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Updated 4 minutes ago
During the time Maxwell Morton posed for a selfie with a teen friend he is accused of fatally shooting and fled to hide the suspected murder weapon, the victim could have been saved, according to a witness on the second day of trial testimony.
Dr. Cyril Wecht, a forensic pathologist, told jurors that Ryan Mangan, 16, did not immediately die.
“He would have survived with appropriate medical care,” Wecht testified. “For 45 minutes to one hour, he would have lived.”
Morton, now 18, of Jeannette is charged with first-degree homicide for allegedly shooting Mangan as the friends played video games in Mangan's bedroom Feb. 4, 2015. Morton was 15 at the time.
Mangan suffered a gunshot wound under his left eye, an injury that led him to slowly suffocate as blood drained into his lungs, Wecht said. The wound itself caused no fatal brain or spinal injuries, he said.
But instead of helping his friend, Morton used a cellphone to take a picture of himself smiling in front of Mangan's body, which was slumped in a chair, before fleeing the scene without attempting to get help for his dying friend, Westmoreland County District Attorney John Peck contends.
Jurors got their first view of the selfie Wednesday as a Wisconsin teen who was sent the image by Morton over social media testified.
Tanner Porter, 17 of Springville, Wis., told jurors Morton bragged about the killing as they played an online video game.
Porter said he and Morton had played online together for about five years but had not been in contact for the previous eight months. Morton's online name “Chicken98” suddenly popped up on screen as Porter played his video game in the early evening of Feb. 4, 2015, leading the teens to talk during the game.
“He told me he got his first body,” Porter testified. “He told me he cleaned up the shells and took his shoes. I did not believe it was real. I thought it was prank he was pulling on me.”
The next day, Morton followed up by texting Porter a link of a news item about Mangan's death, then sent the selfie via Snapchat, a social networking site that sends messages via pictures that disappear in about 10 seconds. The message was followed with a text that said, “Told you,” Porter testified.
Porter said he immediately took a screen shot of the selfie to preserve the picture and quickly researched the case on the internet before he alerted his mother about his communication with Morton.
Jodi Porter testified that she contacted Jeannette police that night.
“I said you probably won't believe this, but we have a Snapchat of the murder,” she said. “It's unbelievable.”
The defense has maintained that Morton accidently shot Mangan as the teens messed around with a 9mm semiautomatic handgun that the victim had in his bedroom. Police have not said where Mangan got the gun, only that investigators found evidence of ammunition for other weapons hidden in Mangan's bedroom.
The prosecution rested Wednesday after testimony from state police lab technicians and a ballistics expert.
Defense attorney Pat Thomassey has said Morton plans to testify. The trial before Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio continues Thursday.
Rich Cholodofsky is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-830-6293 or rcholodofsky@tribweb.com.
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