PHYSICAL INJURIES <P><BR> Smit's argument: Evidence shows JonBenet's injuries are vicious and came before death -- not as<BR> part of an act of "staging" afterward. The violence seems beyond the capability of even an enraged<BR> parent. "This is a brutal murder -- this is not a kid knocked out and her death staged." <P> Struggling to escape: Fingernail marks on JonBenet's neck indicate she was trying to get the ligature<BR> off her neck, contrary to one police theory that she was unconscious. "She is not knocked out, she is<BR> not near death, she is fighting to stay alive," Smit said. <P> Depth of ligature mark: Autopsy photos show the ligature was tightened deeply into her neck. "That<BR> was brutally, forcibly, deeply dug into the furrows of her neck. This was not an easy strangulation.<BR> This was a brutal strangulation." <P> Redness of ligature marks: Redness indicates injuries came before death -- not after as part of<BR> staging. "If you try to put a rope around a kid's neck after she's dead, you're not going to get a red<BR> mark like that at all, you're going to get a white mark." Other abrasions on her shoulders and leg also<BR> left reddish marks. "That means she was alive and struggling, she was not dead. This is not staging." <P> Tiny eye hemorrhages: When a person is strangled, small blood vessels in the eye and eye lid burst.<BR> "It will not happen unless a person is alive." JonBenet's eyes showed these injuries. <P> Vaginal injuries: Something -- possibly one end of the broken paintbrush -- was forced into<BR> JonBenet's vagina because her hymen was partly torn. It was bleeding, so it happened before death.<BR> Smit said it was the only tear in her vagina, so he doesn't think somebody was sexually assaulting her<BR> over a long period of time. Plant materials similar to the paint brush's wood shards are found in her<BR> vagina. <P> Head injury: Smit calls head injury very severe, but little bleeding resulted -- only about two<BR> tablespoons of blood. In fact, he said, the head injury wasn't noticed when she first was examined.<BR> There was no cut on the scalp. Only after removal of the skull cap was the fracture on the right side<BR> of her head apparent. Such an injury, he said, would usually result in massive bleeding, and blood<BR> should have been found in the house. "So when this happened, she was near death. I believe the<BR> garrote was in place and huge pressure had been put there. . . . That's why I believe the head blow<BR> came last, not first. . . . This was the coup de grace on the job." <P> Response: Marks on JonBenet's neck come from attempt at manual strangulation, with perpetrator's<BR> knuckles causing the abrasions. Thomas theory doesn't dispute that JonBenet was alive when<BR> strangled by the garrote. Experts disagree on whether JonBenet's vaginal injuries point to prior abuse.<BR> Experts also disagree on when the head injury happened. At least two have said it could have been<BR> before the garroting. One of those, Ronald Wright, head of the forensic pathology department at the<BR> University of Miami, reviewed the autopsy report for the News n 1997. He said the blow to the head<BR> could have been 20 to 60 minutes before the strangulation because the brain showed swelling,<BR> something that takes time to happen.