Regional News
Forensic expert testifies in Huff trial
Published Thursday, March 11, 2010 at 01:12 PM
Herchel Huff holds up a notebook to shield himself while stepping out of an elevator on the way to court (photo courtesy of Connie Discoe, McCook Gazette)
A forensic pathologist who conducted an autopsy on the body of an Arapahoe woman said she suffered multiple, severe injuries to her upper and lower body in a car-pedestrian crash. Dr. Matthias Okoye is an associate professor of forensic pathology at Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha. Dr. Okoye testified Thursday that Kasey Jo Warner died from severe blunt force trauma to her head, trunk and extremities consistent with being struck and rolled under a car. Dr. Okoye testified that her death was not instantaneous and could have come anywhere from seconds to minutes after she was struck. Herchel Huff of Holbrook is on trial for motor vehicle homicide, tampering with a witness and refusing to take a chemical test. Huff is accused of driving a car that struck Warner as she jogged near her home on River Road southwest of Arapahoe, Oct. 3, 2007. Also on the stand today was Dr. Henry Nipper, Director of Toxicology, Creighton University Medical Center Pathology Department and Creighton Medical Laboratories. Dr. Nipper testified that it's his professional opinion and based on the testimony during the trial that Herchel Huff was impaired when his car struck Warner. Nipper testified that based on an estimated 11 to 12 drinks consumed that afternoon before leaving the bars in Oxford, Huff likely had a blood-alcohol level of .15 at the time of the 7 p.m. crash that claimed Warner's life. Attorneys for the state and defense rested Thursday. Jury instructions and closing arguments are expected Friday.
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