Abuse of Kelsey Smith-Briggs aka Kelsey Briggs
- The Facts
This page contains details of the actual abuse that is documented that Kelsey Smith Briggs suffered. It may be too graphic for some.
We had hoped that Mike Porter didn't abuse Kelsey other than the day she died and no other time. We hoped that her suffering was short, but new evidence proves that the abuse lasted at least a week, maybe longer. There are only two people who know how long he actually abused Kelsey Smith Briggs. Kelsey is gone and Mike is a liar. Unless he confesses, we will never know the truth. We will continue to dig for facts and search for the truth.
The following statement from Raye Dawn Smith's appeal gives us insight into Kelsey's physical condition at the time of her death. The 29 bruises that have been reported are explained:
"No physician was on staff at the Prague Hospital: therefore, ****** Gibson, a physician's assistant, was in charge. Ms. Gibson estimated that Kelsey had been down for about 45 minutes when she arrived at Prague at 3:59 p.m. They continued to "Code" Kelsey for another 45 minutes before they called time of death. Ms. Gibson called her time of death at 4:45 p.m. Raye Dawn requested that an autopsy be performed because she wanted to know what happened to her daughter. Porter, on the other hand, objected to an autopsy being performed. Ms. Gibson testified that Kelsey had two small bruises on her face and one on her shin, which wasn't anything out of the ordinary. She testified that she did not notice any unusual bruising on Kelsey, and that she examined Kelsey's entire body and turned her over to look at her back. In fact, the first evidence of trauma is post-mortem. The autopsy photographs were misleading because they show post-mortem lividity and trauma caused by medical manipulation, which to a lay person appears to be evidence of intentional trauma or abuse."
After reading everything, it's my opinion that Raye Dawn Smith did miss some red flags. But SHE MISSED THEM! After the allegations of abuse in January, 2005, Raye Dawn spent all of her time working, taking her college classes and going to everything she was required to do to get Kelsey back. She was at every single hearing and did everything they required her to do. I can't say the same for Lance who didn't appear at any of the hearings even though he was in town for at least one of them and traveling to Oklahoma on a weekly basis until May, 2005.
The Smiths did not know what a pedophile and child abuser looks like. Do you? Mike Porter seemed to be the man of Raye Dawn's dreams. He was a good father in all outward appearances and he continually offered to be the one to contact and deal with Kathie Briggs, so Raye Dawn thought he would be a protector. The only abuser Raye had ever known was Lance Briggs, and it was easier to spot the abuse when Raye Dawn had multiple black eyes and a miscarriage after his beatings. Raye Dawn didn't realize there were abusers who hid their abuse. All the agencies that were in Raye Dawn's home missed the signs too. Why should Raye Dawn be the one crucified? Why wasn't Mike crucified? Could it be that Mike and Kathie built a relationship during all the times he offered to contact Kathie on Raye's behalf? Some have wondered if Mike and Kathie began their conspiracy long before Kelsey's death. Kathie's behavior toward Mike and his acceptance by the Briggs family are suspicious.
Approximately a week before Kelsey Smith-Briggs aka Kelsey Briggs's death Raye Dawn and Mike Porter moved into their new home in Meeker. We KNOW Mike abused Kelsey at least twice during that time from his daughter's statement. There is no proof Mike abused Kelsey prior to their move. The two instances of documented abuse prior to the day Kelsey died were the bruises on Kelsey's bottom in January after she had been with the Briggs for over four hours, and Kelsey's broken legs. It was proven at Raye's trial that Kelsey's legs were injured while she was with Kathie Briggs or Lance Briggs.
Raye had fought the battle for Kelsey. She thought Kelsey was safe once she was away from the Briggs. There were three services in Raye's home from June to October and none of them saw any signs of abuse. Raye thought Kelsey's deterioration after the accident in August was from the accident or something medical or emotional. She took Kelsey to the doctor and signed her up for play therapy to try to pinpoint the cause. Nobody suspected Mike Porter of doing anything to Kelsey throughout Raye's relationship with Mike, and neither did Raye Dawn.
So, I will say that it's clear that she missed signs, but she MISSED them. Looking back, we can all say she "should have known." But convicted for 27 years on signs she and three other agencies who were trained to spot abuse missed at the time is ridiculous!
In my opinion, Kelsey suffered from abuse and neglect while with the Briggs. According to the Smiths, Kelsey came back from the Briggs home on multiple occasions with a bruised ear. How do you get a bruise on your ear? I've seen adults grab children by their ear and pull them. When Raye tried to take pictures of the bruised ear, the pictures never turned out. Raye is not a photographer like Kathie. (Pictures of Kelsey's bruised ear will be added after Raye's appeal.) (The bruises Kelsey returned from the Briggs with were turned in to DHS by Kelsey's daycare worker and Raye showed to the police when the allegations started in January.)
