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By Ed Meyer
Beacon Journal staff writer
POSTED: 05:40 p.m. EDT, Jun 12, 2009
Forensic pathologist Cyril Wecht testified today that the 2007 death of the infant son of Christopher L. Hoffman was accidental, calling the actions of the young father ''unwise but innocent.''
Hoffman, 26, is charged with aggravated murder, murder, involuntary manslaughter and two counts of child endangering.
If he is convicted of the most serious charge, he could be sentenced to life in prison.
Hoffman and his wife, Heidi, also 26, were arrested Dec. 17 on the same charges after a yearlong investigation by the Cuyahoga Falls Police Department and the Summit County Medical Examiner's Office.
Earlier in the weeklong trial, the county's chief medical examiner, Lisa J. Kohler, testified as a prosecution witness. She ruled the cause of death as asphyxiation, or choking, from a foreign object lodged deep in the baby's throat.
The manner of death was homicide, according to Kohler's autopsy findings.
Undisputed testimony, cited by Summit County Assistant Prosecutor Jennie Shuki in today's closing arguments, established that Christopher Hoffman used tissue to clean spit-up formula from the mouth and tongue of the 10-week-old infant early on Dec. 10, 2007.
Heidi Hoffman was ill in bed in the couple's Russell Street apartment in Cuyahoga Falls.
Wecht, 78, was the lone defense witness. He was on the stand for more than two hours.
Based on an analysis of Kohler's autopsy report, the defendant's statements to authorities and hospital personnel, in addition to conferences with the case lawyers, Wecht said it was possible the baby accidentally swallowed the tissue and it then became lodged in his throat.
''The commencement of the process of swallowing . . . yes, I believe that is an expected, normal, physiological response or reflex,'' Wecht told the jury.
He then likened such a response to the sucking process by an infant in breast-feeding.
''As the tongue is retracted and the mouth is closed, [the reflexive movement] will be toward the back,'' Wecht said.
He said he made his findings with a ''reasonable degree of medical certainty.''
Wecht agreed with Kohler's ruling that the child choked to death on the tissue. But he said the manner of death was accidental, not a homicide.
Furthermore, Wecht said the history of the case that he had studied in making his findings was ''a match'' with all of Christopher Hoffman's statements to authorities.
Under cross-examination, Wecht also went into detail about the fees he charges for his forensic opinions. He said he has been paid $10,000 plus traveling expenses in this case.
Wecht said he charged $5,000 to submit his report and another $5,000 for his time in travel to Akron and his court testimony.
The infant was pronounced dead at Akron Children's Hospital some 30 minutes after Christopher Hoffman called 911. During treatment by fire department paramedics and hospital staff, breathing tubes were inserted into the baby's throat three times, the defense said.
Wecht said that procedure could have caused the tissue to move into the deep reaches of the throat.
''In performance of the intubation, yes, it could push the tissue, the foreign object, further down. Yes, it could happen,'' Wecht said.
The tissue, in fact, was so far down that only Kohler was able to see it and retrieve it during autopsy.
Nathan Lee, who was born Oct. 2, 2007, as the Hoffmans' first child, also had fresh rib fractures and numerous older rib fractures in various stages of healing, Kohler said.
But Kohler found that those injuries did not contribute to the baby's death.
Wecht, who said he has testified in murder cases for 47 years throughout the United States, including the aftermath of the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy, told the jury that the fresh rib fractures could have been caused in the frantic lifesaving procedures.
He said he has seen such injuries repeatedly in autopsies that he has performed.
Wecht said he still performs about 350 autopsies a year. He was born in Pittsburgh in 1931 and is a retired medical examiner from Allegheny County in Pennsylvania.
After he left the stand, defense attorney Ronald T. Gatts said outside of court that he felt Wecht's testimony had ''absolutely'' established reasonable doubt in the minds of the jury.
To prove the aggravated murder charge, according to Ohio law, the state must provide convincing evidence that Christopher Hoffman ''purposely'' killed his son.
Ed Meyer can be reached at 330-996-3784 or emeyer@thebeaconjournal.com.
