May 2, 2002 By Patty Shultz 4 min read

PITTSBURGH – A Connellsville woman and her unborn child did not die immediately following an explosion and fire that occurred at her apartment, according a West Virginia University pathologist. Dr. Mary Ann Sens told jurors on Wednesday that it was likely Deana Kay Mitts and the fetus she was carrying lived a few minutes despite the intense heat that engulfed her 504 McCormick Ave. apartment on Jan. 1, 1999.

Sens was the first expert prosecution witness to testify in the ongoing federal trial of Joseph P. Minerd, 46, of Bullskin Township.

Minerd is charged with malicious destruction of property by means of fire and explosion that caused the death of Mitts and her 3-year-old daughter, Kayla Ashley Mitts.

Police allege Minerd placed a pipe bomb in the home that caused the explosion and fire.

If convicted, Minerd could face the death penalty.

Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania Shaun E. Sweeney, who is prosecuting the case, showed graphic photographs of Deana Kay Mitts that depicted a blackened charred body that Sens described as “severely burned.”

Additionally, Sens testified that during the autopsy she discovered a metal disc in the upper portion of Deana Kay Mitts’ abdomen that caused massive injuries and bleeding in the area of impact.

“I couldn’t tell if it was inside her body or outside,” Sens told Sweeney.

While Sens could not estimate how long Deana Kay Mitts may have lived after being struck by the disc or while in the fire, defense counsel Richard Kammen suggested that death was instantaneous because of autopsy findings that showed Mitts’ airways were clear and normal or that unconsciousness may have occurred because of the impact of the disc.

While it was undetermined whether the fire or the trauma from the disc caused the death of Deana Kay Mitts, Sens said it was clear it was the latter that killed the unborn child.

“Originally I thought (the unborn child) died because the mom died,” said Sens.

However, she said, the impact of metal disc was so forceful, it caused the head of the child to strike her mother’s pelvic bone and bleed.

“With that trauma to the skull, it would take a couple of minutes to cause death,” testified Sens. “The heart would be beating a couple of minutes after the trauma.”

Earlier paternity tests indicated that Minerd was the father of the unborn child.

Kayla Ashley Mitts died quickly from the fire, according to Sens.

Although the fire and explosion were initially attributed to malfunctioning natural gas appliances, retired U.S. Treasury Department Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agent William Petraitis said it was clear as he approached the apartment complex, it was an inaccurate conclusion.

“There was an unusual amount of fire damage for a natural gas explosion,” he told Sweeney.

Over a three-day period in April 1999, Petraitis and other ATF agents poured through the debris and determined an accelerant was additionally used at the scene because of low areas of burning throughout the first floor of the apartment.

However, defense counsel Jay T. McCamic challenged the conclusion that an accelerant was used. He noted laboratory results showed only a small sample of gasoline was found at the scene.

Instead, McCamic theorized, a match thrown onto a living room couch or chair could have ignited the fire.

McCamic also surmised the fire scene could have been tainted because of the number of persons in and out of the apartment and the removing of debris from its initial location over the three-month period.

The execution of a search warrant at Minerd’s home also came under scrutiny by the defense counsel during the cross-examination of ATF agent Louis Weiers, who collected evidence at the residence including a hardware store receipt.

Prosecutors allege Minerd purchased materials for the pipe bomb at a local business.

Kammen, however, reviewed photographs taken during the search that showed other receipts that were not collected by the investigators.

The defense indicated during opening remarks that Minerd purchased numerous building and plumbing items related to the construction of his home.

Testimony resumes today at 9 a.m.