May 01--One of two shots to the head that killed a Chicago police officer investigating a garage burglary in 2010 was fired from close range, a forensic pathologist testified Thursday.
Dr. Nancy Jones, the former Cook County chief medical examiner, testified Officer Michael Flisk was shot once through the left ear and once through the cheek.
The entrance wound in Flisk's left ear had characteristics that indicated the bullet had been fired from 18 inches to 2 feet away, she testified.
"The wounds were not survivable," said Jones, who indicated the veteran officer died from the effects of his brain swelling.
The testimony come on the fourth day of the trial for Timothy Herring, now 24.
Flisk, 46, an evidence technician and father of four, was dusting for prints in the South Chicago neighborhood a day after Thanksgiving in November 2010 when he and Stephen "Sweet Pea" Peters were shot and killed. Peters' beloved customized red Mustang GT convertible had been stripped of its stereo and other gear.
Prosecutors alleged that Herring had burglarized Peters' car and shot both victims when he learned Flisk had found a usable fingerprint. He shot both again when he noticed one of them moving, prosecutors said.
Both Flisk and Peters, a former Chicago Housing Authority police officer, were armed, but neither had time to draw his weapon.
Herring's fingerprint was found on a box that held a monitor stolen from Peters' car.
On Wednesday, Flisk's widow, Nora, put her arm around the shoulders of daughter Margaret as both wept when prosecutors displayed photos of the bloody crime scene.
Two cousins of Herring's as well as three other witnesses have testified that he confessed the killings to them, but Herring's attorneys have argued the cousins decided to turn on an easy target in exchange for a cash reward that grew to $20,000.
sschmadeke@tribpub.com
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