A medical examiner who conducted the autopsy on eight-year-old Cherish Perrywinkle after she was abducted, raped and murdered became emotional and had to interrupt her testimony on Tuesday at the trial of the registered sex offender accused of the crime. Jacksonville Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Valerie Rao told the court that Cherish sustained severe injuries all over her body from being strangled with a piece of clothing and raped. Viewing photographs of her battered body in court on Tuesday, she became teary and unable to continue. Smith allegedly lured her family to Walmart in June 2013 with promises to buy a McDonald's meal and new clothing, then left with the girl. The medical examiner said the child's female anatomy was 'totally distorted' from the trauma of the rape, as First Coast News reporter Anne Schindler live-tweeted.

Source: Daily Mail February 13, 2018 21:24 UTC