By Meghan McCormick
Sheila Ellis may have been conscious and suffering pain as she drowned in her own blood after shotgun pellets perforated her trachea, allowing fluid to fill her windpipe, according to testimony a Cleveland County jury heard Wednesday in a triple murder trial.
Dr. Chai Choi, a forensic pathologist with the State Medical Examiner's office in Oklahoma City, said Ellis, 56, Tami Link, 52, and Letannah Bishop, 87, all died from wounds inflicted by a shotgun on Sept. 4, 2007.
Choi said Ellis suffered a close range wound to the left side of her neck. After the shot was fired, the pellets entered her body and cut the trachea.
"The jugular vein also was damaged," Choi said.
She said pellets traveled into Ellis' right lung, fractured a rib then injured her backbone.
Cleveland County District Attorney Greg Mashburn asked Choi if she found any exit wounds.
"I did not see any exits," she said.
William Davis, 52, is accused of shooting all three women inside a house at 1517 Oklahoma Ave. Mashburn and Assistant District Attorney Christy Miller are seeking the death penalty.
Davis sat next to his defense attorneys Craig Corgan and G. Lynn Burch and listened closely as Choi described each woman's mortal wounds.
Choi detailed Link's injuries in depth. She said Link suffered a shotgun wound to the right side of her face at a close-range distance.
As soon as the pellets hit Link's mandible, the fragments spread.
"Pellets hit the C-1 vertebra close to the base of the head," Choi said. "The spinal cord was severed in two pieces and caused total paralysis immediately."
Choi said the pellets lacerated the jugular vein. The blow to the back of Link's head could have rendered her unconscious.
"It would have been a quick death," she said.
Members of all three women's families looked away as prosecutors entered pictures that showed graphic images of each victim after their deaths.
Choi said Bishop was shot at a farther distance than either Ellis or Link. Shotgun pellets nearly severed Bishop's left hand and wrist.
It appears Bishop held her left hand up as the shot was fired. The pellets traveled into her hand then hit her upper chest.
Choi said one bullet could have caused both injuries.
"What damage did this do to Ms. Bishop?" Mashburn asked.
"It damaged the muscle in the chest," Choi said.
Choi added the pellets injured Bishop's thyroid and aorta. Bishop suffered a fractured rib and injured lung.
"The trachea also was perforated by pellets," Choi said.
Choi said Bishop remained conscious after she was shot. Bishop was alert and in pain minutes after the pellets entered her body.
"Would she have been able to survive?" Mashburn asked Choi.
"Until she bled out," Choi said.
During cross examination, Burch questioned Choi about any other conditions that Bishop was diagnosed with. Choi said Bishop suffered from coronary artery disease but it didn't cause her death.
Earlier in the day, Norman Police Department forensic examiner Frank Pasierb testified about finding a pool of blood next to Link's body inside her home after she had been shot in the face.
"Did you get called to a scene at 1517 Oklahoma Avenue?" Assistant District Attorney Christy Miller asked.
"Yes, I did." Pasierb said.
Pasierb said he was dispatched to the scene on Oklahoma Avenue at 4:15 p.m. He arrived 15 minutes later.
He said Link's husband Brent Link signed a search consent form so that Pasierb and additional investigators could begin searching the house for evidence.
"We just can't walk into someone's house without it being done in the proper authority," Pasierb said.
He said he examined evidence and photographed Link, Ellis and Bishop before the Medical Examiner's Office took custody of the bodies.
Link was the first victim Pasierb photographed.
"She was dead, lying on the floor. She had obviously been moved at some point. There was a significant pool of blood on the table," Pasierb said.
He told jurors the blood ran off the table, created a larger pool on the floor and extended into the den area.
Besides the wound to Link's face, Pasierb said he didn't find any other wounds on her body.
Pasierb said Ellis still was seated at the kitchen table when he arrived at the house. Her shirt was stained in blood.
During cross examination, Corgan questioned Pasierb about the weapon used in the attacks.
"Your report indicates it's a semi-automatic," Corgan said. "You reported the gun did not have a plug."
"I did not observe a plug in the magazine," Pasierb said.
Cleveland County Sheriff's deputy Steve Lucas, who is a retired Norman police officer, and Mary Olsen, an acquaintance of Davis, also testified for a short time Wednesday.
The trial will resume 9 a.m. Thursday in Cleveland County District Judge Lori Walkley's courtroom with Norman Police Det. Jim Parks on the witness stand.
Meghan McCormick 366-3539 mmccormick@normantranscript.com
Davis murder trial recap
The crime: Sept. 4, 2007, three women were gunned down at 1517 Oklahoma Ave. in Norman.
The victims:
· Tami Link, 52
· Sheila Ellis, 56
· Letannah Bishop, 87
The defendant:
· William Eugene Davis, 52, of Norman
The charges:
· Three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Link, Ellis and Bishop
· One count of intent to kill for threatening to harm Joseph "Brent" Link.
The prosecutors:
· Cleveland County District Attorney Greg Mashburn
· Cleveland County Assistant District Attorney Christy Miller
The defense:
· Craig Corgan
· G. Lynn Burch
