"I can't say if it was homicide"
Witness testifies to several causes for woman's death

(By Paula McMahon, Times Herald Record, Staff Writer)

By PAULA McMAHON, Staff Writer

GOSHEN- The cause of May DeGroat's death could not be determined because the first autopsy on her body was improperly done, an expert witness testified for the defense yesterday in Michael Maragh's trial for manslaughter.

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The 26-year-old Middletown woman could have died from a condition brought on by having sex too soon after childbirth; injuries caused by efforts to revive her; or multiple punches or kicks to her abdomen, forensic pathologist Dr. Mark Taff told jurors. Taff said he "had problems" with how the prosecution's pathologist, Dr. Louis Roh, conducted the autopsy. Because preautopsy X-rays and special procedures were not done, Taff said it is impossible to rule out a number of possible causes of death. "I can't say if it was a homicide or a natural death," said Taff. He was not able to examine the body.

Roh and Dr. Jeffrey Hubbard, another pathologist who testified for the prosecution this week, said Ms. DeGroat died from internal bleeding. They said her liver and spleen were lacerated by blunt force trauma. Her boyfriend, Maragh, 25, of East Main St., Middletown, is charged with first- and second-degree manslaughter in her death. Ms. DeGroat died March 27, just nine days after giving birth to their second son.

When Maragh took the witness-stand yesterday, he told the jury that he was having sex with Ms. DeGroat when she collapsed. He said his common-law wife initiated sex with him as they had done shortly after their first son was born. Taff said the sexual position the couple used, with Maragh behind her, was "a classic scenario" for a rare condition known as an air embolism to occur in a woman who recently gave birth. Simply put, this is an air bubble accidentally forced into the woman's blood system through enlarged blood vessels.

Roh's autopsy did not search for signs of an air embolism, and the condition might go undetected if it was not looked for, Taff said. By the time a second autopsy was done later by Hubbard, Taff said the air would have dissipated and it could have been impossible to tell if an embolism occurred. He said that vigorous cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, heavy punches or kicks, an embolism, or a combination of these could have caused her injuries.

The CPR given to Ms. DeGroat could have eliminated signs of an embolism, Taff told defense lawyer Benjamin Ostrer. Prosecutor Allan Drian attempted to cast doubt on Maragh's testimony. He accused Maragh of leaving a condom in the kitchen garbage so that police would find it. But DNA tests carried out on the condom appear to support Maragh's testimony - both Ms. DeGroat's and his DNA were found on the condom.

Maragh, who cried when he spoke about Ms. DeGroat's death, spoke softly and calmly on the witness stand. When Drian asked him if he beat her and left her to die painfully, Maragh responded; "That's not true, Mr. Drian.

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