After Kelsey's death, Raye turned everything she had over to the DA's office and she never received all of it back. One of the items she turned over was the tape from the funeral where a woman called the church and made threats DURING the Smith family funeral and said weird things like she was going to "take her and tie her up and use her like she wants." None of this evidence has been returned to the Smiths and the existence of it has been ignored. Why?
Kelsey was unable to walk for four days and Kathie Briggs watched her crawl on the floor and didn't take her to the doctor. Kelsey's hair fell out while with Kathie and she lost weight. When Kelsey was taken from Kathie and placed with Gayla Smith, Raye Dawn's mother, Gayla had to give her Pediasure to get her weight back to normal. It's my opinion that Kelsey was neglected while in the home of Kathie. Why Kathie hasn't been charged with neglect, I don't know. When Kelsey was with Kathie she also slept all the time, according to DHS, and was knocked out to the point that the DHS person couldn't wake her. The Smiths said when Kelsey returned from Kathie's, she would sleep the first day back home. The daycare worker said after visitation with Kathie that Kelsey would sleep half of Monday and then be normal the rest of the week. Kathie stated that Mike Porter claimed Raye Dawn drugged Kelsey with Benadryl. This is the first mention of Benadryl we've heard and we have wondered what Kelsey took while in Kathie's home. According to the Smiths, Kathie wanted to give Kelsey Ritalin for her hyperactivity. Kathie had Kelsey allergy tested and said she had allergy problems. Raye said that was not true. Raye said almost every time she picked Kelsey up from Kathie's she was given some sort of cold or cough medicine that Kelsey had been taking and the bottle was always almost empty. In my opinion, this all adds up to abuse!
The following was posted on our forum: The most important, equitable and sane way to approach "should have known" is without the benefit of hindsight. We have to gather-up what was going through people's minds by what was happening at the time and by what their actions were. The OSBI interviews are vital in attempting to establish events and perpetrators, but they are not the only evidence available. Everyone involved could be spinning stories after Kelsey's death, but how do their versions lineup with evidence available.
Raye claims to
not have suspected MP of sexual or physical abuse. Sexual abuse was never mentioned or suspected by anyone prior to Kelsey's death. Raye claims she felt the abuse, if any, was coming from somewhere in the Briggs camp. Let's look at the OCCY Report and see what was happening after the Briggs were no longer having unsupervised visitation.June 6th there was a Referral. The caller "alleged neglect of Kelsey's stepsister and stepbrother" and that Raye "renewed her license following a DUI conviction." This call had nothing directly to do with Kelsey and none of this could be substantiated because "the reporter could not provide collaterals and would not give the names of those to whom she/he has spoken." Because there was/is nothing to backup any of these claims by the caller we can only presume they have no founding.
August 24th discusses three "critical incident reports dated August 2, 2005, August 19, 2005, and August 23, 2005. The report indicated that on August 2, Kelsey was demonstrating self-injurious behaviors and night terrors; on August 19, Kelsey was involved in a car accident (confirmed by police report); and on August 23, Kelsey was refusing food." The self-injurious behavior, night terrors, car accident and refusing food were all reported by Raye and discussed with her doctor and DHS. No indication of sexual or physical abuse.
August 29th was a referral where the "reporter stated that Kelsey had bruises on her face and a mark on her nose. In addition she looked like she had lost weight. Reportedly, Kelsey was acting timid." This was Screened Out because "Child welfare documented that the injuries were from a car wreck and had been documented by child welfare and CHBS. The child's physician was the child on August 25, 2005, and documented the injuries." No indication of physical or sexual abuse.
September 2nd entry is about discontinuing visitation with Ashley so Kelsey can be better evaluated because of the "seizure activity." No indication of physical or sexual abuse.
September 6th talks about a CHBS report about Kelsey having a blister on her eyelid. It was apparently due to Kelsey rubbing her eye because of shampoo and according to the report "Kelsey indicated that she 'got shampoo in it.'" No indication of physical or sexual abuse.
From the time the Briggs were no-longer having unsupervised visitation until Kelsey's death there were no DHS, CASA or CHBS reports indicating sexual or physical abuse. Not even the Briggs made mention of sexual abuse - ever. Only one referral for physical abuse was made after Raye got Kelsey back and that was clearly a result of the car wreck.
Raye was reporting the seizures, which were observed by Carla Lynch (CASA) at the courthouse and a DHS worker (someone refresh my memory on who). Several Smith family members attest to observing a seizure, but it's important that child welfare workers observed them. Carla states, "She had a seizure right in front of me during July when we was at court." What exactly the seizures were and what was causing them we may not know, but we know they were happening and we know Raye was seeking medical care for them.
We do know that the Briggs took pictures of Kelsey and made a DVD after the car wreck. These were handed over to Carla Lynch as a referral of abuse. Carla contacted her supervisor, who then contacted DHS. They were then told that the injuries had been documented and were a result of the car wreck and a lamp falling on Kelsey the day before (the lamp according to Kelsey who was in the care of MP at the time).
