Published: May 20, 2009 09:49 am      

Berry trial, day two

Medical examiner, deputy testify in second day of double murder trial

West Virginia State Medical Examiner Dr. James A. Kaplan testified Tuesday describing to jurors the gunshot wounds which, on Dec. 2, 2006, took the lives of 25-year-old Martha Mills and her fiancé Zack Worthington.

“Not consistent with life,” is how Kaplan described the two wounds that ultimately led to the death of Mills and Worthington.

Kaplan was part of day two of the murder trial for Rodney Jason Berry, who is accused of gunning down Worthington and Mills, his former girlfriend, in the parking lot outside her Bradley apartment.

Berry, 27, of Minden, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of use of a firearm.

Kaplan said Worthington, who police say was shot multiple times while sitting in the passenger seat of Mills’ pickup truck, suffered between nine and 15 gunshot wounds.

Those gunshots, Kaplan said, struck Worthington in his chest, arms, hands, fingers, neck and head.

Several of Worthington’s injuries were defensive wounds, Kaplan said, explaining those wounds occur on the hands and arms when a victim “tries to shield himself from harm.”

Although many of the wounds were serious, as Kaplan said at least one of Worthington’s lungs was perforated, he said the fatal shot was one that “passed through Mr. Worthington’s head, causing injuries that were incompatible with life.”

Kaplan explained that bullet entered the right back of Worthington’s head and exited in the left frontal area.

“It caused fatal injuries to his brain,” Kaplan said.

Kaplan said many of Worthington’s gunshot wounds were “atypical,” meaning the bullets probably struck something before they struck his body.

However, the fatal wound, and at least one other, were normal, Kaplan said.

Unlike Worthington, Mills received just one wound.

“(The wound) was very close to the central area of her face,” Kaplan said, explaining the bullet passed through her head, severing the brain stem and stopping respiration. “She would have died soon thereafter.”

Kaplan said Mills had gunpowder flecks on her face, an indication that the gun was probably about 12 inches away when it was fired.

Mills, Kaplan said, fell where she was shot.

“The bullet interrupted communication between Ms. Mills muscles and brain so she would have become flaccid immediately,” he said.

Kaplan indicated in his autopsy report that both Mills and Worthington’s cause of death was “firearm assault in the setting of domestic violence.”

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Raleigh County Sheriff’s Deputy Jason Redden, who responded to the shooting, testified, showing photos taken at the scene, including pictures of recovered shell casings and bullet fragments, bullet holes in the windshield and the interior of Mills’ truck.

Additionally, one of the photos showed a hole in a window pane of Mills’ neighbor’s apartment. Redden said that bullet, which was never recovered, passed through the window and exited the rear door of the residence.

Also, Redden showed the court photos taken of Worthington after he had been placed in an ambulance and declared dead.

Co-defense attorney C. Michael Griffith objected to several of the “gory” photos, which he said were being used by chief prosecutor Kristen Keller in an attempt to “arouse the passion of the jurors.”

Keller, however, said the photos were intended to show the injuries Worthington received and also to show the condition in which Berry allegedly left him, which she said “shows intent to kill.”

Also, two 9mm semi-automatic Taurus handguns, both recovered from Berry’s residence, were admitted into evidence.

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Mills’ older brother Fred took the stand, telling the court he had seen both his sister and Worthington just more than an hour before their deaths when they stopped by his mother’s home, where he was living.

The couple, he said, had announced their engagement just one or two weeks earlier.

Although Mills said his sister ended her relationship with Berry in April 2006, he said in the month leading up to the killings, Berry called his mother’s house at least 20 times, asking to speak to Martha.

Mills said he told Berry to stop calling, informing him she had her own apartment, where her boyfriend (Worthington) often stayed.

Berry, according to Mills, often went target shooting close to his mother’s home, using weapons including an AK-47 and 9mm guns.

Despite Berry’s repeated phone calls, Mills told co-defense attorney Gary Frasher he thought the defendant was an “average” person and agreed that he had a favorable opinion of him prior to the shootings.

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Also testifying Tuesday was forensic analyst Koren Powers, who said gunshot residue tests performed by Raleigh County Sheriff’s deputies after Berry’s arrest, indicated he had residue on his hands and face.

The trial will resume today at 8 a.m., with testimony from ballistics expert Matthew White and the defense cross examination of Kaplan.

Both men had prior commitments which they said would prevent them from returning today.

Judge Robert Burnside, however, apologized, and ordered them to return.

— E-mail: mjames@register-herald.com