Medical examiner in Lisa Troemner trial: 'There was a considerable amount of blood'

The stab wound that killed Trevor Smith was more than 2 inches deep, punctured his left lung and caused it to collapse, according to testimony a medical examiner gave Tuesday in the trial against the woman accused in the stabbing.

Lisa Troemner, 27, faces a charge of second-degree murder in Smith’s December 2014 death. The two had been in a relationship for about six months before the killing, which took place in the condominium they shared on Park Avenue in Marco Island.

Dr. Manfred Borges, deputy chief medical examiner for Collier County, testified Tuesday that Smith was stabbed twice in the lower neck. The wound that killed him was above his collarbone; the knife severed his carotid artery, punctured his left lung and caused it to collapse, according to Borges. The wound was 2½ inches deep.

Borges said there was “a considerable amount of blood” in the bedroom where Smith was found. 

“The rapid amount of blood loss, plus the collapse of the lung and the blood compressing the lung, are major factors in the individual going into shock and dying,” Borges said on the stand.

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Borges ruled in his autopsy the cause of death was sharp force injury to Smith’s neck and chest. The manner of death, he said, was homicide. The medical examiner said less than 15 minutes passed between the time of the stabbing and the time of Smith’s death.

“It wasn’t immediate, but it wasn’t a prolonged death,” Borges said.

Smith had several other wounds on his body, including scrapes on his hands indicating he may have fought off the knife. He had a shallow stab wound in his back, cuts to his head and face, and potential bite marks on his left arm, Borges testified.

Smith also had bruising from “blunt force injuries” on the back of his right hand, forearm and elbow and the front of his left knee and foot.

Donald Day, Troemner's attorney, said Troemner was afraid of Smith because he had been verbally and physically abusing her for several days leading up to the stabbing. 

During one of the couple’s arguments, Day said during opening statements last week, Smith bashed a door in the home off its hinges.

Borges said seeing the door with blood on it was striking. The defense attorney asked the medical examiner if the blunt force injuries could have been caused by Smith tearing the door off its frame. The medical examiner said it was a possibility.

Last week, a Marco Island police officer testified Troemner told him she had used the knife during previous arguments with Smith to keep him at a distance.

On Tuesday, Day asked Borges during cross-examination if Smith could have suffered the defensive wounds on his hands while being the “initial aggressor” in the argument that preceded the stabbing. Borges said it was a possibility, but he could not be certain because he didn’t know all the circumstances of Troemner and Smith’s relationship leading up to Smith’s death.  

On redirect, prosecutor Katherine Rumley asked the medical examiner if it was possible any of the stab wounds were inflicted on Smith accidentally. Borges said that was not likely.

In addition to the violence, Day said last week that Smith had been abusing substances in the days leading up to the stabbing.

Toxicology reports found Smith had a blood alcohol level of 0.309, more than three times the legal limit, and Xanax in his system.