Sexual abuse was never on the table until Kelsey's death and really not pushed until the 2nd autopsy. While in the fulltime care of Raye from June to October, physical abuse and its results (injuries/ bruises) were not observed or noted either. What Raye was dealing with were self-injurious behavior, night terrors, car accident and refusing food, which once again were all reported by Raye who was seeking medical care in an effort to solve.
Self-injurious behavior is very common in Kelsey's age group (google and you'll understand how common). Night terrors/ seizures are a big red flag for something being wrong, but the cause can be from any number of sources and everyone involved was actively looking for the answer. Refusing food can also be from any number of sources and it too alarmed Raye. Stress often can be the reason, but Kelsey had lost weight and hair while in Kathie's care.
As an OSBI investigator, you are shown no indication of physical or sexual abuse while Kelsey is back in the house with Raye until the day she dies. The justice system is founded on innocent until proven guilty. There is nothing that indicates Raye knew what MP was or was not doing, without the aid of hindsight. My daughters have never liked anyone other than their parents or grandparents giving them baths, so Kelsey not wanting MP to give her a bath is not a revelation. Kelsey threw-up when MP was around and not around, also not a revelation.
My trigonometry teacher in high school had a phrase for the light bulb that went off once you looked at both the problem and answer together, "Easy when solved." While looking at the Briggs and medical reasons, it is reasonable to not be looking at MP. Especially when we hear the testimony of Mike's daughter's school counselor about how MP acted with Kelsey when other people were and were not around. Now knowing MP is the perpetrator it is easy to say, "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh, now I see what you mean." The OSBI interview is a trained and seasoned investigator asking questions while armed with the knowledge of an ME report and who Kelsey was with when she died. This was an analysis of MP and his actions. Who else are the investigator and Raye going to talk about?
On the "Daddy Mike hurt my head question" go read the US Observer article about the visitation logs and read the visitation logs. See who didn't address this with DHS (Raye) and see who did not address this when it was said to them as well (Kathie). The article is fully supported by the logs.
On the log mentioned in January, this is true and there was reason. Ashley was keeping a log as well so we're not talking about something strange and out of the ordinary.
No one that I know of is pointing at Kathie as the only possibility for Kelsey's broken legs, but that they happened while in her custody. It is more commonly believed here that the "expert" for the prosecution was both wrong and under qualified. The 2nd ME report points to Kelsey's broken leg not being spiral fractures at all.
This is a statement from Mike Porter's daughter's school counselor. This was six days after Kelsey's death. Notice the fear Mike's Porter's daughter has of her father finding out what she said. From her descriptions, these events happened in their new home, which they moved into just a week or so before Kelsey's death. This was during the same time that Mike told Raye Dawn "I hate you sometimes."
In my opinion, Mike enjoyed hurting Kelsey and watching Raye Dawn and every one of the agencies running around trying to find out what was wrong with her. Mike is a sick man! How could Kathie have been so friendly to him and rally to protect him but attack Raye Dawn?!
Mike's daughter even said that Mike was nice to Kelsey when others were around. Raye Dawn DID NOT KNOW Mike was hurting Kelsey. This is further proof of what a monster he is and how well he hid what he was doing from Raye Dawn. And his daughter had to witness it all and his bond terms said he was to have no contact with witnesses and his daughter was listed as a witness and in the emails you'll see that he had her for OVERNIGHT VISITS! How disturbing!!!
Make sure you read the emails between Kathie and Mike after reading this. They will turn your stomach!
8:47am 10-17-2005 - ...MP's daughter had a little drink left so we went to my office so she could finish. I offered her a cookie which she took. MP's daughter said something about they thought her dad was the one who hurt Kelsey. This was the second time she had brought this up. I asked her if her dad had ever hurt her. She said no. I asked her if he had ever hurt her brother. She said no. I asked her if she had ever seen her dad hurt Kelsey. She hesitated then said yes. I asked her if she wanted to tell me about it. She said yes. She told me of the time she heard Kelsey getting a spanking. So she went upstairs and looked in the doorway to find her dad spanking Kelsey "real hard." She said he spanked her so hard it left her bottom "real red." She added, he spanked her until she threw up. MP's daughter also observed that when her dad went downstairs he did not tell anyone that he had spanked Kelsey or that she threw up. I told her it must have been hard to see that. She told me that when people were around her dad, he was nice to Kelsey. But, when no one was looking she said her dad was mean to Kelsey, I asked MP's daughter how she saw these things. She told me that her dad did not know she was watching. She told me Kelsey had lots of bruises when she was with her dad. I told her this must of been really hard to keep such a secret. I also said to her that this must be a lot for a little girl to bear. After a short pause, MP's daughter told me once she heard a loud thump outside. She went to the back door, and saw her dad hitting Kelsey's head on the brick wall. I asked her what she did next. She said she went outside and asked her dad what he was doing. He told his daughter that Kelsey was about to get sick. I told MP's daughter there are many people that thought it was Raye Dawn that was hurting Kelsey. She told me that the baby cried for Raye Dawn. MP's daughter said the baby crawled to Raye Dawn and clung to her leg and cried for her. I felt like MP's daughter was concerned about Raye Dawn. I told her that these days they have DNA testing and they can tell who did what. I asked MP's daughter if she felt better telling someone what happened. She asked me if her dad would find out. I told her she would be protected when that time came. I asked her if she was ready to go back to class. She said yes, and I walked her to class.
