Cause of Death (Det. Annie Avants Book 1) (8 page)

Press Release:

At approximately 5:30 AM this morning, dispatch received a 911 call from a man on South Fairfax Road, between DiGiorgio Road and Buena Vista Road.  He was with two Mexican farm laborers who flagged him down stating that they saw a body in the vineyard.  Deputies arrived at the scene within ten minutes and ascertained that there was a body, deceased, of a young, Hispanic woman.  There were no obvious signs of trauma.  A forensic pathologist will do an autopsy tomorrow and then we will have more information.  I have no further information at this time.  Attached is a police sketch of the victim.  Anyone with information as to her identity is encouraged to contact the Sheriff's Office or any law enforcement agency.  If they wish to remain anonymous, they can contact our Secret Witness Hotline.  Thank you.

Monday, 13 August 2012, 8:00 PM

"Hey, Sis," Julio Gutierrez called out, "I'm hungry and there's nothing to eat in this house.  When will Mom and Dad be back from Modesto?"

"Some time tomorrow, as you all too well know," his sister Carmen, answered from the back porch where she was enjoying the cooler evening breezes.

Their little house on North Derby Street in Arvin didn't have air conditioning.  It was another hot day and the temperature had climbed to over 100 degrees F.

Julio joined Carmen on the back porch.  "I couldn't talk you into going over to La Mexicana Market and getting some food, could I?" Julio said with a grin.  Carmen, who was 23 years old couldn't resist doing anything for her 16-year-old brother.

"I suppose I could.  Maybe the walk will cool me off.  What do you want?"

"I don't care.  Some burritos, refried beans, and rice would be nice.  What do you think?"

"That sounds good to me, too.  I'll also get some eggs and tortillas for breakfast.  Mom and Dad will probably be hungry and won't want to go shopping.  I shouldn't have let the food get so low.  I thought about shopping today, but the heat changed my mind.  Besides, I enjoyed sitting around with nothing in particular on my schedule.  I like my days off from work."  Carmen worked part time at Arvin Lumber as a stock clerk and cashier.  Arvin was small enough that she could walk to work most days, but she did relish her days off.

Carmen got some money out of the jar in the kitchen cupboard and set out on her walk to the store. 

When she arrived at La Mexicana, she saw her friend, AnaMaria, hanging around in front of the store.

"Hey, AnaMaria, what are you doing?" Carmen said.

"Trying to stay cool and fighting off terminal boredom.  You know.  The kind of boredom that can only be fixed by ice cream or chocolate," AnaMaria said, with a chuckle.  "So, here I am.  What are you doing?"

"We ran out of food and my silly brother is hungry and too lazy to walk into town to get something to eat.  So, I'm getting us some burritos."

"He's so lazy.  You let him take advantage of you," AnaMaria said.

"The walk is nice.  It's starting to cool down a little.  I'll talk to you later," Carmen said as she went into the store.

Once inside, Carmen poked around a little.  She wasn't in any hurry because it was cooler inside than out.  After she made her purchases, she left the market, but instead of going back the way she came, she walked east on Bear Mountain Boulevard to South Derby Street and turned left. 
I think it will be cooler walking along the side of the road with the bushes, than next to the houses
, she thought.

She didn't notice the blue Ford Explorer that followed her from the market as she slowly walked along the east side of Derby.  It surprised her when it slowed down next to her.  She hadn't been paying attention.  A man jumped out and said, "Let me help you with those things."

"No, that's all right, I don't have far to walk," she said.

"I insist," he said as he opened the passenger door and wrested the sacks from her hand.

"Hey, wait a minute, that's my stuff," she said.

"Then, get in here with them," he said as he grabbed her arm and pushed her into the passenger seat with her sacks.

Carmen tried to get out but found no handle on the inside of the door.  Before she could scream, he jumped into the driver's side and punched her in the side of the head.  She fell unconscious onto the floorboard.

