October 13, 1995: Testimony of Richard Fredrickson
Judge: Call your next witness
The State calls Richard Fredrickson
Prosecuting Attorney: Mark Skurka
Skurka: Please state your full name.
Fredrickson: Richard Fredrickson
Skurka: I noticed you have turned from your mike - speak directly into the microphone please. How old are you?
Fredrickson: 36
Skurka: How do you make a living?
Fredrickson: I am a paramedic.
Editor's note: Portion of testimony about the duties of paramedics has been ommitted, testimony resumes at the scene of the crime.
Skurka: Where were you on the day of March 31, 1995?
Fredrickson: Welder's Equipment Company on Agnes Street in Corpus Christi.
Skurka: What time were you there?
Fredrickson: About 11:30 a.m.
Skurka: While you were there, did you take a call from the dispatcher?
Fredrickson: Yes
Skurka: How far were you from the Days Inn Motel?
Fredrickson: About 1-l/2 miles.
Skurka: Were you actually dispatched personally that day you were called?
Fredrickson: No. We decided that since we were right down the street we would take the call.
Skurka: Did you go to the Days Inn on Navigation that day?
Fredrickson: Yes.
Skurka: From the time you left the fitting place, how long did it take you to get to the Days Inn Motel?
Fredrickson: About two (2) minutes.
Skurka: What did you find there upon your arrival?
Fredrickson: There were people all around yelling "there is a girl in the lobby and she has been shot".
Skurka: Are you familiar with the Days Inn Area? We have a diagram and I would like to show you the area involved and ask you, where did you park?
Fredrickson: We parked (pointing to the diagram) here.
Skurka: Do you know where the front door is?
Fredrickson: Right here (pointing to diagram)
Skurka: When you were dispatched, were you driving down Navigation?
Fredrickson: Answer unintelligible.
Skurka: When you were coming down this road were your sirens on?
Fredrickson: Yes
Skurka: So you came and parked right there? (pointing to the diagram)
Fredrickson: Yes.
Skurka: Where were the police then?
Fredrickson: At the front door of the Days Inn.
Skurka: Anyone else?
Fredrickson: There was a fire truck.
Skurka: So, it would be to say there were several units arriving at the Days Inn Motel?
Fredrickson: Yes
Skurka: You say you heard someone yelling "a girl has been shot"?
Fredrickson: Yes.
Skurka: What did you do then?
Fredrickson: We went to the lobby and there were 7 or 8 people or better in the lobby.
Skurka: Did you see a person lying down?
Fredrickson: Yes
Skurka: Where would you say that was?
Fredrickson: In front of the counter.
Skurka: Use the pointer and show us where you came in.
Fredrickson: Pointed to the area he entered.
Skurka: What was she wearing?
Fredrickson: A green jogging suit.
Skurka: What was the information you received from the dispatcher.
Fredrickson: That someone had been shot at the Days Inn Motel.
Skurka: Did you have any further details than that?
Fredrickson: No.
Skurka: You say you saw a lady on the floor on her stomach?
Fredrickson: Yes
Skurka: What did you do then?
Fredrickson: We immediately turned her over on her back and began to administer aid.
Skurka: What did you first see?
Fredrickson: We saw a young lady covered with blood. My partner took care of here head with a "C" Column.
Skurka: What did you find when you put her on her back?
Fredrickson: I pulled out my scissors and ripped open the front of her shirt.
Skurka: Why did you do that?
Fredrickson: To examine her chest to see if she was breathing.
Skurka: What did you find?
Fredrickson: We found a bullet hole in the upper part of the right chest.
Skurka: Did she have any other clothing underneath her shirt?
Fredrickson: Yes. A bra and panties.
Skurka: Describe the wound.
Fredrickson: I put on my gloves and examined a bullet hole approximately 3/8" in diameter. I had gloves on and put my hand over the hole's opening.
Skurka: Was there blood coming out of that hole?
Fredrickson: No
Skurka: Don't you think that is unusual?
Fredrickson: No. (he then went into extensive medical reasons why blood would coagulate suddenly and not come out of an open wound. Much of this was unintelligible).
Skurka: What happened next?
Fredrickson: We opened a package of gauge which had been saturated with Vaseline and placed it over the hole.
Skurka: Did you say "cloth with Vaseline"?
Fredrickson: Yes. The Vaseline is used as a sealant for open wounds such as bullet holes and keeps it from bleeding.
Skurka: What did you do then?
Fredrickson: We placed it over her chest.
Skurka: Why?
Fredrickson: If she was leaking air it would stop it from leaking.
Skurka: Did you see any blood coming out of the hole?
Fredrickson: No sir
Skurka: What did you do then?
Fredrickson: Prepared her to be placed on the stretcher or backboard.
Skurka: Did you do anything to establish vital signs?
