Doctors testify shotgun blasts struck Styres at a downward angle

Mud that cakedJon Styres' hands and knees could show he was bent over on all fours when one of twolethal shotgun blasts tore through the back of his shoulder and into his chest, a doctor testified Monday.

Dr. Jane Turner completed a consultation reportbased an autopsy ofthe 29-year-old Indigenous man and other evidence after he was shot and killed while trying to steal a 15-year-old pickup truck in the early morning hours of Feb. 4, 2016.

Based on the angle of the shotgun pellets that tore through his shoulder and collapsed his right lung before becoming lodged in his liver, kidney and spine, "Mr, Styres would not be standing," Turner said in Hamilton Superior Court.

"The best explanation is that Mr. Styres' body has to be in the same plan as the barrel of the shotgun. Therefore Mr. Styres' body is stooped forward."

• Jurors hear Peter Khill in 911 call saying he feared for his life when he fired fatal shots

• Officer testifies Khill said he was a 'soldier' following training on the night Jon Styres died

Peter Khill, a 28-year-old Hamilton man, is charged with second-degree murder for shooting Styrestwice once in the chest and once in theshoulder.He has admitted through his lawyer that he was the one who killed themember of the Six Nations of the Grand River, but is pleading not guilty.

Court previouslyhear from a 911 call and from officers who spoke to Khillat the scene that hetold policehe fired the Remington 12-gauge shotgun because he believed Styreshad a gun ofhis own when he turned in a way that made him fear for his life.

Turner's evidence Monday seemedto contradict that story line, although in cross-examination Khill's lawyer Jeff Manishenarguedit's impossible to determine exactly howStyresbecame covered in mud.

Defence argues mud is from attempted truck theft

At one point, the lawyer even got on his knees in front of the jury to show it's possibleStyrescould have hunkered down in the mucky driveway to punch the lock on the passenger side door, which police have testified waspart of an attempt to steal the truck.

Manishen also repeated his suggestion that blood spatter evidence on the passenger side of the vehicle could support the ideathat Styresmighthave been facing Khill when he was shot something Turner admitted is possible.

Turner saidher theory is thatthe degree of hemorrhaging around the chest wound compared to the shoulder wound means he was hit in the chestfirst.

The doctortestified after court heard fromDr. AllisonEdgecombe, whoexamined Styres' body in the muddy driveway outside Khill's home on Highway 56 and completed an autopsy after he was killed.

Court viewedphotos of a gaping wound left after a shot fired at close range hitStyresin the chest, heading left to right and leaving dozens of steel pellets peppered through his right side. The shot that entered his shoulder traveled right to left, explained the doctor, intersectingwith the other wound, before heading toward his pelvis.

Styres did not die right away

Edgecombesaid she was unable to determine which of the two shots came first, but was able to confirm both were lethal although Styresdidn't die right away.

The pathologist told jurors the wound to Styre's shoulder was only 5.3 by4.2 cm and shefound pieces of plastic and cardboard wadding from the shotgun shell inside the victim's chest, indicating he was shot at close range.

"The range of fire in this particular case could be four to seven feet (1-2 metres)," she explained.

Edgecombenoted shoulder wound also showed a downward trajectory, indicatingStyres"was lower to the ground of possibly even on the ground when this occurred."

She also said it was "possible"Styreswas bent double when he was hit, in response to questions from assistant Crown attorney Steve O'Brien.

But under cross-examination fromManishen,Edgecombeconfirmed it's also possibleStyerswas angledtowardKhillwhen he was hit in the chest and was spun by the first blast, leading to the second shot going through his shoulder.

"There are a host of ways the body could react and we can't say one is more likely than another," she said.

The trialbefore Justice Stephen Glitherowill continue Tuesday when the defence is expected to begin making its case.