The first week of testimony at the Desmond Fatality Inquiry in Guysborough has wrapped up
Thursday, the inquiry heard from Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Erik Mont; he detailed the wounds sustained by each victim.
Dr. Mont told the inquiry Shanna Desmond was shot three times during the attack: from slightly behind in the neck, from slightly behind in the chest, and from the front in the abdomen.
“The change in position could be related to rapid movement as someone falls or twists as they fall,” he said. “Alternatively, it could be a shot fired earlier or later in the course of this event.”
Doctor Mont said they don’t know the order she suffered the gunshot wounds, but she died from the neck wound in seconds.
He said Aaliyah Desmond was shot once: in the face, through the neck, and into the chest.
Dr. Mont said, despite not knowing the order of the shootings, Brenda Desmond was likely the last to die after suffering a gunshot wound to the back, but he couldn’t speak to her condition in the last minutes of her life.
He said Lionel Desmond shot himself last, killing himself with a gunshot to the head.
“This was essential instantaneous,” he said. “On the Medical Certificate of Death, I may have said seconds, but that really referred to probably seconds before all physiological activity ceased.”
Testimony continues Monday; this phase of the inquiry is expected to last three weeks.
