The medical examiner who conducted an autopsy on Alexandria Rice was among those called to the stand today in the continuing manslaughter trial of Dr. James Corasanti in Erie County Court.
The first witness called on Day 6 of the trial was Amherst Police Detective John Trabert. He testified about arranging what investigators call a "controlled pick-up" of the garbage that Corasanti's placed at the curb in front of their house the week after Rice was struck and killed while skateboarding on Heim Road.
Trabert said he escorted an empty garbage truck in unmarked car to the doctor's home and witnessed the tote being dumped into the truck, which was then escorted back to the Amherst Police Department. What investigators found in the trash was not revealed, but the charges against Corasanti include tampering with evidence.
The Prosecution went on to call Associate Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Jonrika Malone to explain the findings of the autopsy she performed on Rice.
Malone said due to blunt force trauma, both of the 18-year-old's legs had compound fractures and she also suffered several broken ribs. Malone said Rice died almost instantaneously from neck injuries so severe that it was like an "internal decapitation."