Savio Died By Accidential Drowning According To Pathologist

August 28, 2012  |   Filed under: Home  |   Posted by:

A forensic pathologist on Tuesday offered testimony in direct  contrast to what jurors heard last week, at one point saying he “disagree[s]  vehemently” with the opinion of a respected colleague.

Three separate times throughout his testimony, Dr. Jeffrey  Jentzen said his opinion was that Kathleen Savio died by an accidental drowning  after slipping and falling in her tub.

“As I mentioned before, this is a classic injury caused by a  fall, especially in an area where there are numerous areas for the body to  strike,” said Jentzen, who up until 2008 was the chief medical examiner in  Milwaukee.

Savio’s ex-husband, Drew Peterson, is fighting first-degree  murder charges in connection with Savio’s March 2004 death.

At one point in his testimony, Jentzen came down from the  witness stand to explain to the jurors the dynamics of a fall.

“Individuals would typically fall backward, because of the  inertia and the muscle mass that’s predominantly in the back,” he said. “The  feet typically lift off the ground and the person would be airborne, and then  there would be a point where the top portion of the body would strike, and then  the lower portion of the body would strike. If they slip, their feet would be  elevated much higher than in just a typical fall.”

Savio had a laceration to her head and bruising to the left  side of her body. He said those injuries were consistent with how her body was  positioned in the tub.

His testimony was in contrast to that offered last week by  Dr. Larry Blum, who performed the second autopsy on Savio’s body. As a witness for the prosecution, Blum said someone falling  in the tub would have spread their extremities in an attempt to break their  fall. Additionally, he said the tub’s edges were not pronounced enough to cause  the two-inch, straight-line wound on her head

Jentzen refuted that opinion.

Given the shape and size of the tub, “there simply would not  be any room to have the arms and legs displayed outward,” he said.

“She’s lying in a fetal position basically because she’s  longer than the tub is,” he added.

Jentzen later said he “vehemently” disagreed with the  opinion provided last week by Dr. Mary Case — a neuro-pathologist whom he  respects and with whom he’s co-authored reports — arguing that Case was  confusing the symptoms of a concussion and a severe injury.

“There was no brain trauma … no internal brain injury that  would have caused a loss of consciousness,” Case said a week ago.

Had Savio been knocked unconscious, Case said, there would  have been evident damage to her brain. Case found none.

But Jentzen said some forms of brain damage — known as  diffuse axonal injury — can only become evident if the victim remains alive for  several hours after injury.

Jentzen said Savio may have had that type of injury, but it  was undetectable under microscopic review because she died too quickly.

“She was in a bathtub. She slipped and fell. She struck the  left side of her body and her head violently on the side of the tub,” said  Jentzen. “She sustained a head injury, she was rendered unconscious and in an  unconscious state she slipped under and drowned.”

Jentzen said that while he’s been paid for his review and  testimony, it has not influenced his opinion.