Forensic Expert Testifies in Murder Trial of Tony Bechara
Tony Bechara, 47, was killed on Saturday, January 20, 2023, after suffering five gunshot wounds, including two fatal injuries to the upper body, a forensic expert testified during a murder trial in Superior Court.
Dr. Elena Tugaleva, a forensic pathologist, told a jury on Thursday that after conducting an autopsy on Jan. 22, she determined that Bechara died of a “perforated gunshot wound to the right upper body.”
Glen Mayer, 49, is currently on trial for first-degree murder in connection with Bechara’s death before Superior Court Judge J. Ross Macfarlane.
Prosecutors allege that Mayer drove from his LaSalle home to Bechara’s Lakeshore residence in the early morning of Jan. 20, 2024, and shot him three times, shortly after discovering his wife was having an affair with Bechara.
Later that day, police officers found a Glock .22 .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol registered to Mayer in the kitchen sink of Bechara’s home, as well as three bullet casings and a kitchen knife on the floor.
Details of the Injuries
Tugaleva testified that Bechara suffered an abrasion on the right forearm and four perforated wounds: one wound on the right forearm, two wounds on the front of the torso, and one wound on the side of the torso.
She said the five wounds could have been the result of three, four, or five shots. If three shots were fired, it is possible that two bullets were diverted after initially hitting Bechara before hitting him again, causing two wounds each, she said.
She determined that two of the five wounds were fatal. A third wound, which caused an injury to the spinal cord, was “potentially fatal,” she added.
Tugaleva said she could not determine the chronological order in which the bullets hit Bechara or the distance between Bechara and the shooter.
Surveillance Footage and Bechara’s Position
On Monday, prosecutors played surveillance footage from a neighbor in Bechara’s Lakeshore neighborhood that showed “three noises suggestive of gunshots being heard” at 7:15 a.m. on Jan. 20, according to an agreed statement of facts read to jurors.
Asked by deputy Crown attorney Reem Said on Thursday whether Bechara’s position at the time of the shooting could be determined, Tugaleva said “many … factors” could have influenced his position.
“It appears he was probably sitting on a couch across from the shooter,” she said. “But again, it’s likely. I don’t know for sure.”
Defense Cross-Examination
During cross-examination, Tugaleva agreed with defense attorney Julianna Greenspan that she “cannot come to an actual statement as to where the person was when the three shots were fired.”
Tugaleva also agreed with Greenspan that “both the upper chest wound and the abdominal wound may have had contact with something else before penetrating the torso.”
Greenspan theorized that if Bechara’s right arm had been raised when the shots were fired, two bullets may have initially struck Bechara’s arm before being redirected into Bechara’s torso.
Tugaleva said she agreed that was a possibility.
The defense is expected to begin proceedings next Monday.
