Sunday Night Stoner Parties:
Images & Transcript

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

strangulation, injuries, clark, neck, death, marcus, asks, due, calls, hemorrhages, bruises, stanley, scrapes, tucker, maryann, ecstasy, night, compression, abrasions, autopsy

SPEAKERS

Dr. Sims-Stanley, Marcus Lillard, ADA Malcor, Penny, Moriah Bray, Mr. Tucker

 

Penny  00:00

Hi I'm Penny Dearmin. This is season two Blood Town on Trial After hearing from two respiratory therapists and an EMT, the state calls Moriah Bray.

 

ADA Malcor  00:27

Did you know Clark Heindel?

 

Moriah Bray  00:30

 I did. 

 

ADA Malcor  00:31

How did you know him?

 

Moriah Bray  00:33

We met through mutual friends. He was often found at metropolis. The owner of Metropolis, Deepak was his very best friend. So yeah, I met him through mutual friends dining out at metropolis and started going to his yoga studio, good karma.

 

ADA Malcor  00:51

And how often would you see him or talk to him?

 

Moriah Bray  00:55

Quite often. He used to throw these parties on Sunday nights that were a real blast. I know it's controversial. I don't know how controversial, but....

 

ADA Malcor  01:07

tell the jury about the parties. You attended them? 

 

Moriah Bray  01:10

Yes, 

 

ADA Malcor  01:10

you know what they were.

 

Moriah Bray  01:12

So at the parties, it would be a lot of people just getting together and jamming out to music. A lot of the older gentleman who would go were skilled musicians, drummers, guitar players, Clark could play the accordion. He could play all kinds of instruments. I used to call them my Sunday night stoner parties because people would smoke a little weed, drink some wine, nothing too crazy when I was there. I mean, I personally don't think that weed and wine is all that crazy.

 

ADA Malcor  01:43

Were there heavier drugs that were used there that you're aware of?

 

Moriah Bray  01:46

Not that I was ever aware of or ever saw, but I do know that Clark had a history with harder substances. 

 

ADA Malcor  01:54

Had he talked to you about that? 

 

Moriah Bray  01:55

And so yes, 

 

ADA Malcor  01:57

and what did he talk to you about?

 

Moriah Bray  01:59

So I used to massage Clark in exchange for unlimited yoga classes at his studio. And he talked to me about his younger life. He talked to me about how at one point he used to be a very straight edge kind of person. I believe he was a deacon at the Episcopalian Church in town, for instance, and he lost a son when his son was only six years old, and that deeply affected him. And after that, he began going on a spiritual journey with other substances, I believe he went out to Peru and met with a shaman there to practice Ayahuasca in an attempt to feel closer to his son and gain some kind of understanding about that very early passing.

 

Penny  02:41

Ada Melkor asks if Clark mentioned any aggressive traits that the ayahuasca produced?

 

Moriah Bray  02:49

No, no, I never knew Clark to be violent in any way. He was always a very kind and gentle person. He was a counselor for many years he had a heart for people.

 

Penny  03:01

The state plays a video recording of one of the Sunday night stoner parties where there are musicians and Moriah Bray is singing the House of the Rising Sun. ADA Malcor asks, If Miss Bray knows the defendant, Marcus Lillard.

 

Moriah Bray  03:22

I believe that night was the first night that I met him. And the only other time that I recall interacting with him was when I was working at the I worked at the Green Market, the local farmers market doing chair massage, and he came once and got a chair massage.

 

ADA Malcor  03:39

Was he there that night? 

 

Moriah Bray  03:41

Yeah, he's in the video. 

 

ADA Malcor  03:43

And is he the one playing the bongos?

 

Moriah Bray  03:45

 I believe. Yeah. 

 

ADA Malcor  03:46

And there was a young man playing the guitar. Do you know who that was? 

 

Moriah Bray  03:49

His son.  Carson?  Yes. 

