Testimony: Alleged murder victim was beaten to death

JONESBORO, Ill. -- During the first day of trial for one of two Illinois men accused of murder, a forensic pathologist said he believed James H. "Jimmy" Morrison was beaten to death.

Jessie Bell, 35, of Anna is charged with first-degree murder in the April 12, 2014, beating death of Morrison, 46, also of Anna. Bell is accused of hitting Morrison with his fists. A second man, Travis Turner, 26, of Dongola, is accused of hitting the victim with a piece of lumber.

Court records show Turner is set to go to trial Aug. 24.

Forensic pathologist Dr. John Heidingsfelder testified Morrison had several abrasions on his head, including a linear abrasion over his right cheekbone, which the doctor said he believed had to have been caused by an object with a straight edge.

Autopsy photos depicted and Heidingsfelder described swelling and discoloration on Morrison's face, as well as on the inside of several skin flaps cut during the autopsy to expose the skull. He said the bruising was consistent with fist blows.

Heidingsfelder and a consulting neuropathologist determined Morrison's cause of death to be "respiratory distress due to clinical diffuse axonal injury." Heidingsfelder explained damage to axons in the brain can "make you quit breathing," and blows to the head could cause such damage.

"In your opinion, was James Morrison beaten to death?" asked Edwin Parkinson, an assistant prosecutor for the state.

"Yes, he was," Heidingsfelder said.

Defense lawyer Patrick Duffy sought to establish Heidingsfelder couldn't say with medical certainty which blows actually killed Morrison.

Heidingsfelder said, in agreement with the neuropathologist's report, there was no way of knowing which blows led to death.

Lab testing revealed Morrison's blood alcohol content was 0.194 percent at the time of his death, Heidingsfelder said. In addition, Morrison's liver showed signs of cirrhosis.

"Is it safe to say that's an indication of Mr. Morrison being an alcoholic?" Duffy asked.

"Yes, it is," Heidingsfelder said.

Deputy Robert McGee of the Union County Sheriff's Department testified he was contacted to assist an Anna police officer at the crime scene, 313 Douglas St. McGee said at the house, he saw Morrison unconscious and lying facedown on a ground-level concrete slab on the home's north side.

Under questioning, McGee said Jennifer Smith and Ricky Turner, who were renting the home, had been back inside for about 20 or 30 minutes; no one else was allowed in the home after the crime scene was secured.

Illinois State Police crime-scene investigator Ray Sutton was sent to the scene about 4:30 a.m. April 12, 2014, but wasn't able to obtain a search warrant until 10:44 a.m., he said.

Sutton testified he took photos and collected evidence, including a two-by-four piece of lumber he said appeared to have been in the grass only recently, a blue T-shirt with a "bloodlike substance" on it and several swabs from apparent bloody areas in the grass.

About 2 p.m., Sutton spoke with Bell at the Union County Sheriff's Department, where he collected a DNA sample from Bell and took photos of his hands.

On a second warrant the next day, Sutton collected several swabs from bloodlike substances in a gray Ford F-150 that had left the scene.

Union County Coroner John Hileman testified he and Heidingsfelder performed the autopsy about 1 p.m. at Rendleman and Hileman Funeral Home, where Hileman is a funeral director. At no time was a coroner's inquest called for, Hileman testified.

Bell's trial continues this morning.

kwebster@semissourian.com

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Pertinent address:

313 Douglas St., Anna, IL

Dongola, IL

Market Street, Jonesboro, IL 62952