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Well-directed wounds Examiner: Killers efficient in post-Super Bowl slayings
Posted: Wednesday February 02, 2000 07:25 PM
ATLANTA (AP) -- Whoever wielded the knife in the double slaying that led to murder charges against Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis "knew what they were doing," a medical examiner said Wednesday. The two victims' wounds were directly to major organs and both men quickly bled to death, said Dr. James Parker, a Fulton County associate medical examiner. "A lot of times in a fight with a knife, we'll see just mayhem, people swinging wildly, abrasions, light cuts, things like that," Parker said. "This wasn't like that. These were well-directed wounds into vital areas. They knew what they were doing." Lewis, 24, is charged with two counts of murder in the Monday stabbing deaths of Richard Lollar, 24, and Jacinth "Shorty" Baker, 21, both of Decatur. He is being held without bail until at least Feb. 24, and faces life in prison or the death penalty if convicted. Lollar was declared dead at the scene by police responding to a fight call in the Buckhead bar district several hours after the Super Bowl ended seven miles away at the Georgia Dome. Baker was transported to a local hospital, but declared dead upon arrival. Parker said that Baker suffered wounds to both his liver and heart, while Lollar's wounds were concentrated around his heart. Parker said both men 'died rapidly,' and probably bled to death from their injuries. "A typical pocket knife could do this," Parker said. "Whoever did this knew exactly where to hit and do the damage ... you could say they knew something about anatomy." Lewis' lawyer Max Richardson Jr. has acknowledged the All-Pro linebacker was at the scene of the incident, but was innocent of the killings. A spokesman for the Fulton County district attorney said Wednesday that it doesn't matter whether Lewis actually held the knife -- he can still be tried for murder if he helped the killer or was involved in the fight that preceded the slayings. "When and if this case goes anywhere, there will be aggravated assault charges added," spokesman Erik Friedly said. "And someone died as result of the assault, so felony murder charges are automatic." Wednesday, Atlanta police would not give any further details about the investigation. Published reports have said that officers are seeking arrest warrants for at least two of Lewis' friends that were with him Monday. According to witnesses, the two victims were involved in a fight with six men who fled the scene in a limousine. Police have released limousine driver Duane Fossett, according to a spokeswoman for All Stretched Out Limousine Service, which is based in Glen Burnie, Md. Fossett returned to the Baltimore area Wednesday and 'was exhausted' after being questioned and kept in Atlanta Monday by investigators, said Lorena Cochran. She said Fossett had been instructed not to speak to anyone about the case, and that the company's owner Anthony Toskov accompanied the limousine back to Maryland Wednesday but would not be available for comment. No one answered at Toskov's home. In Wednesday's editions of the Baltimore Sun, Toskov said that Fossett had told him that Lewis did not kill the two men. Toskov also said that Lewis had rented the limo and left Baltimore with some friends. The group stopped in Charlotte, N.C. to pick up a few more friends en route to Atlanta, where Lewis made several appearances leading up to Sunday's Super Bowl. Charlotte police said Wednesday that Atlanta police had not contacted them about any possible suspects.
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