MADISONVILLE-Even with nearly two hours of video interview videos watched, Wednesday was a day of technical testimony in the Jim Miller murder case.

Jessica Kennedy, 29, of Sweetwater, is on trial for the killing of former Monroe County Election Commission Chairman Jim Miller.

Miller's body was found in a burning car in July of 2010, three bullet wounds to the head. Despite the intense heat of the fire engulfing the car, Knox County Medical Examiner Christopher Lockmueller said there was no doubt the gunshots killed Miller.

"I would definitely say Miller was dead before he was put in the car," Lockmueller said.

Lockmueller said he ran tests that showed no sign of soot in Miller upper airways. "When somebody is caught in such a situation," Lockmueller said, "they breathe in soot and it gets caught in their mouth and throat, and there was none in Miller."

Several members of Miller's family were visibly affected by Lockmueller's description of Miller's body having been burned so bad the fat and muscle were gone in certain sections, leaving only bone.

Lockmueller also said the fire raged so hot Miller's lower legs were burned off his body. But he couldn't say how close the shooter was to Miller.

"There were no burn marks from a gun on the body,"Lockmueller said. "Without those, you really can't tell how close a gun is to a person when it goes off."

Lockmuller said there was also a laceration on Miller's head, but there was no way to tell what caused it.

Testimony from Lockmueller and other witnesses showed a watch, a pack of gum and rings were recovered from where the front of Miller's body was pressed against the floor of the trunk and slightly protected from the fire.

There were also several bullet and fragments of bullets recovered from the car. TBI firearms expert Steve Scott said tests showed the bullets came from a .38 caliber weapon, though there was a chance that could have come from a .380 caliber weapon. Kennedy mentioned having access to both types of weapons during interviews with law enforcement.

Don Cogan from the Tennessee Bomb and Arson Squad said investigation showed the car had been set on fire in both the trunk and the interior of the car. "It was a deliberately set fire," Cogan said.

The trial looked like it might take a dramatic turn when Sheriff Bill Bivens took the stand, but despite having mentioned time and time again Kennedy's assertions that Bivens and former Captain of Detectives Mike Morgan had something do with Miller's death, defense lawyer John Eldridge didn't bring it up.

The sheriff did testify he didn't know Miller personally, but had spoken to him a couple of times over the years, including a meeting at the Dinner Bell restaurant in Sweetwater.

Bivens did take exception to Eldridge's claim that he refused to move Kennedy to another jail due to her feeling in danger.

Bivens said he saw no reason to move. "We did nothing wrong," he said. "I didn't want to look as if we had. She was perfectly safe with us."

The day closed with testimony from Monroe County Sheriff's Detective Doug Brannon, the lead investigator in the case. Brannon said they hadn't really looked at Kennedy as a suspect until she started to tell them things she couldn't have possibly known.

"She said stuff I found interesting over time," Brannon said. "I began to wonder how she knew those things. I thought we were the only ones who knew those things. Then she mentioned a .38 caliber gun used in the killing and we hadn't even gotten the lab results back yet. I thought she couldn't know this unless she was involved in the homicide."

Eldridge said Kennedy was talking about her boyfriends guns and Brannon said that could be, but she had access to both a .38 and a .380, the type of weapons used in the killing.

Eldridge said the original information about the yellow house where the killing took place came from a Tiffany Sullivan who said a Gene Ellington told her. Eldridge asked if Brannon, or anybody, had interviewed Ellington, who reportedly said the police did it.

Brannon said he hadn't talked to Ellington, but there were more than 200 interviews conducted and someone could have talked to him.

Testimony is expected to continue through the week and into next week.