“Was Mr. Trowbridge in general good health, so far as you know?” asked the coroner.
“Absolutely. He was strong, hale and hearty, always. I have known him for years, and he was never seriously ill.”
“And strong?”
“Of average strength.”
“Would you not judge then, he could have resisted this attack?”
“Undoubtedly he tried to do so. There is some indication of a muscular struggle. But the assumption must be that the assailant was a stronger man than the victim.”
“How do you explain his contorted features, even in death?”
“By the fact that he was surprised and overpowered, and his dying struggles were so desperate as to leave their mark.”
“You do not attribute the expression on the dead face to any terrific mental emotion at the moment of death?”
“It may be so. Indeed, it may be the result of both mental and physical agony.”