The manner of death comes under question. Watch video
NEW BRUNSWICK -- To cops and prosecutors who have worked on the case for more than two decades, there is clear and convincing evidence that Michelle Lodzinski murdered her 5-year-old son Timmy Wiltsey in 1991.
But to Lodzinski's defense attorney, the state can't even prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Timmy died at the hands of another person, much less his mother.
"There's nothing that excludes an accidental death, right?" asked Gerald Krovatin during cross-examination of the medical examiner who has prepared a report for the prosecution about Timmy's death.
The county medical examiner who first established a cause and manner of death in 1992 has died. Last year, prosecutors asked Geetha Ann Natarajan, a retired state medical examiner, to take a look at the case and come up with her own independent report.
Natarajan came to the same conclusion that Marvin Shuster did those many years ago: The cause was unknown, but the manner was homicide. She couldn't tell how, but someone killed Timmy.
Krovatin, however, argued that Timmy's death might have been accidental.
Natarajan discounted that theory.
If someone has an accidental death, "You call 911," she said. And if Timmy died in an accident, why was his body found in the Raritan Center, miles from his home in South Amboy?
"That immediately raised red flags," she said during direct examination by Middlesex County Assistant Prosecutor Christie L. Bevacqua.
Superior Court Judge Dennis Nieves will determine whether Natarajans's testimony will be allowed at trial, set to begin early next year.
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Portions of Timmy's skeletal remains were found by a creek in the Raritan Center in Edison, about a year after his mother reported him missing from a carnival in Sayreville. Lodzinski, formerly of South Amboy, was long considered a suspect, but was not charged until 2014.
Krovatin said that someone might have panicked after an accident and brought the young boy's body to the Raritan Center. He also noted that Natarajan never personally handled Timmy's remains, but instead relied on a variety of reports and photographs from the scene.
Lodzinski told police several different stories about Timmy's disappearance, including that he was kidnapped at the Kennedy Park carnival, inconsistencies that the prosecution is expected to focus on.
Lodzinski, wearing a green prison sweater with her hands and feet shackled, sat at the defense table, as she's done for court dates over the past several months, writing notes with her right hand and propping her head up with her left.
About 2,000 people have been summoned to serve as potential jurors in the case, Nieves said.
Brian Amaral may be reached at bamaral@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @bamaral44. Find NJ.com on Facebook.