then saw a small, white, older model car with a burned-out tail light speeding down the road.
Sergeant Paul Long of the NOPD testified that he was called to the scene of the murder at approximately 8:45 p.m. on March 6, 2005. He stated that the call to the police first came as a call for an ambulance, then as a possible shooting. He stated that emergency medical personnel were there when he arrived with the unconscious victim in the back of the ambulance. Accordingly, he secured the scene. He testified that he saw a blood trail leading from the side of a Lincoln parked in the driveway and that he followed the trail through the yard into the alleyway next to the house, where he found a largepool of blood.
Brian Corcoran testified that he was Ms. Mehrtens' son-in-law. He stated that he opened Ms. Mehrtens' house for the police to see if anything was missing, but nothing had been taken from inside the house.
Dr. Samantha Huber, stipulated to be an expert in forensic pathology, testified that she conducted the autopsy on Ms. Mehrtens on March 7, 2005. She testified that Ms. Mehrtens had been operated on prior to her death. Dr. Huber testified that Ms. Mehrtens suffered a gunshot wound to the right side of her neck, and the bullet exited through her back. Dr. Huber testified that the bullet broke Ms. Mehrtens' fourth rib and hit her big veins, causing great loss of blood. She testified that this wound, though fatal, would not have