Michelle Troconis trial | Day 2 afternoon

it's helpful to First determine uh who testified about what they believe to be blood here they were precipi Witnesses several witnesses that had uh been on scene and observe certain substances and stains at the crime seeing the testimony by those Witnesses was to be that what they observed was blood now the defendant moved for an inlin preclusion of that testimony by any lay witness or precipi witness on scene witness unless there was sufficient evidence to establish that that item or the those items had been tested and found to be blood so in Grant uh the state or rather the court cited State versus schaer finding that uh it was permissible to admit into evidence the opinions and common observers or rather of common observers in regard to Common appearances facts and conditions however that testimony could not have been based on the testimony of others or some hypothetical set of facts so the holding as the court sees the holding in that case is that even lay witnesses can testify as to their belief that a substance was blood as long as that testimony is not based on what the court described as testimony of or hypothetical statements of facts now of course in Moody uh that was a situation in which expert testimony was offered the expert witness said uh said that a stain found on one of the defendant shoes had given a positive result on a presump test for blood in Moody there was a presumptive test only Court held that the result of the presumptive test for blood had no probative value whatsoever the test result did nothing toward establishing the likelihood of the presence of human blood in that case there was only the presumptive test that testimony should have been excluded and should have been found inadmissible now in State versus whipper there was no testing at all by the police detectives the detectives had testified that an eyewitness had seen the defendant break a vase over the victim's head the police concluded in their testimony that the bloody hand or palm print on that vase was actually blood an expert then testified at the same trial and he stated that the bloody palm print on the vase was the defendants but he said on Cross examination that the substance on the vas had reacted to certain chemical reagents consistently with the way blood would react but there were other substances that would have the same reaction well because the police did not test the blood the fingerprint expert did not test for blood the court concluded that uh it was improper for the state's witnesses to testify that the palm print found on the vas had been made in blood in Grant that was again a percipient witness testimony they observed what they believed to be blood and described as a trail of blood this is another case in which you have lay people testifying about what they believe to be the substance the Court held there a person of ordinary knowledge and experience is generally competent testify that a substance personally observed by that person appeared to be blood although the particular facts and circumstances surrounding the witness's observation of the substance might affect the weight to be given to the testimony the fact that the substance was not subject to Scientific testing to rule out any possibility that it was not blood does not render the testimony inadmissible so now we come to Downing in Downing we had a criminologist testify aining on the stand that they relied on a presumptive test for blood the defendant argue that that testimony should have been precluded pursuant to Moody in Downing the court well the court to say this first this issue really comes down to what is probative and to make it simple is a presumptive test by itself probative according to Moody no it is not probative on that basis it would not be admitted the next question is is a presumptive test under all circumstances not probative the answer to that is no in Downing the court quotes Moody the presumptive test for blood had no probative value whatsoever because the T Test did nothing toward establishing the likelihood of the presence of human blood we're talking there about a situation in which there was no other factor to be considered however in Downing the court indicated that the presumptive test again by itself is not going to be probative in any degree however there are other factors that can be considered that would render it probative not conclusive but probative such as the color of the substance the shape of the substance other factors that could indicate that the presumptive test could be confirmed now in this case we have a presumptive test or presumptive tests the issue then becomes are there other factors that can render the presumptive test not conclusive but probative because relevant evidence has this definition it's evidence that has any tendency to make a fact the existence of a fact that is material to the determination of the matter more probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence so in this case you have a presumptive test by itself not good enough but you also have a missing person investigation you have the color and shape of onad identified stains you have spatter pattern you have unidentified stains on the vehicle in the garage and you have an abandoned vehicle owned by Jennifer doulos in combination the presumptive test is probative the issue now goes to what weight the jury will give to the evid so the only danger the state can run into is if there's a question asked and the defense rather the state's witness says that presumptive test is conclusive and remember the court can also ask what so the court is going to allow the testimony concerning the presumptive test but again court has informed the jury that this court will ask a question U just for the record um I would note that in Downing the expert evidence showed that some of the splatter had already been tested and confirmed at the lab to be blood not just that it looked like blood and that's why it was allowed but the court I would ask the court to address the second part of my argument that its probative value is is completely outweighed by its Prejudice especially in light of the fact there is no confirmatory tests and that when it is tested it is not blood so to let it in is the equivalent of allowing um as I indicated that rust that the jury can infer that uh that was blood so I asked the court to at least address the other part of my argument well the the issue again is not Prejudice but unfair Prejudice State wish to be heard your honor with respect to the the uh fact that a test ISE all evidence is going to be prejudicial the to rise to the level of unfair Prejudice pre Prejudice at this point I don't think evidence of a of a presumptive test when the witness is going to testify that it is um you know presumptive in its very nature because also subject to a very competent councel who can cross-examine him about the adequacy of that test and about the fact that a lot of this evidence did make it along the change chain and go to the lab and what they did there whether they tested it or not I not going to even address any of that today I believe attorney mcginness will deal with that next week but with respect to the prejudicial value I don't think it rises to unfair Prejudice and Council can cross-examine and that will go before the jury well again the only danger the court sees for the state is that the state's own witness says it's conclusive I understand that your honor as far as unfair Prejudice is concerned the court does not see that the Prejudice is so uh substantial as to preclude any effective cross-examination so the court will allow testimony concerning the presumptive we can bring the jury [Music] in I to l will Council stipulate to the presence of all of the jurors yes yes honor theor may I call my next witness the state calls detective Riley Matthew Riley to the stand may I approach the clerk [Applause] yes [Music] have Council yes fine that's fine your honor Madam cler witness you please raise your right hand do you solemnly swear or swallow and sincerely affirm as the case may be that the evidence you shall give concerning this case shall be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth shall help you God or upon penalty of pury I do please state your name and spell it for the record it's Matthew Riley REI l l and you may be SE thank afterno thank you your honor good afternoon sir how are you fine man' Mr Riley or detective Riley I'm sorry are you currently employed by the state police uh no I'm not uh I retired from the Connecticut State Police in January of 22 okay okay if you could uh please explain did you what rank did you retire at I retired as a sergeant and in 2019 what rank did you have I was a detective could you briefly just explain a little bit about your training and experience as a as a sergeant with the Connecticut State Police yes I've uh I've been a detective for approximately 20 years of my 23 year career and during that time I've had classes in uh intermediate crime scene processing Advanced crime scene processing Lane print development bloodstain pattern analysis um death investigation homicide investigation and probably a myriad of other classes and with respect to the Connecticut State Police uh were you assigned to a particular troop or Division I was assigned to the Western District major crime Squad where I uh I worked on the van unit as as a uh crime scene investigator could you please explain what a crime scene investigator is so uh crime scene investigator is tasked with the investigation of a crime scene processing evidence handling evidence packaging evidence and uh coordinating with laboratory analysis and such things as that could you discuss a little bit about your training if you have any with respect to Crime Scene analysis that particular part of being or that assignment I should say yes uh I've U I've attended um intermediate uh crime scene processing courses Advanced crime scene processing courses uh law enforcement photography uh blood stain pattern analysis uh different uh trainings on the investigation of not only homicide scenes but scenes of sexual assault and uh classes on medical legal death investigation and how long were you assigned to the van uh approximately 14 years in 2019 who was assigned to the van with you so the van unit in 2019 uh was supervised by Sergeant do Joe duva and then there was myself detective Jamie pearston uh detective JY Colmes detective Frank McGavin and um forget detective m downs I'm going to draw your attention specifically now to May 24th 2019 did you report to uh 69 Wells Lane that day in new Kanan I did why did you respond there uh I was uh I received a telephone call from the uh Western District Commander saying that the Newan Police Department was requesting assistance with a uh missing person investigation where they suspected Foul Play and what was your assignment for going to or what was your reason for going to 69 Wells uh they were specifically um what I understood at the time they were just uh asking for Crime van Assistance or crime scene investigation assistance so um I responded to uh Western District headquarters in Lichfield uh grabb the truck and drove down to uh 69 wells in new Canyon so the truck