Asked how long the baby was in the microwave, Uptegrove cited studies of pigs that survived two minutes in a microwave.
“It would have taken at least two minutes,” Uptegrove said.
The second witness was Dr. Marcella Fierro, retired chief medical examiner for Virginia, and the inspiration for Dr. Kay Scarpetta, the lead character in several of Patricia Cornwell’s bestselling crime novels. Fierro handled the case of the only other baby known to be killed in a microwave: Joseph Lewis Martinez, who was 5 weeks old when he was killed in 1999.
Jurors were shown photographs from both autopsies, and Fierro compared the burn patterns, which she said were different because the microwaves’ heating elements were in different places.
Fierro agreed with Uptegrove’s finding that all other sources of burns could be ruled out, that Paris died when her temperature reached the 107-108 degree range, that she was in the microwave for more than two minutes and that she died quickly afterward.
“She died because she was overheated,” Fierro said. “She was cooked.”
Arnold is charged with aggravated murder. If convicted, she could face the death penalty.
Assistant county prosecutors also called Kimberly Snyder, a patient care assistant who assists nurses and doctors at Children’s Medical Center, where Arnold and her then-boyfriend Terrell Talley took Paris on Aug. 30, 2005.
Snyder said she was shocked when, as doctors and nurses were still trying to revive Paris, Arnold started “yelling out that her baby was not burned, that her skin was peeling off.”
Snyder said that she did not hear anyone ask Arnold about burns. She also said that Arnold did not appear to be intoxicated at the time.
While under cross-examination by defense attorney Kevin Lennen, Snyder said that Arnold did appear to be a grieving parent on that morning.
About the Author