Day Two: Powder tattoing may determine how far gun was from Lindsey

Proseuction asks Sikirica if he performed the autopsy on Officer Lindsey - he answers yes, and that it was performed at St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Utica.

State Police Investigators, as well as Sikirica's own assistants were on hand when the autopsy was performed. He knew going in from officer's that this was a case of a shooting, he says.

Dr. Sikirica says that from the external examination, he found Lindsey to have been in good health at the time of his death, with an older bruise on his home from a previous injury - but appeared.

The court room has a brief interruption of someone's ringtone playing the "Law and Order" theme song, but Sikirica isn't thrown and continues.

Sikirica says Lindsey suffered a gunshot wound to right side of his scalp, and that the wound was about 1 cm by the ear canal, with a pattern of patterned tattooing dispersed along right side of his face - burned skin. Prosecution asks if this is significant.

Sikirica says it helps them determine the range and direction of the weapon.

Sikirica also says the exit section of the bullet wound was 5 cm by the center of the ear. he says they can distinguish between entry and exit wounds by the the abrasion as the bullet enters the skin being more circular, while the exit is more "torn out" as it rips through the skin.

Sikirica says they then opened the chest cavities, and found no significant findings or evidence of disease or abnormalities, once again describing Lindsey as a healthy individual.

Examining the head, they opened the cranium and were able to document the wound track through Lindsey's head.

"The projectile cause a great deal of damage to the brain as it travelled through, causing contusions and multiple hemorrhages in the brain stem," Sikirica said.

Prosecution asks if they recovered a bullet from Lindsey's head. A small lead-like core material and bullet jacket was all they could find of the bullet, Sikirica said. The metal jacket, put on bullets to produce a better extension of the projectile, but when asked about its significance, Sikirica, says he couldn't tell. He then says it was handed over to UPD.

Sikirica says X-Rays were taken, but all they found were small fragments and metallic dust. Prosecution asks cause of death.

"Severe skull fractures and brain injuries due to gunshot wound to the head," Sikirica replies.

Sikirica is asked if he knows a a lot about gunshots. He replies, "It's like a gynecologist having to know about sex," explaining that knowledge is a part of the job speciality.

Sikirica explains that the powder that comes out of a gun barrel when fired, it may cause tattoing to the skin based on the closeness of the gun to the subject being fired at.

Sikirica says he can't give an exact caliber used, but could give a range of calibers, based on his experience and the wounds he witnessed. He says based on the damage done to Lindsey's skull and brain, "it is a larger caliber projectile..not a .22...not a ..25...probably not even a .9 it would flal under the caliber of a larger weapon...a 40...45....44...something in that range," Sikirica said.