MOCKSVILLE
A forensics expert testified yesterday that Dr. Kirk Alan Turner received the first wound in a struggle with his wife that ended when he slashed her throat.
Turner, a dentist with a practice in Clemmons, is being tried on a charge of first-degree murder in the death of his wife, Jennifer, who was stabbed to death on Sept. 12, 2007, in an outbuilding of the couple's Davie County home. They were separated at the time.
Marilyn Miller, a professor of forensic science at Virginia Commonwealth University, testified for the defense in Davie Superior Court. She had studied the crime scene and photographic evidence of the killing. Blood belonging to Kirk Turner on the right pocket of his jeans and in certain spots on the floor indicates that he received the first wound, Miller said.
Defense attorneys have argued that Kirk Turner was defending himself from his wife, who he said attacked him with a 7-foot-long Viking-like spear.
Two gash wounds on Kirk Turner's thigh were clearly inflicted by the spear, and shoe patterns in blood on the floor imply a struggle between him and his wife, Miller said.
Jennifer Turner was standing when her husband slashed her throat with a pocket knife, and the debilitating wound would have caused her to immediately fall to the floor, Miller said.
Miller based her opinion on the fact that Jennifer Turner's blood was found on the top of a cardboard box near where she fell.
The conclusions may factor into the jury's decision on whether Turner acted in self-defense or deliberately killed his wife.
The prosecution, which rested its case Wednesday, has argued that Turner killed his wife because he was angry at her after she filed a lawsuit against his girlfriend, Tondja Woods Colvin.
A medical examiner testified Tuesday that Kirk Turner's attack was forceful enough to cut through Jennifer Turner's windpipe and that she must have been in a fixed position for that to happen.
Yesterday's testimony was delayed for 20 minutes as Judge W. Erwin Spainhour reviewed a report that some of the jurors had violated state guidelines by discussing the case outside the courtroom.
"It has been brought to the court's attention that some of you have disregarded the court's instructions not to discuss this case," Spainhour said.
He said that some members of the jury had talked about the case during a lunch break. A detective who was not in uniform at the time overheard the conversation and reported it, he said.
When Spainhour asked if any member of the jury could no longer remain impartial in evaluating the case, no one came forward.
"We only want to try this case one time," he said, explaining how a mistrial would cost the state money and resources.
■ Christian Kloc can be reached at 727-7270 at ckloc@wsjournal.com.
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