The first man allegedly shot dead by Kyle Rittenhouse had injuries that showed he may have had his hand on the barrel of the teenager’s rifle, a forensic pathologist testified Tuesday – as jurors were shown new FBI drone footage of the close-range shooting.
Dr. Doug Kelley, a Milwaukee County medical examiner’s office forensic pathologist, testified that Joseph Rosenbaum was shot dead by someone “within a few feet” of him during last year’s Kenosha protests.
He analyzed drone video shown to jurors earlier on Tuesday, which prosecutors argue showed Rosenbaum running after Rittenhouse before Rittenhouse suddenly turned and fired his rifle at him.
Kelley testified it was unclear from the footage – which had been cropped and slowed down by a forensic imaging specialist — whether Rosenbaum was trying to grab Rittenhouse’s rifle.
His testimony came just before the prosecution rested its case Tuesday afternoon following a week of evidence in which some state witnesses appeared to bolster Rittenhouse’s claim of self-defense.
The jury was shown multiple autopsy images of Rosenbaum’s gunshot wounds on Tuesday as Kelley testified he was shot four times.
Kelley said Rosenbaum was first shot in his thigh, hand and groin as he was facing Rittenhouse, and then in his back.
The last two shots were at a downward angle, which suggested Rosenbaum may have been horizontal at the time, Kelley testified.
Prosecutors, describing the shot to Rosenbaum’s back as the “kill shot”, argued it indicated he was falling, but defense attorney Mark Richards said Rosenbaum was lunging.
Kelley said both scenarios were possible.
Rosenbaum’s initial gunshot wounds were likely inflicted when he was “within a few feet” of the gun, while the wound to his hand was in “close proximity or in contact with the end of that rifle,” Kelley testified.
Kelley testified that Rosenbaum had soot injuries on his hand that indicated his hand was potentially over the barrel of Rittenhouse’s gun at the time one of the shots was fired.
During cross-examination, the defense used a pointer on an image of Rosenbaum’s bloodied hand to indicate where it would have been when the gun was fired.
“So that hand was over the barrel of Mr Rittenhouse’s gun when his hand was shot,” Richards asked.
Kelley responded: “That makes sense.”
When asked by the prosecution if Rosenbaum could have been swatting away the gun, Kelley testified that he couldn’t say based on the video.
The drone footage, taken by FBI infrared aerial surveillance cameras, offers the clearest view yet of the first fatal shooting during protests in Kensoha, Wisconsin on Aug. 25 last year.
Prosecutors said they had previously obtained a low resolution copy of the footage, but only received the enhanced version last Friday.
Rittenhouse is accused of shooting dead Rosenbaum first before killing protestor Anthony Huber, who was filmed striking the teen with a skateboard just prior to that shooting.
He is also charged with injuring protestor and volunteer medic Gaige Grosskreutz, who suffered a gunshot wound to his arm.
Grosskreutz, who was armed with his own gun, testified on Monday that he went after Rittenhouse after seeing him shoot Huber.
He said he pointed his own gun at Rittenhouse first before he was shot, but testified he didn’t mean to and had no intention of firing it.
“In the moment, I thought that the defendant was an active shooter,” Grosskreutz said.
Asked what was going through his mind as he pulled his gun from the holster, he said: “That I was going to die.”
Rittenhouse, now 18, faces six criminal charges, including intentional homicide and attempted homicide.
His attorneys have claimed he acted out of self-defense, but prosecutors argue he was the instigator of the violence.
He could face a mandatory life sentence if convicted of the top charge.
With Post wires
Comments