what is on the truck if you can describe it a little bit so it's uh the major crime van is a um it's kind of a big toolbox on Wheels so it's a it's um small body uh or kind of a medium uh duty truck with a cargo body on the back that contains uh all of our equipment all of our uh supplies additional lighting um cameras such things as that about what time did you respond there or to 69 Wells I should say I probably arrived sometime around 2 o'clock in the morning on the 25th was anybody on scene when you arrived um well I know uh new Canan Police Department had uniform officers there and then I really don't remember who who arrived first from our from our crew now you mentioned a couple names about people who worked on the van did anybody that you named um arrive or come to 69 Wells that day uh yes detective Frank McGavin uh was available so he responded and then we had several um uh what we call alternates so detectives who also work in Western District major crime crime they have additional uh crime scene training and experience and they come to uh kind of backfill uh absences or people who were not able to respond and who were those alternates the alternates that they were detective Cory clabby uh detective Bob Hazen detective Katie keple and detective Dwayne ler did you enter the house on it well I'm gonna if I can strike that uh is there a when you conduct a search of a residence is there a certain process or procedure that you utilize uh yes so when we arrive at a scene um usually in in serious cases uh the local PD is obtaining in the process of obtaining a search warrant by the time we arrive on scene uh we get a briefing uh as to the investigation up to that point um usually from the lead I'm going to object this is not the question is not what he did then he's talking about in general I don't know if that's helpful well the question is what's the what was the procedure on that dat correct yes your onor please if I I the response was generally this is what we do that's nonresponsive so there objection this I'll rephrase I will rephrase thank youor uh Sir with respect to to May 24th 2019 actually it would be May 25th 2019 um did you have a specific procedure in place with the other officers of the van in conducting a search of 69 Wells uh yes so like I said I arrived at approximately uh two 2 o'clock in the morning again new Canan was uh obtaining a search warrant for the for the property and as once everybody arrived um we did read up our various assignments of what we were going to do that night what were those assignments so uh frankon Gavin he was assigned to uh take notes at the scene and prepare a scene report basically it's observations and actions U at the scene uh I uh I took evidence collection so I was The Evidence Officer it was up it was my responsibility to identify collect uh package and label all the evidence um we had a primary photographer we also run a backup photographer uh we have a videographer and then we uh had somebody prepare a sketch map who was your primary photographer that would be a detective Katie kble and the backup photographer uh detective Bob haen and is there particular order that those assignments are done in the in the course of May 25th 2019 processing uh that night uh we started out with uh video recording overall video recording of the scene then um we'll start primary backup photography overall um I'm sorry let me back up the first thing we do is we conduct a walkth through so uh we conduct a walkth through kind of see what we have identify any kind of fragile or transient evidence do we have again I'm going to OB it sounds like he's not talking about what he did but what he usually does the objection essentially is non-responsive the question is not what normally the routine is is what happened that day sustained detective Riley did you participate in the walkthr of 69 Wells yes I did how did you enter the house uh I entered through the garage uh and then I uh went ahead and uh accessed the front door because the garage appeared to have u a great deal of evidence in it we didn't want to get it trampled so I opened the front door uh let detective McGavin and Detective kep we conducted a quick walk through uh and if I can what is the purpose of that walkth through uh we were looking for kind of the the layout of the house the situation getting a feel for what we had uh we were looking for any kind of uh Transit evidence fragile evidence and we would uh start to develop a plan on how we would uh basically tackle this problem and after the walkth through what was the next step in processing the scene uh the next step in processing the scene is uh Cy clabby started his video recording were you a part of that no I was not and after the video recording after that um the photographers went through primary and backup were you a part of the primary or backup photography no while the videography or the primary and backup photographers are in the house what were you doing uh while they were in the house I was uh swabbing the points of entry door handles for um latent DNA uh I just want to clarify and ask you about the word swabbing what exactly do you mean by swabbing a swab is just a long handled uh Q-tip it's uh uh containing sterile packaging and we use it for the collection of evidence where do you get the swabs from uh forensic supply house and how are they preserved or are they preserved I should ask you um the swabs are contained in uh they're individually packaged in sterile um sterile wrappers when we use them um you know we collect we collect evidence and then we place them inside of a uh a short box that we seal and put inside of a larger envelope for labeling what do they look like uh the swabs ma'am yes uh like I say it's a long handled qil a similar to what you see at the doctor's office and you indicated well how do you use them so in uh this case when I was uh swapping the door handles for DNA I would um open up two swabs uh moisten them with sterile water and then um run them around the door handles in an effort to collect up any biologic material that may have been on that door handle I'll then uh cap the swabs uh put them inside of a box seal them up and then place them in an envelope and is that standard policy and procedure for you when utilize a swab yes and did you consistently use that process anytime you used a swab at 69 Wells yes um now you indicated you swabbed the uh the doors is that correct yes okay why would you swap the doors first uh just in case it was a unknown Intruder uh coming through one of those points of Entry hopefully we would be able to pick up some sort of uh there suspect DNA unknown DNA well the court is going to interject here Court believe the testimony was that he swabbed the door handles was just going to clarify that if I can your honor [Music] um if I may approach your honor uh the state is intending to introduce multiple photographs I believe I need to have uh the witness VI them for ID at this point if I may I have a word with councel privately for a moment your honor agreement about making this move a little faster so if we can your honor well do that if I may just approach the witness this is N A has been marked for ID your honor if I can sir I'm going to show you please don't fli the page you look at the I believe this would be page two off of 9A can you take a look at that document please now there are about four pH on that document this is under nine states nine it's a file labeled one 69 Wells your honor with four photographs on it sir do you recognize those photographs that are contained on that photo that page yes and what are those photographs those are overall views of the four sides of the scene do those pictures fairly and accurately represent the scene of 69 Wells as you saw it that night on or that morning morning I should say on 525 2019 yes so they would offer the file labeled 169 wells off of speat nine as a whole exhibit is there an OB oh two nine is still ID so these four are they're all on one disc that's the problem so I'm not objecting to these for being shown the J just for expedience you I'm going to run through all of them if I can is it identified as 9 or 9A 9A is for ID only at this point I believe a 9 uh well both are for ID only 9A is the document is screenshots of every file or photograph contained within nine so instead of pulling the photograph up on the computer uh Council has agreed to let me show the screenshots for a to authenticate each photograph save some time so not will be admitted as a full exhibit um I have to run through all of them council is not in agreement at this point if I may my major support your owner yeah so I'm going to show you page two actually might be page three under file marked two garage pictures in States nine can you take a look at that that page and only that page there sir did you have an opportunity to look at those yes ma'am do you recognize any of the photographs that are contained on that page yes um how many do you recognize I recognize them all okay uh do they fairly and accurately Port well what are they I'm sorry uh photos 1 through five appear to be uh overall photographs of the garage get 69 Wells uh photograph six is the uh photograph of the door knob of the door in between the garage and the mudro at 69 Wells and photos 78 and nine are photographs of the door knob uh after removal and during processing and do those photographs all fair accurately portray those items that you described yes and that's with respect to what they look like on May 25th 2019 yes okay state would offer that file which I believe if I can is States 9 file two label garage pictures no objection so States nine file two admitted as full aor States 9 a again so I'm going to have you take a look at State file three uh labeled kitchen and the majority of them I will pull up the last one on the computer but if you can take a look please [Music] did you have an opportunity to look at that yes thank you I would also direct your attention to the screen right in front of you um do you see that screen in front of you yes okay just for the record your owner there is so the record is clear there is a screen in front of detective Riley that only can be shown to him the screen on the back of uh detect Ry that is portrayed towards the jury is off um sir do you recognize what's depicted in the screen in front of you yes okay both the screen in front of you as well as the document in front of you as well do you recognize those photographs uh I do uh could you pull up a photograph 17 I know they're small can you thank you attorney Mor is assisting thank you and again it is only for the record shown on the screen in front of me do you recognize the photograph 17 yes so all those photographs that you just saw are they fairly in accurately portray Well I this what do what are they uh photographs uh appear to be overall views of the kitchen those are photographs 1 through four uh photograph five and six appear to be um the contents of the purse we found in the house 789 your honor um before he gets into a description of items not yet in evidence um I would like at least the opportunity wer about uh about this set before I object or not object I haven't even finished asking him what if it is a fair and accurate representation