Coroner details injuries in samurai sword murder trial

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- In nearly two hours of testimony today, the medical examiner who performed Otilia Burton's autopsy detailed the injuries she suffered at the hand of her husband.

Burton suffered 11 stab wounds to her chest and back, as well as numerous defensive wounds to her hands and arms, the medical examiner told jurors.

The testimony of Frank Sheridan, chief medical examiner of the San Bernardino County coroner's office, may have dealt a severe blow to Michael Burton's defense strategy.

Michael Burton, a 48-year-old former Pasadena firefighter, is on trial in West Valley Superior Court for allegedly murdering his wife of 13 years in the couple's Rancho Cucamonga home, then stabbing himself repeatedly in a suicide attempt.

Burton's defense attorney has told jurors that Burton was attacked first by his wife during the July 16, 2006 incident, and he acted in self-defense when he stabbed her numerous times with a samurai sword.

The couple had been in the midst of a contentious divorce.

Sheridan told jurors today that Otilia Burton, 35, suffered six stab wounds to the front of her body, and five stab wounds to her back.

The medical examiner estimated that one of the wounds extended a foot within Otilia Burton's body, another was eight inches deep, and another was five inches deep.

Otilia Burton also had numerous defensive wounds on her hands and arms, Sheridan testified, indicating she was trying to shield herself during the attack.

She had a large bruise on her forehead and other bruising elsewhere on her face, Sheridan testified.

During Sheridan's testimony, Deputy District Attorney Michele Daly projected graphic photographs in the courtroom of Otilia Burton's injuries as captured during the autopsy four days after her death.

Among the images projected in the courtroom was a close-up photograph of Otilia Burton's face.
Her eyes were open, and her mouth was partially agape. Even in death she appeared to be in a state of terror.

Jurors also heard testimony today from several members of the sheriff's department SWAT team who assisted in ending a five-hour standoff at Burton's home in the 10300 block of Cartilla Court.

The SWAT officers' testimony echoed much of what jurors have already heard during the trial -- that when officers went into the home at about 7 a.m., they found Otilia Burton dead and Michael Burton lying on the kitchen floor.

He was holding a large kitchen knife to his chest, and he had also suffered slash wounds to his neck and wrist.

Officers used Tasers and other measures to keep him from harming himself further.

Jurors also heard testimony from a sheriff's sergeant who interviewed Michael Burton's girlfriend the morning the incident.

Sgt. Michael Gilliam testified that Josefina Hernandez told him she was on the phone with Michael Burton after Otilia Burton died.

"Why did I do it? ... What did I do?" Burton reportedly told Hernandez, according to Gilliam.

A sheriff's department fingerprint examiner testified this afternoon that she found Michael Burton's fingerprints on two knives, and did not find Otilia Burton's fingerprints on any of the weapons recovered from the house.

Testimony in the case is set to continue Thursday morning, with a doctor who treated Michael Burton's injuries slated to take the witness stand, Daly said.

The prosecutor said she expects to rest her case early next week, giving Winston McKesson, Burton's defense attorney, an opportunity to call his own witnesses.

McKesson said Michael Burton will testify, as will a doctor hired by the defense who will refute some of the prosecution's claims that Michael Burton's injuries were self-inflicted.