ODESSA, Texas — Trial is underway in Ector County for a capital murder case in Odessa. Megan Lange is accused of strangling her 8-year-old son to death in November of 2022.
Lange was indicted in January of 2023 for capital murder of a person under 10, injury to a child and injury to a child by omission. She is currently being tried for all three charges as the trial began Monday afternoon, with capital murder being a capital felony.
An autopsy report showed hemorrhaging on the boy’s neck and that he was malnourished.
A forensic pathologist labeled the boy’s cause of death to be asphyxiation by manual strangulation, with underlying causes of neglect.
On Tuesday afternoon in the 161st District Court in the Ector County Courthouse, the prosecution brought forth a strong testimony from Dr. Luisa Florez - the forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy on the boy’s body.
Dr. Florez noted that the boy was extremely malnourished and was so thin that he had not grown adequately. His weight was 29 pounds as an 8-year-old, when the expectation at that age is around 60 pounds.
During the autopsy, the boy's medical records were also examined. The defense’s cross-examination leaned towards other medical diagnoses that the boy had, which included Type 1 diabetes.
According to Dr. Florez, the boy did not get his blood sugar tested for two years. She believes his diabetes were not treated properly with the nourishment needed, adding that the child's diet is the parent's responsibility.
Dr. Florez noted during her testimony that years of malnourishment and neglect affected the boy's body to look the way that it did.
The prosecution showed images from the autopsy she performed, which revealed abrasions, contusions and blunt impact injuries on his body. Dr. Florez added that injuries on his back were 100% inflicted.
Dr. Florez also pointed out how prominent his bone structure was when it came to his cheek, hip and shoulder. She noticed lack of fat in the chest and rib region as well.
Dr. Florez felt that food and proper hydration were withheld, noting that his sunken eyes were an indication of dehydration.
Lastly, she showed the jury green tint on the boy's neck, along with hemorrhaging under the skin, that indicated her ruling of manual strangulation as the cause of death. Dr. Florez added that neglect was a factor in the boy's death as well and there were no natural causes to any injuries.
Dr. Florez determined homicide for this case. She said as someone who has performed over 7,000 autopsy’s, the 8-year-old boy's autopsy was top 2 of all child abuse cases she has seen.
Dr. Tasha Zemrus - a forensic pathologist with the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office - also testified on Tuesday as a consultant for the prosecution.
Dr. Zemrus reviewed the autopsy performed by Dr. Florez, including medical records that were provided to her by the prosecution. Dr. Zemrus said she did not disagree with Dr. Florez's findings, and that she had confidence in the images that were taken during the autopsy.
Dr. Zemrus added that she has performed over 10,000 autopsy's in her career, noting that the boy in this case was severely malnourished.
The trial will continue Wednesday morning at 9 a.m. in the 161st District Court in the Ector County Courthouse.
NewsWest 9 will update this story as more information becomes available.