He leaned over and tied her hands and feet with plastic ties and covered her mouth with duct tape so she couldn't scream when she came to.

"So, what did she buy us for dinner?" he said. "It sure smells good.  I'll eat well tonight."

With that, he made a U-Turn and headed down to Bear Mountain Boulevard and home.

When he reached his house, he unloaded Carmen into the basement, leaving her secured.  He laid her on a cot to keep her up off the floor.  He would deal with her later.

Upstairs, he brought the sacks into his kitchen, just off the patio, and opened them.

"Yumm, burritos, rice, and beans.  Enough for two people.  I wonder who the second dinner was for?" he said as he dumped the crushed carton of eggs into the trash and put the tortillas in the refrigerator. He took his meal out onto his covered patio.  The yard to his home was large and surrounded by olive trees.  Even when he looked at it on the satellite maps on his computer, he could barely see a small part of the roof.  This home had been built many years ago and was solid.  No sound escaped from the basement, which suited his purposes just fine.

He sat there enjoying the evening.  His friend, Okie, walked over to join him, carrying a couple of cold beers.

"Hey, Okie, how's it hangin'?" he asked his neighbor.

"Just great," Okie said.  "That sure smells good.  What is it?"

"Mexican food.  I have more.  Do you want some?  There's another whole serving."

"Sure, that would go great with the beer."

He went inside and got the second serving and brought it outside for Okie

"Here you go.  Enjoy," he said as he picked up his icy cold beer and rubbed it against his forehead before taking a big swallow.

"Where did you get this, and why did you buy two orders?" Okie said.  "It tastes great."

"A little Mexican restaurant I found in Arvin. I was hungry and thought I could eat two orders, but you know how filling this type of food is.  My eyes were bigger than my stomach," he said, as he laughed.

The two men ate in silence and listened to the mariachi music that spilled into the night from a nearby bar.  After finishing their meals, and Okie's beers, Okie returned to his trailer. The man went inside to play on his computer.  Tomorrow he would pay a visit to his guest, but for now, she could rest.

Where is she
? Julio wondered as he looked at his watch. 
It was already 9:30 PM and Carmen hadn't returned from town.  Why is it taking her so long to get back
?  His grumbling stomach reminded him of his growing hunger. 
I bet she met up with some friends and is wasting time while I sit here and starve.

In exasperation, he headed for town.  As he walked down C Street, he saw Carmen's friend AnaMaria on the other side of the street.

He crossed over so he could speak with her.

"Hola, AnaMaria," he said, "how are you?"

"Hola, Julio.  I'm great, thanks.  Did you get your fill of food finally?"

"No, that's why I'm out.  I'm still waiting for Carmen to bring me something to eat."

"What?  She arrived at the market a long time ago and went right in to buy some food.  She should have been home by now."

"Were you at the market?"

"Yes, Julio.  Me and some friends were standing outside, just chilling, when Carmen arrived.  About 20 minutes later, she came out carrying two sacks and headed home.  I'm surprised she isn't there yet.  I wonder where she went?"

"Shit.  Where could she be?"  Julio frowned and stood silent for a moment.  "Were any of her other friends around?  Maybe someone who offered her a ride and then they went somewhere else first?"

"I didn't see anyone else.  She headed east on Bear Mountain Road when she left and turned up Derby.  That's the last I saw of her."

"Well, I guess I'll buy something for myself and head back on home.  Hopefully, she'll be there by now and we'll have plenty to eat until Mom and Dad return tomorrow.  See you later, AnaMaria."

Tuesday, 14 August 2012, 8:00 AM

Tom knocked on Sgt. Collins' door and shifted about from foot to foot as he waited for her to answer. 
That woman spends more time on the phone than anyone I know
, he thought.  However, it was a normal occurrence and he didn't want to disturb her.

"Come in," Sgt. Collins said, finally.

Tom walked into the office and sat down in the chair across from her desk.  He noted, from the expression on her face, that something was disturbing her.

