Angle of gunshots takes stage at Peter Khill murder trial

What's certain in the death of Jonathan Styres is he was shot twice by a shotgun-wielding Peter Khill.

One shot hit him in the chest, travelling through his body, from left to right and front to back, on a slightly downward angle. The other hit him in the back right shoulder, exiting his armpit and re-entering into his right chest cavity. Both blasts, according to a pair of pathologists, were lethal.

But the certainty ends there.

The 14-member jury presiding over Khill's second-degree murder trial heard a host of possible scenarios Friday depicting the final seconds of Styres' life on Feb. 4, 2016.

Khill has pleaded not guilty to the second-degree murder charge. He has, however, admitted through his lawyer to shooting Styres, who is alleged to have been trying to steal Khill's truck before the fatal incident.

Forensic pathologist Dr. Jane Turner testified that the 29-year-old Styres could've been stooped over" or on his hands and knees when he was struck by one of the two gunshot blasts that killed him.

That's because the angle of the shotgun pellets that punctured his right shoulder - which travelled downward, eventually collapsing his right lung - would've meant Styres was lower to the ground than his shooter, Turner testified.

It's possible he was stooped over or bent over; another possibility is that he was on his hands and knees," she said over Zoom. And that is suggested by the presence of mud on his hands, knees and top of his shoes."

Dr. Allison Edgecombe, who conducted Styres' autopsy, testified similarly Monday, saying it was possible" Styres was bent over given the downward trajectory of the shoulder shot.

But the key word there is possible." Edgecombe said she couldn't speculate the precise positioning of Styres' body. Yes, she testified, the shoulder shot travelled downward through the body - but the shooter could've been on a step, taller or simply holding the gun up higher, while the victim could've been closer to the ground.

Under-cross examination Friday, defence lawyer Jeffery Manishen posed several possible scenarios to Turner, including that mud could've gotten splattered onto Styres' knees when he tried to break into Khill's truck.

The jury previously heard evidence that the passenger door to the truck had been punched in" and its ignition had been damaged. Two screwdrivers were also found near Styres body.

You can't comment on the time the mud came onto his hands and knees, can you?" Manishen asked Turner.

I cannot."

And it's reasonable that he got mud on his hands and knees from punching the lock of the truck?"

Yes, it possible."

The trial resumes Tuesday.

Sebastian Bron is a reporter at The Spectator. sbron@thespec.com