of what he interprets it to be your honor I would ask to finish that before thank you the court will permit deer after Council lays the foundation thank you you can continue sir um and uh photos seven through 15 were taken during processing of the kitchen photo 16 uh an item of evidence that we seize from uh master bath and photo 17 is an exhibit they was seized from the garage floor uh do you recognize all the items on the that piece of paper yes as well as the screen in front of you uh yes do they fairly and accurately portray what you um explain them to be on May 25th 2019 yes state would offer it at this time your honor brief wer yes Mr Riley I just want to be clear as we go through these um and let's start with the image you see on the screen which on the sheet is marked as 18 d 352 that's on the screen when you were at the scene is this precisely how it appear that you yourself saw uh yes it was like that that we're seeing in the picture You observe that at precisely as this image portrays it correct all right and if you look at the other images 1 through 17 when you were in the house doing your job of collecting evidence did everything that you observe um appear precisely as is shown in these images these specific images yes so that it not only fairly acely represents the way that the uh room appeared in general but you yourself saw these exactly as they're laid out here is that correct yes then I'm not going to object to these pictures your honor so what are the offer uh at this point your honor we're still on States nine Council has approv it has been sorry your honor has admitted files one which is 69 Wells on that file two which is garage pictures in file three which is label kitchen the state is now moving on to file four which is titled uh 69 Wells L prints so one two and three are full already already your honor so just so that the record is clear one two and three admitted as full and just for your honor there are 15 so take a minute and take a look at file four y do you recognize the items depicted in those photographs yes um what are they uh they're photographs of lateen prints that we developed in uh seized at the scene what day did you seize those or develop those lat in prints uh uh we uh figure print the house on the 27th so on Monday on the 27th do those photographs that you see in front of you fairly and accurately portray the prints you photographed or developed or should say on 527 yes state would offer may I one year toy I just want to be clear you were there on the 25th is that right correct I just understood this testimony is this is something that happened not on the 25th correct these pictures that's right were you back there on the 27th after these pictures were taken I was there on the 27 while those pictures were taken while they were being taken so either there on two different days yes and do these images that are in folder four the One 2 3 4 five six images do they represent the way that uh the the particular parts of that house appeared as you were there they uh depict the way the scene appeared on the 27th that that's not my question do they what we're looking at now in these images do they appear exactly as when you were there you observed them with the particular markings and and whatever chemicals they sprayed is that a that's a yes yes right so so you saw these images precisely as they're portrayed you were there either at the time these pictures were taken or immediately thereafter right yes I have no objection stage n bio four admitted as thank you sir I'm going to draw your attention States nine file five titled Chevy La please take a look at those items now sir with respect to items label two through six do you recognize uh what is depicted in those photographs yes I do what is depicted in those photographs so that is the uh the Chevy Suburban it was found on lapam road um as it appeared on the 20 on the morning of the 25th uh do those photographs fairly and accurately portray what that vehicle looked like on that morning on May 25th 2019 as as I found it yes okay uh would the state would offer those your honor the the item the first item has already been admitted by a previous witness and I'm not objecting to that one either I just if I may just follow up the same question and to be clear you were at the um lapam Road location and you observed the vehicle in that location at the time you were doing your evidence collection on that day yes we drove from the scene to lapam Road and the vehicle was exactly as portrayed in these pictures right that's how I found it correct okay again I have no objection States 9 file five admitted as a full exhibit thank you P 9 file six tit garage a s u I'm going to ask you to take a look at the photograph and deped on the page and and then if you can there are two uh there is a photograph being pulled up on your screen for the record the video screen behind the witness is off the video screen in front of him is on with respect to pictures 12 and 13 they are side by side on your screen in front of you if you can take a look at all those photographs please sir do you recognize those photographs yes I do sorry what are they uh they're photographs of the garage floor it's 69 Wells during processing and by during processing does that is that something that you were present for yes okay did you look those items that are depicted in those photographs do they fairly and accurately portray what you saw that day on May 25th was it I believe these were taken on the 27th on May 27th 2019 and you were present on May 27th when those photographs were taken yes uh and do they fairly and accurately represent what those photographs uh or what those items contained in the photographs are yes state would offer is there W yes please and if I could just require counsel for a second the other two items Ur are contained in F6 have already been aditt admitted through Sergeant Pearson Pearson and just I'm going to ask you kind of the same question when you were in the the garage was it did it look exactly like this with the tape measures and the other uh crime van uh measuring devices that we see in these images during our processing yes this is how it looked I'm sorry uh would you say that again please during processing this is how it looked well I'm asking whether while you were there were were these items laid out as shown in these pictures while you were collecting evidence yes right so the two that are on the uh screen which are identified as um in subfile six garage a numbers 12 and 13 which don't appear in the in the on the sheet but are on the screen this these two show exactly how it appeared while you were in the in that garage yes so the Red Dot on the on the van measuring thing was already there is that correct the red in the in the picture on the right that says a17 I just want to specify which one we're looking at that was there while you were there correct uh yeah I believe so yeah when you say you don't know I don't remember exactly what every marking looked like but this is this represents um two of the stains you saw garage floor all right well I get that we've seen a lot of pictures of stains well my question is we're talking about the white it's metric measuring devices you recognize those from being the from the van correct correct so I asked you about the Red Dot or stain you see on the thing that's marked A7 was that there when you were in the uh garage so does that fair accely represent what you saw uh I don't remember that you do not remember that I don't and then if you look at the image on the left that has an a16 on it you see there's also a stain on the measuring device as well is that correct correct was that there when you were present in the garage uh I don't specifically remember that all right I just have a moment um except for the two images on the screen 12 and 13 I object I don't believe this witness can categor categorically state that this fairly actally represents the way it appeared while he was present if I may you're on our 12 what council is equivoca is over a small dot on a on a marking uh tab not even on the garage floor or a marking on the house on the ruler that is used to delineate uh what I guess is a measurement system I'm going to object to her describing the exhibit that's not yet in evidence you're have a right to argue this and admit it well the jury cannot see what this is that's correct there may be questions that the court has that will be offered outside of the presence of the buy because the court wants to make sure first of all it understand what apparently what this exhibit is is on the court screen that's correct yes sir ladies and gentlemen I know this becomes somewhat inconvenient but the court may have some questions about what you cannot see which is not yet in effort so perhaps we'll just take an early afternoon recess and reconvene at 3:15 all right this honorable Court the recess until 15 [Music] the jury's not coming [Music] out so again what the Court sees on its screen Court does not no States 9 file six is that correct uh yes you're honor States 9 file six pictures 12 and 13 and 14 you're onor although that one hasn't been put on the screen well the court wouldn't see those numbers 12 and 13 on the screen that would be on the hard copy you honor I have a no only 123 he's also SP that what the court sees is a16 and a17 yes your honor and so that would correspond to which numbers 12 and 13 12 and 13 thank you and Tony shenhong was in the process of basically vadering on 12 and 13 and the court had an opportunity to consider the what was suspect in objection by Shan Horn Court is going to make a distinction between authentication and the concerns of Tony sha what the court is looking at is a measuring device and stains concerning authentication the measuring device is what it appears to be a measuring device in both 12 and 13 they both report to be measuring devices cour sees that there is no controversy concerning whether they are measuring devices the question is whether those measuring devices appeared that way when detective Riley saw is that correct because he indicated that he doesn't remember the Red Dot on 13 and the mocking on well well the question that was asked is whether these fairly and accurately depict what he saw and if it you know there's a lot of other pictures but if they didn't I'll just note your honor although it wasn't put up on the screen number 14 the next picture uh also has a red what looks like another drop um and what's why this is important your honor is because if these some of these small drops are blood likee this is is the that what's on the measuring device also looks the same it's the same color may also be blood likee so the suggestion that there is more than what was actually there that's the problem with my with the way the question was asked this goes in suggests there's more maybe that maybe that's blood maybe they dropped it on there while they were collecting it but this witness is not the one to testify about it that's why it's important to the defense and know there seems to be another similar marking on picture 14 the next one I don't know if your honor just wants me to will take the representation that there's another stain on 14 right but the question to this