 

ADA Malcor  03:52

On Saturday, May 11 to change. Do you remember that evening?

 

Moriah Bray  03:57

Yes. We were having some margaritas and just going out dancing that night. It was a Saturday night. So it was you know, no stoner party that night. That was Sunday's.

 

Penny  04:06

ADA Malcor asks about any communication she received from Clark on May 11.

 

Moriah Bray  04:15

Well, I received communication from Clark's account. I received phone calls from Clark's phone number, text messages from Clark's phone number and messages from Clark's Facebook. But in the messages themselves, Marcus identifies that it's him contacting me on Clark's devices

 

ADA Malcor  04:33

and the first message that identifies itself as being from Marcus what time is that?

 

Moriah Bray  04:39

11:36pm

 

ADA Malcor  04:41

Could you read that text?

 

Moriah Bray  04:44

There's a bit of a typo. But it basically says It's Marcus I need you at Clark's ASAP not fun.

 

ADA Malcor  04:50

What does State's exhibit 72 show?

 

Moriah Bray  04:53

a text message from Marcus. It's Marcus I need you. No fun. At 11:51 PM, and then it switches to Sunday, May 12, because it's after midnight now at 1224: At Clark's, please.

 

ADA Malcor  05:09

Alright, and what is shown here in state's exhibit 73.

 

Moriah Bray  05:14

So this shows missed calls. And it also shows the history of text messages received.

 

ADA Malcor  05:20

And what time were the missed calls?

 

Moriah Bray  05:24

Missed call at 11:49pm on May 11, and 11:39pm on May 11. I know why I didn't respond to the messages that night. It was because it wasn't actually Clark, because Marcus identified himself in the messages. And again, I didn't know Marcus super well 

 

ADA Malcor  05:45

You learned from a friend, right? That Clark had died?

 

Moriah Bray  05:47

Yes, she called and said Clark's dead. He killed himself. I was I was very distraught [crying]. And I felt guilty, because I thought that Marcus was reaching out because he was at Clark's house and Clark was suicidal. And I thought he was trying to get me to come out there. Because he thought I could talk him down. And I didn't go. And I didn't respond.

 

ADA Malcor  06:15

Have you since learned that that was not true?

 

Moriah Bray  06:18

Yeah, I mean, I think anyone who knows about this case has learned the events of that night were far more complicated.

 

ADA Malcor  06:27

Did you at some point later realize that you had also gotten a voicemail that night?

 

Moriah Bray  06:33

Yes. So when I was first interviewed by the GBI, they asked if I had actually spoken to Marcus and again, you know, I'd been drinking that night and I was very forthright about that. I said, I don't remember having a conversation. And then I was contacted again sometime later, during the investigation and was told that in my phone records that they'd finally been able to access it showed that there was like a phone call of around 50 seconds or so. She called me and I discovered the voicemail after she asked me to look for it and then I called back and said yes, there's a voicemail and and met with her again to give her that evidence.

 

Penny  07:12

The state introduces a recording of the voicemail and just a warning that this could be disturbing to some listeners

 

Marcus Lillard  07:22

[Sounds like Marianne gasping or drawing in labored breath] Hey Moriah, it's Marcus. I'm at Clark's. We have something going on over here that ain't all that fun, and I think probably you could make it go better. Call me please. [Breath repeats]

 

Penny  07:56

It might be hard for you to hear or make out. But to me it sounds like someone is wheezing or gasping for air there is the potential that at 1139 at the latest Marcus called Mariah Bray and left this voicemail. And Marianne is still alive. And if you recall, Clark did not call 911 until 1:06am.

 

Mr. Tucker  08:23

As you were at these parties did. As the night progressed, people kind of hook up or you would see couples drifting off or going somewhere on his property or in his house.

 

Moriah Bray  08:35

So not usually but I did see Marcus hook up with one of my friends in the hot tub. At the party, I believe at the party that I met him at the one in the video where you can see him playing. I left that evening and when I left they were in the hot tub together. I didn't you know see any activity actually going on. But I assumed that that was where it was headed.

