ORLANDO, Fla.,None — Well-known Orange County medical examiner Dr. Jan C. Garavaglia took the stand Friday in the trial of former teacher Delores Laster, who is accused of killing her husband who cheated on her.
WFTV's Melonie Holt was in court as the doctor explained to jurors the autopsy evidence, a terrycloth towel possibly used in an attempt to muzzle a gunshot that has been preserved for nearly 24 years.
On Friday, an Orange County jury got a look at it and the other surviving evidence from the March 1988 slaying of Clarence Laster.
Delores Laster is accused of shooting her husband in the back of the head, then enlisting the help of her children to move him to the garage of their Elon Drive home from his bed.
Witnesses did testify there was a small amount of blood found on the bed. But they couldn't say much more than that.
"We did not obtain a DNA profile from the sample," witness Michelle Boyer said.
Prosecutors believe the blood was Clarence Laster's, and they think he may not have died immediately.
"With small-caliber gunshot wounds, they often don't die immediately," Garavaglia said.
Delores Laster looked away as her husband's autopsy photos were displayed for the jury, who have yet to hear what Laster's children told investigators about their father's death.