"Do you have any new information about this victim yet?" she asked, clasping her hands in front of her on the desk and leaning towards Tom.

"No information as to her identity.  There weren't any responses to her fingerprints.  However, Laine says the boot print is distinctive, not your everyday run-of-the-mill Nike or New Balance brands.  She will have someone look into the sole pattern to determine the make and manufacture of the boot."

"So, what does all of this mean?" Sgt. Collins asked.

Tom felt her impatience radiating across the desk.  He knew she was under pressure from the hierarchy above her to find quick.

"I don't know," said Tom.

"As to the general condition of her body, Deputy Coroner Schillings believes that she was naked the whole time and found encrusted feces and the strong scent of urine on her body.

"Laine did a grid search of the immediate area surrounding the body and up and down South Fairfax Road.  Besides the boot print I mentioned before, they found and cast a tire track in some soft mud along the roadway.  Whether it was from the vehicle that transported the victim or not is hard to say."

"What about contusion, abrasions, lacerations, those kinds of things?  Did Deputy Schillings notice anything?"

"We won't have his full report until later.  Doc scheduled the autopsy for 9:00 AM this morning and, of course, Detective Avants, Jesse Greyeyes, and I will attend.  That's about it for now."

"OK, Tom, keep me updated.  This is just strange enough that it raises red flags in my mind.  Obviously, our main focus is to get her identified and find out what led her to this spot at this point in time.  That's it.  Let's get back to work and see what happens with the autopsy."

Tuesday, 14 August 2012, 9:00 AM

Annie and Tom arrived at the morgue at 9:00 AM to view the autopsy on their 'Jane Doe'.  The contract forensic pathologist, Dr. Preston Richards, along with the
diener
- the autopsy assistant - Joseph Al-Fassi, had finished setting up for the autopsy. 

Both Tom and Annie cringed as the odor of cleaning agents and death assaulted them.

"Do you think it's possible to get used to the smell?" Annie asked Tom, as she wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Probably not," Tom said.  "However, I knew someone who lost his sense of taste and smell after an unfortunate surgery," Tom said.  "For him, smell isn't an issue.  Think about this - what if each law enforcement agency hired someone with this condition and trained them to be the expert autopsy viewer?"

Annie thought about it for a minute.  "He or she could view the procedure for the investigating officers.  Combined with the dictation, photos, and videotape from the pathologist, they'd have the complete picture," Annie said.

"That sounds like a good idea," Tom said.  "Feel free to suggest it to the Sergeant when we do our update."

A couple of minutes later, Jesse Greyeyes, along with Deputy Coroner Schillings, arrived.  Deputy Schillings verified that it was the same body he had signed over to the morgue the day before and he checked her toe tag.  When that formality was taken care of, the four suited up.

Joseph positioned the body on a slightly tilted stainless steel table so any fluids would drain off away from the body.  The table had raised sides so no fluids could leak onto the floor.

The victim lay on her back and Annie, Deputy Schillings, Tom, and Jesse stepped back so the forensic lab assistant in charge of x-rays could get the x-rays done and leave to have them processed.

Doc looked up and greeted everyone.  "You all know Joseph Al-Fassi.  He will be assisting me today and Joelle Marchand will videotape the procedure as we progress.  Manny Espinosa, our forensic photographer, will be in charge of taking the photographs.

"The body is that of an unembalmed, well-developed, mal-nourished, dehydrated Hispanic female between the ages of 25 years and 30 years.  Her weight is 120 pounds and she is 64 inches in length.  The scalp is covered with very long dark brown hair with lighter brown streaks that have been chemically added.  The eyes are dark brown with an amber streak in the left eye.  The Deputy Coroner reports that she was found supine in a vineyard at approximately 5:30 AM yesterday morning, 13 August 2012.  She was nude and the Deputy Coroner documented that rigor mortis was evident down to the lower legs, but has since dissipated.  She was pronounced at 5:50 AM.

