Student May Have Lived 2 Days After Attack

Slain Moorpark College student Megan Barroso could have survived for up to two days after being shot in the abdomen with an AK-47 assault rifle last summer, an expert pathologist testified Thursday.

Based on an autopsy report and his work with war wounds in Vietnam, Dr. Richard Mason suggested that Barroso may not have died instantly because the bullet that hit her missed her spine and vital organs.

“Somebody could survive a gut wound for hours to days,” he said.

The pathologist took the stand late Thursday during a preliminary hearing in Ventura County Superior Court for murder suspect Vincent Sanchez, 31, who is accused of gunning down Barroso, 20, during a kidnap and rape attempt.

Mason is one of three experts expected to testify during the hearing about how long Barroso could have lived after being shot--a central and much-disputed issue in the case.

Barroso’s bullet-riddled car was found abandoned under a freeway overpass in the early morning hours of July 5 with the engine running. Her remains were recovered a month later in a canyon near Simi Valley.

A green jacket belonging to the Moorpark woman was seized from Sanchez’s Simi Valley residence, and authorities later matched a piece of an AK-47 assault rifle found near her disabled car to a weapon also confiscated from the defendant’s home.

Prosecutors theorize that Sanchez pulled Barroso from the car and sexually assaulted her before she died. But defense attorneys contend that Barroso died almost immediately after being shot, and therefore could not have been raped.

The issue is key because Sanchez faces two special-circumstance allegations that he killed Barroso during a kidnap and rape attempt. Those allegations make Sanchez eligible for the death penalty.

Sanchez has pleaded guilty to raping seven other women, but he has pleaded not guilty to the murder charge and related allegations.

On Thursday, Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. Lela Henke-Dobroth attempted to show through Mason’s testimony that there was a large window of time in which the defendant could have sexually assaulted a wounded Barroso.

Mason, a medical examiner in Northern California for the last 30 years, testified that the bullet was slowed considerably when it tore through the driver’s side door and hit Barroso’s left side.

Although the body was badly decomposed, autopsy results show the bullet missed Barroso’s spine, and most likely missed her aorta and kidneys, he said.

Mason said Barroso could have lived for as little as 15 minutes or as long as two days. A defense expert is expected to testify next week that the bullet wound likely caused instant death.

Based on the degree of decomposition, all the experts agree that there is no way to determine whether Barroso was sexually assaulted before she died.

Chief Deputy Public Defender Neil Quinn began his cross-examination late Thursday, challenging Mason’s conclusions, and is expected to continue questioning the pathologist this morning.