Forensic pathologist Cyril Wecht testified today that the 2007 death of the infant son of Christopher L. Hoffman was accidental, calling the actions of the young father ''unwise but innocent.''
Hoffman, 26, is charged with aggravated murder, murder, involuntary manslaughter and two counts of child endangering.
If he is convicted of the most serious charge, he could be sentenced to life in prison.
Hoffman and his wife, Heidi, also 26, were arrested Dec. 17 on the same charges after a yearlong investigation by the Cuyahoga Falls Police Department and the Summit County Medical Examiner's Office.
Earlier in the weeklong trial, the county's chief medical examiner, Lisa J. Kohler, testified as a prosecution witness. She ruled the cause of death as asphyxiation, or choking, from a foreign object lodged deep in the baby's throat.
The manner of death was homicide, according to Kohler's autopsy findings.
Undisputed testimony, cited by Summit County Assistant Prosecutor Jennie Shuki in today's closing arguments, established that Christopher Hoffman used tissue to clean spit-up formula from the mouth and tongue of the 10-week-old infant early on Dec. 10, 2007.
Heidi Hoffman was ill in bed in the couple's Russell Street apartment in Cuyahoga Falls.
Wecht, 78, was the lone defense witness. He was on the stand for more than two hours.
Based on an analysis of Kohler's autopsy report, the defendant's statements to authorities and hospital personnel, in addition to conferences with the case lawyers, Wecht said it was possible the baby accidentally swallowed the tissue and it then became lodged in his throat.
''The commencement of the process of swallowing . . . yes, I believe that is an expected, normal, physiological response or reflex,'' Wecht told the jury.
He then likened such a response to the sucking process by an infant in breast-feeding.
''As the tongue is retracted and the mouth is closed, [the reflexive movement] will be toward the back,'' Wecht said.
He said he made his findings with a ''reasonable degree of medical certainty.''
Wecht agreed with Kohler's ruling that the child choked to death on the tissue. But he said the manner of death was accidental, not a homicide.
Furthermore, Wecht said the history of the case that he had studied in making his findings was ''a match'' with all of Christopher Hoffman's statements to authorities.
Under cross-examination, Wecht also went into detail about the fees he charges for his forensic opinions. He said he has been paid $10,000 plus traveling expenses in this case.
Wecht said he charged $5,000 to submit his report and another $5,000 for his time in travel to Akron and his court testimony.
The infant was pronounced dead at Akron Children's Hospital some 30 minutes after Christopher Hoffman called 911. During treatment by fire department paramedics and hospital staff, breathing tubes were inserted into the baby's throat three times, the defense said.
Wecht said that procedure could have caused the tissue to move into the deep reaches of the throat.
''In performance of the intubation, yes, it could push the tissue, the foreign object, further down. Yes, it could happen,'' Wecht said.
The tissue, in fact, was so far down that only Kohler was able to see it and retrieve it during autopsy.
Nathan Lee, who was born Oct. 2, 2007, as the Hoffmans' first child, also had fresh rib fractures and numerous older rib fractures in various stages of healing, Kohler said.
But Kohler found that those injuries did not contribute to the baby's death.
Wecht, who said he has testified in murder cases for 47 years throughout the United States, including the aftermath of the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy, told the jury that the fresh rib fractures could have been caused in the frantic lifesaving procedures.
He said he has seen such injuries repeatedly in autopsies that he has performed.
Wecht said he still performs about 350 autopsies a year. He was born in Pittsburgh in 1931 and is a retired medical examiner from Allegheny County in Pennsylvania.
After he left the stand, defense attorney Ronald T. Gatts said outside of court that he felt Wecht's testimony had ''absolutely'' established reasonable doubt in the minds of the jury.
To prove the aggravated murder charge, according to Ohio law, the state must provide convincing evidence that Christopher Hoffman ''purposely'' killed his son.
Ed Meyer can be reached at 330-996-3784 or emeyer@thebeaconjournal.com.
