SOMERVILLE, N.J. — If he was standing where he claims, a key witness against Jayson Williams would have been splattered with blood when the former NBA star shot and killed a chauffeur, according to a famed forensic expert who testified Wednesday.

Instead, pathologist Michael Baden found no blood on the clothes Benoit Benjamin, an ex-teammate of Williams, wore the night the driver was killed.

The testimony, which came on the first day of Williams' manslaughter defense, may cast doubt on the critical statements of Benjamin, who said he clearly saw Williams point the shotgun at Costas "Gus" Christofi and pull the trigger.

During more than four hours on the stand, Baden also testified that blood evidence raises questions about the accounts of several other important prosecution witnesses.

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Although the expert backed off key parts of his testimony and vacillated on others during cross-examination, Williams and his supporters appeared extremely pleased with the defense's first opportunity to call witnesses in the seven-week-old trial.

"Dr. Baden gave tremendous testimony in support of the defense case," said Oscar Holt, a friend and advisor of the one-time New Jersey Net. Smiling after court broke for the day, Holt said, "Jayson has complete and utter faith in the justice system and complete and utter faith in this particular jury."

Undermining the credibility of Benjamin, the prosecution's strongest witness, appears central to the defense case. He testified earlier this month that he was standing just 3 feet from Williams in his bedroom during the Feb. 14, 2002, shooting. He said Williams stared into the breach of the loaded Browning Citori, faced the driver, cursed him and then flipped the gun toward him while pulling the trigger.

Using an enlarged photograph of the bedroom where the shooting occurred, Baden pointed to the area where Benjamin claimed he stood when the shot rang out and noted that police officers found blood spatter and tissue on an exercise machine and hunting vest directly behind the area.

Baden said the impact of the blast flung the blood and flesh forward from Christofi's chest.

"Would you expect Mr. Benjamin, if he was standing in this location, to have had blood spatter and blood stain on his clothing?" asked defense attorney Joseph Hayden Jr.

"Yes," Baden said.

According to Baden, blood spatter evidence casts doubt on the testimony of four eyewitnesses who said that after the shooting Williams placed the 12-gauge shotgun in the victim's hand in an apparent attempt to stage the shooting as a suicide.

Baden said tiny spots of blood propelled onto Christofi's palms by the blast indicated no one touched his hands.

"If a weapon went into the palm of the hand, those blood spatters would've been smudged," he said.

Under cross-examination by Assistant Hunterdon County Prosecutor Katharine Errickson, Baden conceded that the blood evidence was open to other interpretations and did not prove any witness was lying. He admitted that Benjamin's clothes might not be bloody if he were standing to the side of the exercise machine instead of squarely in front of it.

"Do you recollect Benoit Benjamin ever saying 'I was standing directly in front of the Stairmaster?'" Errickson asked.

"I don't remember him saying precisely where he was," Baden said, noting that Benjamin had pointed out several areas near the exerciser.

Errickson also confronted Baden with autopsy photographs of Christofi's hands showing smeared blood on several fingers. The prosecutor suggested the smears might have occurred as Williams tried to put the gun in the victim's hands.

"Smears can occur if someone is manipulating the hand," Baden agreed. "It's possible."

Baden is the co-director of the New York State Police Medical-Legal Unit, a position he described as "essentially the chief forensic pathologist." He said that during his 42-year career, he has conducted 20,000 autopsies. Baden has worked on numerous high-profile cases and headed the forensic panel re-investigating the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy. He also hosts a documentary series on HBO.

He was clearly comfortable in front of the jury, stepping from the witness stand in to the well of the court a dozen times and wielding a long pointer to demonstrate his findings.

Jurors appeared to be following his testimony closely, with some leaning forward in their seats and others craning their necks to see his demonstrations.

'It was close, wasn't it?'

There is no dispute that Williams shot Christofi. The prosecution alleges the 36-year-old was acting recklessly when he toyed with the gun while giving a tour of his large estate. He claims the shooting was a tragic accident caused by a mechanical malfunction.

The angle and distance of the gunshot blast remain contested issues. Baden said the shotgun pellets entered Christofi's body about 3 feet off the floor and upwards at a 30-degree angle. He said the angle indicated the gun fired when it was low to the ground and not at a straight horizontal.

Benjamin and two other prosecution witnesses, Kent Culuko and Chris Morris, testified they saw Williams' arm stretched straight out after he flipped the gun shut.

Baden also concluded the gun muzzle was 24 inches to 36 inches dfrom Christofi when it fired. Another noted forensic scientist, criminalist Henry Lee, testified for the prosecution that the distance was 6 to 18 inches. In addition, a police ballistics expert told jurors the range was 1 to 36 inches. The distance is important because Williams maintains he was unaware that Christofi had entered his bedroom when the gun discharged and therefore could not have been targeting him.

After sparring with Baden for several minutes about how he reached his conclusions on distance, an exasperated Errickson said, "Whether it's 1 foot, 2 feet or 3 feet, come on, Dr. Baden! It was close, wasn't it?"

The expert told the prosecutor "close" wasn't a scientific term.

"It is what it is," Baden said.

Baden said he disagreed with Lee "respectfully" and acknowledged that the two were friends.

"I love Dr. Lee. I think he's terrific," said Baden.

Superior Court Judge Edward Coleman's courtroom was filled to capacity for Baden's testimony.

Supporters of Williams circulated flyers urging citizens to attend court. Some arrived at the courthouse carrying signs reading "Justice for Jayson" and "Jayson Williams is a good man."

The judge urged jurors to "have no contact with these people."

"Stay as far away from them as you possibly can," he said.

A gun expert is expected to take the stand for the defense Thursday morning.