Boiko testifies in Johnson trial
By JEFFREY SAULTONPARKERSBURG - Testimony from the former deputy chief medical examiner and a former cellmate was heard Thursday in the Wood County murder trial of William Ryan Johnson.
Dr. Iouri Boiko, who is the medical examiner for Broward County, Fla., testified regarding Jada Whited's autopsy in 2007.
Boiko, who was West Vriginia's chief deputy medical examiner until earlier this year, said Whited suffered bruises and abrasions on her body and they were recent. He was asked by Jodi Boylen, senior assistant prosecutor, to describe his findings.
"She had bleeding in the skull, compound fractures in the skull, hemorrhages in the brain and injuries to the brain," he said. "Her injuries went to the core of her brain caused by severe impact to the head."
Boiko said the impact to cause the fractures in her skull were of great force since it is harder to fracture a child's skull than an adult's because the bone plates are not connected. In addition to the head injuries and external injuries, he said the child's body was showing signs of congestion in most organs. He said fluid buildup or swelling in the brain was observed.
"The cause of death was head injuries from physical assault," Boiko said.
Boiko said some bruises he observed could have been from medical treatment. He put Whited's death between 11 p.m. Jan. 12, 2007 and 4 a.m. Jan. 13, 2007.
Under cross examination by Johnson's attorney Bill Merriman, Boiko said he did not see evidence of healed fractures in his examination. But he did note there was a reference in her medical records of a spiral fracture on the left tibia.
Cheryl Lemmons, a DNA analyst with the West Virginia State Police Lab in South Charleston, said a drop of blood found on a bedrail in Whited's bedroom was a match.
Thomas Jackson of Huntington, a former cellmate of Johnson's at the North Central Regional Jail in Doddridge County, alleged Johnson told him how he killed Whited.
Under direct examination by Wood County Prosecutor Ginny Conley, Jackson testified Johnson said Whited was crying and would not stop. He said Johnson stated he could see how much she resembled her father, who Johnson suspected Stephanie White, the girl's mother, of seeing again, and lost his temper.
Jackson testified Johnson said he picked Whited up by her legs and realized what he did when he heard her head strike the bed rail.
"He noticed brown fluid coming from her mouth and he said he took her to the kitchen sink to clean her up," Jackson said. "He said he didn't know what to do. She was still breathing and he wondered if he could save her."
Jackson said Johnson told him he cleaned the room with a strong cleaning solution and destroyed the clothes he was wearing, cutting them into small pieces and flushing them in the toilet. Jackson testified Johnson said he wanted to do what he could to make it look like White killed the child. He said Johnson said White was a bad mother.
"He said he felt they could explain it as an accident since it was (Whited's) first night on a regular bed," he said.
Jackson admitted under cross examination he was in jail for charges from stealing credit card numbers and asked for bond on one of his charges after he made a statement to investigators. He said he was not able to speak with his attorney about the statements about three weeks later in April.