 

Mr. Tucker  08:59

When you met Marcus on May 11th. Is that when you gave him a massage?

 

Moriah Bray  09:07

No. 

 

Mr. Tucker  09:08

What was the date you gave him a massage?

 

Moriah Bray  09:11

So I'm I gave him a massage on May 11. But that was not the day that I met him.

 

Mr. Tucker  09:18

So you did give him a massage on May 11th? 

 

Moriah Bray  09:21

Yes. 

 

Mr. Tucker  09:21

And he really didn't know who you were just basically knew you were Clark's friend.

 

Moriah Bray  09:25

Right. I would say that we were acquaintances

 

Mr. Tucker  09:28

He knew that he knew that you were a massage therapist?

 

Moriah Bray  09:31

Right. Licensed massage therapist. Yes, sir.

 

Penny  09:35

The state calls Dr. Sims-Stanley, she's a medical examiner. She's performed approximately 5300 autopsies and the Court recognized her as an expert in forensic pathology. She performed the autopsy on Marianne Shockley on May 13.

 

Dr. Sims-Stanley  09:55

She had multiple abrasions which are scrapes, contusions which are bruises scattered over the face, also involving the neck, the torso or trunk of the body and the arms or legs and the arms and legs. There was a laceration. The right forehead, a laceration is a blunt force impact due to crushing and tearing on the skin. Not cutting of the skin. internal injuries included injuries to the neck that are consistent with manual strangulation.

 

Penny  10:31

Dr. Sims-Stanley is pointing to some diagrams from an anatomy book that show the neck and throat She explains that strangulation is external compression to the neck. The mechanism of death in strangulation is irreversible damage to the brain due to a lack of adequate blood and oxygen supply. She's pointing out and explaining different aspects of the anatomy in the throat such as the muscles, and now she's explaining about the hyoid bone, 

 

Dr. Sims-Stanley  11:06

What we see right here, this white area is the hyoid. The hyoid bone is a U-shaped bone that's situated high in the neck behind the lower jaw, the mandible. It serves as a site of multiple muscle attachments. Because of its location, the hyoid is very well protected from injury. And in strangulation, the hyoid bone is vulnerable to injury.

 

Penny  11:34

Dr. Sims-Stanley has been standing next to the jury box pointing out different parts of the anatomy and she now returns to the stand to testify about the autopsy photos.

 

ADA Malcor  11:47

What do you see in this picture? As far as her face 

 

Dr. Sims-Stanley  11:51

You can see multiple abrasions, which are scrapes that involve the protruding or bony prominences of the face, the forehead, the nose, or bony, portions of the bony orbital rims and cheeks as well as the mouth and chin. There are also some bruises contusions on the face. On the right forehead, there is a laceration which is a blunt force injury, not a sharp force injury. Not due to cutting of the skin. It's due to crushing and tearing the skin.

 

ADA Malcor  12:27

Now at first glance, these injuries might look to be consistent with a beating. Are they?

 

Dr. Sims-Stanley  12:34

 No. 

 

ADA Malcor  12:35

Okay, and why did you say that?

 

Dr. Sims-Stanley  12:36

These injuries are consistent with a terminal fall or an unmitigated fall, a fall where someone is either unresponsive or not able to reflexively protect their face from falling. We know that because again the bony prominences of protruding areas of the face are involved. The forehead, nose, the bony structures of the face, but the recessed portions of the face, the skin of a the eyelids, the bridge of the nose, portions of the insides of the cheeks, those are protected

 

ADA Malcor  13:13

would the injuries that you see here be consistent with an unconscious person falling and hitting her face.

 

Dr. Sims-Stanley  13:21

Yes, ma'am. 

