Jan Leestma, a neuropathologist, contradicted the prosecution's medical witnesses, saying he saw swelling on Love's brain but no sign of the kind of injury caused by blunt force trauma, The Washington Post reports.
"I could not conclude it is trauma," he said. Instead, he suggested, she suffocated on a bloody pillow. The lack of oxygen to her brain likely caused the swelling, he claimed, and the rush of blood during resuscitation attempts caused the bruising.
The prosecution is arguing that Love, 22, died of injuries directly sustained from Huguely in the May 2010 incident – that he shook her violently until her head banged against a wall.
Yeardley Love
One of the final witnesses for the prosecution, Ken Clausen, a former lacrosse teammate of Huguely's, testified Wednesday that Huguely lied about where he had been when he returned home from Love's apartment. Clausen said Huguely's demeanor had changed and that he was so drunk he wasn't making any sense, Thursday's Today show reports.
Clausen said Huguely, now 24, claimed he had been downstairs in an apartment with two other teammates. But Clausen later checked and discovered that wasn't true.
Other teammates also testified that Huguely had been drinking heavily all day, and that he had a blank stare on his face when he returned home that night.
