St. Johns, Arizona Double Homicide Autopsies
The homicides of Timothy Romans and Vincent Romero in St. Johns, Arizona, took place on 5 November, 2008. The following day the eight‑year‑old son of one of the victims was arrested for the murders. On 08 November, 2008, an autopsy of both victims was performed by Cynthia Porterfield, D.O. in Tucson, AZ.
The autopsies were witnessed by Detective Debbie Neckel and Sergeant Lucas Rodriguez from the St. Johns Police Department and Sergeant Richard Guinn and Deputy Robert Watkins from the Apache County Sheriff’s Department.
None of the law enforcement witnesses made a note of two interesting findings by the forensic pathologist.
Tim Romans’ autopsy revealed that he had severe plaque blockage in his left anterior descending artery and moderate plaque blockage in his right coronary artery. He also had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Romans had a package of Marlboro cigarettes in his possession. In addition, a package of Camel cigarettes, Sinex over the counter nasal inhaler, and Visine were found by his left foot. These latter items were not collected by law enforcement.
Romans had five penetrating wounds, none of which had any evidence of close range firing. There was also a graze wound to the side of his head.
There were two head wounds. One was located in front of head 2.35 inches right of center. A one inch laceration was located above this wound. The course of the projectile was downward and right to left. A deformed small caliber bullet was recovered in the left temporal lobe.
The second head wound was at the back of the head 2.75 inches from the top and 2 inches to the right of center. The course was from back to front and right to left. The bullet passed through the right parietal and the left occipital lobe of the brain. A small caliber deformed projectile was recovered.
There were two chest wounds. One was located on the right chest two inches to the right of center and 13.75 inches from the top of the head. The other was located on the left side, 1.6 inches to the left of center, 14.6 inches from the top of the head. The latter projectile penetrated the right auricle of the heart and coursed to the ninth lateral vertebra. Deformed small caliber projectiles were recovered from both wounds.
The projectile paths for the two chest wounds, and the right top of head was downward.
A wound was found on the right forearm. The course of this projectile was through the arm and a reentry into the right side of the chest. The projectile continued to the lower lobe of the right lung. A small caliber copper coated projectile was recovered from the right pleural cavity. None of the law enforcement witnesses found the copper coated bullet to be remarkable.
Finally, there was a grazing wound on the left side of the head. The wound was 1.4 inch by 0.4 inch.
Vincent Romero had two head wounds, neither of which had evidence of close range firing. One, on the right top of head was located 2 inches to the right of the anterior midline. The size was 0.4 inch by 1 inch. This wound was surrounded by shrapnel injuries possibly from the hard hat that Romero was wearing. A small deformed projectile was found in the temporal lobe of the brain. The path was front to back and downward.
The second head wound was located on the left side of the head; 1.6 inches from the top and 6.3 inches left from the anterior midline. The projectile course was left to right and downward through the left temporalis muscle, left parietal bone, left parietal and temporal brain lobes, and soft jaw tissues. A small deformed projectile was recovered.
A right upper back wound had no evidence of close range firing. This wound was located fourteen inches from the top of the victim and 7.7 inches to the right of the body center. This bullet passed through the lower lobe of the right lung, the diaphragm, and the liver. A deformed small projectile was recovered from the mesentery. The path was from back to front and downward.
The projectile paths for these three wounds were downward.
The left arm had a bullet wound to the back 10.6 inches below the shoulder. This bullet left the arm 10.25 inches below the shoulder and grazed the left chest. A small caliber, deformed, copper coated projectile was recovered from the victim’s clothing. Again, none of the law enforcement witnesses found the copper coating significant.
The toxicology screenings of the victims did not yield any positive results.
When Sergeant Rodriguez testified at the 7 November, 2008 detention hearing to hold the child for murder, he testified that the boy had told his grandmother that his father didn’t suffer because the father had been shot in the chest. This was based upon the grandmother’s statement. Rodriguez testified that the father was found face down and had not been moved. Apache County Attorney Brad Carylon implicated that the child suspect had special knowledge which incriminated him. But, there was no chest wound.
The copper coated projectiles noted by Dr. Porterfield are important. A return of search warrant report dated 06 November, 2008, stated that item 7A, a shell, was found in the assumed murder weapon. A scene photograph shows a cartridge laying loose in the breech of the Chipmunk youth rifle. The bullet is not copper coated. The other recovered projectiles might not have been copper coated. That requires examination.
But, neither law enforcement nor prosecution was not interested in facts. They already had their man, although he was only a child.
References
Timothy Romans Autopsy Report ‑ ML 08‑02126, Case #08110735, November 08, 2008
Vincent Romero Autopsy Report ‑ ML 08‑02128, Case #08110735, November, 08, 2008
in category Rants,St. Johns Arizona Double Homicide
