Court filing

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

Summary

Document 48, a three-page United States' Second Notice of Intent to Introduce Expert Testimony filed 02/06/2025 in the Southern District of Florida, Case No. 24-CR-80103-CANNON, United States v. Dustin Sean McCabe. Under Federal Rule of Evidence 702 and Criminal Rule 16(a)(1)(G), it identifies Dr. Terrill Tops, a Palm Beach County medical examiner, whose report and CV were produced to the defense. He performed the autopsy of the victim, M.C.G.F., and is expected to testify that the cause of death was drowning with chop wounds as a contributory cause, and to explain how long drowning takes and that she would have been conscious until she lost consciousness. He has about 25 years of practice. The government repeats its request for a written summary of any defense expert testimony, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Keller signs.

Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used

Filed February 6, 2025 in USA v. McCabe; one of 239 filings from this case.

Record facts

Court	U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida
Filed	2025-02-06

Cite this document

“Notice of Intent to Use Expert Testimony (Medical Examiner) Evidence by USA — USA v. McCabe (Dkt. 48, S.D. Fla.).” U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, No. 9:24-cr-80103-AMC, Doc. 48, filed 2025-02-06. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/court-filings/full-docket-dustin-sean-mccabe-flsd-673624/2025-02-06-gov-uscourts-flsd-673624-48-0-doc-48/, SHA-256 1adea3cdb1ee0037d1f0b4f19c0621218a8419074e7fca0651cfbd69123be9c0.

Search CourtListener for this docket number

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

 
 
2 
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

 
 
3 
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

File and source

File: gov.uscourts.flsd.673624.48.0.pdf
Size: 131,204 bytes
SHA-256: 1adea3cdb1ee0037d1f0b4f19c0621218a8419074e7fca0651cfbd69123be9c0
Our copy: gov.uscourts.flsd.673624.48.0.pdf
Original: PACER (login required)