witness is as the cour the question is this how these two exhibits ID exhibits appeared to you when you saw said I do not remember the stain on 12 and I do not remember the stain on 13 so now the question becomes admissibility so the jury's going to hear that testimony I do not remember what's on 12 I'm walking on 12 I do not remember that dot on 13 and the objection is well there's no indication that this Fair fairly in accurately depicts what detective Riley saw on the 25th of May or the 27 for the I think it's detect former detective Riley not I think your honor used the name clabby I think just for the record thought it said Riley nevertheless and the court is just going to indicate what it it's ruling will be court has focused on the authentication of the measuring device the jury is going to hear that that didn't appear to be what I saw on that date and leave any cross examination if they are admitted to council because the it is going to be obvious that the jury's going to think how did a a reddish looking stain that appears on a measuring device get on a measuring device whereas the stains on the garage floor allegedly were there two days before the measuring device showed up that's going to be what they think but this is the state's offer can bring the jury back in your honor before the jury comes back there is one other um issue um the court overruled the objection um regarding the the testimony regarding um whether the reagent or presumptive the reason for this uh Witnesses actions but there there's going to be an effort in the in the next 10 minutes I I assume to try and offer looks like I can't tell from just the image I'd have to call it up on the computer three perhaps four images of somebody taking a picture with a night camera of the glow which I submit is a separate issue of whether or not he uh because I can't cross-examine the images and um I would ask that that be at least addressed outside the presence of the jury as to whether or not um he was wearing I don't know special glasses to uh take the swab at the time because the pictures are more prejudicial in my view un unfairly prejudicial than the testimony that that he did it because of the uh presumptive test using either the inositol or the uh km if I can just direct coun to the screen are these the ones if I can uh because I do actually agree I'd rather um get this out while the jury is out of the room if I could just have one minut minut this would be under uh file 14 Chevy Suburban and the is this what C is talking about I believe that is correct so this would be file file uh 14 Chevy Suburban uh this photograph is just labeled 14 then there's 15 and then 16 I believe those are those the three let me just have a moment I have to call it up on my computer your honor because the image is just so black in other words I I can't tell from the paper copy so if I just have a moment Michelle's going them up here oh show could you just show me the other ones again please okay this is 16 so this would be 15 and then this is 14 yes th those would be the those are the images um that I would be objecting to the later testing showed that this was not blood and the these three images which I don't if your honor can see them they don't Aid the court the jury in any event and the fact putting it in has no probative value whatsoever but it will certainly uh make the jury confused to think it was evidence of blood when it's going to be in a week or two shown that it had nothing to do that it was not blood your honor again I feel like this is a back door to your Honor's ruling already this morning that the state can offer testimony regarding the presumptive test not only the luminol but the km Castle Meer test uh he can Council can of course cross-examine detective Riley as well as any lab Witnesses present any uh case he wishes to do but like your honor indicated earlier it goes to its weight not its admissibility uh and this was uh something your honor decided and is allowed so just by virtue of the fact that it's a luminol test I don't think effects at this point it's admissibility now uh when we get to authenticating the photograph I guess I can do that now outside the presence of the jury we can go through the motions if you're on our wishes well Court does not think this is a difficult matter to resolve the state of course the state has its strategy but the state can ask its witness is this a conclusive test this luminol test can show not only blood but 30 other substances isn't that right so the court sees no unfair Prejudice this is the state's presentation Court sees no unfair Prejudice and again the court can ask how many substances would the luminol test detect if it is unclear so of course he's no unfair preice at this stage would the court at least permit short Vader about these three images so we're not taking up time in front of the jury and then I just my issue is preserved um for the record well the court thinks the vud is just as short as the court made it this can show 30 substances correct but he hasn't answered it well no I'm not asking but that's as far as the Court can ask that while the jury is here yes yes if the court isy unclear well I don't even know if he was present when these pictures were taken whether he saw it well I think that because Council knows of their case it may be that council is assuming that the jury is going to draw a certain conclusion not based on what's coming in now but based on what council knows about the case if this is shown to the jury just this photo with some testimony as to this is what the luminol test showed cour can see no unfair prejudice in that and cross examination that this isn't conclusive well more of the point your honor I would submit that this witness is doesn't have the proper background or authentication or experience to testify that what it shows other than it's a glowing purple image in the dark you would need someone with scientific background to explain what the luminol is in what it shows not a hearsay statement by a uh by a detective well what the court can Envision is this is I sprayed this section colloquially with luminol and that's what happened now how where that testimony goes from there will have to be heard and I think the objections would have to come after that point just to say this is this is the result result that we saw is not Prejudice unfair what does it mean that's the next question what does it mean well is the court then preclude that next question or wait for an objection on that that's why we're doing this outside the presence of the jury well it depends on what the state is going to try to get in the court indicated what the question the threshold question would be and then the court has to see where it goes from there may I make a suggestion with respect to the luot those photographs here yes I think a lot of their uh what would uh for their Foundation it's it is in file 14 out of 15 for a reason uh as your honor can see through the many many photographs that the state intends to introduce that there will be a lot of uh a lot of testimony concerning what was found in the garage as well as detective RI Le's reasoning and his training experience and his determination I'm not simply going to put the photograph up and have it conveyed for what it is there'll be a foundation for it perhaps we should wait until that time uh is uh at hand I guess uh for that determination and what I will do is just Mark before those pictures come up and we can do an offer of proof outside the presence of the jury uh with Detective Riley on the stand okay the court would prefer not to have the jury keep going out this afternoon so if we can we can go back to the other 12 and 13 so that that's where we are at this point yes your honor um and actually can I your just for the record if I can also this is on a side note apparently when even though the TV is off and it is something not being streamed I know that this is a something that is live streamed the ID issues are being that are seen on the camera feed are still being shown so the whole point is the jury doesn't see it off of the screen however it is being still uh live streamed the ID issues so that apparent is something we did discover during the the break but I want to make it very clear that the screen behind the jury has been off and we will ensure that the camera or the video camera on the side is off as well thank this before we put up is now back on the screen is 12 and 13 I will leave the video in front of uh detective Riley down until your honor indicates I can put it back up so the last line of questioning from attorney Shen hor essentially was those marks on those measuring devices detective Riley did not see at the time he was at the property on the either the 25th or the 27th that's not my memory your honor my memory and perhaps detective Riley can indicate is that he does not recall seeing does Rec correct and that's the last line that the court heard correct and that it therefore does this witness cannot testify that if that image fairly and accely represents what is in the image at the time he was present that's my argument and the state's offer your honor is with respect to the uh the what's that issue is the markings on the garage FL a small Mark contained on the measuring document that either uh detective Riley or one of the other officers actually put down there uh does not make the document move at this point the Court's view is that the measuring we call them devices are what they purport to be in the photograph the conclusion for jury draws about how those stains arrived on those measuring devices is going to be up the jury bring the jury back in [Music] where [Music] I know I appreciate you the council stipulate to the presence of all of the jurors yes sir yes yes sir when we left Council was still on voer I I've finished my V deer so I'll just note that my objection is that this witness cannot state that these two images and I'll note I make the same claim with regard to number 14 in this um package um fairly and accurately represents what he observed that day so I'll just relax we make sure the day we're talking about is clear is this the 25th or the 27th may I inquire your honor just to get it from detective Riley uh sir do you recall what day those photographs were taken yes these were taken on the 27th the objection is overruled is this States 9 file six yes sir States 9 file six will be admitted as full you may approach the witness I can again States 9A Sor if you could take a look at what's been marked as file s Garage B you could take a few minutes and take a look at those photographs do you recognize depicted on those pages please uh yes I do what is depicted on those uh they are photographs of the garage floor as we were processing it and some of the items of evidence that we U observed and collected and as you were processing what day this would have been on the again on the 27th do those photographs fairly and accurately portray what those uh items look like on May 27 2019 uh yes state would operate your honor there's also a PDF but that has already been aded BL dear yes um and I just want to clarify now with this folder Mark number seven garage B does this folder are all the images in there as you recall it that it fairly