwedler's autopsy had conducted many more autopsies during his career than she had. They emphasized that the medical examiner directly viewed von Schwedler's injuries instead of just viewing photographs as Melinek did.
A jury could begin deliberations in the case by Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday.
