TOWANDA — The pathologist who performed the autopsy autopsy on a Canton woman allegedly killed by her husband’s lover said Wednesday she was strangled to death.
Dr. Samuel Land of the Lehigh Valley Medical Center in Allentown testified that the trauma to Carol Hickok’s head was not enough to kill her.
Emily Bellows Shaffer, 55, whose last address was Crystal River, Fla., is charged with criminal homicide, burglary, criminal trespass and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence in the Sept. 15, 2010 death of Carol Hickok, 65, in Hickok’s Canton Township home.
Bellows Shaffer is the former lover of Roger Hickok, Carol Hickok’s husband. Roger Hickok and Bellows Shaffer have a child together, Charlie, who is now 13.
Roger and Carol Hickok had custody of the child. Bellows Shaffer wanted to see the boy and sneaked into the Hickok’s Mountain View Road home in the early morning hours of Sept. 15, 2010, according to court documents.
A struggle ensued between the women, which resulted in Carol Hickok's death.
During the struggle, Carol Hickok hit her head.
Initially, Land said he could not determine the cause of death but, after conversations with the Bradford County coroner Tom Carmen and Bradford County District Attorney Daniel Barrett, he decided the cause of death was strangulation, which was consistent with Carol Hickok’s injuries.
Others who testified Wednesday morning included Joseph Plant, of the Pennsylvania State Police Forensic Science Unit in Wyoming, Pa., and Roger Hickok.
Testimony was to resume at 1:30 p.m.
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