After 5 1/2 days of witness testimony in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, the prosecution called on a pathologist to testify before resting its case. Dr. Doug Kelley with the Milwaukee County medical examiner’s office testified that the first man killed by Rittenhouse last year during protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin shot at a range of less than four feet.
Dr. Kelly said Joseph Rosenbaum was shot four times, once in the groin, once in the hand-thigh, once in the head, and once in the back. According to Dr. Kelly, the last two shots were at a downward angle. Prosecutors have said this indicates Rosenbaum was falling forward. Rittenhouse defense attorney Mark Richards said Rosenbaum was lunging.
“I can’t tell you what he was doing at the time that that happened. All I can tell you is that at the time of the discharge of the weapon and the traveling of that bullet into his hand, this is the trajectory that it took through his hand,” Dr. Kelly said. “I can’t tell you what he was doing at the time, and I certainly I can’t see it on the video. The video is not good enough for that.”
After resting its case, the prosecution in the Rittenhouse trial turned the courtroom over to the defense. They began by calling on people who were on the streets with Rittenhouse that night. They described him as pale, shaking, sweating and stammering after the shootings.
“He repeats, ‘I just shot someone’ over and over, and I believe at some point he said he had to shoot someone,” Nicholas Smith testified Tuesday. He said he had gone to the protests to protect a car dealership at the request of the owners of the business.
“I remember him pulling his hair back. And he pulled it back really hard,” JoAnn Fiedler added. “And just his comment was, ‘My god, my life might be over.’ And we’re just like, ‘OK, calm down’.”
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Reuters