Lawyers challenge pathologist’s testimony in Fullerton police trial

Defense attorneys in the Kelly Thomas trial repeatedly challenged the testimony of a pathologist who concluded that the homeless man died from injuries he suffered during his violent clash with Fullerton police.

Aruna Singhania, an Orange County coroner’s office pathologist, testified Thursday that Thomas died of brain damage from a lack of oxygen caused by chest compression during the fight.

After examining Thomas’ body, Singhania testified, she couldn’t immediately determine the cause of death. She said she reached a conclusion about three months later after conducting a toxicology report, a microscopic review and watching a surveillance video of the 2011 beating.

Her testimony is considered critical in the trial of former officers Manuel Ramos and Jay Cicinelli. Ramos is charged with second-degree murder; Cicinelli with involuntary manslaughter.

John Barnett, Ramos’ attorney, pressed the pathologist, saying her testimony was inconsistent from the preliminary hearing when she pointed to a single moment in the beating as the cause of death.

Singhania responded that she had been misled during the preliminary hearing and that there had not been a single instance of compression that caused Thomas to die.

“It’s a constellation of injuries,” Singhania responded. “Not one single injury.”

At one point, Barnett asked her if the compression had occurred when Thomas was screaming for his father to help him.

During opening statements in the trial Monday, defense attorneys said Thomas died because he had a bad heart due to prior drug use, not from injuries suffered in the struggle. But Singhania said there were no signs that Thomas had been using drugs and that, while he had an enlarged heart, it didn’t cause his death.

At times, the cross-examination by Barnett became heated. At one point he told the pathologist: “You know this is a problem for the case, don’t you?”

Thursday marked the first time jurors in the case were shown images of Thomas’ bloodied face while he lay in a hospital bed. In addition to facial bruising, blood matted his red beard and stained the white sheets around his face.

Jurors were earlier shown a jarring surveillance tape of the beating, in which what begins as a seemingly routine encounter escalates quickly into a violent scuffle.

Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas told jurors in his opening remarks that “the conduct of these two officers who are on trial here went far beyond what is acceptable in a free society.”

Defense lawyers said that the videotape, a key piece of evidence for the prosecution, actually shows Thomas to be so violent that the two officers were “losing the fight” and repeatedly had to call for backup.

adolfo.flores@latimes.com