The brutality that a slain Douglas County woman suffered became more clear Friday with the release of an autopsy report showing she died with about 28 stab wounds and slashes about her head, neck and chest.

The 13 stab wounds around the front of Carmin D. Ross’ neck destroyed her airway. Many of the wounds “merged” below the surface of the skin, according to the written report by coroner Erik Mitchell.

Ross, who was found Nov. 14, 2003, on the floor in the living area of her home at 1860 East 1150 Road, also had stab wounds to her upper back and some that perforated her lungs. She had at least eight lacerations to her head — on her temples, forehead and the back and sides of her head. Some were as long as 2 inches, according to the report.

Ross’ autopsy had been sealed for nearly 11 months as police investigated the death. Mitchell released it Friday, four days after prosecutors filed a first-degree murder charge against Ross’ ex-husband, Kansas State University English professor Thomas E. Murray.

Murray, 48, remained Friday in the Douglas County Jail in lieu of $750,000 bond.

Also Friday, the administrator of Ross’ estate — her father, Danny Ross of Lapel, Ind. — filed a civil lawsuit against Murray in Douglas County District Court seeking unspecified damages.

The lawsuit says Carmin Ross’ estate is entitled to compensation for her “extreme pain and suffering” and that the money would be for the sole benefit of the couple’s kindergarten-aged daughter, Ciara Ross-Murray. Ross and Murray were recently divorced at the time of the killing and in a custody dispute about the daughter.

“Defendant intentionally stabbed Carmin numerous times,” the lawsuit alleges.

Ross was an attorney and conflict mediator studying alternative healing. She was a longtime Manhattan resident who moved to Lawrence in summer 2003 after divorcing Murray.

Terrence J. Campbell, a Lawrence attorney representing Danny Ross and his wife, Judi, said the family returned Friday to Indiana with Ciara. The grandparents are looking to enroll her in kindergarten there.

Ciara had been living with her father since the slaying. Earlier this week, a Douglas County judge granted the grandparents temporary guardianship.

Before criminal charges were filed, the Rosses and Murray had been in a dispute in Riley County about who would oversee the roughly $300,000 Ross left to her daughter. Despite the Rosses’ objections, a judge allowed the money to be handled by a trust company chosen by Murray.

As of Friday, the estate hadn’t closed, so the money hadn’t been transferred to the trust company. Campbell said the Rosses might file a motion for a Riley County judge to reconsider his decision given the criminal charge against Murray.

In the autopsy report, Mitchell said Ross’ death was a result of “multiple blunt and sharp force injuries.”

“At the scene there was evidence of violence to the body with a variety of types of blood transfer,” he wrote.

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