Prosecution theory challenged

RENO -- A doctor testified Thursday that an unexplained needle mark found on former state Controller Kathy Augustine's left buttock was made after she was hospitalized in Washoe Medical Center last summer.

The testimony by Dr. Anton Sohn, chairman of pathology at the University of Nevada Medical School, flies in the face of the prosecution's theory that Augustine's husband, Chaz Higgs, killed her by injecting her with a lethal dose of succinylcholine.

"The state says this is the area where my client injected poison into Ms. Augustine," Higgs' lawyer, Alan Baum, said during Higgs' murder trial before District Judge Steven Kosach.

Based upon his examination of tissue, records and slides, Sohn said, it was "highly unlikely" that Augustine had been injected in the spot before she was admitted to the hospital in a coma last July 8.

Though the prosecution is in the middle of its case, Sohn appeared on behalf of the defense. Scheduling conflicts made this necessary, and attorneys for both sides agreed to hear his testimony out of order.

Succinylcholine is a muscle relaxant used in hospital emergency rooms. Prosecutors have contended throughout the trial that Higgs, a 43-year-old critical care nurse, could have acquired the drug through his employment at Washoe Medical's South Meadow branch and also at Carson-Tahoe Hospital in Carson City.

Augustine, 50, died July 11, three days after Higgs called for an ambulance, saying he found his wife in a coma and without a pulse in the bedroom of their Reno home. Higgs told the media she had suffered a massive heart attack brought on by the stress of her job.

Sohn testified that he examined tissue and slides from the needle mark and determined the wound was no more than 48 hours old. The tissue was gathered during an autopsy last July 12.

Baum contended that injection would have had to occur at least 81 hours prior to the autopsy to support the prosecution's theory that Higgs killed his wife with succinylcholine.

But in other testimony Thursday, Reno Police Detective David Jenkins said that during a search he found a stack of medical cards in a backpack owned by Higgs.

One card described dosages and uses for succinylcholine. The detective added he also found Higgs' medical dictionary. A bookmark had been placed on the page describing succinylcholine.

The highlight of the day, however, was Sohn's testimony.

Deputy Washoe County District Attorney Thomas Barb questioned how a needle mark could appear on Augustine's buttocks since there was no record of hospital personnel injecting her in that area.

"Very often people (hospital workers) do not chart things that happen," Sohn said. "She could have gotten a shot."

Sohn said he has performed more than 3,000 autopsies in a 40-year medical career and teaches a class on wounds and how they heal. He said he has testified in more than 100 trials, and in 90 percent of the cases is a witness for the prosecution.

Sohn also said Dr. Ellen Clark, who performed the autopsy on Augustine's remains, made a "significant omission" by not mentioning the controller's heart muscle fiber was enlarged.

"This indicates to me something is going wrong and causing the heart to work harder," he said.

Such muscle enlargement can occur in cases of people with mitral valve prolapse, a condition in which heart valves do not open and close properly and blood can leak from the heart, according to the doctor. Augustine suffered from the condition, common to 10 percent of women.

Prosecutors are basing their case against Higgs on the argument that chemists at the FBI's national laboratory in Quantico, Va., found succinylcholine and succinylmonocholine in samples of Augustine's urine.

Sohn said he had "a problem" with the determination that succinylcholine was the drug that killed Augustine.

Barb then questioned how the drug materialized in Augustine's urine.

"There is no way of knowing," the doctor replied.

Earlier Thursday, William Anderson, chief toxicologist for the Washoe County Crime Lab, said he had no problems with the FBI tests that found succinylcholine in Augustine's urine.

"The test appears to be conclusive to me that succinylcholine and succinylmonocholine were in the urine sample," Anderson said.

Succinylmonocholine is what the drug breaks into after it's introduced in the body.

Under questioning by Barb, Anderson said he has "never heard of succinylcholine occurring naturally in the body."

But when questioned by the defense, Anderson acknowledged that science is always evolving and that no one has considered what effect being revived from the dead could have on tests for the drug. Anderson said succinylmonocholine can occur "as part of decomposition."

Several doctors, including Sohn, have testified this week that Augustine was clinically dead when rushed to the hospital, since she was not breathing and had no pulse.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.