Edward Kyttle drove a truck off a county road in Cleburne County into a pond. He escaped, but his wife, a passenger in the truck, died.
The prosecution argues Edward Kyttle knocked his wife out and drove her into the pond, and the defense says it was an accident.
Joseph Endry was the forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy on Eleanor Kyttle after her death on Jan. 10, 1993.
The trial began Monday at the Cleburne County Courthouse in Heflin, and the prosecution called Endry to testify Tuesday.
He said the autopsy found signs that Eleanor Kyttle could have been hit on the head before the wreck.
She had bruises on her chin, a small amount of pooled blood on her brain and some lacerations on her tongue and lower lip, Endry said.
That is generally consistent with a blow to the chin, he said.
During cross-examination, Endry said it was impossible to state definitively that the injury was caused by someone hitting Eleanor Kyttle.
About 25 percent of such injuries are the result of car accidents, he said.
Endry said the cause of death was drowning. Eleanor Kyttle showed the classic signs of death by drowning, he said.
The physical evidence showed that she probably drowned while unconscious, Endry said. However, he could not say the evidence proved she was unconscious.
In 1993, he said he held back on an official statement on whether or not the death was accidental.
He said he was suspicious that the death was actually a homicide, due to Eleanor Kyttle's injuries.
The prosecution continues its case today.
