Wong's life full of bad behavior, says defense witness

A neuropsychologist who believes Edwardo “Eddie” Wong Jr. suffers from a traumatic brain injury presented medical records from Wong’s childhood that documented a fall he took from a five-story apartment building.

Shawn Acheson believes the fall damaged Wong’s brain and has caused him to act irrationally though medical records from the New York hospital where he was treated showed no evidence of head trauma.

Wong fell from the building when he was 4 years old in 1975.

Acheson is not a medical doctor. He testified Wednesday in Wong’s defense.

An MRI performed on Wong since his arrest found no evidence of brain injury.

Acheson said the scan would not have detected injuries to cells inside Wong’s brain. He said the fall damaged the connections in Wong’s brain that send signals from one region to the other.

“The fact that we can t see this diffuse axonal injury doesn’t mean that its not there,” he said.

Wong is charged with first-degree murder in the 2008 shooting death of Trooper David Shawn Blanton Jr. during a traffic stop on Interstate 40. He could face the death penalty if convicted.

Acheson, when he took the stand on Tuesday, told the jury that some traumatic brain injuries can occur without a skull fracture or visible head injury. He said blast waves from explosives, for example, have caused traumatic brain injury in soldiers.

An x-ray performed on Wong after the fall found no skull fracture. His reflexes were normal, according to the records Acheson presented to the jury.

But, he said, a note in a nurse’s file shows Wong was lethargic about an hour after the fall.

Acheson said that is significant because it is an indication of an altered mental status, which could mean a brain injury undetectable by x-ray.

Later that night, Wong became more alert and even had to be restrained in the hospital.

Acheson said that is also an indication of traumatic brain injury because it shows Wong was agitated after the fall.

Wong on Wednesday showed the jury the scar he has on the bottom of his chin from the fall. He stood in front of the panel with his head slightly raised. At least one juror leaned forward to get a closer look at the scar.

Acheson also researched Wong’s school grades.

Wong, he said, moved around from school to school more often than normal.

He got Ds and Fs in 6th and was administratively promoted to 7th grade. He improved at the start of the 9th grade with a few Bs but later in the year was making Ds.

He failed the 10th grade and had to repeat it.

Wong had an IQ of 100, according to one school record, which is average intelligence.

Acheson administered a series of psychological test in his examination, which he said determined Wong had trouble controlling impulses and considering consequences.

He said the fall from the apartment building would have exerted tremendous force on Wong’s head, neck and brain.

“It’s my opinion that as he fell, he hit the ground legs first and that is what caused the facture to the femur,” he said. “In the process of his body hitting the ground, I contend, that he hit his chin probably on his lower limbs, which would have violently driven his head back.”

Acheson said traumatic brain injuries in young children can change behavior. He said Wong, as a child, got the nickname “bad boy” in Chinese.
“We see that reflected in his academic history,” he said.

Wong’s adult life wasn’t any better, Acheson said.

He ran from police as a young man on a motorcycle once because he had a suspended license. He tried to ram a police car during another chase.

And he tried to overpower a deputy in Florida and escape from jail. The deputy shot him in the bottom.

“In my opinion, the idea that one could successfully subdue a trained law enforcement officer while in handcuffs and shackles does not speak to good judgment,” he said. “It seems to me a rather impulsive and ill conceived act.”

The trial continues today with the prosecutions cross examination of Acheson.

It’s unclear whether Wong will testify, although his attorneys have not ruled it out.

Jon Ostendorff is a reporter for the Asheville Citizen-Times. The trial was moved from Buncombe County to Catawba County because of pre-trial publicity.