Commonwealth v. Hernandez

OPINION

NIX, Justice.

This case arose out of the death of Michael Kochmanowicz, ninety-one years old, whose body was discovered bound and gagged on his living room floor. The body was tied in such a fashion that the bindings included a connection between the wrist, up the center of the back to a gag. The gag passed under the tongue and forced it backward to where it blocked the passage of air through the mouth and nose. The effect was that if the deceased attempted to ease the pressure of the gag on his tongue, he would cause additional pain to his shoulder and if he attempted to relieve the…