Evidence: Coroner Testimony

Dr. P. W. Rowland, witness for the State being first duly sworn testified as follows: -

Q Are you a practicing physician?

A Yes sir.

Q How long have you been practicing?

A About 20 years.

Q You have a license to practice in this State?

A Yes sir.

Q Were you called upon with other physicians to perform an autopsy on the remains of John A Montgomery?

A Yes sir.

Q Do you remember the date?

A Sometime in November last.

Q Tell the jury what you found from your examination?

A The trunk of the body was the only part left intact — the legs were off about half way between the knee and hip joint — the entire body was very much charred — the back of the skull was off — the lower jaw and part of the upper jaw was present with a few of the teeth — the arms were contracted in this fashion - (drawn) - the fingers off and the spinal column thrown back — this bone here seemed to have been cut (arm) with a sharp instrument — the was a violent contraction of all the muscles remaining, especially the arms and abdomen. After the abdomen was opened — we found an opening in the stomach which was supposed to have been made by some sort of gun shot wound.

Q Could you tell the direction of that wound?

A No sir.

Q Did you find any charred holes in the trunk that had burned in to the inside?

A Yes sir — on the right side just under the arm the ribs were burned into.

Q Were the ribs broken?

A Yes sir the ribs on the left side were intact.

Q On the left side were there any holes though the trunk into the cavity?

A No sir I think not.

Q Where was the hole you decided was a gun shot wound?

A Directly over the stomach — the diaphragm was torn apart — part of it lying directly over the wound — it seemed to have been torn by a missile.

Q What is the diaphragm?

A It is a muscular membrane which separates the contents of the abdomen from the contents of the chest — lying from the ribs across the spinal column.

Q What was the condition of the stomach?

A There was a hole in the stomach about the size of a dollar and the contents of the stomach had come out — we found some character of food in the tube leading from the throat into the stomach — it resembled meal or corn bread.

Q Was it digested?

A No sir.

Q What did that indicate?

A That he had eaten it in a short time before his death.

Q Finding it in the throat what did that indicate?

A One of two things — he might have been shot while eating or he vomited after he was shot — either would have left food in the tube.

Q Was the stomach in such a condition that it could have ejected anything from it?

A I think it could.

Q How long does food have to lie in the stomach before digesting begins?

A. It depends on the kind of food — from 2 and a half to 3 or 4 hours.

Q Did you attempt to trace the missile as it passed through the stomach?

A Yes sir.

Q Did you see any wound in the liver?

A I think not — the spleen was wounded — the membrane covering the spleen was torn — and we thought one of the kidneys was torn.

Q What direction, judging from the different parts that were wounded — what was the general course of the missile that passed through him?

A My idea was that it was from right to left and from above downward.

Q Could you tell without seeing the entrance and exit of a wound where it went in or where it came out?

A No sir.

Q And the entrance and exit of the wound was charred?

A Yes sir.

Q Wasn't it as likely to have passed in at the left side ranged upward and come out above?

A I think so — there was no possible way of telling where it went in or came out.

Q Did you find any shot in the body?

A No sir.

No cross examination