Floyd case expert testifies in Brown trial about trail of blood, body placement scenarios

Blood patterns across the driveway where Thomas Brown and Sean Cassaro fought do not prove any specific series of events, an expert witness testified Thursday.

The scene where police found Cassaro dead could have been created by at least three different scenarios, Dr. Bill Smock, a physician in forensic medicine, told jurors during Brown's murder trial in Crawford County Common Pleas Court.

Smock — famous for his testimony in the trial where Derek Chauvin was convicted of killing George Floyd — was hired by prosecutors to review Cassaro's death.

Smock said the Ohio attorney general's office was paying him $350 an hour for "about 20 hours" to acquire his expert opinion.

Blood droplets created a trail toward Cassaro's body

Police found Cassaro's body in the driveway of 515 Tiffin St. in Bucyrus around 3:30 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023.

They arrested Brown, 50, about an hour later and charged him with two counts of murder.

Smock told jurors he reviewed photographs from the scene of the crime as well as results of the autopsy performed by Jeffrey Hudson, a Lucas County deputy coroner.

Attorneys used a courtroom screen Thursday to display pictures of the driveway where Cassaro died. That driveway, which is made of rough asphalt, slopes upward from Tiffin Street to the home of a woman both men knew well.

Cassaro's limp body was visible in the photos. He was lying up the hill at the top of the driveway. Toward the bottom of the driveway, near the street, were two large puddles of blood.

Jurors learned earlier in the trial that paramedics had rolled Cassaro over — he had originally been lying face down in the driveway, but was on his back in the police photographs.

Other images showed dozens of blood droplets that Smock said created a trail connecting the larger pools of blood to Cassaro's final resting place.

Cassaro and Brown both bled during their fight, Smock said, but he testified that Brown had bled the most and that the puddles of blood at the bottom of the driveway were likely his.

Was it immediately clear Cassaro had been fatally injured?

Witness testimony, detective theory, and Smock's opinion all agree that most of the fighting between Brown and Cassaro took place toward the bottom of the driveway, likely where the larger pools of blood were documented.

Next to those blood puddles, police found a knife blade that was about 4½ inches long. DNA samples taken from that blade revealed it was covered in Brown's blood. Jurors were shown images of Brown's leg, which had been stabbed so severely during the fight that officers had to take him to the hospital for stitches after his arrest.

Cassaro's autopsy included an extensive list of abrasions, lacerations, and contusions on his face, hands, arms, and legs. The jury got to see pictures of those, too.

The most important injuries of them all, Smock testified, were the ones hidden inside Cassaro's neck. Those included a thyroid fracture and hemorrhaging.

"He died of strangulation," Smock said.

The question for attorneys was at what point during the altercation would it have been apparent that Cassaro had been fatally wounded.

'It's possible he was drug up there'

Smock's expert opinion, he said, was Brown and Cassaro found themselves on the ground at the bottom of the driveway during the fight.

Cassaro and Brown were both bleeding during the fight, Smock said, but he testified Brown had bled the most and that the puddle of blood at the bottom of the driveway were likely his.

While on the ground, and in no particular order, Cassaro stabbed Brown in the leg while Brown placed Cassaro in a chokehold.

Smock clarified in his written report that most people who are strangled will, after about 30 seconds, lose muscular control to the point they will defecate and urinate. Then, after more than 62 seconds of strangulation, Smock said he would expect them to die.

No excrement or urine were found during Cassaro's examination, but Smock added Cassaro's thyroid fracture could have proven fatal and may have come after only a few seconds of acute pressure.

The expert witness said he had no firm explanation for how Cassaro's body was found uphill at the top of the driveway.

"It's possible he was drug up there," Smock said.

Expert witness suggests Cassaro may have been strangled twice

The doctor admitted it may have been difficult for someone to drag Cassaro's 300-pound body uphill, but he said it could not be ruled out.

Another possibility, he said, was that both men walked or ran up the driveway as they continued their fight, and that Cassaro was strangled a second time at the top of the hill.

James Mayer III, who is defending Brown, asked why the potential second fight scene had no blood puddles, like the first.

"All the way, Tom Brown is going to be bleeding," Mayer said. "Just the way he was bleeding down here."

Smock said he believed the defendant's knife puncture would have clotted by the time he walked up the driveway and resumed fighting.

"Have you seen the inside of the vehicle he drove away in?" Mayer asked. "There was blood everywhere in there."

"Yes, sir," Smock answered.

The expert witness later testified he cannot prove Cassaro had been strangled twice.

Expert says 'possible, but not reasonable' Cassaro crawled up driveway

Mayer asked Smock about a third scenario in which Cassaro was still alive at the bottom of the driveway when Brown left the scene, but then died several minutes later after crawling up the hill and collapsing.

"It's certainly possible," Smock said. "I think it's possible, but not reasonable."

He said he would expect the average person to immediately succumb to a fractured thyroid.

Mayer asked the doctor if he was aware a witness claims seeing Cassaro push himself up and crawl to the top of the driveway after Brown had left the scene.

Smock said he had heard the claim of the witness, but he believes that person's claim is "biased" and incorrect.

The trial was scheduled to resume Friday morning. Because of Memorial Day, the Crawford County Courthouse will be closed Monday, so jurors will have a three-day weekend away from the case.

ztuggle@gannett.com

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This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Expert witness for George Floyd case testifies in Bucyrus murder trial