CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — A teenager who was stabbed to death by a Harvard grad student died from a single forceful knife wound to his heart, a medical examiner testified Friday.

Dr. Faryl Sandler, the M.E. who autopsied 18-year-old Michael Colono, implied that Ivy Leaguer Alexander Pring-Wilson must have used significant force to plunge his pocket knife through several layers of Colono's clothing and the cartilage of his fifth rib to cause the fatal wound to his right ventricle.

Pring-Wilson, 26, is charged with the April 12, 2003, first-degree murder of Colono.

Prosecutors say he stabbed the unarmed teen five times with a three-inch blade during a late night street brawl because Colono and his companions laughed at him as he drunkenly stumbled past their car.

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The defendant claims he killed in self-defense after he was attacked by the teen and his cousin, who had prior convictions for drug and assault charges.

Sandler offered somewhat dry medical testimony in a week filled with emotionally charged, often tearful testimony from friends of both the victim and the defendant. 

Sandler described Colono's injuries as three stab wounds — wounds that travel deeper into the body than they are wide at the surface — and two incise wounds, which she described as cuts or slashes that are longer along the skin than they are deep.

She told jurors the slash on Colono's left forearm appeared to be a defensive wound.

During cross-examination, Sandler seemed uncomfortable as defense attorney Rick Levinson asked her about the 12 times she failed to return the defense's phone calls to discuss the case.

She said she did not examine the murder weapon or the victim's clothing and had no opinion as to how the movements of the two men may have contributed to the force of the victim's wounds.

Question of size

Detective John Fulkerson, the investigating officer who arrested Pring-Wilson and interviewed witnesses in the case, completed his testimony Friday.

Fulkerson said the victim was about 5' 9" or 5' 10" and he gauged Pring-Wilson was roughly 6'1" and 220 or 230 pounds. Jurors have yet to hear concrete evidence about either man's height or weight at the time of the stabbing.

During opening statements, the defense promised to produce the victim's autopsy report listing him as just taller than 6 feet and weighing 207 pounds.

There also appear to be uncertainties about the exact words Pring-Wilson used to confront Colono, or who threw the first punch.

In her opening statements, assistant state attorney Adrienne Lynch said Pring-Wilson heard the group laughing at him, so he confronted Colono.

"Did you say something to me?" Pring-Wilson said menacingly, according to the prosecutor.

During cross-examination, Fulkerson read from his notes of an interview with Giselle Abreu, the victim's friend, who was in the car at the time.

She reportedly heard the defendant say, "Excuse me, did you say anything?"

The defense claims Pring-Wilson did not know the teens were laughing at him, that he was talking on his cell phone to his girlfriend and that he thought the teens were hailing him, possibly to ask for directions.

Defense attorney Ann Kaufman also pointed out that Abreu testified in pretrial hearings that Colono "threw the first punch," but Fulkerson did not note her comment in his report.

Alexander Pring-Wilson faces life in prison if convicted of first-degree murder. The state expects to rest its case by next Wednesday. Court ended early Friday and will resume on Monday.

Court TV is broadcasting the trial live.