FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – An associate medical examiner testified Thursday in the murder trial of a South Florida man accused of killing his girlfriend that he's never before seen an example of someone choking to death from oral sex.
But that's what defense attorney Ken Padowitz intends to present to the jury in the murder trial of Richard Patterson.
Patterson, 65, of Margate, is charged with second-degree murder in the choking death of his girlfriend, Francisca Marquinez, 60, in 2015.
Iouri Boiko, Broward County's associate medical examiner, testified for the prosecution that a penis would have to be lodged far enough down a person's throat to prevent someone from breathing.
Boiko said it would take two to three minutes for someone to die that way, so a sign of struggle would be obvious.
"If she cannot breathe, she usually start to kicking, biting or to do something to prevent this blocking of the airway, try to open this airway," Boiko testified. "It's (a) normal reaction of any person."
Boiko said he could not rule on a manner of death because of the condition of Marquinez's body when it was discovered.
Padowitz wants Broward County Judge Lisa Porter to allow Patterson to show his penis to the jury, but Porter has not yet made a decision.
Before jury selection began Monday, Porter heard from Padowitz and assistant state attorney Peter Sapak as they debated whether Patterson's penis would be flaccid or erect if and when it is presented to the jury.
Before jury selection began Monday, Porter heard from Padowitz and assistant state attorney Peter Sapak as they debated whether Patterson's penis would be flaccid or erect if and when it is presented to the jury.
"Do we do it in the back? Do we do it in open court?" Sapak asked. "How is the defendant going to be erect when the jury views it? Because a flaccid penis, whether it be a picture or the jury actually seeing it, is completely irrelevant. It needs to be erect."
Padowitz chastised Sapak for jumping to a conclusion that the penis is relevant only if it is erect.
"He's telling the court, as if he's a medical expert in his argument, that it matters whether the penis is erect or not," Padowitz said.
Porter hasn't ruled on the motion and likely won't until after the jury hears testimony from a defense witness about the autopsy report.