Did Neptune stabbing victim get face injuries from a fall or girlfriend defending herself?

FREEHOLD — What was the series of circular marks across Joseph Wilson Jr.’s forehead in his autopsy photograph and how did they get there?

Testifying at a Neptune woman’s trial for Wilson’s murder, with the photograph on a large screen for a jury to see, Capt. Donna Morgan of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office said Thursday they were “abrasions consistent with falling on the face area."

Danielle Zanzuccki, an assistant Monmouth County prosecutor, asked Morgan if she saw any claw marks on Wilson’s face and neck in the photograph.

“No, I do not," Morgan said.

But when Morgan testified the marks were abrasions from a fall, Michael Chazen, attorney for defendant Monique Moore, immediately objected.

Neptune murder or self-defense? 'Joey Wilson broke her heart, and she stabbed him in his'

After a conference with attorneys in her chambers, Superior Court Judge Jill O’Malley instructed the jury they could not consider Morgan’s response about where the marks may have come from.

Before the autopsy photograph was displayed to the jury, Chazen suggested that any claw marks on Wilson’s body could have been a sign that Moore, with whom he had a romantic relationship, was trying to defend herself from him.

Prosecutors allege Moore, 29, stabbed Wilson in the heart when the 29-year-old Neptune man went to her apartment on Heck Avenue on Nov. 27, 2016, to break up with her. Chazen argues Moore was defending herself from a vicious attack at Wilson’s hands.

'Joey, Joey, c'mon, breathe': What Neptune woman told boyfriend after stabbing him

“Did the decedent have anything on his body that would indicate that maybe Monique was clawing at him?" Chazen asked Morgan, prior to the autopsy photo being displayed.

“No," Morgan responded.

“Nothing on the decedent’s face?" Chazen asked.

Morgan responded negatively.

“You didn’t see any injuries on his face?" the defense attorney asked.

“Correct," Morgan replied

Chazen suggested that if investigators did see such injuries, they would want to see if there was any of Wilson’s skin tissue under Moore’s fingernails.

“Correct," Morgan said.

“Because that would have been indicative of self-defense?" Chazen asked.

“Correct," Morgan replied.

But Morgan testified they did not take fingernail clippings from Moore because she was in a domestic relationship with Wilson, explaining that you would expect to find Wilson’s DNA on her fingernails. Also, Moore was rendering first aid to Wilson after she stabbed him, another reason his DNA would likely be found on her nails, Morgan explained.

Chazen further focused his questioning on skin tissue — not DNA.

“Even if there’s remnants of the decedent’s skin tissue under her nails, that would not be helpful in this case?" Chazen asked.

“Correct," Morgan said.

“How can that not be relevant in self-defense?" Chazen asked.

“The lab is not going to be testing for skin tissue," Morgan said. “They look for DNA."

Earlier Thursday, the victim’s father, Lawrence Wilson, told the jury he believed his son went to Moore’s apartment that night to break up with Moore. Several days earlier, the witness said his son told him he wanted to get back together with another woman, the mother of his two sons, and “he wanted to be a good father."

'She ain't my girlfriend': What Neptune victim said of other woman before she killed him

Lawrence Wilson testified that he asked his son to come along for the ride as he drove his daughter to college on Nov. 27, 2016, but he declined.

“He said, ‘I’m going to go do what you and me talked about,'" Lawrence Wilson testified, adding he took that to mean his son was going to Moore’s apartment to break off their relationship.

He said he learned that his son had been killed while he was driving back home from dropping off his daughter at college.

“My sister called me,’’ Wilson testified. “The police had called her. My whole world shattered when I got the phone call. I was just numb."

Kathleen Hopkins, a reporter in New Jersey since 1985, covers crime, court cases, legal issues, unsolved mysteries and just about every major murder trial to hit Monmouth and Ocean counties. Contact her at khopkins@app.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Neptune NJ stabbing murder trial focuses on victim's facial injuries