Doctor at beating trial: One 'blow' cracked 20-year-old's skull

A doctor testified in court Thursday that Carl Hill had hardly any injuries to his face, even though several witnesses say Hill was overwhelmed with an onslaught of punches, kicks and whacks with a pool ball during a fight in Westmoreland last August.

As Brad Stanistreet and Kevin Stolarcyk stand trial in Oneida County Court for Hill's beating death, forensic pathologist Michael Sikirica said Hill had a swollen right eye and a single localized skull fracture to the left side of his head that could have been caused by a pool ball.

"I can say that one blow would account for the skull fracture," Sikirica said. But, he added, "I can't say if there were any more (blows)."

Hill, 20, of Rome, ultimately died from brain swelling and bleeding due to blunt force trauma several days after the Aug. 12 confrontation between Rome and Westmoreland youths at a house party in the Camelot Village.

Stanistreet, 17, and Stolarcyk, 21, both of Westmoreland, are charged with first-degree manslaughter and first-degree gang assault in Hill's death. They face up to 25 years in prison if they are convicted.

Both may testify today as the final witnesses in the trial. Jury deliberations are expected to begin Monday.

Testimony doesn't match doctor's findings

Neither prosecutors nor defense attorneys asked Sikirica whether a series of blows to Hill's head would have worsened his brain swelling. Nevertheless, Sikirica said he saw no other evidence of significant injury on Hill's body.

Sikirica's testimony led defense attorneys to press Thursday's witnesses on how many times they believe Hill was hit, punched or kicked.

Cory Adam, who has already pleaded guilty to manslaughter in Hill's death, continued his second day of testimony by saying that he saw Stanistreet hit Hill about seven or eight times in the head with a pool ball in a sock. That's in addition to the two times Adam said he himself also hit Hill with a pool ball.

"Back, side, top - (Stanistreet) hit him all over the place with a pool ball, right?" Stanistreet's attorney, Les Lewis, asked Adam, 18.

"Yes," Adam replied.

As Lewis further questioned Adam, the teen agreed that Stolarcyk inflicted "good, hard stomps" to Hill's head while he was on the ground. Adam also said Hill's face was covered in blood when another youth, Nathan Aubain, kicked Hill in the eyes, lips and forehead as he was held up by Stanistreet and Stolarcyk.

But Sikirica found no evidence of such extensive facial injuries, and paramedics previously testified that Hill only had blood in one of his nostrils.

Adam's credibility was further scrutinized by Stolarcyk's attorney, Mark Wolber.

Wolber noted that Adam previously told investigators he "pushed" Hill before testifying this week that he actually hit Hill. Wolber questioned whether Adam changed his story in exchange for a plea agreement of 15 years in prison instead of the maximum 25 years.

"You're willing to lie under oath if you think it will help, isn't that true?" Wolber asked.

After some hesitation, Adam replied, "No … I kind of limited my guilt."

"And you thought that might help, right?" Wolber asked, to which Adam answered, "Yes."

Stanistreet's role in dispute

Adam's brother, John Almanza, who also recently pleaded guilty to gang assault, said he kicked someone on the ground because he was angry that someone had hit him with a baseball bat. But at Lewis' urging, Almanza admitted he wasn't even sure if that was Hill he was kicking.

Nevertheless, Almanza, 19, said Stanistreet later talked about what he did to Hill. Stanistreet said he swung the pool ball in a sock and it wrapped around Hill's head before hitting him in the left temple, Almanza recalled.

Other witnesses vary in their accounts of what Stanistreet did. Some say Stanistreet bragged about hitting Hill with a pool ball or bending his ring during once punch, some say they actually saw him punch Hill, and still others says he seemed upset that Adam used a pool ball to hit Hill.

In a recorded phone conversation between Stanistreet and his father from the Oneida County jail, however, Stanistreet is heard somewhat describing his own actions.

"Cory was (expletive) out of control," Stanistreet first tells his father as the recording played for jurors.

Stanistreet then offered this admission: "All I said was I knocked him down with one hit … Anyone who did that, they'd say that."

Observer-Dispatch