A forensic pathologist testified Thursday that Ashley Metz and Brouklynn Hill were still alive when they and the cars they were inside were set on fire in separate, related killings in June 2016.
Joshua Willis, 39, of Lafayette, is on trial for first-degree murder and second-degree murder, respectively, in the deaths of Metz, 23, and Hill, 22, whose bodies were found on the early morning of June 21, 2016, inside burned cars near Scott and Carencro. They had both been shot.
Willis will face life imprisonment without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence if convicted as charged. Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty on the first-degree murder charge.
On Thursday, forensic pathologist Dr. Yen Van Vo testified that Hill and Metz died from a combination of gunshot wounds and thermal injuries.
Vo said the couple’s bodies each suffered extensive charring, with skin and muscle damage, lost bones in the forearms and lower legs, and damage to the skull and brain. Because of the heavy burn damage, Vo testified she was unable to conclusively determine which bullet holes were the entry and exit wounds on either victim.
Regardless, the path of bullet damage was clear for both Hill and Metz, she said.
In Hill, the damage extended from the left side of his back, through his spleen and his heart and to the front of his chest. In Metz, the bullet struck the left side of her back, passed through her left lung, her spine and her right lung, before lodging in her right shoulder where the projectile was recovered, Vo testified.
The bullet wounds alone did not kill the couple, she said.
Vo said that both Hill and Metz’s bodies showed signs they were still alive when the fires started. Soot was found in Hill’s mouth and the level of carbon monoxide saturation in his blood was at 7%. In the average nonsmoker, the carboxyhemoglobin level is usually around 1.5%, but in smokers it can be between 5% to 10%.
The slightly elevated levels in Hill’s blood suggest he was “well on his way to dying” when the fire started, but still inhaled some smoke before succumbing.
“In Ashley’s case, she was alive for a good amount of time while also in this fire,” Vo said.
Soot was found both in Metz’s mouth and her airway, and her carboxyhemoglobin saturation level was at 42%, the forensic pathologist said.
Jurors also heard from two Lafayette Police Department sergeants who worked on the metro crime scene team in 2016: Sgt. Raymond Overby and Sgt. Chris Beasley.
Overby testified that he processed a 2015 red Dodge Ram pickup for fingerprints, DNA and other evidence, and a partial palm print was found that was a match for Hill. It was also determined the truck was outfitted with a license plate taken from another vehicle, he said.
Beasley testified that he searched Metz’s apartment and processed a 1998 black Dodge Ram pickup picked up from Willis’s residence. The truck was processed for fingerprints, DNA and other evidence, and a key to the 2015 Dodge Ram pickup and a GM vehicle were found inside the truck.