and accurately represents what you saw on that date of May 22nd yes I have no objection ction to this folder you're on thank you States nine file 7 admitted as full thank you actually show you States nine file 8 title garage C you can take a look at those photographs um record the screen behind the witness is dark and uh the screen on in front of him ping up if you can also take a look at that screen when you have a moment sir do you recognize the items depicted in those photographs yes what are they uh again it's the garage um of the residence and some of the stains uh found on the garage floor and on the uh and the photograph depict down the screen is uh something we found on the interior face of one of the garage doors and what day are we talking about uh this would be on the 27th as well do those photographs fairly and accurately portray of what you indicated they are yes the state would offer it the same inquiry may I your honor yes I'm going to ask the same question just so that I be consistent you look at the images in this subfolder on this uh dis um number eight you look at all the images including the one that's on the screen because it didn't print because it's a PDF or it's an actual an nef which I don't even know what that is but do all of these images including the one on the screen fairly and ACC accurately represent what you saw that evening including whatever uh measuring devices are depicted in them yes I have no objection to this folder States nine file8 admitted as full thank you sorry if I make okay States nine file 9 la garage deep so if you can take a few moments please and look at that document and could you bring up a photograph 10 please photograph 10 uh yeah 371 thank you uh next one please thank you do you recognize what's depicted on that screen in front of you and for the record again the screen behind you is is blank or dark yes again this is uh the garage floor at 69 Wells and some of the exhibits that we found uh and uh and staining that we found on the floor now with respect to these images were they taken on different days or the same day do you well I know that um 371 was taken on the 25th and 371 are you indicating that's the one right in front of you uh correct 10- 371 yes okay and the others the others appear to be taken on the 27th okay on each of the images that are portrayed on uh that document sir do each of them fairly inaccurately depict what you saw on both the 25th and then 27th for the image in front of you yes so would offer it may I what you uh could you just explain to me you're saying that the the particular image Mark 10- 371 was taken on a different day than the others that are in this image uh in this subfolder I mean yes and what is it about that particular image that uh you realized was taken on a different day uh I recognize the exhibit sir and I know that IC is that exhibit on the 25th when you say exhibit just because it's not shown yet you're talking about somebody wrote the word exhibit number and a number on it right correct that's in the actual photograph yes and there seems to be some kind of green material to the left you recall seeing that when you were there on the 25th uh yes and there seems to maybe be a uh some curly thing that might be a piece of hair just above where the little measuring uh devices do you recall seeing that yes and you were present on for the other images as well on the 27th the rest of ones in the subfolder mark 9 yes and they look exactly the way or that you recall them appearing that the image appeared that's shown in these uh photographs correct at some point they in the processing yes while you were present though while I was present all right no objection to these images stage n file 9 admitted as full thank you if I may approach again thank you sir States 9 file 10 labeled garage e can you take a few moments please and review that document okay can I see uh three dash 186 on the screen please and just for the record the screen behind you is blank the one in front of you should show that image yes I recognize and with respect to each the images contained on the document in front of you sir do you recognize each of those images yes from what day these were from uh the 27th and were you present for the when these images are on the 27 for these images yes okay in each of these do they fairly and accurately portray what you saw that day yes see it would offer may I inquire can you look at the uh the image Mark 4-1 187 in this subfolder I'm going to ask you to uh indicate to me whether or not the uh stain or Mark that's on the measuring device it appears to be the same color as the other spots was on the the measuring device when you were there on May you said the 25th or the 27th for these pictures uh these were on the 27th okay so do you recall whether or not that stain drop was there when you uh that's depicted in that specific image 4-18 uh it doesn't look like a stain drop it looks like some uh plant material well it's a no I'm talking about on top of the measuring device we look at the same picture 4-17 there's a number 55 in the picture right so I'm talking about the right hand smaller measuring device yes you see right in the middle of it there near the middle there's a there's a stain of some sort I think that looks like a piece of plant material sir oh do you know whether it was there at the time I'm just asking yes there were plant material there on the floor at the time this photo was taken and right on top of the measuring device you're saying it fairly accurately represents you recall it being there on top of the measuring device I don't remember specifically all right so um I'm going to make that same objection with regard to this particular image but the rest of them I just want to be sure the others fairly and accurately represent the way you recall the uh scene in that's depicted in these images on that date correct yes yeah I'm only objection to the one uh image your honor thank you the objection is over States 9 file 10 admitted as full States 9 sir file 11 garage F please take a moment and that document do you recognize the photographs depicted in that on that page yes I do what are they these are uh various stains found on the garage floor at 69 Wells do you recall what day these were they appear to be taken on the 27th and do each in looking at each of those photographs do they fairly and accurately portray what you saw the garage you saw that day on the 27th in May of 2019 yes state would offer it if I just could have one moment your honor the court cannot see that idea your it's a actually may I have a moment I thought I had a extra copy of this well first the courot will hear what the objection is after thank youor let me just ask you the same question in this group that's in folder 10 garage e do these all represent fairly and accurately what you yourself saw when you were there on that date yes I'm not going to object to these St n file 11 correct yes your honor admitted as full thank you stat n file 12 uh labeled garage G sir if you could please take a look at that document there will also be another photograph depicted on your screen in front of you take a look at that and uh just for the record again the uh screen behind the witness is blank is on screen with [Applause] mic and can I see 196 please 196 is also I believe that would be one uh yes have the correct one on the screen thank [Music] you s you finished reviewing all those photographs yes do you recognize the photographs depicted both on the screen in front of you as well as the document in front of you uh yes do you recall on what day that these photographs were taken these were taken on again on the 27th and were you present when they were taken yes and looking at each of the images on the document in front of you as well as the screen in front of you uh do they Fair well I should ask this first what are those images of uh these [Music] are the photos depict uh an item of evidence that we found on the garage floor as well as uh staining and some of the uh processing methods that were used and do these photographs fairly and accurately represent those items as you saw them on the day in May 27 2019 yes they would offer them de I'm just going to ask you about um the same question but I'm going to ask about a specific image in here just to be clear um you were present when all these items that are shown in these particular uh images were on the floor or on the car correct yes and um I'm going to ask you separately about 18 but all the rest of them those fairly and accurately represent what you actually observed on May 27th correct yes I'm going to ask with regard to exhibit 18 it's um obviously not taken at the same time as the first image that's up on your screen right correct so were you present when somebody put these red strings down were you there for that I was uh there during that process yes were you there when it when this picture was taken which shows the process being completed yes I saw the completed proc you did see that yes all right I don't object to these then judge States n file 12 admitted as full sir States n File 13 garbage cans please take a look at that document do you recognize those photographs sorry uh yes I do what are they uh these are photographs of garbage cans that were found in the a corner of the garage and I'm taking a look at all the images on that page there uh do you recall what day these photographs were taken uh it appears uh that one two three and five were most likely taken on the 25th and four was taken on the 27th okay now with respect to taking each of those images um in and of itself because they're five images uh do they fairly accurately represent what the garbage cans looked like on 525 and or 527 yes and um the state would offer them your honor I want to clarify the disjunctive Andor so were did they all look like that that you observed on the 25th of May all in all these images whether one was taken on a different day or not uh without regard to the scale that are depicted yes that's the way the garbage cans right looked and the difference is on the 27th people somebody put the little scale stickers that's from the evidence van uh it appears that uh photo 4 uh somebody actually wrote on the can I see photo for please we'll just call it up for you yes uh that photo there was definitely taken on on the 27th so if they have a little measuring thing and then there's somebody hand wrot something on it that would if it was handwritten on it it's the 27th if it's blank it's maybe the 25th or the 27th or we don't know just for this specific uh item uh yes okay and and just so that I'm I'm clear as far as the garbage paale is concerned do you know if they were in these exact positions when you were there or were they moved uh in the first photograph is how they appear as we found them uh and then during U you know our examination and search uh they were probably open maybe they moved slightly but they were relatively in that same position okay so relatively in the same position correct um no objection States nine File 13 admitted as 12 States 9 file 14 labeled Chevy Suburban sir if you can please take a look at that document okay do you recognize um well let me start with this uh photographs one two three four five six