 

Penny  13:22

ADA Malcor asks Dr. Sims-Stanley if she can determine if the injuries to her face occurred prior to her death or after her death. And just a reminder that perimortem means at or before the time of death and post mortem means after death.

 

Dr. Sims-Stanley  13:40

These injuries would be classified as Peri mortem at or near the time of death. But she did have a blood pressure when these injuries were sustained because she was able to bleed into these injuries. 

 

ADA Malcor  13:53

So, still alive? 

 

Dr. Sims-Stanley  13:55

Yes, This is a photograph of the eyes. I forgot to mention that one of the hallmark findings in strangulation is petechiae. These are pinpoint hemorrhages that are either in the whites of the eyes or the insides of the eyelids. They can also be within the skin the facial skin. They occur above the level of compression due to increased blood pressure and rupture of these very small vessels. It could occur in natural deaths, heart related deaths. They can occur in deaths where there has been extreme vomiting due to the increased vascular pressure.

 

Penny  14:36

ADA Malcor asks if the presence of petechiae alone is indicative of manual strangulation 

 

Dr. Sims-Stanley  14:40

Alone. It is not. 

 

Penny  14:46

Dr. Sims-Stanley tells ADA Malcor that she did observe some vomit on Marianne and that it is very common for individuals to vomit and lose control of their bowels at the time of death. When we're listening to this in the courtroom, we're not really understanding the relevance of the vomit but it is something you want to keep in mind. It will come up later in the trial as far as the defendant's theory about how Marianne died.

 

Dr. Sims-Stanley  15:18

We also see in this photograph the abrasions that are spanning the chin and then we see the red bruises that are on the left upper front of the neck. Bruises are typically seen in manual strangulation, obviously due to compression of the neck.

 

Penny  15:36

Dr. Sims-Stanley testified about some other Peri mortem injuries. Marianne has multiple bruises on the inside of her left arm and the base of the hand, bruises and scrapes around the elbow of the left arm, bruises on the left wrist, left fingers have linear and irregular abrasions.

 

Dr. Sims-Stanley  16:00

This is a photograph of the legs. You can see that there are bruises and scrapes involving the knees. There are also similar injuries involving the backs of the feet and the toes.

 

Penny  16:14

On the right side, her hand, forearm, and the outer portion of her wrist all have bruises and there are abrasions on her right hand and knuckles. ADA Malcor asks if the injuries are consistent with her being picked up, grabbed and held. And Dr. Sims-Stanley says yes they can be ADA Melkor asks Are the injuries to the tops of her feet consistent with her being dragged and Dr. Sims-Stanley says yes, the state now introduces photographs of the interior in the neck area.

 

Dr. Sims-Stanley  16:51

There's dark discoloration representing hemorrhage or bleeding at the base of the right sternocleidomastoid muscle.

 

Penny  16:59

The jury is shown images of several areas of hemorrhages around the muscles in the neck and around the hyoid. Hemorrhages are found on both sides of the muscle both at the superficial and deep level.

 

Dr. Sims-Stanley  17:14

It shows that there was compression to the neck which would have occluded the vascular structures, the blood vessels to the neck and interfered with the delivery of oxygen to the brain. 

 

ADA Malcor  17:24

Would that be a significant amount of compression?

 

Dr. Sims-Stanley  17:27

Yes, if you have hemorrhage to the internal structures of the neck it does indicate a significant amount of pressure.

 

Penny  17:33

This question about the amount of pressure applied is going to come up again later. So make sure you remember that.The state shows the next picture of the interior of the throat area

 

Dr. Sims-Stanley  17:46

in there is soft tissue hemorrhage overlying the right greater horn of the hyoid bone. Manual strangulation can cause fractures of the hyoid bone and the thyroid cartilage particularly those tapering superior horns.