Fredrickson: Yes. We checked her pulse on both arms and the neck area.
Skurka: What was the result of the checking for her pulse?
Fredrickson: There was a "twitching". Her hands were moving a little bit.
Skurka: Twitching? What do you mean "twitching"?
Fredrickson: In the muscles. We could not feel a steady pulse.
Skurka: How long did you try to find a pulse.
Fredrickson: Around 20/30 seconds and never felt a pulse.
Skurka: What other vital signs did you look for, could you detect any breathing?
Fredrickson: No
Skurka: (To Judge) May I approach the witness please?
Judge: Yes
Skurka: I would like to show you a photo and as if you recognize the lady in the photo?
Fredrickson: Yes. It is Selena.
Skurka: How did she look that day? Was she all "prettied up" like she is in the photograph?
Fredrickson: No
Skurka: What was she wearing?
Fredrickson: She had a green jogging suit on.
Skurka: Let us go back to when you were administering aid. Was the patient breathing at all when you got there?
Fredrickson: No
Skurka: How do you determine if the patient is breathing?
Fredrickson: We examine the chest and a breathing detecting device.
Skurka: Was there a heartbeat?
Fredrickson: There was a "throbbing", but not a normal heartbeat.
Skurka: What else did you do?
Fredrickson: The next thing was to "Load and Go".
Skurka: What do you mean "Load and Go"?
Fredrickson: Place her in the ambulance and transport her to the designated hospital as fast as possible.
Skurka: Why was that so important?
Fredrickson: We are not surgeons - we cannot "fix" what they can. We can only do so much to try to keep the patient alive.
Skurka: Did you feel that she would be better treated at the hospital?
Fredrickson: Yes
Skurka: Did you notice any other type of wound?
Fredrickson: Answer unintelligible.
Skurka: How long were you at the lobby?
Fredrickson: Five (5) minutes.
Skurka: Two minutes to answer the call and five minutes on the scene, is that correct?
Fredrickson: Yes.
Skurka: Now let's move to the time when you transported her to the hospital. How long did that take?
Fredrickson: Four (4) minutes.
Skurka: What hospital did you take her to?
Fredrickson: Memorial Medical Center
Skurka: Why Memorial?
Fredrickson: It is a major trauma center.
Skurka: Are emergency cases transported to certain hospitals?
Fredrickson: Major trauma cases are dispatched to Memorial.
Skurka: It took about 4 minutes to get there. What other aids did you try en route to the hospital?
Fredrickson: We administered a cardiac monitor.
Skurka: And what did this reveal?
Fredrickson: It show a rate of about 20.
Skurka: What is the normal rate?
Fredrickson: About 80
Skurka: You say hers was about 20?
Fredrickson: Yes. (He then described PDA, which details the results of a cardiac monitor. Most of this was unintelligible).
Skurka: And you say the heart had stopped beating?
Fredrickson: Her heart stopped beating and we put a tube, or open airway, from the outside to the lungs.
Skurka: You put an air tube down to her heart? Was she breathing then?
Fredrickson: No
Skurka: What were you doing after that.
Fredrickson: Placing an I.V. into her veins.
Skurka: An I.V.
Fredrickson: Yes
Skurka: Describe an I.V., please
Fredrickson: (He then went into medical details pertaining to I.V. and described various functions of various organs.
Skurka: What was the condition of the veins.
Fredrickson: They were flat, in other words they had collapsed.
Skurka: Did you see any block in the artery or vein?
Fredrickson: There was no blood in either the arteries or veins.
Skurka: How many times did you try to administer the I.V.
Fredrickson: Five (5) times in the arms.
Skurka: Is there another place in the body where you can try this?
Fredrickson: Yes, in the Jugular Vein (he then described the vein, which he called "carotid artery"
Skurka: What is that called again?
Fredrickson: The "Jugular Vein", or "Jugular Stick".
Skurka: Is that a last attempt?
Fredrickson: Yes
Skurka: And did that work?
Fredrickson: No. The veins had completely collapsed.
Skurka: Was there any breathing?
Fredrickson: No sir
Skurka: What does that indicate?
Fredrickson: It indicated that she was dead.
Skurka: What happened then.
Fredrickson: By that time we had arrived at the hospital. We unloaded her. There were people from the Emergency Room waiting to help. There was a team of doctors and nurses waiting for us.
Skurka: What do you mean "team"?
Fredrickson: A team of specialists on call at the emergency room.
Skurka: How long did it take to get her in the hospital emergency room.
Fredrickson: About 45 seconds.
Skurka: So, it would be safe to say that there was an adequate number of people to administer aid. What did you do then.
Fredrickson: We moved here to the trauma room.
Skurka: How many people were there?
Fredrickson: About twenty (20) people were in the room.
Skurka: The trauma room?
