Saturday, June 11, 2011

Ronald Murdock ,Forensic Supervisor, OCSO


Ronald Murdock testifies




Sidebar before next witness.
The jury re enters. He is explaining his duties.He explains the "total station program" Murdock responded to the crime scene, removed vegetation & was in charge of diagramming the scene.   It is a tool to develop diagram of crime scene and area of found evidence. Murdock made a diagram of the area here Caylee's remains were found. He circled areas where bones were found, not individual bones.
He is being shown diagrams that were made. His lap top is connected for viewing.
He is explaining a pic of overview of area on Suburban Drive. He points out grouping of bones. There are reported to be 8 red circles he has drawn.
Area A  had a "D" is where Duct tape was found. Hinkel Consumer Adhesives on tape. There is a second area with duct tape. No imprintation.
Murdoch being shown lots of photos. Witness is being shown pics of sheds at the Anthony home.Photo: State shows Murdock picture of heart stickers found in Anthony home.Murdock said the picture of the heart stickers was taken on Dec. 20, 2008.  Sidebar to discuss picture of heart stickers found in the Anthony home. Murdock is about to discuss his recovery of stickers from the Anthony home, but  Baez calls for a sidebar.  They skipped the sticker pictures! Now moving on to a photo of bedroom.
Picture of Casey's bedroom entered into evidence Picture: Jury sees picture of Casey's room from Dec. 11, 2008. Baez questioned relevancy bc it'd been 7 months since Casey lived there. 
Picture of Caylee's room entered into evidence. 5 Elmo dolls sitting on her shelf. Murdock holding Caylee Anthony winnie the pooh bedding in brown bag.
 Evidence bag. Murdock is now identifying evidence taken from Anthony garage Dec 11 2008. In Pic: washer/dryer, storage coolers typical garage stuff. Close up pic of items/ clothing in trash bags on shelf.  Another picture shown of a canvas laundry bag, it was inside trash bag. A lot of talk about what was found inside the black garbage bags in the Anthony garage. White laundry bag was inside trash bag.
Murdock explains how black garbage bags were collected from the Anthony home.
State keeps entering items into evidence w/ a total of 298  pieces of evidence.

Baez cross examines Murdock. No duct tape found in garage- says Murdock. State flew through pictures of evidence just basically asking for confirmation and then moving on. Baez digging in to it now.The only item where the same duct tape was found is on gas can. 
No where in the house was the same brand duct tape used. Witness excused! I'm so surprised the stickers weren't talked about more.
The witness is excused.

Jennifer Welch, CSI photographer, OCSO

Jennifer Welch back on the stand. George & Cindy did not return after the recess. It was dificult to work the site due to the large amt of vegetation. Welch said she arrived on the scene on Dec. 11 They had worked 10 days. 
She is being show pics of crime scene. 
PIC> Mechete and sheath. Standard issue
PIC>large thick vine roots
PIC> Palmetto trunk and evidence flag. They would have cleared west of the base camp. This pic was taken after clearing 0-4 inches of depth. 
PIC>pic of evidence flag(same flag as above) and bone found, Dr Schultz, notified at scene. 
PIC> of depth in which bone was found. Report> Bone is round and small
PIC> PIC OF ITEM COLLECTED AT SCENE


Casey is keeping her head down and deep breathing, much like she did when previous pics were shown. 
There were 390 pieces of evidence collected. Alot, was trash, pieces of black plastic bag that was scattered around scene and she collected the duct tape.  It was located near skull. Southwest to initial site.  
Welsh is being given an envelope with evidence. She identifies the duct tape found. Welsh is holding up small strip of dirty duct tape. Manufacture  Imprint. Hinkell  adhesive. Ohio.  It is appx 6 inches in length.
Welsh is being show evidence. It contains pink strip with letters. There is a a second evenvelope with letters. (from tshirt). Welsh holds up the t shirt. The letters are so small. 
Baez begins cross of Welch.   The skull was 19 feet from street. 
CSI: Skull 19 feet 8 inches from S. Suburban Drive.Baez used tape measure to show distance from road to skull. Jury standing so they can see distance.
PIC> stone pavers found at scene. 
Excused