 

Penny  18:01

Dr. Sims-Stanley testifies that you don't have to see fractures of the structures. In this case her hyoid bone and thyroid cartilage were intact. However, if you see hemorrhage of the soft tissue overlying the structures, it shows that there was compression in these areas, which is consistent with manual strangulation 

 

ADA Malcor  18:24

does the fact that the hyoid bone in this case is not fractured change your opinion as to her cause of death.

 

Dr. Sims-Stanley  18:33

No, Ma'am.

 

Penny  18:34

ADA Malcor asks the cause of her death,

 

Dr. Sims-Stanley  18:37

asphyxia due to strangulation

 

ADA Malcor  18:40

Were you able to determine the manner of death?

 

Dr. Sims-Stanley  18:42

 For the purposes of a medical examiner if the actions of another individual cause or contribute to the death then the manner is classified as a homicide.

 

Penny  18:51

ADA Malcor asks about other significant findings at autopsy,

 

Dr. Sims-Stanley  18:56

she had an enlargement of the heart that can be due to high blood pressure. There was also an enlargement of the liver that can be due to simply vascular congestion due to the heart not pumping as well as it should. There was also enlargement of the spleen. Due to vascular drainage of the spleen. If the liver is enlarged,the spleen is going to enlarge

 

Penny  19:21

her blood alcohol was point one one and her blood tested positive for a metabolite of ecstasy. She also had bruising and abrasions to her chest and abdomen. Several of her ribs were fractured, which is consistent with attempts at CPR

 

ADA Malcor  19:39

with respect to the enlarged heart and the other organs that you mentioned. Did that cause her death? 

 

Dr. Sims-Stanley  19:45

No. 

 

ADA Malcor  19:46

Did the presence of ecstasy in her system cause her death? 

 

Dr. Sims-Stanley  19:50

No 

 

ADA Malcor  19:50

Was a sexual assault examination conducted?

 

Dr. Sims-Stanley  19:53

In cases of strangulation when the victim is female. There is usually a sexual component to it. So in cases of suspected strangulation, a sexual assault kit is always performed.

 

ADA Malcor  20:07

Did you note any injuries at the time of that exam?

 

Dr. Sims-Stanley  20:10

injuries to her genitalia? No

 

ADA Malcor  20:13

Was any DNA recovered? Or do you know? 

 

Dr. Sims-Stanley  20:15

I did not know. 

 

ADA Malcor  20:16

But did you do swabs to test for it?

 

Dr. Sims-Stanley  20:19

Yes, yes, that was part of the sexual assault kit, and then it was submitted to the laboratory.

 

ADA Malcor  20:24

Would the presence of a body in water affect the results of those swabs? 

 

Dr. Sims-Stanley  20:31

It could 

 

ADA Malcor  20:32

What is manual strangulation? What does that mean? 

 

Dr. Sims-Stanley  20:35

Manual strangulation refers to the assailant using one or both hands, or maybe a forearm or portion of the limb to compress the neck. Due to the extent of the injuries that would be consistent with one or both hands being used.

 

Penny  20:53

Mr. Tucker asks Dr. Sims-Stanley, you weren't able to determine if she was strangled with one hand or two hands? Correct?And Dr. Sims-Stanley said yes.

 

Mr. Tucker  21:06

And it was noted that the victim here had a 400-gram heart?

 

Dr. Sims-Stanley  21:12

Yes, sir. It is enlarged. Heart weights are typically based on the height of the person. So based on her height for a woman heart weight would be expected to be 281 plus or minus 30 grams. An enlarged Heart is more vulnerable to abnormal electrical activity

 

Mr. Tucker  21:32

And the compression around the hyoid bone. That seemed to be a large amount of compression, a small amount of compression...

 

Dr. Sims-Stanley  21:39

It shows that there was compression, the significance is that it was a marker. It's one of the markers that shows that there was compression of the neck. That compression then would have occluded the blood vessels in front of the neck, which would have interfered with the blood supply to the brain. The mechanism of death in strangulation is brain damage due to an inadequate supply of oxygen.