Comments
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Posted 05:59 PM, 06/12/2009
So many people in the world need to be "fixed" so they can never have children....
akron, oh
Posted 06:16 PM, 06/12/2009
$5,000 to travel to Akron? Where the heck was he coming from and how did he get here? Hey, Wecht, you old fool, try a AAA discount next time. Shows how desparate the defense is that they would pay such outlandish fees.
Akron, Oh
Posted 06:40 PM, 06/12/2009
This couple lost their child. It will always cause them pain whether it was incidental or aggrevated. Lets not be too quick to judge--we're not on the jury here.
Posted 07:03 PM, 06/12/2009
Yeah, well too bad I'm not on this jury and every other friggin' jury for every slimeball that comes through the court system!!!!! It's disgusting...
akron, oh
Posted 07:51 PM, 06/12/2009
Yeah, NathanG, who among us hasn't shoved a kleenex down a baby's throat so he wouldn't spit up? They weren't too broken up to have another one immediately. I believe you ment "accidental or aggravated."
Posted 09:09 PM, 06/12/2009
"Wecht, who said he has testified in murder cases for 47 years throughout the United States, including the aftermath of the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy"
Did a fine job on that one to ...
Walnut Creek, Oh
Posted 09:43 PM, 06/12/2009
5000 dollars??????????????? And people want to complain about the UAW making too much money?? WTF..OMG... Ridiculous that someone makes that much to travel to a city. 5000 Dollars???? The problem is that if someone with less notorioty would have testified, the defendants would be found guilty.. Look at the OJ case. Money does buy you innocence. 5000 dollars?? Unbelievable!
Posted 10:49 PM, 06/12/2009
Sorry, folks. Medical expertise does not come cheap. $10,000 total is on the high side, but not unreasonable.
_________, OH
Posted 12:52 AM, 06/13/2009
''unwise but innocent.''
so "unwise" that it becomes a criminal act? This is a difficult case on so many levels. Why the old broken bones? Choking and so many broken bones. At the first sign of trouble dad should have been frantic!! This is his flesh and blood not breathing!!!Why was the baby on the floor of the room in a ragdoll state?? Why not a changing table. Was this couple so ill-prepared for this child that they didn't have the basics (a washcloth or burp cloth, a changing table or something similar)? So many things just don't add up, leading me to doubt "innocent".
Tallmadge, OH
Posted 06:30 AM, 06/13/2009
Dr. Wecht is nothing but a high paid liar to put doubt in the jury's mind. Hoffman deserves the needle for what he did.
Posted 07:07 AM, 06/13/2009
this could be about parents who did not react in a proper manner,,,,but i don't think this was done on purpose,,,its just another bad judgement on the akron prosecutor's trying to close a case right away....
aurora, oh
Posted 02:00 AM, 06/17/2009
I know this loving sweet couple very well. No way was this on purpose. Dad got up with baby cuz mom was sick. he being a new father, grabbed a tissue to wipe up spit up. a small piece got in the babys mouth and he sucked it in. thats it. plain and simple. this was a freak, horrible accident that has devistated these people and our whole family. but no way was it homicide. This judicial system is really screwed up. BTW, its possible some ribs were broken during a difficult child birth, it happens all the time. and you cant perform CPR properly without breaking ribs. period. Im a medic. I know first hand. Get over it people. quit acting like your God and you can judge people and situations you dont know everything about!!
aurora, oh
Posted 02:03 AM, 06/17/2009
and old man grump with your needle comment, you must be old and you must be grumpy and mad at the world cuz what if it was you that made a simple mistake that took a life??? it could have happened to ANYONE! as the bible says " ye shall not judge, lest ye be judged"! good luck to you when you hit the pearly gates with that attitude needle man!
windham, oh
Posted 09:27 PM, 06/17/2009
Kel,
i don't know you but your
exactley right.
Chris is my cousin.
wasn't the smartest.
but i know
he would never do that on purpose.
Anycity, Oh
Posted 09:09 AM, 06/18/2009
chris had a lot of people fooled, that is for sure. but the truth came out!
Anycity, Oh
Posted 09:14 AM, 06/18/2009
it's amazing who you can pay off to testify (cyril) when your parent has money. too bad heidi won't have the same luxury.
