Court Told Shotgun Blasts Left Gaping Hole in Arbery's Chest

Dr. Edmund Donoghue testifies as graphic autopsy photos are shown
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 16, 2021 4:28 PM CST
Court Told Shotgun Blasts Left Gaping Hole in Arbery's Chest
Prosecutor Linda Dunikoski shows a photo of the bloody tee shirt with a large hole in it during Dr. Edmund R. Donoghue testimony, during the trial of Greg McMichael and his son, Travis McMichael, and a neighbor, William "Roddie" Bryan in the Glynn County Courthouse, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021.   (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton, Pool)

First responders would have been powerless to save Ahmaud Arbery, a forensic pathologist at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation testified Tuesday at the trial of the three men accused of his murder. USA Today reports Dr. Edmund Donoghue described the bullet wounds Arbery suffered in detail, specifying injuries to his wrist, chest, and armpit. He said the autopsy didn't reveal the order in which they were sustained, but that video allowed him to piece together a narrative, which he shared with the court. Donoghue says he believes Arbery had his hand in front of his chest when the initial shot grazed his wrist, severing an artery, and tore a hole in his chest, breaking a number of ribs.

A second bullet then missed him, but he was hit by a third near his armpit, where a major artery and vein were severed That bullet paralyzed his left arm and broke additional bones. Either blast could have proved fatal on its own, he added. CNN notes that based on the video, he estimates the gun was 3 to 20 inches from Arbery's body, or "close-range to near-contact." The AP's recounting of Donoghue's testimony is much more graphic: "The shotgun blasts ... punched a gaping hole in his chest and unleashed massive bleeding," with autopsy photos shown to the jury depicting Arbery's white T-shirt "stained entirely red." His mother exited the courtroom as the photos were shown.

Father and son Greg and Travis McMichael, who armed themselves and followed Arbery in a pickup truck after observing him running in their neighborhood, are on trial, as is neighbor William "Roddie" Bryan, who joined them and videoed Travis McMichael shooting Arbery. During cross-examination, Donoghue was asked by the defense how Arbery would have been able to hit Travis McMichael after suffering the first shot; he said he suspected Arbery was experiencing a "fight or flight reaction" and a burst of adrenaline. When asked what Arbery might have been afraid of, Donoghue said, "Well, there was a man with a shotgun and men chasing him in a pickup." (More Ahmaud Arbery stories.)

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