Dr. McIntyre shifted her attention to X-rays on a monitor. “The X-rays show that Mr. Walker’s hyoid bone was fractured, but there were also several other broken bones in his neck.”

“Is that consistent with hanging?” Spencer asked.

“It can be. A study done about ten years ago found that twenty-five percent of men who hanged themselves had a broken hyoid bone. Other studies claim the bone is fractured in over sixty percent of the cases. He used a thin, hard rope, which increases the chances of the broken bone.”

Spencer studied the neck. “There’re multiple rope marks,” he said. “Does the rope shift during hanging?”

“It can.”

“And it can shift if he’s being manually strangled and fighting. Broken hyoid bones are more consistent with strangulation than hanging, correct?”

“I did retrieve skin samples from under his fingernails. DNA might tell us who they belong to.”

“He’s a big man and strong, but according to the witness statement, he was also pretty high when he was last seen at four a.m. Walker might not have had the ability to fight back.”

“A tox screen will tell us what’s in his system,” she said. “I’ve sent his blood off for extensive drug testing, so I’ll have that answer in a couple of days.”

“Good.”

“Why do you suggest murder?”

“I revisited a witness who was with Walker his last night and who had also been interviewed by Detective Poe. The witness, Ms. Stone, placed another man in the apartment about four a.m. Snapped a partial picture of him. Jordan also said Walker was very pleased with himself in the courtroom.”

“Maybe something changed for him. Maybe the drugs confused him.”

“Marco Walker is not the kind of guy that loses his nerve,” Spencer said. “He runs in very dangerous circles and easily holds his own.”

“I did the autopsy of his late girlfriend.”

“You determined her death was inconclusive.”

Dr. McIntyre shook her head. “I can only state what I found. And I could find no recent evidence of trauma other than the blow she sustained in her fall. There were fading bruises on her body, but they were not recent.”

“Witnesses stated he abused her.”

“But that does not mean he killed her intentionally.”

“He had a volatile temper, and a hard shove would have sent her tumbling backward into the hearth. He might not have meant to kill her, but he did.”

“I agree, but I must back up my statements with medical facts.”

She pressed the tip of her scalpel into the flesh and drew it over each side of his chest and down his midsection, creating a Y incision.