Expert Witness Says Brain Injury Partially Responsible for Man's Cop Killing

Newton, NCAn expert witness for a North Carolina man who shot and killed a state trooper claim that the man's behavior may have been affected by a childhood brain injury he reportedly suffered when he fell five floors from an apartment building.

Two years ago Edwardo Wong killed Trooper David Shawn Blanton Jr. during a traffic stop, according to the Asheville Citizen-Times.

Neuropsychologist Shawn Acheson, a witness for the defense, recently testified that he believes Wong's childhood fall was part of the reason he shot the police officer.

However, Assistant District Attorney Reid Brown was suspicious of the claim, noting that medical records from the New York hospital that treated the then four-year-old Wong after his fall said that his neck wasn't sore or tender after the accident.

An MRI conducted then and another conducted after his 2008 arrest revealed no evidence that Wong had sustained a brain injury. However, Acheson said he believes that Wong hit his chin on his knees when he landed after the fall, which caused his alleged brain injury.

Wong is on trial for first-degree murder and could face the death penalty if convicted.