I watch Hardy shift gears in a flash. “So when you came to an opinion that the victim was strangled, you did not consider other possibilities, is that right?”

“I used my best judgment,” says Woods.

“But it’s possible that the victim’s hyoid bone was fractured in a manner other than strangulation, correct?”

“Yes. It’s possible,” Dr. Woods concedes.

“Thank you, Doctor. I’m glad we could put that to rest.”

Hardy goes over and whispers to her client. I watch him give an almost imperceptible nod. The defense attorney walks to the lectern and picks up a stapled set of pages. “Now I’d like to turn your attention to your preliminary autopsy report. Your Honor, this is defendant’s exhibit twelve B.”

She flips through the pages until she reaches a highlighted section. I can see the neon-green color from where I’m sitting.

“Dr. Woods, you offered an opinion that the victim was pregnant at the time of her death.”

An undercurrent of surprised murmuring rolls through the courtroom. It’s not the first time I’ve heard this pregnancy theory, but I’m surprised that Hardy is the one to bring it up. What does this mean for the defense’s trial strategy?

“That’s right,” Dr. Woods says.

“But there were no fetal remains? No way to check for fetal DNA?”

“Correct.”

“And you were unable to extract placental DNA from the bones?”

“True.”

“So what, in your expert opinion, makes you think that the victim was with child?”

Dr. Woods doesn’t immediately respond. She seems to be organizing her thoughts. She looks over at the jury, then speaks directly to them.

“When a woman becomes pregnant, the body undergoes physical changes to prepare for delivery. By the start of the second trimester, ligaments attached to bones in the pelvis start to loosen. That causes changes in the composition of the bones in those areas that we can see under a microscope. I saw evidence of those changes in the pelvic bones of the victim.”

“Conclusive evidence?” Hardy asks.

“That might be overstating it.”

“So do you know for certain the victim was pregnant at the time of her death?” asks Hardy.

“No. As the report states, it’s my opinion.”

“And would these compositional changes give you an indication of who the father was?”

“No. That would require fetal DNA.”

“And if I understand you correctly, you’ve just told us that there was no fetal DNA.”

“Well, after seventeen years underground—”

Hardy holds up her hand. “Dr. Woods, sorry to interrupt, but what I asked was if there was any detectable fetal DNA present in the remains. Yes or no?”

“No.”

“So you cannot say with certainty that Suzanne Bonanno was pregnant?”

“I cannot.”

“And even if she had been pregnant, establishing paternity would be an impossibility without fetal DNA.”

“Correct.”