In the re-examination of the plaintiff, when asked whether there was no stab or cut, which could not be said to have been caused by this knife, the witness replied in the affirmative, and added: "It is possible that the knife created all the sharp wounds" (p. 612, para. 28).
Cause of death and fatal outcome
- The defense devoted a great deal of effort and considerable resources, arguing that the cause of the defendant's death was not the stabbings, but negligent actions that were carried out on the deceased, whether at the scene, or in evacuating him in an ambulance to the hospital, and that these were the factors that caused his death. It was also claimed that a high concentration of alcohol was found in the deceased's blood, which contributed, in addition to the testimonies of the deceased's drug use, possibly also on the evening preceding the incident - according to the defense, his death.
However, at the end of the day, the mechanism that led to the death, according to the totality of the evidence, could be one of several possibilities, but in the "bottom line," it can be clearly said that all of them are related to the stabbings in the upper part of his body.
The mechanism of death could, however, extend to a number of scenarios, at least three, with the connecting thread between them being one - the many stabbings that the deceased sustained.
Insofar as the defense argued that the stabbings did not lead to the death of the deceased, or that they did not play a decisive part in the fatal outcome, it was expected that an expert's counter-opinion would be submitted, and this was not done.
Conclusions
- The death of the deceased was a direct result of a large number of stab wounds to his upper body.
The exact mechanism of causing the death cannot be determined with certainty - however, its location is not necessary for the purpose of our discussion, since any such possible mechanism is connected to those stabbings.
The person who stabbed the deceased in the upper body was the one who caused his death.