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3w ago

Courtroom Reenactment of Spear-Attached Bed Spurs Expert Dispute

Prosecutors reconstructed the bed to illustrate the fatal stabbing, prompting experts to debate whether the demonstration accurately replicated the circumstances

Crime Scene Investigations and Reconstruction witness Thomas S. Hill explains to the jury how he reenacted the crime scene and killing of as prosecutor Jaclyn Broudy holds the the bloodstained spear used to kill Silvia Garza in 2019. This during Adam Crespo’s trial on a charge of murder without premeditation at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale on Monday, July 28, 2025. Crespo is accused of killing his girlfriend, Garza, during an argument. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
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Overview

  • Prosecutors brought the actual queen-size bed into the Broward County courtroom to reenact how Silvia Galva was impaled by a spear fixed to the bedpost.
  • Crime-scene specialist Thomas S. Hill testified that every reenacted scenario left the spear inverted away from the victim, challenging the prosecution’s causation theory.
  • Defense attorney Christopher O’Toole argued the courtroom surface differed from the original scene and accused Hill of revising prior testimony, but Judge Siegel denied a mistrial motion.
  • Medical examiner Dr. Benjamin Mathis relied on autopsy photos to show the spear pierced Galva’s breastplate and back with sufficient force to classify her death as a homicide.
  • Adam Crespo, who gave six conflicting accounts during police interrogation, is charged with second-degree murder and faces 25 years to life if convicted.