"When the body was found, the ambient air temperature was approximately 85 degrees F.  Deputy Coroner Schillings used an external thermometer to take her body temperature and it was within a few degrees of the ambient temperature.

"There is no noticeable trauma to her nose, scalp, forehead, chin or neck.  There is some residue on her cheeks and above her lips, possibly from tape.  Her external auditory canals are not remarkable.

"Her ears are each pierced in two places, but only one earring was found, which was in her right earlobe.  It was removed, bagged, and tagged for evidence."

He stopped for a moment while Joseph removed the bags that encased the victim's hands.  He picked up her left hand and examined it closely.

"There is dirt under her fingernails.  The fingernails are broken and there are abrasions on her fingertips."

He scraped samples out from under her nails and gave them to Joseph to bag and tag.  He repeated the procedure with her right hand and made the same comments.

"Her wrists are unbound; however, there are impressions in her skin that resemble common nylon rope.  No fibers from the rope are to be found on her wrists.  There is not a lot of trauma to her wrists."

Doc walked down to the mid-torso area.

"The neck shows no signs of trauma and moves freely.  The upper torso is unremarkable.  Between the lower torso and the front of her thighs are eleven individual insect bites that appear to be in varying stages of progression.

"Her lower legs, feet, and toe nails show no obvious trauma, with the exception of rope impressions similar to those found around her wrists."

The x-ray technician returned with the developed film and clipped it to a light board against the wall.  Doc studied the x-ray for several minutes.  "The x-rays show nothing unusual," he said to the group.

Doc looked towards Joseph who was standing by in readiness.  "Joseph, let's turn her over now and finish our visual."

He continued,

"There are fibers consistent with t-shirt material stuck to her skin.  No other indicators of clothing are found on the body.  There is a lot of debris in her hair and stuck to her skin, as well as dried feces and urine.  Samples of these have been bagged.

"Small pieces of leaves are stuck to her older feces.  These have been bagged for analysis.

"Fixed lividity is noted in the back, buttocks, and lower legs.

"There are two spider bites on her right buttock.  I find a horizontal scar, approximately four inches in length, above her left ankle that appears to be several years old."

He turned off his microphone and Joelle finished videotaping the back of the body.  Then Joseph thoroughly washed off the backside of the body.

When Joelle finished, Joseph and Doc turned the body back over so it lay face up.  When Joseph had the body positioned, with a wooden block under her head, Doc nodded to Joseph.  Joseph washed off the front side of the body and the table then prepared to open the thoracic and abdominal cavities.

Joseph used a large scalpel and began the incision.  He started at the front of each shoulder, curved around the breasts, cut to the bottom of the breastbone, and then down to the pubic area.  This was a deep cut that extended to the rib cage on the chest and cut through the abdominal wall below that.

He then peeled the skin, muscle, and soft tissues off the chest wall with his scalpel.  He pulled the chest flap up, exposing the front of the rib cage and strap muscles of the front of the neck.

Joseph then opened the rib cage with a bone cutter.  Once the chest plate was loosened and removed, the upper interior organs were exposed.

The heart was still covered with the pericardial sac, which Doc cut open, along with the pulmonary artery where it left the heart.  He examined the artery for blood clots and then tied it off.

Joseph then opened the abdomen further by dissecting the abdominal muscle away from the bottom of the rib cage and diaphragm.  The abdominal organs were then exposed.

Joseph removed the organs and weighed them.  He put them on the dissection table for Doc.  The Doc made thin slices and the samples were mounted on slides for later examination.

Specimens of blood, urine, vitreous humor, stomach contents and bile were obtained and labeled.

Doc incised several skin sections around the spider bites and Joseph mounted them on a wallboard.  Once they were dry, Doc would examine them further.

Joseph began the cranial incision that began behind one ear, passed across the top of the scalp, and stopped behind the opposite ear.  Next, he pulled the front portion of the scalp down over her face and the rear portion of her scalp over the back of her neck.  This exposed the top of her skill.

