Expert says shotgun blasts to chest of Arbery caused death

BRUNSWICK, GA. >> The shotgun blasts that hit Ahmaud Arbery punched a gaping hole in his chest and unleashed massive bleeding, a medical examiner testified Tuesday as jurors saw autopsy photos that showed Arbery’s white T-shirt stained entirely red.

Testifying at the murder trial of the three white men who chased Arbery down, Dr. Edmund Donoghue said Arbery was hit by two of the three shotgun rounds fired at him. He said both gunshots caused such severe bleeding that either blast alone would have killed the 25-year-old Black man.

The first shot at close range tore through an artery in Arbery’s right wrist and punched a big hole in the center of his chest, breaking several ribs and causing heavy internal bleeding, said Donoghue, a medical examiner for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

The second shot missed entirely, while the third shot fired at point-blank range ripped through a major artery and vein near his left armpit and fractured bones in his shoulder and upper arm.

“Is there anything law enforcement or EMS could have done to save his life at the scene?” prosecutor Linda Dunikoski asked the medical examiner.

“I don’t think so. No,” Donoghue replied.

Donoghue performed an autopsy on Feb. 24, 2020, the day after Arbery was slain. The jury saw closeup ph

otos of his injuries, which included several large abrasions to Arbery’s face from when he fell facedown in the street following the third gunshot. Photos of his clothing showed his T-shirt stained entirely red. Cellphone video of the shooting shows it had been white.

Asked by Dunikoski how Arbery was able to fight back after sustaining such a severe chest wound from the first gunshot, the medical examiner called it a “fight or flight reaction” that raised his heart rate and blood pressure while sending adrenaline coursing through his body.

He said ultimately Arbery would have bled to death from the initial chest wound alone.

The testimony came a day after the judge refused to declare a mistrial over defense claims that jurors were tainted when Arbery’s mother wept over an evidence photo, which called attention to the presence of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who was sitting beside her in the courtroom’s public gallery.