Fredrickson: Yes. At that time the hospital takes over and your duties are basically over.
Skurka: Did you wait to see if they could establish an I.V.?
Fredrickson: We moved out of the way and tried to "stay out of the way".
Skurka: Was an attempt to establish an I.V. successful?
Fredrickson: I believe so.
Skurka: What were you directed to do.
Fredrickson: I basically was trying to stay out of the way. There were too many people and not enough space.
Skurka: Let me go back up a minutes. While you were transporting her to the hospital, did anything unusual happen?
Fredrickson: While we were trying to establish an I.V., something fell off her finger. I picked it up and placed it on a shelf in the ambulance.
Skurka: Where did this take place?
Fredrickson: In the back of the ambulance.
Skurka: What was it that you found.
Fredrickson: I was covered in blood and when I pulled her arm over the hand fell open and a ring fell out. I placed it on the shelf in the ambulance.
Skurka: Was it anything unusual?
Fredrickson: It looked like a mans ring - it was old. At the time I didn't know what it was.
Skurka: What did you do with it after that?
Fredrickson: I sat is on the shelf and when we arrived at the Emergency Room I found the ring and wrapped it in a white towel and handed it to the hospital security guard. He said it should go the FBI, a man, I believe his name was Mr. Rivera. He said to me, "don't go anywhere, I would like to talk to you". I went to clean up and put the towel with the ring wrapped in it in a "vital bag".
Hagans: (Defense) Objection
Judge: Overruled
Skurka: Did you come to find out later what that was?
Hagans: Objection
Skurka: I will rephrase. Do you know where the object came from?
Fredrickson: No sir.
Skurka: Would it be fair to say there was confusion in the emergency room?
Fredrickson: It was "crazy".
Skurka: I would like to present into evidence the ring as Exhibit #11. Do you know what that is?
Fredrickson: Yes. It is the ring and the towel.
Skurka: Was there anything on the towel?
Fredrickson: Yes, there was blood.
Skurka: For the record, I enter a manila envelope - shows the envelope to Mr. Tinker.
Tinker: No objections your honor. He then discusses the envelope and type of packaging, suggesting it should be a different kind.
Skurka: May I approach. They then discuss something with the Judge that we were not allowed to hear.
Skurka: For the record, I submit Exhibit #12-A which contains evidence entered into record. Is that correct, your honor?
Judge: That is correct.
Skurka: I pass the witness.
Defense interrogation (Mr. Hagans)
Hagans: Did you stay in the area of the emergency room?
Fredrickson: I was in and out.
Hagans: You were in the area several hours?
Fredrickson: About one (1) hour - from around 12:00 until approximately 1:00 p.m. It didn't seem that long.
Hagans: Were you there when Mr. Quintanilla came to the hospital?
Fredrickson: I did not know who he was and I don't know if I was there or not when he came.
Hagans: Were you there when he asked them to stop............(Skurka interrupted with objection)
Skurka: Objection! How could he know that. He said he did not know Mr. Quintanilla.
Judge: Sustained
Hagans: You said that when you actually saw Selena in the hotel lobby you could not see any evidence of a bullet hole - you could not see a bullet hole in her clothing?
Fredrickson: No sir
Hagans: Either on the front or the back of the clothing?
Fredrickson: No sir
Hagans: As I understand, you walked through the restaurant area into the lobby?
Fredrickson: Yes sir
Hagans: I thought or understood you to say that when you actually got Selena into the ambulance (rest of question unintelligible)
Fredrickson: That is correct.
Hagans: And you were able to get a reading on the monitor and it was some electrical activity.
Fredrickson: That is correct.
Hagans: You keep actual records of each case to which you are dispatched?
Fredrickson: Yes
Hagans: Do these appear to be the ambulance records of your taking Selena to the hospital?
Fredrickson: Yes
Hagans: The date is 3/31, the call was received at 11:50 and you arrived at 11:51, correct?
Fredrickson: That is correct
Hagans: One of the things you checked were her pupils, which your partner did .....(Skurka interrupted with an objection.
Skurka: Objection and then the witness was questioned at length about the accuracy of the records, time,
date, etc.)
Hagans: I would like to ask you about the record keeping process. When are they usually filled out?
Fredrickson: As soon as possible, while the paramedic's memory is fresh.
Hagans: When was the last time you saw or talked to your partner?
Fredrickson: Four or five days ago.
Hagans: Did you both come to Houston to testify?
Fredrickson: He did not get a subpoena
Hagans: He was the one who filled out the records and did not receive a subpoena?
Skurka: Objection
Judge: Overruled
Hagans: In terms of what Selena's condition was at the hospital, the doctors would be in a better position to observe her condition than you.
Fredrickson: Certainly, I am no doctor!
Hagans:- That is all.
Judge: We will recess for lunch and resume court at 1:00.