 

Penny  22:05

Mr. Tucker asks What is the difference between strangulation and asphyxiation?

 

Dr. Sims-Stanley  22:12

strangulation is one of those forms of asphyxia or asphyxiation. Strangulation refers to external compression of the neck. Again, that's not due to the weight of the decendent's head that would be hanging, which causes occlusion of the blood vessels of the neck and interference with the blood supply and oxygen supply to the brain.

 

Penny  22:36

Mr. Tucker asks if it could be one or the other, and it gets confusing here. I think what he's trying to say is it could be either asphyxiation or strangulation, but Dr. Sims Stanley asks, do you mean manual strangulation or ligature strangulation, which she calls ligature, so little pronunciation difference there, and she says that the evidence shows it's not ligature strangulation, but rather manual strangulation,

 

Dr. Sims-Stanley  23:09

with manual strangulation, especially the form of manual strangulation where you're not just simply pressing on the neck with an arm or the slide of the hand, but actual grasping of the neck with one or both hands, that allows for multiple deep injuries to the structures of the neck, and the protective structures of the neck, which again, all of the injuries that we talked about the soft tissue hemorrhages around the hyoid and the thyroid cartilage and strap muscles, and the petechiae of The eyes are just markers that there was compression of the neck, which caused a lack of oxygen to the brain.

 

Mr. Tucker  23:48

So, the petechiae, that can occur from extreme vomiting, correct?

 

Dr. Sims-Stanley  23:53

It can. Yes sir.

 

Mr. Tucker  23:54

How long after death could bruising and scrapes like that occur?

 

Dr. Sims-Stanley  23:59

after death, you wouldn't have bruising with the coloration that we see. But you can have abrasions, and there were abrasions on her body, which were on the abdomen and one of the thighs which had a yellow color. So then that's indicative of abrasions or scrapes of the body when there was no longer enough of a blood pressure to bleed within those wounds.

 

Penny  24:26

Mr. Tucker asks if injuries to the tongue and throa, could that be consistent with trying to put fingers down your throat to cause yourself to vomit or gag?

 

Dr. Sims-Stanley  24:37

They could be injuries that were due during the assault or strangulation or it could be as a person is dying. It's common to bite down on the tongue which causes lacerations and hemorrhaging into the tongue. So I would say any injuries to the tongue are nonspecific injuries.

 

Mr. Tucker  24:57

As somebody as you said there were marks of attempts at CPR Correct? 

 

Dr. Sims-Stanley  25:01

Yes. 

 

Mr. Tucker  25:02

Now if somebody was trying to give mouth to mouth, and they would try to hold the head steady or trying to hold the neck so they could breathe into it. They would leave marks like that too, correct?

 

Dr. Sims-Stanley  25:13

It's possible. She she did have injuries to her lips and to the insides of lips hemorrhages and there was a small laceration. So that shows that there was a pressure applied to the front of the mouth.

 

Penny  25:28

Mr. Tucker refers to the high level of ecstasy in Marianne's blood.

 

Dr. Sims-Stanley  25:35

I didn't say high, but Yes, sir. She she did have ecstasy and its metabolite in her blood. 

 

Mr. Tucker  25:41

And what was that level?

 

Dr. Sims-Stanley  25:42

The ecstasy, we'll call it, level was 1.9 milligrams per liter, the metabolite was approximately 77 micrograms per liter. I cannot give a quote unquote high level because this is an illicit drug. So there there is no therapeutic level for this drug. So therefore, there there would not be a quote unquote toxic level of this drug any, any level could be toxic.

 

Penny  26:09

Mr. Tucker provides Clark Heindel's toxicology report and asks her to read his level of ecstasy which she reads as the MDMA level,

 

Dr. Sims-Stanley  26:20

the methylene dioxin methamphetamine level is 0.72.

 

Mr. Tucker  26:27

Quite a difference between what was in the victim, correct.

 

Dr. Sims-Stanley  26:30

Yes, her level was 1.9.