Remember from the emails between Mike and Kathie that Mike had his daughter for visitations while he was out on bond and he was putting her to bed in one of the emails. Make you sick? Me too!!! His daughter was a witness in this case and he had her for visitation and for overnight visits! Come on!!!
This is from the second autopsy. We won't post the entire autopsy because it's too graphic. It was done on April 29, 2006 and Kelsey had been buried since October, 2005, so only segments will be discussed.
(The OSBI confiscated Mike Porter's computer where child porn was found on it. Kathie said it was "disgusting filth." Raye Dawn wasn't informed of the child porn until the summer of 2007, right before her trial. If Kathie knew of the child porn, why was it never discussed? According to witnesses, Mike's computer was confiscated a few months after Kelsey's death. That would have been around the time Kathie turned cold toward Mike in their emails and Kathie realized their emails would be read by the authorities. The second autopsy was then performed to specifically look for signs of sexual abuse.)
This is what the autopsy found.
Case Discussion:
Blunt force injury of the pancreas, with subsequent development of a pancreatic pseudocyst, presenting as a delayed injury in children has been previously reported by several authors. Two forces, both of which provide a constrictive or squeezing of the abdominal wall predominate in published medical papers associated with this injury: seat belt trauma in motor vehicle collisions, and bicycle handlebar impact in children who fall from their bicycle or are struck by motor vehicles. Lam Enson et al described the delayed presentation of a child with a large pancreatic pseudocyst who lived 18 days with the injury before seeking medical attention. Hollan, Davey et al described traumatic pancreatic pseudocyst development in 8 of 14 children presenting with traumatic pancreatitis from blunt force injury. Jacombs, Wines et al found that 48% of children who sustained pancreatic injury got that injury in a motor vehicle collision while "incorrectly restrained." They also cited non-accidental (homicidal) injury as "the only other major cause of death" in their study of children who survived or died of pancreatic blunt trauma. Griffin, Brost, et al described a case of blunt pancreatic trauma in an adult traffic collision victim, related to congenital anatomic heterotopic pancreas. They went on to hypothesize that this was a "seat belt injury." The terminology "seat belt injury" was traced back to the apparent original authors. Garrett and Braumstein, who studied the new "seat belt syndrome" as it evolved with the beginning of mandatory seat belt statues in American automobiles involved in restrained-occupant collisions provided the first "biomechanical" interpretation of traumatic injury of the pancreas that included the perspective of accident reconstructionists. In 1985, Freeman showed that this type of trauma can produce isolated injury of the pancreas, in the absence of other severe generalized injuries in the body. Keller, Stafford et al describe a "conservative" medical management of traumatic pancreatitis in 154 children with 79% recovering without surgery.
In this case, there is a blunt force injury of the pancreas resulting in a traumatic pancreatic pseudocyst - a large hematoma with a rim of organizing fibrotic scar tissue - possibly attended by secondary bacterial infection. Survival with this type of injury for a period of weeks prior to medical presentation, with worsening symptoms, has been reported for children. The association of this injury with non-accidental trauma in children is well-known. The mechanics of the injury require a constrictive blunt impact force, squeezing around the circumference of the mid-abdomen, like a seat belt worn too high on the abdomen during a motor vehicle collision. The stage of organization of the pancreatic pseudocyst would be consistent with that original injury having occurred in August (traffic collision about 8/25/05) and death on October 12, 2005. The injury could pre-date or post-date that traffic collision by weeks.
Additional injuries to this child could not have occurred during the traffic collision in August and must have been separately inflicted. The finding of multiple and numerous blunt force injuries, separated in time and separated in location on the body, constitute the medical diagnosis of child abuse. An abdominal traumatic injury occurring at or about the time of death appears likely in that contusions of the urinary bladder, rectum, and stomach appear to be fresh, having occurred at or about the time of death, and are not healing at the same stage as the pancreatic injury. Patterned injury of forcible sexual assault is present, as well as a significant medical history of numerous remote healed fractures and other blunt impact injuries.
(The only part we will share that has specifics is the part about the tibias which were arguably fractured in April, 2005 while Kelsey was in the care of Kathie Briggs.)
Slide 5 is a longitudinal section of bone cortex from the left tibia diaphysis. It has been chemically decalcified for sectioning so the nuciel of the osteocytes are not now visible. A site for the prior fracture is not evident within the dense bone matrix. There is no osteoclastic "web" formation.
