Murder trial of man accused of killing bar owner continues
Witness testimony continued this week in the murder trial of a Springfield man accused of the beating death of a bar owner in January 2022.
Dalton C. McDermott, 28, of Springfield, was arrested for four counts of aggravated battery one day prior to the death of Angelo Manci Jr., with first-degree murder charges being added later.
Dr. Nathaniel Patterson, a forensic pathologist with the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, was among the witnesses Tuesday and testified that the death of Manci of Springfield had been caused by blunt force trauma to the head, with pre-existing cardiovascular issues also a contributing factor.
Manci was 80 years old when he died two weeks after he was battered and injured in an incident outside Parkway Pub, a bar that he owned, on New Year's Eve 2021. He had owned several bars in the area before he became the owner of Parkway, such as the Porthole Lounge and the Sandbar Tavern. He was also the owner of Roadhouse Package Liquor and worked with Schafer & Son, an Anheuser-Busch distributor based in Springfield.
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Manci was following in the footsteps of a family tradition that dated back more than 70 years, with his father, Angelo, Sr. and his brother Henry having been in the tavern business in Springfield in a variety of roles.
Prosecutors from the Sangamon County State's Attorney's office – led by felony division chief Mary Beth Rodgers – brought Patterson to the stand Tuesday in an attempt to show the jury that McDermott's alleged beating caused Manci's death. Patterson said that while his cardiovascular issues were a contributing factor in his death, they likely wouldn't have caused his death.
McDermott's defense team, led by Daniel and Sarah Noll of the Noll Law Office, attempted to prove to the jury that another issue may have caused Manci's death other than McDermott's alleged involvement. They pointed to a cardiac episode one week after Manci was admitted to HSHS St. John's Hospital as a potential sign of underlying issues.
Defense also brought to the stand Dr. Shiping Bao, another forensic pathologist who claimed that cardiac issues killed Manci, not McDermott. Bao said that examination of the arteries revealed that Manci's carotid artery was completely clogged and could have contributed to his death.
However, Bao also told Rodgers during cross-examination that he couldn't be certain that Manci would have died if he wasn't injured during the alleged incident with McDermott.
Bao is best known for being a former associate medical examiner in Volusia County, Florida who was fired in 2013 due to conflicting testimony during the trial of George Zimmerman, accused of killing Trayvon Martin during an incident in 2012. Zimmerman was found not guilty of first-degree murder charges.
Witness testimony will continue Wednesday.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Murder trial continues in 2022 death of Springfield bar owner