 

Penny  26:33

Mr. Tucker asks, was there anything else you saw that this could have been besides strangulation and Dr. Sims-Stanley says a complete autopsy showed she died of strangulation. Mr. Tucker points out that the compression left marks but that the hyoid bone was not fractured or broken.

 

Dr. Sims-Stanley  26:57

Yes, but again, there were soft tissue hemorrhages there. So as I said, that was just one of the markers showing that there was compression to the neck, which would have occluded the blood vessels in front of the neck.

 

Penny  27:12

Mr. Tucker asks, Does the marking show that there was enough force attempted to break that bone?

 

Dr. Sims-Stanley  27:19

This case showed all of the classic findings of manual strangulation. She had a petechiae, pinpoint hemorrhages in the eyes. There were some contusions or bruises on the the left front of her neck, but she had the classic signs: she had multiple lateral soft tissue superficial and deep hemorrhages, and she had hemorrhages over the hyoid bone which, which again, as I said is very well protected from from injury, and soft tissue hemorrhages overlying the thyroid cartilage. So these are markers of compression of the neck. If you have that much compression of the neck that is causing the soft tissue hemorrhages into the muscle, the superficial the deep muscles, the hemorrhages overlying these bony and cartilaginous structures, then the blood vessels the common carotid arteries and the internal jugular veins are going to be compressed. And that's going to interfere with an adequate blood and oxygen supply to the brain

 

Mr. Tucker  28:22

Did it appear to be directed in strong manner to leave those kind of bruisings and hemmorages?

 

Dr. Sims-Stanley  28:28

In manual strangulation, often more force is used than necessary to subdue and overpower the victim and compress the neck to cause unconsciousness.

 

Mr. Tucker  28:41

Were those hands there to try to strangle the individual?

 

Dr. Sims-Stanley  28:45

Those hands deliberately compressed the neck, which then resulted in death due to strangulation. Compression was applied to the neck until she lost consciousness. And then there was a period of time an unspecified period of time where she lingered in unconsciousness before finally dying. And I say that because we see all the multiple injuries of the abrasions on her face, where she still had a blood pressure. So there was that's consistent with the period where she was unconscious, and where her body was moved and face impacted. Other parts of her body, the arms, the hands, the knees, the backs of the feet were also scraped, as well.

 

Penny  29:33

Mr. Tucker asks the ecstasy combined with the high temperature of a hot tub or say a body temperature that could cause asphyxiation, correct?

 

Dr. Sims-Stanley  29:45

No, sir. Ecstasy is a stimulant. It's a powerful stimulant drug. So the way in which it would cause death would be due to increasing the blood pressure, possibly causing a hemorrhagic stroke, or causing an abnormal or fatal heart rhythm. So if her autopsy had no other findings, other than the toxicology and the enlarged heart then I would have attributed the death to that, however, her injuries were classic textbook classic for manual strangulation. 

 

Penny  30:26

Both the prosecution and the defense hammered home Dr. Sims-Stanley's expert opinion that strangulation was the cause of death. Despite Mr. Tucker's repeated questioning about ecstasy or Marianne's enlarged heart as the cause of death. The jurors have seen graphic photos of Marianne's autopsy but they have yet to hear Marcus's side of the story from his interviews with the GBI. I imagine it's hard to contextualize the numerous bruises and scrapes and the large gash on her forehead with a narrative that they were caused by them grabbing, dropping, and dragging her. As we break for lunch on the second day of testimony, we are not yet halfway through the trial. In the afternoon, the 404 B witnesses will testify. These are the past sexual partners of Clark and Marcus that we are not allowed to identify. Join Patreon at patreon.com/blood town for early access and bonus content, or leave a rating or review on Apple podcasts, good pods or Spotify. You can visit our website blood town podcast.com or follow us on Facebook or Instagram @bloodtownpodcast and on Twitter @bloodtownpod