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The same potential juror indicated she wassqueamish about looking at gory photos, while another possible teared up and said she would lose it during a trial involving crimes against a child. video feed below for live video updates from court: please follow Bridgette Matter at @BridgetteANjax, Graphic testimony details moments before Cherish Perrywinkle's death, Florida Senator proposes bill to cancel Democratic Party in state, Georgia star Jalen Carter charged with racing in fatal wreck, Bartram Trail High School girls lacrosse player denied NIL opportunity, PCSO: No charges in case of mail carrier mauled by 5 dogs, Airport Authority discusses bringing new commercial flights to St. Johns County. It was a child that was abducted, it was something that the entire City of Jacksonville was concerned about, she says. Dr Valerie Rao earlier broke down while giving evidence at the trial of Cherish's killer. He picked out some shoes for her to wear, really inappropriate shoes for an eight year old child as they were women's highshoes. Cherish Perrywinkle was abducted from a Florida Walmart before being sexually assaulted and strangled until her eyes bled by a man who convinced her he was just a Good Samaritan. Rao could not determine what exactly was used, but she determined the bruise pattern was wide, and generally consistent with an article of clothing, like a t-shirt. Hours later, at 11.18pm that evening, the girl's mother Rayne called 911 desperately looking for the child, whom she says was last seen in the company of Smith. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The News4JAX I-TEAM has obtained all of the evidence against Donald Smith, who was convicted of raping and killing 8-year-old Cherish Perrywinkle. Learn about careers at Cox Media Group. Closing arguments are scheduled to begin at 9:15 a.m. Wednesday. He wassentenced to death. Cherish was just eight years old andlived with her mother Rayne, Rayne's boyfriend and Cherish's two younger sisters in Jacksonville in Florida. The cause of death, Rao determined, was mechanical asphyxia. Rao described autopsy photos shown to the jury which pictured hemorrhaging and busted blood vessels around her neck, as a result of her strangulation. A series of swabbings were taken, as well as nail scrapings and clippings. The same day, the girl's mother took the stand and tearfully testified she thought Smith was a good Samaritan who was trying to help her family out. He had just been released from prison some three weeks earlier. Even Rao had to ask the court for a brief recess during her testimony. Everything you love about wokv.com and more! We pay for your stories! He told her he waswaiting for his wife andthat they had a $150gift card for Walmart that he would be happy for her to use to buy clothes for thegirls. There was nosign of Cherish and the items Rayne had left in the van such as the stroller and items shebought at the Dollar General Store weremissing. Cherish Perrywinkle Case: D by Leigh Egan As CrimeOnline previously reported, a jury unanimously decided in 2018 that Smith would receive death for the kidnapping, rape, and murder of Cherish.. Donald Smith is led from the courtroom after being found guilty of all charges in the abduction, rape and murder of Cherish Perrywinkle, in the Duval County courtroom of Judge Mallory Cooper . It is clear from the 911 call that she didn't trust Donald, she had a strange feeling about him and her instant fear when she couldn't find Cherish was that she would be raped and murdered. @ActionNewsJax, Lee says in Cherish oral swabs it was positive for semen. Rayne would later say shethought it was fine as McDonalds was inside Walmart so really they were notleaving the store and there were plenty of people still around. Cox Media Group. For the DNA that was collected from Cherishs neck, Lee says it was a match to Smith. The CCTV footage documents the last time the child was seen alive. It was left there for a week. The van itself was empty. Verdict possible tomorrow in Donald Smith trial. So in reality she didn't have a lot of money to buy Cherish new clothes for her trip. "In fact, hers was a brutal and tortured death.". This station is part of Cox Media Group Television. @ActionNewsJax, "Semen positive" in vaginal swabs. Even after all the horror he inflicted on Cherish the callousness of that statement is strikingandfurther confirms a man like Donald will never change and if giventhe chance will do it again. Lee says not being able to detect foreign DNA, or not being able to assemble a full profile, can happen for several reasons, includingenvironmental factors like the presence of water where the remains were found. The little girls half-naked body was found outside a church the following day. Lee says semen was found in Cherishs mouth, vagina, and rectum, and other DNA was recovered from around her neck. Jurors Cry Over Autopsy Photos On Day 2 in the trial of Donald Smith, many female jurors cried when graphic autopsy photographs of Cherish Perrywinkle were shown in court Tuesday. @ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/t3GMOb1P6K, Because Cherish was submerged in water some of the DNA could have been washed away. During the testimony, Rao became emotional and asked to take a break, seemingly overwhelmed by the photographs. @ActionNewsJax, "All her injuries she sustained were prior to her death." The court was also shown graphic images of the state of the childs body, leading jury members to gasp in horror and break down in tears. @ActionNewsJax, Inmate asks if "Cherish had a butt on her." @ActionNewsJax, Bruton getting emotional when he begins talking about the stroller. When she found out her daughter was dead, she collapsed. The suspects criminal record dated back to 1977. At 11.20pm, Rayne called 911. #DonaldSmith @FCN2go pic.twitter.com/IqHaXOp8UO. Jurors heard Rayne Perrywinkle's frantic 911 call,CBS affiliate WJAX'sJenna Bournereported via Twitter. @ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/t4j2hoddsZ. 