the fifth estate uncovers evidence that a possible suspect was never investigated by the OPP. more

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INJURIES

The coroner, Dr, John Penistan stated in his autopsy report that there were some bruising around Harper's vagina. In his report there are references to "contusions" and "abrasion". See the report.

He later revised that and said microscopic examination showed "no actual haemorrhage" -- and therefore she was probably raped after death. See the document.

See the full final autopsy report (.pdf file)

We asked Dr. John Butt, the former chief medical examiner of Nova Scotia, about this contradiction. Here is an excerpt from our interview:

BUTT: On the initial examination which was done with the naked eye of the vaginal tract there a contusion that is a bruise was described. This would mean loose, loose blood under the surface. Under the lining of the vagina. The microscopic examination which surely was done on that exact area said no there wasn't

MACINTYRE: No bruise.

BUTT: No bruise. So there are 2 points here. One is, that was never reported. But at the same time the absence of a bruise was subsequently used to make a conclusion which was that the tissue wouldn'tbruise after death therefore the rape occurred after death. That really is a travesty because there was no opportunity for the defense to make a criticism over that area in the potential for the rape but a leap was taken to say yes there was a rape but it was post mortem.

MACINTYRE: After she died.

BUTT: Yes it was after she died. Now that's bad. And in fact it's, it's unprofessional. It's like me uh turning around and saying well I marked this down and it wasn't a knife wound but I'm leaving it there.See but I found out afterwards it wasn't a knife wound but a I'm leaving it in. I think that there that there's a travesty here and I would go so far as to say that if this correct and I believe it is correct, that this is this is unprofessional conduct.

Dr. Rex Ferris is a veteran pathologist from Vancouver. We asked him to review the medical testimony. He found Dr. Peniston's claims of a precise time of death to be extraordinary, given the quality of information available to him from a decomposing body.

The autopsy report does make mention of "contusions" and "abrasions in the genital area - bruising that most commonly is caused by sexual intercourse. There was no sperm found, but in court they cited a swollen vagina, a thick whitish fluid and marks all over body. But Dr. Ferris suggests " you can make a very good case that there may not have been rape at all." Harper was sexually assaulted, but Ferris argues there is not enough medical evidence to conclusively point to sexual intercourse.

Here is an excerpt of his interview with the fifth estate:

FERRIS: In my view, all of the elements of the prosecution case on which they based the diagnosis of rape, with the exception of the positioning of the body and the clothing, don't stand up. All that was described was some swelling of the membranes in the vagina. But even if the swelling is as a result of sexual activity, it takes some considerable time for such swelling to develop. And yet there's absolutely no evidence that this girl survived this rape, if there was a rape, for any length of time at all. So clearly there must be some other explanation for this swelling, and the swelling is mostly likely as a result of decomposition. All tissues swell as a result of decomposition.

MACINTYRE: Let me read a couple of phrases from scientific laboratory evidence. Acid Phosphotase as it was found supposedly in great quantities in her body is "a constituent of semen, which comes from men and not naturally found in females."

FERRIS: That's wrong. That is simply wrong. Acid phosphotase is normally found in women.

MACINTYRE: They saw here that it is strong presumptive evidence of the presence of semen in the vagina.

FERRIS: That's simply wrong.

MACINTYRE: There's a lot of talk about whitish fluid in very large quantities as being evidence of a lot of sexual activity. Now, how do you discount that?

FERRIS: This is a body that is undergoing decomposition that has been invaded by maggots that is in fact showing a variety of decompositional changes. And whitish fluid would be quite a normal finding in the vagina.

On Friday, June 12, Two doctors who examined Steven Truscott three days after the murder said they found two large lesions on his penis - each the size of a quarter. Truscott, at 14, was mortified trying to explain injuries which, he still insists, were grossly exaggerated to shock prudish members of the jury.

The fifth estate uncovered evidence that backs him up. On Saturday, June 13, just hours after that examination there was another. Dr John Taylor, the jailhouse doctor examined him and concluded that "with special reference to his penis, ... he had not observed any injury." Taylor's report never surfaced at his trial.

Here is a copy of that jailhouse report.