Autopsy reveals pastor's wounds

Warning: Graphic contentPDF: Medical examiner's report

The Rev. David Strong's killer stabbed his torso 18 times and lacerated his head four times during a violent homicide last week, according to a medical examiner's report released Wednesday.

Strong's stab wounds ranged from a few tenths of an inch long to one that measured 1.8 incheson the left side of his head, the report states. Diagrams show his neck was punctured seven times.

Police say Antonio Henry, 25, and his 16-year-old cousin, Brendan Barnes, used a vase, a stick and a knife to beat Strong's head and stab his throat.

The St. Paul AME pastor's body was found in his home early Sunday after police stopped Henry and Barnes driving his car.

Strong's parishioners and friends gathered at the Warren Chapel AME church Wednesday for a prayer vigil.

Lt. Kirk Eidson, head of the Chattanooga Police Department's major crimes division, said dozens of superficial stab wounds indicate a long struggle.

"They were actually torturing this man for the numbers on his debit card," Eidson said. "It may have been a different story if they'd had a gun, he fights for his life and they just shot him."

Strong, 55, weighed 203 pounds, and Eidson said the two suspects are "considerably smaller, so they doubled their efforts."

"Rev. Strong wasn't in a particular mood to die," Eidson said. "Him being a larger guy with people who were smaller, they [over] compensate. ... They don't have the complete upper hand. That added to the brutality."

Many of the stab wounds were concentrated near Strong's right ribs, according to the examiner's report.

Examiners found a 2-inch cut in the palm of Strong's right hand, right above bruises that show his hands were tied. There were no lengthy wounds across Strong's body, but examiners spotted a deep cut in the base of his throat and a 2.5-inch slash on the back of his neck.

A full autopsy is scheduled and results will be available within a few weeks, authorities said.

Eidson said no new information on the crime was available Wednesday. Henry is expected to be in General Sessions Court on Monday for a preliminary hearing. He is being held on $350,000 bond.

Authorities soon will determine whether to try Barnes as an adult. His mother said Tuesday that he was in the Hamilton County Juvenile Detention Center.

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