BEULAH -- It's possible Michigan State Police Sgt. Melvin Holbrook was awake when shot, a forensic pathologist testified.
Grand Rapids-based forensic pathologist Stephen Cohle was one of two witnesses to testify Monday in Joni Holbrook's preliminary examination. Holbrook is charged with an open count of murder in the Aug. 10 shooting death of her husband, Melvin Holbrook.
A preliminary examination is held to determine if there is enough evidence to send a case to trial. It is scheduled to resume Oct. 12 in front of Benzie District Judge Nancy Kida.
Investigators believe Joni Holbrook shot her husband with his state police-issued pistol in a bedroom of the couple's Benzie County residence. She allegedly told police she shot him as he slept, and examiners removed three bullets during an autopsy.
Cohle, who conducted the autopsy, provided details about the gunshot wounds. One bullet entered the back of Holbrook's head and lodged at the base of his skull, and another went through his jaw and into his shoulder.
Holbrook had what appeared to be entry and exit wounds near his right elbow and another on the right side of his chest, and Cohle believes one bullet struck him near his elbow and continued through his arm into his chest.
Under cross-examination from Holbrook defense attorney Jim Amberg, Cohle said it's possible Holbrook was holding his right arm up in a "defensive posture" when that shot was fired.
But it's also possible Holbrook slept on his side with his arm exposed, Cohle said, and there's no way of knowing if he was asleep. Cohle said at least two of the shots likely were fired within four feet of Holbrook, based on gunpowder residue and soot.
Benzie Sheriff's Department deputy Mark Ketz, who responded to the scene, also testified. Ketz said he found an empty pistol holster inside a car in the home's attached garage during a search of the residence.
Ketz found Holbrook's Sig Sauer .40 caliber handgun on a kitchen counter.
Ketz also interviewed Holbrook's first wife, Starr Mangold. Ketz said she described Melvin Holbrook as a "controlling" and "manipulative" person who had an interest in "strange" sexual behaviors, including bondage.
Joni Holbrook's attorneys previously said she was subject to "physical, mental and sexual abuse" from her husband during their marriage, though she told a 911 dispatcher she wasn't fighting or arguing with her husband at the time of the shooting.
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