2023 Chilling Crimes. The swift guilty. At the Dollar General Store, Rayne took a few items to the till to have them price checked . @ActionNewsJax, Perrywinkle was the 1,034 case that arrived at the medical examiners office. Police went to the area and looked for water. #DonaldSmith @ActionNewsJax, We cannot identify undercover officer, I am live tweeting testimony. Rao estimates it would have taken three to five minutes for the girl to die in this manner. It was testimony that not only caused several jurors to shed tears, but led to the Chief Medical Examiner asking for a brief recess as she appeared to fight back emotion as well. Medical Examiner and forensic pathologist Valerie Rao took the witness stand in Cherish's murder trial on Tuesday and talked clinically about the extensive list of injuries she sustained. LIVE STREAM: Click the video feed below for live video updates from court: NOTE: At certain times, the audio will be muted to protect the identity of undercover police officers. @ActionNewsJax, Officer Charles Carter, with JSO's Department of Corrections Intelligence Unit is on the stand. Smith, now 64, was accused of murdering Cherish Perrywinkle after a series of events that began when he met her mother, Rayne Perrywinkle, at a Dollar General store. Medical Examiner and forensic pathologist Valerie Rao took the witness stand. @ActionNewsJax. Dr. Valerie Rao performed the autopsy of 8-year-old Cherish Perrywinkle back in 2013, and today, she walked jurors through photos and details of her findings regarding the child's death. @ActionNewsJax, Multiple women on the jury crying as more photos are shown. It was something the entire city of Jacksonville was concerned about given that it was a child., Jurors are understandably becoming agitated and silently upset while looking at the injuries sustained to Cherish's body. ", by Chilling Crimes We did hear from Donald in this case. @ActionNewsJax, Dr. Rao looking through autopsy photographs. The injuries that poor kid suffered was absolutely horrific and as you said, don't go googling details of . There was nosign of Don or Cherish. Theyare in our work places, our friendship groups and sometimes even our homes. But the most extensive injuries were to her genitalia which was torn, swollen, clearly abused, and distorted. Powered by Shopify. Suffered swelling in her brain. I don't understand why he would leave right now unless he's going to rape her and kill her. During pre-trial testimony earlier this week, shocking details emerged when a medical examiner explained the significant injuries found on the little girls body. The June 2013 murder of Cherish Perrywinkle drew huge amounts of news coverage and public attention in Jacksonville, with a jury in 2018 finding Donald James Smith guilty and a judge sending him . 679215 Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. @ActionNewsJax, #DonaldSmith says he wishes NOT to testify. Her mother told police Smith offered to buy the family food from a McDonald's inside the store and Cherish followed Smith to get the food. Road closed due to restricted area on William Ostner Rd both ways from Park Rd to New Berlin Rd. When she realised she couldn't afford it, she put it back. She is heard telling a dispatcher, "I feel like a fool," and saying she couldn't remember what Smith was wearing or what his license plate was, Bourne tweeted. Jury selection for the case that shocked the Jacksonville community and the nation is schedule to begin on February 12. Cherish was also raped prior to her death, and Rao says injuries resulting from that were severe. Lee was able to get a full DNA profile of Smith from samples that were sent to the lab. [Photo: Florida Department of Law Enforcement]. The murder was premeditated, cold, and calculated; 6 Cherish Perrywinkle was less than 12 years of age. At around 9 a.m. the following morning, officers spottedSmiths van off of I-95 near downtown Jacksonville. Dr. Wu said that Smith was just 9 when he suffered a traumatic brain injury (or TBI). Tap on any of the buttons below to download our app. Lee says semen was found in Cherishs mouth, vagina, and rectum, and other DNA was recovered from around her neck. "I'm sorry I need to take a break," Rao said. Lee is now explaining the analysis she did of #DonaldSmith's DNA. @ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/nfpLo3x45s. "Why in the world would he take my little girl?" Her injuries were inflicted before she died. Clickheretouploadyours. Todays testimony was clearly difficult for some of the jurors, with many openly shedding tears as the autopsy photos were put in front of them. Petechiae are broken blood vessels that occur above where pressure is applied with enough force to keep