Defense forensic expert says death of Utah doctor's ex-wife doesn't look like a murder
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A forensic expert testifying in defense of a Utah doctor accused of killing his ex-wife says the woman's death doesn't look like a murder.
Judy Melinek testified Monday that Salt Lake City cancer researcher Uta von Schwedler likely look a large amount of the anti-anxiety drug Xanax and cut her own wrist before she drowned in her bathtub.
Prosecutors say 51-year-old pediatrician John Brickman Wall attacked his 49-year-old ex-wife with a knife, dosed her with the drug and killed her during a bitter custody battle in 2011.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}But Melinek says von Schwedler's wrist wounds were shallow and cut on a straight line, making them look self-inflicted.
A medical examiner ruled that von Schwedler drowned but stopped short of saying whether the death was a homicide or a suicide.