BEAUMONT, Texas — Day 2 of testimony began in the trial of Clayton Foreman, the man charged with killing Mary Catherine Edwards almost 30 years ago.
The focus of the trial moved to how the Beaumont teacher died.
In a dramatic development the doctor who performed the original autopsy, changed his opinion about the cause of death. Initially, the autopsy showed the 5th grade teacher likely died from drowning. However, today the forensic pathologist said based on his recent review of the case, he thinks otherwise.
Certified forensic pathologist Dr. Charles Harvey, MD testified over zoom from a retirement home in Boerne, due to his declining health.
He described in painstaking detail about the 36 bruises and abrasions he found on much of Edwards' body consistent with a struggle and signs of blunt force trauma. He also performed a sexual assault examination that provided the DNA evidence that led investigators to Foreman.
Jurors were shown the shirt Edwards was wearing, the towel she was wrapped in, and the handcuffs that bound her.
Dr. Harvey initially determined Edwards died from drowning. Today, he told the jury, based on what he knows now, his opinion has changed. He thinks it was something called entrapment asphyxiation.
"I've dealt with a particular category of death called, restraint asphyxia. The person is unable to breathe. The chest is compressed and they just simply cannot breathe," Dr. Harvey said in court.
He said a person could be killed in 5 to 10 minutes, if enough pressure was applied to the chest from behind. The defense then asked why there were no bruise on Edwards' chest consistent with that type of pressure. Dr. Harvey had no answer for that.
Tuesday's Testimony
The trail had a brief delay while a juror was dismissed and replaced by an alternate. It is unclear what exactly happened. The judge presiding said it was done “with just cause.”
In opening statements Prosecutor Mike Laird told the jury they need to remember this happened in 1995. He said they will hear about family members who did not live long enough to testify or see this trial today.
He then went on to describe the kinds of evidence the jury will hear.
Prosecutors told the jury they'll hear from dozens of witnesses, including the doctor who performed the autopsy 29 years. They plan to highlight the genetic genealogy and DNA that cracked this cold case.
They offered no motive for the murder, but shared that Edwards was found bruised and handcuffed, slumped over the side of the bathtub at her townhouse. The autopsy confirmed she died from drowning and asphyxiation. Her dad found her, saying it appeared she was tortured.
Prosecutors started their case with a BPD dispatcher.
The court room quickly took a solemn tone as 911 recordings of Mary Catherine's mother's frantic call for help was played for the jury.
As Edwards' mother's cries filled the room while she described how she found her daughter, family members wept and some jurors closed their eyes. Seemingly not being able to handle the horror of the situation.
The jury also heard testimony from Edwards' twin sister Allison Edwards Brocato.
"I called and my dad answered the phone and he was frantic….he said your sister is dead so I said do you want me to call 911… so I called 911… and I hung up from him not knowing what was going on. I called my brother and he lived around the corner we were just hysterical and praying … and then my dear friend lived around the corner and they came over to comfort me," Brocato said.
This was the first the the family has spoken publicly about the murder.
Jurors also heard testimony from two neighbors. Both described hearing a series of loud noises in the middle of the night that sounded like someone kicking the wall. The neighbors went back to bed without calling police.
The defense offered no opening statements. Foreman's attorney tried to poke holes in some of the police processing of the crime scene and he brought up Edwards' ex-boyfriend who was once a suspect but was cleared by authorities.
Background
For a painfully long time the murder of the beloved Price Elementary teacher went unsolved after she was found dead in her home January 14, 1995. Upon investigating police ruled the death a homicide and collected evidence at the scene including the suspect's DNA.
Edwards, 31, lived alone in Beaumont and was a school teacher in the city. She was last seen alive on Friday, Jan. 13, 1995, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
The next day, investigators said she didn’t answer any phone calls. Her lack of response prompted her parents to pay her a visit to her house on Park Meadow Drive.
When the parents arrived, they found Edwards dead in her bathroom. Evidence showed that Edwards had been sexually assaulted and killed, according to a DPS news release.
Sadly the forensics of the 90's simply were not as effective as they are today, and as the years passed the case went cold, leaving the Edwards family without closure and the perpetrator free.
However, due to massive leaps in forensic technology, the rise of data bases like Gedmatch and some clever police work a massive break in the case was made in 2021.
After entering the suspect's DNA into a data base of 30 other DNA files that were voluntarily submitted, detectives got a hit on two DNA connections on both the maternal and paternal side.
After connecting both the matches, detectives zeroed in on the child of the DNA union, leading them to Foreman who they then found out went to the same high school as Edwards. They also found that he had been convicted of an earlier assault.
With this new revelation, on April 15, 2021, with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigations Cincinnati Field Office and Reynoldsburg Ohio Police Department trash was collected from outside Foreman's home. They were able to collect a sample of Foreman's DNA which was an exact match to the DNA found at the crime scene back in 1995.
Foreman was then indicted in June 2021 for capital murder.
Further investigation revealed Edwards was a bridesmaid in the wedding of Foreman and his first wife, Jefferson County District Attorney Bob Wortham previously told 12News.
During their investigation into Foreman, detectives discovered he pled guilty to raping a classmate at Forest Park High School in 1981.
In that case, police said that Foreman gave the victim a ride home after finding her stranded at a gas station. Police say Foreman "bound her hands behind her back with a belt and held a knife to her throat" before sexually assaulting her.
Police say that 1981 rape had a number of similarities with Edwards' murder.
Edwards and Foreman both previously attended Forest Park High School.
Stay with 12News for coverage as the trial unfolds through testimony of both sides.
This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.
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