Pathologist Explains Cause and Mechanism of Death in Dying Last Words Trial of Leigha Mumby | Pt 4

The State's pathologist tells the jury that a cause of death and a mechanism of death are not the same thing. Then he gives the jury both, for Daniel Waterman. This is the Dying Last Words Trial: State of Florida v. Leigha Mumby, in Flagler County, Florida. On Super Bowl night, February 9, 2025, Daniel Waterman, 22, was in the passenger seat of the car his girlfriend Leigha Mumby was driving when it left I-95. He died on October 8, 2025. She is on trial for vehicular homicide and reckless driving causing serious bodily injury, and she is presumed innocent. Dr. James A. Terzian performed Daniel's autopsy and testifies by video link. Watch the moment he stops the prosecutor to explain cause against mechanism: everything after it hangs on that distinction. Here is what I'm watching. Daniel Waterman's own words are not before this jury, so the State proves his death through the people who examined him. Dr. Terzian's testimony runs from the crash to the death. How the car came to leave the road is not what he was asked about, and that is the question this jury still has to answer. --- WATCH WITH JUSTICE 0:00:00 What this video is, and a preview 0:00:19 to 0:02:38 - Video starts: Judge Dawn Nichols warns the family in the gallery that photographs are coming, before the jury comes in. 0:02:38 to 0:03:45 - The jury is seated and the State's fifth witness, pathologist Dr. James A. Terzian, is sworn in by video link. 0:03:45 to 0:06:33 - He builds his credentials: more than 4,000 autopsies and hundreds of times on the stand. 0:06:33 to 0:08:05 - The State turns him to the autopsy he performed on Daniel Waterman, two days after he died. 0:08:05 to 0:09:16 - He links the scarring on Daniel's neck and back to surgery for a broken neck. A bench conference follows; we cut the wait. 0:09:16 to 0:11:15 - Judge Nichols speaks to Ms. Mumby directly. Hear her words as she said them. 0:11:15 to 0:13:44 - What months in the hospital left on Daniel's body, from the tracheostomy tube to the catheters. 0:13:44 to 0:14:56 - The feeding tube and a bed sore down to the bone. The State ties both to the paralysis. 0:14:56 to 0:17:11 - The X-rays: hardware in his neck, a rod through his thigh bone. 0:17:11 to 0:18:37 - The heart of this Part: "the terminal mechanism was pneumonia," and "the actual cause of death there is the motor vehicle collision." 0:18:37 to 0:19:26 - Pneumonia, almost eight months later. He links it back to "all the other steps that started with the crash." 0:19:26 to 0:21:22 - The lungs, and how paralysis from the neck down can lead to pneumonia. Otherwise, he says, Daniel was healthy. 0:21:22 to 0:22:19 - The State's last question, then the defense asks no questions and the doctor is released. 0:22:19 to 0:23:37 - The judge sends the jury to lunch: no talking about the case, no research of their own. 0:23:37 to 0:35:40 - With the jury out, the judge and the lawyers go over the jury instructions, page by page. The jury hears none of it. --- COMPLETE CASE COVERAGE justiceisaprocess.com SUBSCRIBE for daily trial coverage and hit the notification bell so you never miss testimony. CASE BACKGROUND REPORT: https://justiceisaprocess.com/fl-v-le... The full case overview: the charges, the timeline, the people involved, and the legal questions this trial raises. State of Florida v. Leigha Mumby. Seventh Judicial Circuit, Flagler County, in Bunnell, Florida, Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols presiding. Leigha Mumby is charged with vehicular homicide in the death of Daniel Waterman, and with reckless driving causing serious bodily injury. She has pleaded not guilty. A charge is an accusation, and she is presumed innocent unless the State proves its case beyond a reasonable doubt. Only the jurors decide that. PLAYLISTS AND RESOURCES Website: https://justiceisaprocess.com/coverag... Full Trial Live Broadcasts:    • FL v. Leigha Mumby: Full Trial Live Broadc...   No Breaks Edition:    • FL v. Leigha Mumby: No Breaks Edition   Case Story Trial Podcast:    • FL v. Leigha Mumby: Case Story Trial Podcast   Key Moments and Testimony:    • FL v. Leigha Mumby: Key Moments & Testimony   Commentary:    • FL v. Leigha Mumby: Commentary   Subscribe for Daily Coverage:    / @justiceisaprocess   FAIR USE AND EDUCATIONAL PURPOSE This content is produced under Fair Use (17 U.S.C. 107) for news reporting, criticism, and educational purposes. We provide transformative commentary on public court proceedings, advancing public understanding of the judicial process through timestamps, analysis, and educational context. #JusticeIsAProcess #DyingLastWordsTrial #LeighaMumby #DanielWaterman