Experts in forensic pathology and forensic firearms were the focus of the third day of testimony in a murder trial on Thursday.
Dr. Elizabeth Brooks-Lin, a Calgary medical examiner, testified the Red Deer Court of Queen’s Bench jury trial that she conducted the autopsy of Timothy James Mock, 33, who was killed on Feb. 22, 2012, on the Mock Ranch north of Consort. His brother John Wayne Mock, 35, faces a second-degree murder charge.
Brooks-Lin said Timothy died as a result of gunshot wounds he sustained. She said the victim had sustained four wounds from bullets to the body and she could not say with certainty which shot killed him, but that he died of the injuries they caused.
Two of the wounds Timothy sustained were “through and throughs” where they had both an entry and exit point on his body. Brooks-Lin said a bullet went through Timothy’s forearm as there were both entry and exit wounds there and a bullet entered the left side of his chest and exited the right side.
Two bullets were recovered from his body during the autopsy. Brooks-Lin said they both entered the body from the right side of the back and stopped inside the victim.
They hit vital organs on their paths including the kidneys and liver. A third bullet was recovered from the scene.
Brooks-Lin said it was possible that the bullet that caused the wound in the forearm could also have caused one of the wounds to the body.
Also called by Crown prosecutors Thursday was John Marshall, a forensic firearm and tool marks expert. Marshall, who worked at the RCMP forensic lab at the time, examined the firearm police recovered from the scene — a Ruger Blackhawk .45-calibre revolver — as well as the bullets, casings and a shirt recovered from the scene.
He said the bullets recovered could be neither ruled out or ruled in as being fired by the revolver police seized. He said the characteristics presented by the bullets show they could have been fired from any Ruger Blackhawk .45-calibre revolver. However, he did say the bullet cartridges police recovered along with the handgun were fired by the firearm.
He also said that because there was no residue from the firing of a gun on the shirt the gun was fired at least 30 inches away from the victim.
John Mock’s trial continues Friday with more Crown testimony. His lawyer, Darren Mahoney, said his client admits to the facts of the shooting, but contends that he was affected by a mental disorder at the time of the shooting and was therefore not criminally responsible for his actions. The question for the jury is whether or not John Mock can be held criminally responsible for those actions.
mcrawford@www.reddeeradvocate.com