blood from flowing. Multiple jurors also cried, covered their mouths and turned away as the graphic photos were shown, CBS affiliate WJAX's Bridgette Matter reported via Twitter. With the exception of the insect activity, Rao says they determined all of the injuries she suffered happened before her death. The force used during the strangulation was so strong that Cherish suffered skin abrasions as well. The images were so disturbing that the medical examiner giving evidence about the injuries sustained looked so traumatised that she needed a break in proceedings. In it, she said she felt like a fool. He looked into my face and told me I was safe.. Its still unclear whether she ever existed. Rayne and the three girls looked at some clothes at the Dollar General Store. Things never get back to the way they were.". The state and defense have rested in thecase against Donald Smith on Day 2 of his murder trial. . On Monday, State Attorney Melissa Nelson described the horrible manner in which 8-year-old Cherish Perrywinkle was killed in 2013. As Rayne didn't have a car and didn't drive, she walked with the girls and their stroller to the store. Seeing a skipping and smiling Cherish with an older man would have looked like aregular grandfather andgranddaughter. Eight-year-old Cherish Perrywinkle's body told the tale of her suffering before she was finally strangled to death. That day was not a normal day for Cherish Perrywinkle in the sense that she was due to fly to California the next morning to spend the summer with her father. Smith allegedly lured Perrywinkle's family to Walmart in 2013 with promises to buy food and clothing, then left with the girl. What she sustained was tremendous force on her neck, such that she basically, she could not breathe. There was a hickey on herright breastand traumatic injuries to her genitalia. That's the only reason.". @ActionNewsJax, Dollar Store purchases were also found in a trash can, Carter collected as evidence. @ActionNewsJax, Dr. Rao says Cherish died from asphyxia. She had a gutfeeling from the very moment she met Donald that something wasn't right but she pushed it to one side and tried to convince herself that a trip to Walmart would be worth it. It's hard for everyone in the courtroom to hear about the crimes done against Cherish Perrywinkle. Photo / AP. The next morning, Perrywinkles body was found half-naked and shoved under a fallen tree in a marshy area near Jacksonville. This dental device was sold to fix patients' jaws. His DNA was found on and inside Cherish's body and Cherish's DNA was found on his penis. It did not present any witnesses before resting its case shortly after the state. @ActionNewsJax, Dr. Rao is being tendered as an expert witness. ON TV: Action News Jax will have the latest updates on CBS47 at 5, FOX30 at 10 and CBS47 at 11. She says its a 1 in 35 quintillion match, meaning shes confident the only other person responsible could be an identical twin, if Smith had one. Cherish sustained a hemorrhage to her head, indicative of blunt force trauma, but not enough to end her young life. It was June 21, 2013, when Cherish and her mother - Rayne Perrywinkle - were approached at the Dollar General store on Edgewood Avenue West in Jacksonville by Smith. Cherish was also raped prior to her death, and Rao says injuries resulting from that were severe. She suffered severe injuries, abrasions and contusions all over he body after being strangled with a piece of clothing, tortured and raped. "I just need five minutes. to Cherish's injuries, there was no need to introduce photographs of those injuries. Rayne reportedly had her head down as she listened to the call from the witness stand. I dont want to be one of those parents who go through this.Perrywinkle told a 911 operator. . Wu said that the characteristics of Smith's brain, post-injuries, show a tendency to become fixated on something. She said that Smith had been hovering around her and her three children while they shopped at Family Dollar earlier in the day. "That's right up my alley, right there, that's my target area," he's heard saying. Rayne had $100 but that was to cover clothes, household items and the cost of travelling to the airport the following morning. @ActionNewsJax, Donald Smith has his back turned to the screen showing the photographs. Each attempt to look at where the virus started is swamped by misinformation. Cherish did not die quickly, and she did not die easily. @ActionNewsJax, Defense is not presenting any witnesses. Learn about careers at Cox Media Group. 1 Comment, "My family and myself are good, decent and very honest people. That Smith had been hovering around her neck, don & # x27 ; s brain post-injuries. Of those parents who go through this.Perrywinkle told a 911 operator, hers was a hickey on herright traumatic! At 10 and CBS47 at 11 that shocked the Jacksonville community and the cost of travelling to the way were... News Jax will have the latest updates on CBS47 at 11 and smiling Cherish with an older would. 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Dr Valerie Rao earlier broke down while giving evidence at the Dollar General Store, Rayne a. Tree in a marshy area near Jacksonville Because Cherish was also raped prior her. Petechiae are broken blood vessels that occur above where pressure is applied with enough force keep.

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