Slide 6 is a cross section of diaphysis and marrow cavity from the right tibia. The prior fracture is not evident. There is no "web" formation of the bone lamella...individual marrow cells are not recognizable, but the marrow appears to be about 50% fat with normal cellularity.
Circumstantial Summary:
I have reviewed the appearing of injury in the photographs, and the descriptions in the Medical Examiner's report. I also recommended obtaining medical records for the care of Kelsey Briggs prior to her death in October, 2005, specifically to include records of the treatment of her leg fractures from April 2005. What I learned from a review of the available records was that this 2-year and 10-month old child died while in the custody of Michael Porter.
Crosspost from Cincinnati Children's Hospital
Blunt trauma like motor vehicle crashes, falls, bicycle crashes and violence causes most of the pancreatic injuries seen in young children. In the older children a pancreatic injury may happen from a gunshot wound or knife wound which tears and cuts the organ. These types of injuries are known as penetrating injuries.
The pancreas is not well protected in children due to their thin abdominal walls and underdeveloped muscles, so they are more likely than an adult to have a pancreas injury.
Pancreas
The pancreas is found behind the stomach and is divided into 3 parts: the head, body and tail. The part of the pancreas lying over the spine is most likely to be injured. Because the pancreas is located close to many other abdominal organs, when the pancreas is injured the physician needs to check for other abdominal injuries as well.
The pancreas is necessary to live. The job of the pancreas is to aid digestion. The pancreas makes glucagon, insulin and digestive enzymes.
Symptoms of a Pancreatic Injury
A child with a pancreatic injury will usually have belly pain. Nausea and vomiting are also common. A child may have bruising such as a handlebar mark on the abdomen or he / she may not have any marks at all. If injury is suspected, your child will be given a physical examination. X-rays, CAT scan (a more detailed picture than an x-ray), or blood tests may be administered to help find out how badly your child's pancreas is injured.
Crosspost from Vilensky.org
Things to Know:
- The pancreas releases digestive enzymes into the small intestines.
--- The rest of the evidence is listed on this site. My question is where was Mike the day he sexually assaulted and murdered Kelsey? He left home at his regular time in the morning. According to his friend and co-worker he was at work for an hour or two at the most. He arrived home at approximately 2:30pm. Where had he been the rest of the day? Why hasn't anyone tried to determine his whereabouts? Was he at a strip club or somewhere that would have made him aroused before going home to a sleeping, helpless child? Was he doing drugs? Why were his eyes always red? He told Raye that he had glaucoma. Yet Raye never saw any eye drops for his condition. Anyone with glaucoma knows you have to use your eye drops or you could go blind. Why didn't Mike use eye drops?Why wasn't this relevant to investigators? Why did investigators never search for his whereabouts that day? Where was he? He wasn't at work.
And why has Kathie spent so much time going after Raye Dawn when her target was under her nose the entire time? Why spend so much energy attacking Raye Dawn and her entire family and absolutely no energy attacking the sick monster that murdered Kelsey and then say you're against child abuse? Why??
From Mike Porter's preliminary hearing. Notice his differing opinion on the bruises Kelsey had after her death from an eyewitness account to the THREE bruises that were on Kelsey's body at the time of her death.
Dean A. Hawley, M.D., called as a witness on behalf of the State of Oklahoma, after having been first duly sworn, testified as follows:
Direct Examination
By Mr. Smothermon:
Q – Good afternoon, Dr. Hawley.
A – Good afternoon.
Q – Could you tell this Court your full name, please, sir, and spell your last name for the court reporter?
A – My name is Dean Hawley, H-a-w-l-e-y.
Q – And could you tell this Court what your occupation is, sir?
A – I am a forensic pathologist, a medical doctor employed on the full-time faculty of the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis where I work in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. At the IU Medical School I teach pathology for the medical students. I practice pathology in the hospital laboratories, and administratively I’m the president of the faculty of the medical school.
Q – And could you briefly describe your training and expertise in the area of pathology?
A – I am a graduate of Purdue University and a 1978 graduate of the Indiana University School of Medicine. I did an internship in internal medicine at the private Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis and, after completion of an internship, then did four years of postgraduate residency training in the medical specialties of anatomic pathology and clinical pathology at the Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis.
In 1983 when I completed my residency training, I became board certified in the medical specialty fields of anatomic pathology and clinical pathology. At that point, I moved back across the street to the IU Medical School campus to do a fellowship in the subspecialty of forensic pathology with former Oklahoma medical examiner, Dr. John Pless, P-l-e-s-s, at the IU Medical School.
Upon completion of my fellowship training in 1984, I became board certified in the subspecialty of forensic pathology. I joined the faculty at the IU Medical School, and I have remained there in that capacity ever since I completed my training. Working and teaching at eh IU Medical School is the only job I’ve ever had.
