Autopsy details will lead testimony

Defense counsel cross-examined a police crime scene officer extensively.
By ED RUNYAN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- A forensic pathologist from the Trumbull County coroner's office is scheduled to be the lead-off witness today in the murder trial of David Jenkins.
Jenkins, the former Warren G. Harding girls basketball coach, is accused of strangling his wife, Deana, in their home on Clearwater Street Northwest on May 20, 2004. He is charged with murder and could face 15 years to life in prison if convicted.
The pathologist, Dr. Humphrey Germaniuk, performed the autopsy on the victim and is expected to detail the injuries she suffered.
On Monday, the third day of testimony in the trial, witnesses included two acquaintances of Jenkins' who saw him around 7 p.m. in two different places; two ambulance workers who heard odd remarks from Jenkins when they responded to EMS calls; and two police officers.
Three more prosecution witnesses are expected to testify today.
Kristine Nelson, an Action Ambulance emergency medical technician, took the stand Monday to describe how she entered the Jenkins residence around 8 p.m. May 20, 2004, to a call for help for Deana Jenkins.
On her way into the house, David Jenkins told her, "A doctor treats [Deana] because her throat closes."
Nelson then went into the bedroom where Mrs. Jenkins' body was lying on the floor, her lip swollen, jaw clenched, a beaded necklace around her neck and an indentation around her neck just below her chin.
She also noticed that Mrs. Jenkins' skirt was up high on her body, and the buttons on her shirt were not matched correctly. Testimony has repeatedly indicated that Mrs. Jenkins was wearing the same clothes when her body was found that she wore that day at work.
Jenkins' remarks
MedStar Ambulance worker Raleigh Hughes also testified that when he entered the Jenkins household, Jenkins talked to him. "He said she had problems with her throat closing off and had seen a doctor for it," Hughes remembered.
He said Mrs. Jenkins' skirt was turned almost backward. He added that Jenkins told him she was last seen around 6 p.m. going into that bedroom.
Alfie Burch, a program coordinator at the Rebecca Williams Community Center on May 20, 2004, testified that he saw David Jenkins on May 20 just after 7 p.m. driving his father's white pickup truck alongside the community center and that Jenkins behaved normally except for seeming to be in a hurry. He said he didn't notice any unusual sweating, which other witnesses had said they noticed.
Out of the ordinary
Jane Horne, who was cheerleading coach at Harding High on May 20, 2004, said she thought he acted strangely when she saw him dropping off his daughter, Desirae, at Burlington Coat Factory around 7 p.m.
She followed him when she saw him because she wanted to talk to him about getting a letter of recommendation to keep her cheerleading position. Jenkins is a former Warren G. Harding High girls basketball coach. She followed him as he drove through the parking lot and toward the former Circuit City store in the same plaza.
"He was sweating profusely. He was wiping his face in his shirt," Horne testified. Although Jenkins was usually very talkative, this time he was short with her.
Crime scene photos
Warren Police Detective Geoff Fusco testified to the many photographs he took of the crime scene and Deana Jenkins' body during the autopsy. He said Jenkins didn't give him much information when he attempted to interview him. Jenkins was crying, Fusco said, and not speaking in complete sentences.
Fusco testified to photographing a partly used roll of duct tape inside a kitchen garbage can and pieces of duct tape around the roll.
Cross-examination
Defense attorney J. Gerald Ingram cross-examined Fusco for a long time. He asked whether Fusco had seen an inventory of the contents of Deana Jenkins' purse, whether he photographed blood spatters in the home or processed the pickup truck David Jenkins was driving that day. To all of those questions, the answer was no.