With a Stryker Saw, he cut through the skull.  Annie always cringed at the sound of the saw blade biting into bone, but this was life (or death) and investigating detectives were required to attend the autopsies of their victims.

Joseph reached in, cut the brain loose, and gently lifted it out so Doc. could examine it.

"It looks like this young lady suffered from an aneurysm," he said.  "It appears she suffered what's known as a 'subarachnoid hemorrhage' caused by the rupturing aneurysm, which is a result of a weakness in the wall of the aortic blood vessel."

"What causes an aneurysm to rupture" Tom said.

"A most common cause is extreme high blood pressure, which could lead to intracranial bleeding.  I'll have to look for other signs that her blood pressure was high before we can determine the cause of the aneurysm.  Drug use could also be a contributor."

Joseph suspended the brain in a jar of formalin so it could be further researched when it wasn't so soft.

"Now, here's what's interesting.  As you can see, there are many - we counted thirteen - bites on her lower body. They appear to be spider bites.  On the wall behind you, I posted a photograph of the spider bites of the black widow,
Latrodecius mactans
.  It shows the appearance of a typical bite at different times from 15 minutes to six months, as well as the symptoms that the person bitten would most likely experience.  The condition of the bites on her body indicate that she may have been bitten over a period of seven to ten days.

"Deputy Coroner Schillings reported that a dead black widow spider was found stuck in her hair and Laine DelMonte reported that another dead black widow spider was found on the ground under her body after it was moved.

"Some thoughts that occurred to me as I did the visual is that the lack of trauma to where her wrists and ankles were bound indicates that she didn't struggle, so she may have been unconscious, or semi-conscious, most of the time.  Also, the fact that she wasn't wearing any shoes or stockings, yet her feet weren't dirty, could indicate that she probably wasn't moved once she was stabilized wherever she was placed.

"I'm particularly interested in all these bites on her body that appear to be spider bites.  Also noteworthy is the fact that I found no other insects, or insect bites, on the body.  This indicates that the body hadn't been there very long, maybe even less than an hour.  Wherever it was since time of death must have been a place with no other insects except the spiders.  This is strange.

"I'm going to examine the bites and use the tissue samples I took to try to determine how long ago they were inflicted.

"I thought black widow bites are lethal," Tom said.

"They can be, of course, especially in children and the elderly, but many of them aren't," Dr. Richards said.  "The pain and symptoms are very painful and one of the results of a black widow spider bite is extremely high blood pressure.  We're talking here about a single bite.  This young lady suffered thirteen.  I can't even begin to imagine the pain she went through or how long she survived.  Hopefully, further investigation will give us more answers."

When Doc was finished, he turned and thanked Joseph for his assistance.  Joseph returned the organs to the body and deftly stitched up the Y-incision.

Annie, Tom, Deputy Schillings, and Jesse had seen enough, so they turned to leave, taking with them all the marked and packaged samples to send to the tox lab.

"Thank you, Doctor," Annie said.  "Give us a call as soon as your preliminary report is ready.  In the meantime, we'll follow up with the Technical Investigation team and see what else they discovered."

As Annie and Tom returned to their vehicle, a puzzled frown creased Annie's brow.  "What do you make of the spider bites, Tom?"

"Well, she was definitely in the wrong place at the wrong time.  What puzzles me is, as the doctor said, there are no other signs of insect infestation on the body.  And she was nude.  Blow flies, for instance, can smell 'death' from as far away as ten miles and can infest a body within minutes of death.  It's August, there are bugs everywhere.  But, no blow flies on the body.  My question is, where was she kept?  She didn't die very long before her body was dumped, but there's not going to be any easy way to determine the postmortem interval with the evidence we have.  Her body temperature was the same as the ambient temperature, which tells me she was probably being kept somewhere with no heating or air-conditioning.

"I haven't seen many autopsies that yielded so little initial information," Tom said as they got into his vehicle.