Closing Statement in Murder Trial : Verna Autopsy ‘Botched,’ Defense Says

A Los Angeles County coroner “botched” the autopsy on the body of murdered police officer Paul Verna, a defense attorney charged Wednesday during final arguments in the trial of one of the men accused of the slaying.

Defense attorney Howard Price said that his client, Raynard Cummings, did not fire any of the shots that killed Verna during a routine traffic stop in Lake View Terrace two years ago.

Price said a coroner’s report contained mathematical errors, widely differing measurements of the same bullet angles and “unbelievable” bullet paths. He argued that the testimony of an Alameda County pathologist called by the defense helped prove that Cummings did not pull the trigger.

Coroner Joseph Cogan “botched this autopsy,” Price told a San Fernando Superior Court jury. “The evidence is plain. It’s voluminous. He did not do a proper job.”

Issue of Bullet’s Path

Price focused much of his criticism on the coroner’s contention that a bullet fired into Verna’s chest changed direction when it deflected off one of his ribs and exited the other side of his chest.

“It would seem that bullets don’t bounce off bones in Alameda County but they do down here,” Price said, referring to testimony by the defense’s pathologist that bullets cannot deflect off bones.

Cummings, 27, and Kenneth Gay, 26, both of Pacoima, are charged with murdering Verna on June 2, 1983, when the traffic officer pulled them over for running a stop sign.

According to testimony, Cummings and Gay were afraid that Verna would arrest them for a series of robberies they had committed in the San Fernando Valley. They also feared that Verna would arrest them because they were riding in a stolen car driven by Cummings’ wife, Pamela, who was not carrying a driver’s license.

Cummings earlier pleaded guilty to 17 charges in connection with the robberies.

‘Two-Part’ Scenario

Deputy Dist. Atty. John Watson has maintained that Cummings and Gay committed a “two-part murder,” with Cummings firing as many as two shots at Verna from the back seat of the car before handing the gun to Gay, who allegedly got out of the car and fired the rest of the bullets that hit the officer.

Price argued that bullet angles and gunshot residue tests indicate that none of the shots could have come from the back seat of the car.

Price also criticized the prosecution for calling jail inmates to testify that Cummings bragged to them about his role in the shooting.

“Why would Mr. Watson stoop to using snitches in this case?” Price said. “Everybody knows using snitches is the sign of a weak case. . . . This testimony is brought in and designed to inflame your view of the physical evidence, which indicates that my client did not fire any of those shots.”

Because of Cummings’ earlier plea to the robbery charges, the murder trial for the two men is being heard before separate juries.

Final arguments in Cummings’ trial are expected to be concluded by the end of this week. Closing arguments to Gay’s jury, which is also considering robbery charges against him, should begin early next week, Judge Dana Senit Henry said.