Q – Have you had the occasion to be called and testify as an expert in criminal cases or civil cases in courts throughout the United States and other nations?
A – Yes.
Q – Approximately how many times?
A – Hundreds and hundreds of times. I testify three or four times a week. Mostly murder trials in the Indianapolis area. I had a trial on – I’ve got to think of how the travel arrangements worked this week. I had a trial Monday afternoon in Indianapolis. I’m here today. Friday, I have a trial in southern Indiana. And hopefully, if the arrangements work out in between, I’ll be in Washington, D.C.
Q – Do you do any teaching on behalf of the Untied States?
A – Yes.
Q – And approximately what is your relationship with the Department of Justice?
A – The Department of Justice pays the medical school for my time for teaching. I teach programs for them, mostly related to ongoing educational programs at the U.S. Department of Justice Trial Advocacy Center at the University of South Carolina Law School in Columbia, South Carolina. I teach prosecutors classes for them in continuing education largely related to forensic evidence, forensic medicine, and issues related to domestic violence and child abuse.
Q – At my request, Dr. Hawley, have you had occasion to review items presented to you by me in regards to a child by the name of Kelsey Smith-Briggs?
A – Yes.
Q – And could you briefly run down for the Court what items you have had the opportunity to review at least prior to coming to Oklahoma City earlier this year?
A – Sure. There is a very lengthy list of materials, and I’ll try to describe these in some way so that if I’m not suing the technical terms that the Court knows the exhibits by, perhaps, you can jump in. But what I listed in my report is 23 items, which now today is expanded to 24.
It begins with, first of all: a printed color photograph disk collection from the medical examiner’s office in Oklahoma; a CD disk of autopsy photographs from the original autopsy, which was conducted here in Oklahoma City on October 12 of ’05; the autopsy by Dr. Yacoub, Y-a-c-o-u-b, for the medical examiner’s office in Oklahoma City; an interview conducted with Michael Porter on October 13 of ’05; an interview – or a police report from the Meeker, M-e-e-k-e-r, Police Department filed January 17, ’05; hospital medical records on Kelsey Smith-Briggs dated October 11, ’05, from the Prague, P-r-a-g-u-e, Hospital; an interview conducted with Laura, L-a-u-r-a Coley, C-o-l-e-y, on November 2 of ’05; an interview with Karen Cheatwood, C-h-e-a-t-w-o-o-d, conducted November 12 – November 2 of ’05; an interview with Melissa Gibson of October 17, ’05; an interview with Michael Gambrill, October 18 of ’05; an interview of David Higgins from October 17 of ’05; an interview of David McElhaney, M-c-E-l-h-a-n-e-y, October 18 of ’05; an interview with Kim Holmes, H-o-l-m-e-s, October 20, ’05, an interview of Joan Walters, dated October 14 of ’05; an interview of Bill Taylor, dated October 17, ’05; interview of Cindy Rodgers, dated October 14, ’05; a property supplement report by the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department dated October 12, ’05; interview of Jennifer Messer, M-e-s-s-e-r, October 14, ’05; interview of John Jenkins, October 14, ’05; interview of Sharon Asher, October 18, ’05; interview of Patti Bonner, October 11, ’05; interview of Scott Murrison, M-u-r-r-i-s-o-n, on November 2, ’05; and an interview of Michael Taber, T-a-b-e-r, November 14, ’05. Subsequent to the review of those records, I then received additional documents and have reviewed that subsequent list as well. (Notice in this evidence was no interview or mention of Raye Dawn. This autopsy was performed to convict Mike Porter of murder and sexual assault. Since Mike did not go to trial, all the evidence collected against him was used in Raye Dawn's trial. Why wasn't this second autopsy used?)
Q – Also at my request, Dr. Hawley, have you had an opportunity to come to the state of Oklahoma to perform an exhumation on the body of Kelsey Smith-Briggs?
A – Yes.
Q – And, specifically, if I could direct your attention, Dr. Hawley, to your findings, specifically as to – were you able to – or have you been able to make a finding as to any sexual – forcible sexual assault upon the body of Kelsey Smith-Briggs?
A – Yes.
Q – And could you explain for this Court what your findings were and what your basis for those findings are?
A – In my opinion within reasonable medical certainty, the body of Kelsey Smith-Briggs demonstrates at autopsy injuries of forcible sexual assault.
Q – And could you tell what you formed – or what items you reviewed that led you to that conclusion?
Q – Do the microscopic slides also lend themselves that finding?
A – Yes.
Q – And how so?
A – When we examine physical injuries under the microscope, whether those injuries are in the head, chest, abdomen, or genitals, the microscopic examination will reveal evidence of healing and repair for injuries that occur before death and at a time before death, such that there has been a reaction in the body called inflammation to those injuries. Injuries that occur within a few minutes, sometimes hours, prior to death will lack inflammation. Injuries that have occurred hours, days, or in the case of this autopsy, sometimes weeks prior, do show evidence of inflammation and can be reliably sorted out by their microscopic appearances.
