State Associate Medical Examiner testifies in Fazzino trial

Some fairly graphic photos of Emily Fazzino's body taken during an autopsy of her body were shown Friday at the Alex Fazzino murder trial in Decorah.

Associate State Medical Examiner Dr. Michele Catellier's testimony a good part of the day Friday as she reviewed the results of her autopsy on January 30th, 2012--the day after Emily Fazzino's death.

Dr. Catellier reviewed photos of more than one dozens bruises or other injuries on Emily's body, including injuries on her neck that she answered "could be" caused by strangulation.  Dr. Catellier has helped to teach training sessions in Iowa on spotting clues showing that strangulation may have happened.  She said there were "strangulation type" injuries to Emily Fazzino's larnyx, but she also said there were other possible causes for many of Emily's injuries.

Dr. Catellier also reviewed results from toxocology tests taken shortly after Emily Fazzino's death, concluding that any drugs found in her blood were "not significantly elevated" from levels that would be found in the blood of someone who was appropriately taking the drugs for a prescription.

In her summary, Dr. Catellier said there was no evidence to suggest Emily Fazzino was suicidal and no injuries to suggest the death was accident.  "I would lean to that (conclusion of homicide)," she told Scott Brown, one of the attorneys prosecuting the case, but she says she classified the cause of death as "undetermined" because there is no evidence to show how the death occurred.