Nicholas Compton appears in court during his trial on first-degree murder charges. (Pool photo)
By Joe Ragusa
BLOOMINGTON – The defense has rested it's case in the murder trial of Nicholas Compton.
Forensic pathologist Dr. Janice Ophoven issued a second opinion on the cause of death for three-year-old Robbie Cramer. Ophoven said the fatal injury was sustained to Cramer's abdomen, not his back, like the McLean County Coroner's office ruled in March 2013.
Ophoven says despite over 30 different injuries that could be tied to child abuse, the cause of the fatal injury was inconclusive.
"I am not a judge of what happened to the child, I am simply here to report on the pathology of the injury," Ophoven said.
Dr. Scott Denton, who performed the autopsy in March 2013, was called back to the stand after Ophoven's testimony to reiterate his determination on the cause of death. Denton said Cramer died because of a blood infection caused by tissue damage near Cramer's intestines. That tissue damage was caused by someone striking Cramer in the back.
Denton refuted the claim by Ophoven that the approximately 30 injuries on Cramer's body likely caused by child abuse didn't correlate with the fatal injury.
"You can't just look at one injury in a vacuum," Denton said. "You have to look at all the injuries together to find out what happened to this child. They tell a story."
And that story, Denton said, is that the injury was caused by someone else. Compton is accused of causing the injury while living with the child and his mother, Danielle Fischer, with whom Compton was dating.
It was also reveled in the testimony that Ophoven was paid $16,200 for her work.
Assistant State's Attorney Adam Ghrist initially objected to Ophoven's testimony, saying that some of her opinions were not disclosed by the defense prior to her taking the stand. Judge Charles Feeney allowed Ghrist to interview Ophoven without the jury's presence in order to proceed.
Closing arguments are scheduled for Thursday.
Joe Ragusa can be reached at joe.ragusa@cumulus.com.