It is not possible to tell you that it was five minutes, ten minutes, or two hours prior to death. But a lengthy interval of hours or days is not possible in the case of these injuries of forcible sexual assault.
Q – Dr. Hawley, specifically with the injuries that you have noted to the anus-vaginal area, were those injuries coming from the front side of the body of Kelsey Smith-Briggs or were they coming from the back side of Kelsey Smith-Briggs?
A – The forcible penetration was from the back with the force directed forward through her body. That force is from back to front up through her pelvis.
Mr. Sutton: Yes, sir. May I approach, your Honor?
The Court: Certainly.
Mr. Sutton: If it please the Court, your Honor, comes now the defendant, Michael Porter, through his attorney, and demurs to the state’s evidence and moves to strike and/or dismiss the crimes charged for the reason that the state has an absolute burden to prove that a crime has been committed and it’s likely that this defendant, Mr. Porter, committed this crime. The state has failed to do that in this case and most especially as it relates to sexual abuse.
I have set out in my written motion, your Honor, the elements of each of the crimes that Mr. Porter stands accused of here today. And I would state to the Court that the state has failed to prove the elements of each and every one of those crimes, or each element of every one of those crimes here today.
In relation to child abuse – skipping over murder, which I have set forth and won’t argue that specifically. But as to child abuse, that a person willfully or maliciously engaged in injuring or torturing or maiming a child under the age of 18, there’s no direct evidence that Mr. Porter did anything like that. In fact, there’s no direct evidence whatsoever that Mr. Porter did any of the acts that resulted in this child’s death.
And, in fact, the circumstantial evidence before the Court is that if anyone did this, it would most likely have been the mother. The facts are that he was only with her a very, very brief period of time, (from 2:45pm to 3:09pm - plenty of time for a sexual assault) a few moments between the time that the mother left the home and he called, made the first call to Gayla Smith seeking help.
There’s no evidence of sexual assault. There’s no direct evidence, no witness, no testimony, no prior history, no factual basis, other than he was with her for a very few minutes before he made a call for help and that this doctor thinks that there was some penetration of this child by something that caused her some injury.
There’s no proper predicate that has been laid for child abuse. There’s no proper predicate that – and the elements haven’t been set out for the crime of child sexual abuse, no less the crime of murder.
Judge, I would ask you to reconsider your finding and to dismiss the charges.
The Court: I appreciate your motion, and it’s a well-presented motion, but your demurrer will be overruled and denied. And I find that there is probable cause to believe that Michael Lee Porter did commit the two crimes – three crimes, one count being in the alternative, Count 1, as alleged in the amended information, which is filed July 21st of this year. Having made that finding, he will be set for arraignment in front of Judge Vassar on September 6th at 1:30 in the afternoon.
After Mike's preliminary hearing, Lance Briggs went to the DA and requested Mike Porter be given a plea for a lesser charge. Had Mike gone to trial, he would have to register as a sex offender and he would have been held accountable for his crimes.
The following is from Raye Dawn's appeal. "No physician was on staff at the Prague Hospital: therefore, ****** Gibson, a physician's assistant, was in charge. Ms. Gibson estimated that Kelsey had been down for about 45 minutes when she arrived at Prague at 3:59 p.m. They continued to "Code" Kelsey for another 45 minutes before they called time of death. Ms. Gibson called her time of death at 4:45 p.m. Raye Dawn requested that an autopsy be performed because she wanted to know what happened to her daughter. Porter, on the other hand, objected to an autopsy being performed. Ms. Gibson testified that Kelsey had two small bruises on her face and one on her shin, which wasn't anything out of the ordinary. She testified that she did not notice any unusual bruising on Kelsey, and that she examined Kelsey's entire body and turned her over to look at her back. In fact, the first evidence of trauma is post-mortem. The autopsy photographs were misleading because they show post-mortem lividity and trauma caused by medical manipulation, which to a lay person appears to be evidence of intentional trauma or abuse."__________________________________________
Although, in my opinion, Dr. Hawley is incorrect on the bruising because eyewitness testimony from the time of Kelsey's death by a trained medical professional states there were THREE bruises on Kelsey, Dr. Hawley's testimony fits with my opinion of what happened to Kelsey the day she died. In my opinion, Mike Porter came home from wherever he had been all day and was left to care for a child who was sleeping in a T-shirt and no underpants. Mike had been looking at child porn on his computer for who knows how long before that day, and he had been physically abusing Kelsey for a minimum of one week, each time causing her to vomit. He realized he had plenty of time before Raye Dawn returned or his friend arrived to look at the tires he had for sale. He woke Kelsey and took her into the kitchen and bent her forward over the bar and sexually assaulted her. Afterward, he cleaned her off in the sink and as he was cleaning her she became unresponsive. With the water still running, he ran into the bathroom and took a Pull-Up out of the closet while dialing Gayla and lying about Kelsey having a seizure. She instructed him to call 911 and he did so as he stood in the driveway holding the dying child in his arms and wondering what he had done. I don't think he ever intended to kill her and that's why his act of panic looked so real. He was panicked. He had been abusing that baby and thought he could continue to get away with it, but he made a mistake and went too far and Kelsey paid the ultimate price.
