Too many wounds on Keesha Bitternose's body to determine exact cause of death, pathologist testifies
CBC
Warning: This story contains details that some readers may find disturbing.
The forensic pathologist who conducted Keesha Bitternose's autopsy says there were so many wounds on the 29-year-old Regina mother's body that it was too difficult to zero in on her exact cause of death.
Dr. Andreea Nistor was called by Crown prosecutors to be an expert witness on Tuesday — the second day of Dillon Whitehawk's first-degree murder trial.
The 28-year-old man is the third and final person to be tried in court in connection with Bitternose's Jan. 5, 2020, killing.
Last November, Kurt Thomas pleaded guilty to manslaughter in her death. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison with credit for time served.
Earlier this month, Kelly Stonechild was given a seven-year sentence after also pleading guilty to manslaughter in Bitternose's death.
At Court of King's Bench in Regina on Tuesday, Nistor testified that she found easily 100 or more wounds on Bitternose's body during the Jan. 7, 2020, autopsy.
The woman had a collapsed lung and severe blood loss after a combination of blunt force trauma to her head and multiple stab wounds to her neck and abdomen, Nistor testified.
Bitternose also could have been shot, but so many injuries overlapped it was too hard to tell for certain, she told the court.
Whitehawk's defence lawyer latched onto that uncertainty during Tuesday's cross-examination.
Thomas Hynes argued the doctor only considered that Bitternose had been shot once she was asked to re-examine her findings by police and Crown prosecutors.
Nistor said a CT scan found small metal fragments in the woman's abdomen, but they weren't found or tested during the autopsy.
Hynes also questioned whether the bruising around Bitternose's neck was consistent with strangulation. Nistor said there was no indication of that, but she couldn't rule it out either.
Crown prosecutors told Justice Janet McMurtry at judge-alone trial on Tuesday that they're putting forward a "three-point theory" on why they believe Whitehawk should be convicted of first-degree murder.
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