S8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 um do you recall or do you know when those photographs were taken yes when were they taken these were taken on the 28th of May 2019 and where uh what are the depictions of they are depictions of the uh Chevy Suburban uh from uh sees from lapam Road in new Canan and these photographs were taken during processing of that vehicle call it to New Canan Police Department were you present for the processing of the vehicle yes and were you present during uh to see all of the items depicted in these photographs yes okay now with respect if should say with respect to items one through 16 do those photographs fairly and accurately depict what they are portrayed in the images to be yes okay now with respect to 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 were those taken on a different day uh I see photograph 22 please and 24 as well please okay and just for the record the screen behind you is blank you're alling of you photograph 17 through 21 were taken on June 26th at tro je Bridgeport and were you present on uh June 21st was that the day I'm sorry um I believe it was 26th 26 were you present on June 26th yes uh were you present for these photographs uh yes and do they fairly and accurately portray um what they are depicted yes what are they uh these are um items or conditions that we found on the underside of that Chevy Suburban uh Seas on lapam road and that was with respect to I'm sorry 18 19 20 and 21 yes okay and do they fairly inaccurately portray just to be clear up to 21 yes okay with respect to 22 23 24 25 and 26 do you recognize those photographs yes what are they these are photographs of uh lat prints uh taken from it the exterior of that Chevy Suburban uh these were taken on uh the 28th of May 29 at the new Canon Police Department were you present when these photographs were taken yes do they fairly and accurately depict the would you say l Prince yes on that were on the vehicle that day yes St would offer n file 14 in its entirety may I here um I'm going to just separate up for the moment um numbers 14 15 and 16 for the moment I'm just going to ask you about the rest of them in total with regard to all of those images one through um 13 and then um 17 through 26 were you present in the location where they're shown uh that that so that you could say that you what's being depicted in there including fingerprints you saw exactly what's in these images is that correct and on the day that it was taken you were there you saw it right yes so let me just ask you there are three images that we um that there's images of but on the paper copy they basically look uh black okay so my question is um these were taken at night or were they're taken in the dark correct correct were you present when that was done yes you were in the room when they turned off the light yes and you watch them take the pictures yes those particular images um um were illuminated with a black light is that correct no you were illuminated using a chemical correct yes and the um photographs you were taken without a flash for those three images correct correct can I just have a moment um this was an issue that did arise before I'm going to raise my objection and depending in any event I'm going to ask the court to give a limiting instruction regarding but I don't object to 1 through 13 and 17 through 26 on subfolder 14 so what the court can do right now is just exclude photos 14 through 16 and admit pending argument and admit as full 1 through3 uh 17 through the Ballance as full your honor just for the record the state would be uh attempting to introduce those throughout the course of the testimony um at a later Point uh to hear once a foundation has been made uh this is just to expediate the process of entering all the photographs if I may um May I continue with the last folder thank you sir States nine folder 19 I'm sorry not 19 15 label bra Rover can please take a look at that document yes can I see photo 13 please sir do you see the photo reflected on the screen in front of you uh yes and photo8 please okay recognize these you do Sir with respect to photos um one well let me just ask you are all those photos taken on the same day [Music] um not sure about one in two um but the rest were taken uh three through 2 3 through 13 we're taken on the 27th so 3 through 13 were taking on the 27th where uh at 6 get to H 69 Wells okay and with respect to one and two uh do you recognize what's depicted in those photographs yes I do and what is depicted in those photographs that's a um the garage at 69 ws and anything else inside the those photographs that's a a Range Rover that was found parked into Center Bay with respect to one and two when you were present at 69 Wells on May 25th and May 27th uh did the what is depicted or does this Photograph fairly and accurately depict uh what the garage with the vehicle look like uh yes it yes it does and with respect to 3 through 13 um were you present during those photographs yes do they fairly inaccurately represent what they are depicted to be yes now with respect to 14 through 18 do you recall those yes these were uh photographs taken of the Range Rover uh during additional processing on June 26th at tro G Bridgeport were you present for that additional processing yes and do you recognize uh these photographs and what's depicted in them I do and do they fairly and accur accurately depict what you indicated they are to be yes state would offer 15 states 9 and V Mr R do you remember the question I've asked you like 15 times now yes I do is it the answer is the same for all these pictures yes all right I'm not going to object to these thank you stat nine file 15 admitted as full thank youor I Sergeant Riley um I want to talk about May 25th okay on two well may the night of May 24th into May 25th 2019 uh you indicated you arrived at 69 Wells at about 2 o'clock in the morning approximately ma'am yes okay oh what what did you do when you first arrived um when I first arrived on scene I uh parked the van in the culdesac uh we took a walk up the driveway um who basically cleared of any uh items of evid evidentiary value and then uh we we parked the van in in the driveway and a way to search warrant did you write a search warrant I did not just for uh Clarity uh what is the search warrant uh search warrant is uh authorizations signed by a judge that authorizes uh police officers to enter and search a a premises or person was a search warrant obtained for 69 Wells that night or that morning I should say uh yes did you review that uh I did at what time did you review that search warrant I would say approximately uh approximately 4:00 in the morning and after and I believe it what was your assignment again for 69 Wells that day uh evidence collection okay if I can sir I'm going to draw your attention to States nine um to the screen behind you which is not on thank [Music] you States 9 file one if you could take a look behind you sir do you recognize that photograph uh yes I do uh when you arriv that night did um where did you well what do you recognize that to be by the way uh that's the uh scene at 69 Wells and when you say you went up the driveway and park the van can you show where you went if you wouldn't mind standing up Sir your honor is it okay if he thank you well when I did park the van up up on the hill it was was over in this direction here um it may have been left out of the overall photographs okay and uh picture two out of that same file sir uh do you recognize that area yes that is the uh the exterior of the garage the 691 and is this what the exterior of the garage looked like the morning uh of 5:25 that's as we found it that's as we is this well if I can and then this Photograph sir uh that is a photo of the back of the house is 69 walls now I believe you uh testified a little bit ago uh about uh taking swabs off of doors is that correct yes are are there where you took the swabs that day are is that depicted in those photographs uh some some of the the point of entry is could you please Point those out yes here uh mudro door and here these French okay and just for the record that's the middle part of the photograph uh yes okay what about uh picture four has a photo of the uh side of the house I believe that's the east side of the house and on in about the middle I guess lower uh is is that a door as well yes did you swab that door I did and when I say swab it did you utilize that same process that you spoke about earlier yes I did okay now were you wearing gloves when you conducted each of those swabs yes do you change your gloves yes uh tell me why uh because we're looking for uh my quantities of biologic material and we didn't want to contaminate it with had a forign biologic material how often would you change your gloves uh when conducting these DNA swabs uh after sample so every time you swabbed a item you would change your gloves yes okay did you have any other protective gear on uh I was wearing a face mask and I'm actually going to go back to the front first photograph sir um and if I can just zoom in a little bit on that is there a area that you swapped on the front of the house to picted in that photograph yes the uh the front door here okay and did you change your gloves for that as well yes thank you um you can have a seat for now sir thank you right now on that day in um on May 25th 2019 uh you were the Evidence Officer is that correct yes okay can you again just explain what that means so it was my responsibility to uh uh identify uh items that we were going to seize and ensure that they were uh uh documented properly um any kind of uh measurement to need to be taken was taken uh any kind of field testing um I would conduct and then I would be responsible for the collection the packaging the labeling okay and the reporting is there a particular area of the house that on May 25th 2019 you started with um actually I'll just if I can just show you I'll start showing you some of the photographs we'll start with this as dates 9 file two I believe uh picture one uh did you enter the garage on May 25th 2019 yes I did okay uh was the garage door open when you arrived as it is in that photograph when we arrived that Center bay door was open were there officers on scene when you arrived yes and were there officers inside the garage when you arrived uh I don't believe so okay but the door was open the door was open okay now as you entered the garage did you um where did you go or what did you do so um so once we uh obtained a sech search warrant we began our walkth through and I entered the garage uh entered the rest of the home through the door at the front of the Range Rover and went and open the uh the front door to allow uh additional members of the the team in do you recognize what's depicted in that photograph sir yes that is the uh right side of the garage and is that how you saw it that day uh yes and further that was states to picture two this is picture three um and what does that photograph depict that's a again a photo photograph of the right side of the garage and picture four that is the left side of the garage and picture five of the center of the garage taken from uh one of the corners uh looking at the uh the door that would lead into the the mud room and