So why do the Briggs blame all the Smiths for not seeing anything, but tell the Porters it's not their fault? If one family should have seen, so should the other! Right?
Why is Mike Porter being protected? Why did he get off with a plea and why do some think he "manned up" when he took that plea? In my opinion, Mike Porter is not a man and Raye Dawn should not be the target of all the hatred and revenge. If Mike Porter had been the target of the protests and negative media, he would have gone to trial and we may have learned what he did. Now all we can do is wait and see if he ever grows a conscious while we struggle with possible scenarios that ended Kelsey's life.
Kathie and her supporters have claimed that Raye Dawn is the one who murdered Kelsey. That is impossible and nonsense! You may have seen some of the awful things being said about Raye and others. Just know it's approximately five people who just have it in for Raye. No matter what facts surface, they will never stop. Consider this: Raye wasn't home when Kelsey was murdered. Mike was home and the only person who could have committed this heinous act. What have the Briggs done? They've sided with him, protected him, take up for him, and continually turn the focus back to Raye. If they have that much hatred for Raye that they would side with the man who the DA said to him in Raye's trial - "You sexually assaulted and murdered Kelsey" and the Briggs STILL went after Raye and her ENTIRE FAMILY, you have to know they will lie (proven) until everyone in the world hates Raye as much as they do. It's ridiculous!!!!
Some have tried to say Raye
Dawn was gone the day Kelsey died for only 10 or 15 minutes. That's
impossible! The EMT said he got his first call at 3:16pm. The EMT left
his headquarters at 3:20pm and arrived at the home at 3:27pm. Raye Dawn
got home between 3:30 and 3:45.
According to Mapquest, the drive from Meeker to Mike Porter's daughter's
school - one way - is approximately 18 minutes. That's with no stops.
Raye Dawn's house was four miles east of Meeker on Highway 62. So add
another four miles to the mapquest distance. Just to drive from her
house to the school and back would have taken a minimum of 36 minutes.
She also stopped while she was out to pick up the mail. Raye Dawn said
in her testimony at Mike's preliminary hearing that it took 20 to 25
minutes to get to Whitney's school. Then you have to figure the length
of time it takes to pick up a child at an elementary school. You have to
wait in the parent pick up line for your turn and that always took me at
least five minutes.
Raye Dawn said in her testimony that she and Kelsey had JUST laid down
and went to sleep when Mike went into the room. Mike stood with Raye for
a few seconds in the room to make sure Kelsey wouldn't wake up before
Raye Dawn left. Mike described to investigators exactly how Kelsey was
positioned on the bed at that time. He didn't mention her being in any
kind of distress.
Here is Mapquest's time and
directions to the school from Meeker, which is closer than the house.
Maneuvers Distance Maps
1: Start out going EAST on US-62 / W MAIN ST toward S CULVER ST. 0.4
miles Map
2: Turn RIGHT onto OK-18 / DAWSON ST. Continue to follow OK-18 S. 11.0
miles Map
3: Turn LEFT onto E INDEPENDENCE ST. 0.5 miles Map
4: End at Sequoyah Elementary School:
1401 E Independence St, Shawnee, OK 74804, US Map
Total Est. Time: 18 minutes Total Est. Distance: 12.01 miles
Mapquest
map
The DA has never sought to
implicate Raye Dawn with what happened on October 11th outside of
allowing it to happen, unless you include the underhanded tactic of
referring only to the first ME report. During the trial, the DA sought
to suppress the 2nd ME report in an effort to underplay the significance
of sexual trauma, which tends to be associated with male perpetrators.
The accusations by the Briggs claiming Raye Dawn caused the injuries to
Kelsey and then left her there to be found by Porter have no foundation
in evidence. Their accusations are made solely on emotionally charged
innuendo. Taking into account the drive time, call times, EMT arrivals
and Kelsey's condition/ TOD, we are left with the conclusion that the
first ME, Dr. Yacoub, intimated at the trial, I have no evidence that
this bleeding had any time to heal. Hours would be generous. Remember,
time to heal includes the body's first step in reducing/ stopping blood
loss clotting.
Raye Dawn not only drove from Meeker to Shawnee, but made it back before
the EMTs left according the the testimony of John Jenkens (Firefighter
EMT), "...she arrived right before we left." That level of trauma and
bleed out does not allow for Porter to do dishes & laundry while Raye
Dawn is gone that length of time. So Porter lied.
This isn't about whether you
like or dislike Raye Dawn; its about evidence and the lack of it.
Innuendo and out the other.....the ballad of Kathie Briggs