Hi mystery. I've checked into the thread very late, so you may not see this post until morning. I took a look at the autopsy photos. Aside from how disgusting it is that those photos made their way onto the internet, since they were there, they answered a couple of questions for me.
First, I didn't know the head wound was so extensive. The head wound did occur while she was still alive. The entensive bleeding under her skin/scalp, and within the brain tell us that. Even so, the head wound may not have required a huge amount of force to do that kind of damage. She was a six-year-old, so her skull was thinner than an adult skull. Someone without much strength could do that much damage using something that gave him sufficient leverage.
The shape and location of the wound, and the fractures off the primary site that radiate laterally to the back of her skull, suggest that she was hit with something swung at her laterally, like you swing a baseball bat.
The rectangular shape of the wound suggests a golf club or something of similar shape might have been used.
I'm not qualified to work out if the blow had to come from in front of her or behind in order to cause the lateral fracture to radiate toward the back of her skull. But in all likelihood, the person who hit her was standing either directly in front of her or directly behind. Depending on the length of the instrument and length of the hitter's arms (longer on either equals more leverage), the person may have been as much as two or three feet away when the blow was struck.
Anyway, the way I see it in my mind's eye, someone swung at her with an instrument comparable to a golf club. The blow broke off a horizontal rectangular piece of her skull and drove it into her brain. According to the autopsy, her brain showed severe contusion at the site of that wound.
The only other way a wound like that might have occurred is if the child violently fell (or was thrown) sideways against something hard and sharp, like the corner of a table.
The massive skull fracture and bleeding in her brain would have been fatal even though she didn't die instantly from the wound. She was alive when the ligature was quite savagely tightened around her neck, but mercifully, assuming the head wound occurred first, she probably never felt that part of the attack.
I prefer to think that was the case, although sadly, it's also possible the head wound could have occurred while she was being strangled. In some way, during that hideous act, the child's head might have been struck against a hard, sharp object comparable to the corner of a table or the shape of a golf club head.
One thing is for certain. Once that head wound occurred, that baby never felt anything again. So I hope the blow to the head came first, and from behind so she never knew who and what hit her and never felt the rest of what was done to her.
All in all, this was a savage killing. To me, it seems to be a rage killing. According to the literature about crimes, most rage killings are done by someone the victim knows.
Although much of the known evidence points to someone in or close to the family being the killer, it's hard to imagine a parent having that much rage against their own child. Yet we know some parents who do scald their infants to death for crying too much, or lock them in small rooms for years on end, etc.
Whatever happens to Karr, I wonder if we'll ever know the truth of what occurred that night.
I read tonight that one of his boys is named Seven Exodus
Thanks Wolfstar, you said it better than I could've. Your conclusions are basically the same as mine. Also, patechial hemorrhaging indicative of strangulation is specific to the white's of the eyes (other kinds of patechial hemorrhage - like on skin - can have other causes). JBR had no patechial hemorrhaging of the eyes indicating cause of death was not strangulation. If anyone is more familiar with the forensics please feel free to correct.
Interesting.
Although much of the known evidence points to someone in or close to the family being the killer, it's hard to imagine a parent having that much rage against their own child. Yet we know some parents who do scald their infants to death for crying too much, or lock them in small rooms for years on end, etc.
After reading the "repulsed by her baby" article, I have a much more clear understanding of how a parent might commit a rage killing on their own child.