kitchen of the first floor is that the door that you entered the house at on did I initially did yes was it locked um I don't think so man' show you file or picture six uh what is that photograph Tock that is a photograph of the uh that door to the mud room uh this is the what I call the exterior side or the the garage side of the door and uh on that door knob uh we found a um a visible fingerprint or what appeared to us to be a visible fingerprint and that's why you see the the scale uh the mark up there okay now prior I'm going to ask you a couple of questions of that but before I do um what information had you been given prior to as strike that as The Evidence Officer it was your job to determine what uh if anything would be found for evidentiary value and seized is that correct uh yes as other members of the team if if they saw something they would bring it to my attention and then I would uh decide whether or not we were going to seize it so at this point when you entered the house as the as as The Evidence Officer what information had you have that allowed you to make these decisions objection hearsay and vag well the evidence so far the court understood the evidence is that he read the waren affidavit yes sir so if that is the objection if the testimony goes beyond that the court can hear another objection but if the answer is you read the warrant after David I'm not going to object to that my next question your honor is what is the information that contained in that warrant affidavit that helped you or guided you in making your decision so I'm going to object on your say in relevance ground he got a warrant so he took his actions the objection is sustain um I can your honor um sir why were you there at 69 Wells that day uh asked an answer well at this point it be comes preliminary he was involved in a missing person's investigation that's preliminary it's already been established okay now I'm going to draw your attention to the photograph right behind you sir photograph 6 um on I believe file two now I'm going to scroll in I can uh do you see that marking or that measurement yes what it what is it uh that is how I would designate uh what was going to be seized I would um you know assign it you know our version of the exh we call an exhibit that's the ex we'll give it a sequential number uh for identification purposes and we'll either write it on some sort of label or we'll uh drop one of those uh you know plastic tents or placards with a number on it to to uh denote it and so why did you give this number a designation of exhibit 12 um because on this side uh is pretty clearly visible a uh a fingerprint and then on the reverse side of it we saw what uh possibly looked like some blood likee stain um so I mean given um what we had seen in the garage during our walkth through uh we found that this was probably a pretty valuable piece of evidence couple questions it can you see well you indicated a fingerprint was Vis was visible yes was that after any kind of um reagent or testing was done on it or before no it was it was clearly visible to the ne eye could you see it on that photograph um behind you please you could take a look uh not very well I can't see any Bri detail on the photograph okay and with respect to the exhibit 12 what exactly is that in reference to the I guess that's not a good question but is the exhibit 12 the fingerprint or is it the the um door knob or is it the door that it's on well this is uh it was my intent to seize the entire doorknob so exhibit 12 represents the door knob okay did you seize the entire door knob yes okay well the question the court has Council does that include the plate behind the door uh yes your if I can oh I do have to zo sorry there uh picture seven what do that depi sir uh that is the uh the door knob uh after I had fumed it with the with Superglue c cyano acry um and this is uh this was taken in the van uh prior to final packaging okay if you could walk me through please um pretty much everything you said uh how did you seize it we'll start with that so um again I done new gloves um you know wore a face mask and very carefully unscrewed it from the door uh without trying to disrupt either the fingerprint or any of the appearent stains on the interior side of it um prior to doing this I had set up a a small fuming tent uh on the van and this is uh uh small device that we use uh we secure uh the door knob inside uh that fuming tent once I removed it we put a small uh hot plate with a small amount of uh super glue or crazy glue on that hot plate it creates fumes inside the plastic tent and uh the fumes polymerizer kind of cement that print in place so there's no chance of it being destroyed inside of the uh the box that I eventually secured so it can get to the lab in one piece and the lab can uh can examine it how long did it stay in the super glue tat uh usually I'll set a timer for 10 or 12 minutes and I'll just start checking it it really depends on uh the item itself the humidity uh I keep a close eye on it because um like fingerprint dust if if you over fume it you'll destroy the print and um how do you package it after the fuming is done so after this was done I secured it in a a uh a cardboard box with the zip ties was it given any kind of evidence number uh yes we designated it as uh State Police exhibit 12 now with respect to State Police exhibit 12 is there also a number that is given to the exhibits to delineate in association with the case you're therefore um well that's a I could rephrase that is there an incident number or an Evidence number that's associated with this uh investigation uh yes there is and that's that's where a little confusion comes in so we have a uh we have a state police case number that we worked under initially this was going to be simply an assist to new Canan um all of our numbers or all of our uh exhibits are just numbered sequentially from one to whatever in order those are our numbers that's for our documentation purposes the intent was to turn these over all of our exhibits over to the new police department and usually the local police departments will put their own evidence labels on it which could have a different number again it's just it's just a tracking number for the individual departments then once it gets to the laboratory the laboratory will sign it yet another number so um now you mentioned that this was originally an assist to nanan what does that mean so uh again nanan uh ask the state police for assistance in this Miss iners investigation um we do that on occasion um so we will provide usually we'll provide crime scene services to the police to the local police department at the conclusion of which we will turn over all the evidence our photographs all of our reports so the local police department can continue on with their with their case um sometimes they will ask for additional detectives which we will supply basically we do as much or as little as the local Department asks now by the way with respect to photograph 7 behind you do you see the uh fingerprint that you were mentioning on this if you can stand up please and go towards the screen um here you can see it here this uh it's not a very clear picture but that's that's the area Okay so this thank you sir and just to clarify this is picture eight and picture nine uh can you see that photograph or the fingerprint on that photograph yes okay if you could just point it out for the record so the application of the sidelight see the flash here it'll really bring up the the ridge detail and the fingerprint and do you put it to the middle of the screen um yes okay now you said a s side light uh the S side light is right here do you utilize that in photographing fingerprints uh yes we do okay thank you you can have a seat sir now did you enter the kitchen at all yes I did and how do you get to the kitchen from the from the garage so from the garage you will go through that uh that mudro door that I removed the uh the doorknob from you will enter a small uh mud room um that has some like Cubbies and and coat hooks and and then you will enter a uh kitchen is that the mud room that you were mentioning yes so you see on the uh the left hand side of the photograph uh that's the mudro door and what is that this is States uh I guess picture two is that also the mud room uh correct now the door at the end of that in the picture I guess that's in the middle of the picture uh where does that lead to uh I believe that leads to the backyard is that a door that you had swabbed uh for the handles that you were talking about earlier yes and picture three picture three is a a photo of the kitchen um you'll see the sorry you see the center Island and in that in that far Corner that's a doorway into the mud room and picture four uh again a photograph of the uh of the kitchen uh the mudro doorway is to the right uh right adjacent to that purse on the floor uh speaking about the purse on the floor in the bottom right did you take any action with respect to that purse uh yes we did um through somewhere during processing we uh We examined the purse for any items of evidentiary value we laid everything out on the dining room table that was in it photographed it documented it and I I believe we seized it uh not on the warrant but if for safekeeping and turned that over to new Canan did you um with respect to picture five is this what you were talking about does it depict the contents of the purse yes did you do that uh I assisted with that yes okay and picture six um again just another view of the purse contents okay now with respect to picture seven uh do you see the on the bottom right there is a number 13 do you um do you see where I'm speaking sir about yes ma'am okay what is that that is a uh paper towel roll uh that we We examined and we found uh what appeared to be uh blood stains on it okay now did you put the 13 down I did okay what it for purposes what is that called uh we we call them evidence placards uh different departments call them different things but again it's just a number to designate the state police exhibit number that we're going to document under and item 13 is that uh the paper towel rolls right next to it uh yes is this it how the paper towel rols were found the holder or on the holder uh it was off the [Music] holder and I'm actually going to show you States nine actually I'll go back I'm sorry stes uh picture eight um upon looking at that I guess item 13 the paper towel holder or paper I'm sorry paper towels uh you indicated there was a uh blood like stain is that what you that yes where was that it was uh on the upper part and on the inside carboard tube of the paper towel roll who found that uh I did States uh photograph n I'm G to zoom in a little bit can you explain what that shows sir so this is the uh the area of uh the apparent blood that we found on the paper tow roll and what did you do once you observed it um I feel tested it um what does that mean so I uh we have a presumptive field test that we utilize uh in the major crime Squad uh it it screens for the the presence I'm object to this testimony this not qualified to testify to this well the the issue of the presumptive test is going to require essentially argument outside of the presence of the jury it is 425 what