PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Several shoe prints were found at the scene, but the one that raised the greatest doubt regarding the murderer’s identity was one found on the lid of the toilet bowl. Rada’s blood had flowed on it after the print was made. Since Rada’s body was found only five hours after the murder, and according to Kugel blood can’t flow for long from a body, there is a chance that the prints, which are not those of Zadorov or Rada, belong to the real murderer. This emerged from testimony by police that Rada’s body remained in the position it was found in until she was removed from the stall. The paramedic and medic who declared her death said that they were careful not to move her body. Kugel clarified that even if her body had been moved, there was little chance that this would have caused her blood to flow."
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GIST: "The head of the National Institute of Forensic Medicine testified for the defense in the retrial of convicted murderer Roman Zadorov on Wednesday, clashing with the prosecutor and saying the State Prosecutor’s Office applies pressure to change determinations it doesn’t like.
At the beginning of his testimony at the Nazareth District Court, Dr. Chen Kugel referred to claims by the prosecution suggesting he had a conflict of interest. “When I testified for the prosecution, they never had any complaints,” he retorted. “If the prosecution asks the court to believe me in dozens of cases in which I testify for their side, how can it challenge my integrity now? Are they saying that when I testify for them, I tell the truth, and when I testify for the defense I’m suddenly a liar?”
In this context, prosecutor Sharon Har-Zion told Kugel that “in a number of testimonies you gave it appears that you have no problem hiding information.” She said that in cases in which Kugel was a defense witness, his testimony included “distortion and concealment of information.”
Kugel denied this. He turned to Har-Zion and said: “It’s usually you who asks me to change a report.” She answered: “Have I ever asked you to change a report?” Kugel replied: “I don’t know, I don’t know you, and it’s better that way. But I have been asked to change reports in the past.”
Har-Zion later said that Kugel’s report was part of his battle, as she called it, against Prof. Yehuda Hiss, the former head of his institute. Zadorov was convicted in the original trial partly on the basis of the testimony of Dr. Konstantin Zaitsev, who worked under Hiss at the institute.
“I’m sure that if I said things that would support the accused’s conviction, you would have done anything to get me to testify for you,” said Kugel in response. “The things you’re floating around regarding my relationships at the institute are baseless. What you’re doing here is very grave, you’re burning all bridges.”
At this point, the head of the panel of judges, Asher Kola, intervened: “Do you want to continue airing your dirty laundry here and now? This has wider implications. If you’re saying that he’s a witness for hire, throw out all reports by the forensic medicine institute.”
The prosecution mentioned Dr. Alon Krispin from the institute, who testified during a recent session that Kugel, his director, connected him to a journalist from the “Uvda” investigative TV program. “Uvda” was preparing a critical program about Zaitsev at the time. Har-Zion asked Kugel: “Does it appear ethical to you that you assume the post of director at the institute and then express your opinion of it by sending one of your people to badmouth another staff member?”
To this, Kugel replied: “I didn’t send him anonymously. I said that you, the prosecution, wanted to change my court affidavit. I tried to do all I could so that the truth would come to light. I talked to lawyers and to the state prosecutor at the time, and I told Dr. Krispin that if no one on the inside wants to listen, take it outside, give an interview.”
Kugel’s testimony is expected to deal with several issues on which he has written a new report for the retrial, a report that is supposed to weaken the case against Zadorov. In this report, Kugel expresses his support for a report provided by Dr. Maya Forman during the appeal filed with the Supreme Court, according to which the murder weapon was a serrated knife, not a box cutter, as claimed by the prosecution.
The main issue dealt with in Kugel’s report is what brought retired Supreme Court Justice Hanan Melcer to decide on a retrial. This was the question of how long blood could have flowed from the body of the victim, Tair Rada, and if, given the condition in which the body was found, this could have resumed after the body was moved.
According to Kugel, blood could not have flowed from her body in the position it was found in, with her head leaning on the basin and her feet on the floor — and based on the location of the fatal wounds, blood could not have flowed for more than a few minutes after she was murdered. He stated that when the heart stops beating, there is no force to propel the small amount of blood left in the body through external cuts such as the ones Rada had: “In most cases, bleeding from a wound does not occur after death.”
Following the leak of a lecture Kugel gave to students, the defense gathered expert opinions supporting the claim he had made in his lecture, according to which blood cannot flow from a body more than an hour after a murder unless it is moved. Rada’s body was found five hours after the murder, which led Melcer to question the bloody shoeprints found at the scene. These footprints were definitively ruled out as belonging to either Zadorov or the victim.
Several shoe prints were found at the scene, but the one that raised the greatest doubt regarding the murderer’s identity was one found on the lid of the toilet bowl. Rada’s blood had flowed on it after the print was made. Since Rada’s body was found only five hours after the murder, and according to Kugel blood can’t flow for long from a body, there is a chance that the prints, which are not those of Zadorov or Rada, belong to the real murderer.
This emerged from testimony by police that Rada’s body remained in the position it was found in until she was removed from the stall. The paramedic and medic who declared her death said that they were careful not to move her body. Kugel clarified that even if her body had been moved, there was little chance that this would have caused her blood to flow."
The entire story can be read at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
