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Home Court filings USA v. McCabe United States v. Dustin Sean McCabe — S.D. Fla., No. 9:24-cr-80103-AMC Notice of Intent to Use Expert Testimony (Medical Examiner) Evidence by USA — USA v. McCabe (Dkt. 48, S.D. Fla.)

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Notice of Intent to Use Expert Testimony (Medical Examiner) Evidence by USA — USA v. McCabe (Dkt. 48, S.D. Fla.)

Filed February 6, 2025 in USA v. McCabe; one of 219 filings from this case.

Record facts

CourtU.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida
Filed2025-02-06

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida · No. 9:24-cr-80103-AMC · Doc. 48 · 2025-02-06 · Docket on CourtListener

Full text

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA 
 
CASE NO. 24-CR-80103-CANNON 
 
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 
 
v. 
 
DUSTIN SEAN McCABE, 
 
 
Defendant. 
_______________________________/ 
 
UNITED STATES’ SECOND NOTICE OF INTENT  
TO INTRODUCE EXPERT TESTIMONY 
 
 
The United States of America, by and through the undersigned Assistant United States 
Attorney, files this Second Notice of Intent to Introduce Expert Testimony, pursuant to Federal 
Rule of Evidence 702. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 16(a)(1)(G), the United 
States provides the following summary of the expert testimony it will seek to introduce at trial:   
1. Dr. Terrill Tops, Medical Examiner, Palm Beach County Medical Examiner’s 
Office 
 
Training/Qualifications:  The Government produced Dr. Tops’ medical examiner report to 
the defense on October 6, 2024, his CV to the defense on February 3, 2025, and his prior four years 
of testimony to the defense on February 5, 2025.  
Summary of Testimony/Opinion and Basis: Dr. Tops, who performed the autopsy of victim 
M.C.G.F., is expected to testify in a manner consistent with his medical examiner’s report as to 
the victim’s physical condition when he examined her and as to her cause of death. That testimony 
will include (1) that he determined the victim’s cause of death to be drowning with chop wounds 
to her lower extremities serving as a contributory cause and (2) that the victim’s physical condition 
included multiple chop wound injuries and other trauma as described in the report. Dr. Tops is 
Case 9:24-cr-80103-AMC   Document 48   Entered on FLSD Docket 02/06/2025   Page 1 of 3

 
 
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expected to explain these conclusions in part by explaining the nature of his work as a medical 
examiner, his method of conducting autopsies, the length of time it typically takes to drown and 
how that would be influenced by a contributory cause such as sustaining chop wounds, and the 
impact that his determinations and conclusions about the victim’s cause of death have on the 
victim’s experience when drowning—that she would have been conscious throughout the incident 
until she lost consciousness as she drowned. This context will be based on Dr. Tops’ approximately 
25 years of practicing medicine, including approximately 18 years working as a medical examiner 
specifically. 
Having made this disclosure, the United States hereby reiterates a request for a written 
summary of expert testimony that the defense reasonably expects to offer at trial pursuant to Rules 
702, 703, or 705 of the Federal Rules of Evidence, describing the witnesses’ opinions, the bases 
and the reasons for those opinions, and the witnesses’ qualifications. 
 
 
 
 
 
Respectfully submitted,  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
HAYDEN P. O’BYRNE 
 
 
 
 
 
 
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY 
 
Date: February 6, 2025 
 
 
By:   /s/ Zachary A. Keller  
 
 
 
ZACHARY A. KELLER 
Assistant United States Attorney 
U.S. Attorney’s Office – SDFL 
Court No: A5502767 
99 NE 4th Street, 6th Floor 
Miami, Florida 33132 
Tel: (305) 961-9023 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Email: zachary.keller@usdoj.gov 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Case 9:24-cr-80103-AMC   Document 48   Entered on FLSD Docket 02/06/2025   Page 2 of 3

 
 
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 
 
 
I HEREBY CERTIFY that on February 6, 2025, I electronically filed the foregoing 
document with the Clerk of the Court using CM/ECF. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
/s/ Zachary A. Keller                        0                         
 
 
 
 
 
 
Zachary A. Keller 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Assistant United States Attorney 
 
Case 9:24-cr-80103-AMC   Document 48   Entered on FLSD Docket 02/06/2025   Page 3 of 3

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