the court is inclined to do dismiss the jury for today we can take up the argument on the if I can you're test yes RoR I would just indicate I am not done with my Foundation questions with him I don't know if that will influence the Court's decisions with respect to any ruling well the testimony was about to be this is a test that we conduct in order two and Tony Shon stood up and rightly indicated this is the subject of a matter that should be taken up outside of the presence of the jury the foundational question was leading not inappropriately leading this witness to talk about what that test is and what it's supposed to show that's fine so the testimony that he administered a test stands but that's as far as it goes yes your honor so what the court is going to do ladies and gentlemen is dismiss you for today of course the holiday is on Monday we do not know what the weather report will be for Tuesday but as of right now uh we would ask that you report well in fact check the judicial branch website for information about whether or not juries are going to be brought in on Tuesday that information will be on the judicial branch website if we are in session and we will resume zoom on Tuesday morning at 10:00 we ask that you again not discuss the case not follow any media reports about the case thank you and have a safe weekend it appears to the court you may be suceeded it appears to the court that the easiest way for the court to determine the admissibility of the evidence is to hear the offer of proof through this Witness may I question him your honor yes thank you uh Sergeant Riley with respect to a uh you said a field test uh what do you mean by field test so it's a it's a screening test uh we use for the presence of blood it's called the uh Castle Meer test it consists of uh two reagents a pheno thalen and then a hydrogen peroxide when you combine these two chemicals together nine times out of 10 on a swab and wait a couple of minutes it's going to change to a bright pink color that's part of the the chemical reaction if um we combine those two chemicals onto a swab and we get an immediate color change that's a positive indication for the presence of blood so the way we conducted test is we have a suspected stain that we think may be blood we'll collect SCT a small amount of that stain on a swab put a drop of the pheno thalen solution on it uh wait a couple of seconds to see if there's any color change if there's not we'll put a drop of hydrogen peroxide on that swab and if we get an immediate color immediate bright pink color change that's a positive uh positive indication and how many times have you conducted this uh presumptive test thousands and are you trained in it yes can you please explain some of your training uh my training is is U basically through the the state police forensic lab where uh we obtain uh the special formulation of pheno thalen solution um they provide us that reagent uh and then we uh obtain the hydro hydrogen peroxide and uh sterile water that we yield uses a solvent to actually collect a stain from a chemical supply house uh so the training was through uh forensic lab in in service program and when were you trained to do this uh sometime in the early 2000s and is there any changes in the way that um the uh testing has been done since the early 2000s no okay and is there any um do you continuously get that uh the items and the um I guess the reagent is that the what is that issue or what causes the change a reagent is just a a fancy name for a chemical okay do you get that directly from the Connecticut state lab yes I do now with what exactly is if you can just explain what the results of that mean the test oh I'm sorry uh I left a step out so uh if we get that immediate color change uh it means that the chemical reaction has been sped up so it means there's a catalyst present on that swab where we combine the chemicals uh that Catalyst that we're we're looking for is the hemog hemoglobin component of blood and does that um State whether or not or tell you whether or not it is blood or what type of blood or anything uh in relation to that it's it's a a positive screen for uh blood so it uh leads us to believe it is blood however it won't screen uh human from any other blood that contains hemoglobin excuse me hemoglobin so it'll uh it won't differentiate between animal blood and human blood does it test a positive or change color in relation to anything besides that hemoglobin yes I mean basically anything with the a peroxidase uh uh ability to it so uh certain foods uh horseradish turmeric come to mind uh you know there's there could be some other um other items that that would cause a false positive um however we just use it as a screening test if we uh you know if it's a suspect stain a substance we don't know we'll still collect it now with respect to the item 13 behind you uh just walk me through the steps that you conducted with that um so I would take a u a swab moistened with sterile water uh collect a small amount of that uh reddish brown substance onto the swab it's a very uh sensitive test again drop um put a drop of the pheno thalen solution on it wait a second or two put another drop of the hydrogen peroxide on he's talking in present well this is this is this is an offer of CR right but I I don't even know if he's talking about what he did here which was the question I believe my question was what did you do and oh uh after waiting a few seconds I would uh I mean I did put a uh drop of the hydrogen peroxide solution on it obtaining an immediate uh immediate result positive result that bright pink color uh I noted it as such um then later uh I packaged U the uh the roll of paper towel and noted the positive field test on the evidence label um that is the state's offer appr proof with respect to the field test your honor I'm also assuming it would be with respect to two can I just ask a one followup question with respect to other items that were field tested is did did you keep the that day on May 27th or 25th uh 2019 is it the same process that you just testified to yes okay nothing changes based on the substance or the item that you're testing no okay oh the court has a few concerns for first is the phrase positive indication now as the court understands the explanation there can be a positive indication for other than hemoglobin so the term positive indication by itself the court is understanding the testimony to mean positive indication for blood so just to say positive indication would be misleading as the court understood the testimony even radishes can render a positive indication secondly the court is concerned about the phrase false positive to be clear the court understands that phrase to mean false positive for hemoglobin otherwise if there's the hydrogen peroxide applied and immediate it immediately turns colors that's not a false positive that's just positive third concern the court has and the court may have to think about this over a period of time the third concern the court has is this the training undergone by the state police trains for blood only Court does not understand the training to include all of the substances that could render a positive result so if there are 40 substances that render a positive result Court's understanding is that the training doesn't include watching the change in color concerning 40 substances the training is very limited as the court understand to hemoglobin the court understands the testimony this test can not differentiate between animal or human hemoglobin and will render a positive result for other than hemoglobin so the court is going to take its time not render a decision today but when we return court has to think this through [Music] on certain matters the court plays slow pitch there's nothing else concerning the offer today correct your honor I can clear up some of those with the directions and the concern the court has uh onir in the nature of the state's questions I would just indicate that um but with respect to the offer um it Beyond address addressing your honor concerns no so it is unlikely that we will forget where we left off when we reconvene on Tu can I just be heard on a brief scheduling issue yes maybe throw a six to 12 foot pitch um the uh the defense your honor as you recall yesterday filed a motion to exclude certain DNA science and they specifically requested a quarter hearing now now um we did anticipate getting to some DNA of it's not all of it next week and so my concern your honor is is the court is inclined to Grant a foring which of course we don't think you should we wrote extensively about that in our memorandum that that could you know potentially eat up an entire day of evidence and so I just want to get this motion on the books um so then maybe we can get back to some fast pitch all well what the court uh can I contemplated this time trinness is a double header so we'll leave that for next week um and I'll just schedule I just looked at my uh uh weather app for one of the Connecticut um television stations but I will not specify which one it says watching a major winter storm for Tuesday so what would what should we do and how should we find out before Tuesday whether we're going to proceed or not is there way I can find out from your honor by email so that we're well what happens with the court is that over the judicial branch alert system the judges do not have to consult the website we would get an emergency alert but the court thinks that that alert would have gone out to others who would alert jurors not to come in so for other than Court staff it probably would be the website and and if I could just inquire other than this discret issue I assume the witnesses exced for today other than this discrete issue how much longer um we'd like to at least plan for Tuesday assuming we're going forward um how much longer we have a direct with this witness I not going to have a lot of cross and then at least we can I can we can find out who other Witnesses are going to be on Tuesday your honor uh we spent a good hour and a half authenticating the video videos so or maybe not an hour and a half but a good hour and not the videos the pictures uh I am only beginning my uh direct at this point to go through all the photographs uh I assume detective Riley should be done by one maybe uh and I'm going to be uh positive and say he uh we were hoping to I know uh detective Riley also has a is under subena in federal court for Tuesday so uh we will try and but I can't predict how long the direct is going to be I'm not going to argue with supremacy clause issue as far as I'm concern this court is more important than whatever is going on I completely agree with Council on that one I just want it to the court that I do know detective Riley is uh very much wanted in multiple courts well let's just see how things develop for Tuesday thank you detective you can sorry sorry you can thank you honor the jury has been excused they've been told to pay attention to the Judicial website for Tu we'll standard J today all right this honorable Spirit court now stands until Tuesday January 16

Channel: FOX 61

Views: 11,895

Keywords: jennifer dulos, michelle troconis

Id: 5yCacf2zSPY

Length: 160min 8sec (9608 seconds)

Published: Sat Jan 13 2024