Definitions of the behavior that indicates sociopathic tendencies


A sociopath could be sitting right next to you at this minute and you might never realize it, it could be the co-worker who tells tall stories, the boyfriend who dumps you at the drop of a hat, the friend who seems to have a perfect life, the online friend who is a little mysterious.
The terms "sociopath" and "psychopath" describe pretty much the same personality disorder, people who feel no emotional connections to others and have zero regard for the rules and regulations of society.
Sociopaths are not insane or mentally ill, they know the rules but they just choose to break them
Charming, entertaining, witty Sociopaths look and act like your best friend
If you expect sociopaths to have a crazy or sinister appearance, you're sadly mistaken. Sociopaths look non-descript, average or attractive just like anybody else.
Sociopaths come from all walks of life including well-educated, well-off families. Many sociopaths, therefore, have good social graces. They know how to dress and how to behave in polite society.
This doesn't stop them from lying, cheating and stealing. On the contrary, it makes their deceptions easier. Sociopaths from middle-class or privileged backgrounds often excel at white collar crime fraud, phony stock schemes, embezzlement, insurance scams.
Why sociopaths are hard to recognize
1. They're fluent talkers (liars). Even when caught in a lie, they change their stories without skipping a beat or pretend amnesia. They can have very selective memories.
2. They're totally comfortable in social situations and cool under pressure.
3. They use family or business connections to make themselves appear legitimate.
4. They often become, or pretend to be, lawyers, physicians, Managers, teachers, counselors, police officers and artists. Most of us generally assume people in these positions are trustworthy.
5. They're happy to exaggerate or fabricate credentials. Few of us check their references. They often assume a prominent person's identity/persona who is less visible/identifiable.
6. They will say absolutely anything "I love you," "You can trust me," "I'll never do it again." "I'm sorry", "I will never let you down again" The words, to them, mean absolutely nothing.
7. They construct elaborate alter egos/ identities where they are out the role of the person they would like to be, to disguise their own short comings.
Sub-criminal sociopaths
According to Dr. Robert Hare, many sociopaths (he prefers the term "psychopaths") behave in a way that is technically not illegal, but violates conventional ethical standards. Dr. Hare calls these cases "sub criminal."
In his book, Without Conscience, he states:
"They appear to function reasonably well as lawyers, doctors, psychiatrists, academics, mercenaries, police officers, cult leaders, military personnel, businesspeople, writers, artists, entertainers and so forth without breaking the law, or at least without being caught and convicted. These individuals are every bit as egocentric, callous and manipulative as the average criminal psychopath; however, their intelligence, family background, social skills and circumstances permit them to construct a facade of normalcy and to get what they want with relative impunity."*
SOUND FAMILIAR?

Dr. Neil Haskall,Entomologist
















George & Cindy are walking into the Orange Co County Courthouse. They opted not to be in Court the last day and a half.Prosecutors here. Dorothy Sims & Cheney Mason with defense here.Jose Baez just entered courtroom.
Doctor Haskell is the most recent addition to our Biology department.  His main area of expertise is Forensic Entomology.  Entomology refers to insects and Forensic refers to investigation into the cause of death.  Dr. Haskell uses his knowledge of the life cycles of insects to determine time and location of death.  He is one of the creators of this area of criminal investigation.  For example, he coauthored the first textbook on Forensic Entomology for law enforcement.  He has testified at numerous trials across the country and around the world.  This link takes you to one such case.  The FBI, Indiana State Police, New York State Police, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and Canada’s Office of the Chief Coroner are among hundreds of law enforcement agencies that have hired Dr. Haskell as forensic entomology consultant.
.

Dr. Haskell and his work have been featured on PBS, A&E, The History Channel and The Learning Channel as well as in Popular Science andDiscovery magazines.  His work has been published in several major journals and books and helped inspire the television show CSI.  The book “Dead Reckoning” by Baden and Roach has a full chapter on Dr. Haskell.  He has participated in hundreds of criminal investigations and testified as an expert witness in numerous criminal trials throughout the country as well as outside the United States.  Dr. Haskell is recognized as an expert witness in the courts inCanada and in 27 States in the United States.  Here is a link to a case where Dr. Haskell’s testimony may help free three possibly wrongfully convicted young men. Our students have accompanied him on several of his trips and participated in his research. 

Dr. Haskell has received 11 grants for his research.

Dr. Haskell’s degrees include:
- Doctorate, Forensic Entomology, Purdue University
- Master of Science, Forensic Entomology, Purdue University
- Bachelor of Science, Entomology, Purdue University

Dr. Haskell can be contacted here, or by phoning 219-866-7822





Dr Neal Haskell on the stand he is a forensics science professor. He has been an expert witness in 27 states, Canada, Australia, Spain. 40 or more cases in just Florida. Haskell is the bug guy. Says there are so many different types of "critters" to study. Haskell was sent samples from Casey's car in September 2008. He looked at larve from flies.Haskell says he found hundreds of tiny flies. Haskell put in a request to have a paper towel analyzed. In the past he called these "coffin flies" Haskell looked for signs of decomposition in these insects. Haskell says the flies match a scenario if a body was in the trunk and then taken out. Jury is all listening to witness. The bug talk is very scientific but Haskell does a good job of explaining it.The flies are attracted to a decomposition liquid--  Haskell says body in trunk 3-5 days could produce this liquid. Haskell flew to Florida and visited scene and impound yard


He found two types of blow flies and others which is consistant with a decomposing body. He found entire life cycles of flies present.
DR HASKALL STATES THERE WAS AN INITIAL PLACEMENT OF THE BODY SOMEWHERE BEFORE THE BACKYARD. THIS IS BASED ON THE NUMBER AND TYPE OF FLIES FOUND.
Haskins "Based on the recovery of the scene, I believe I stated June or early July," Haskell says about remains of Caylee Anthony and when they were placed. Haskell is explaining how he knew the body had been "deposited" at the scene. Haskall  states it was because of hte number and types of flies found. “I had no question that that body had been out there for many, many months,” says Haskell.
Haskell found species and groups that would be in a body with advanced decomposing process.
    Haskell knows Dr. Vass from the body farm .Ashton objects to Baez's questioning of Haskell's relationship to Vass. Baez moves on. 
Haskell told Dr Vass b4 seeing flies that they could be "coffin flies" The mix up of the words "trash" and "garbage" makes the jury all laugh. This has happened several times in this case.Baez asks if the flies were found in trash. Haskall corrects him and says garbage. In previous testimony with Dr Vass he would correct Baez on the use trash and garbage. Apparently, to the scientist there is a difference. Baez laughs and says"ok, here we go again." and laughs.  The whole courtroom laughs and so does Casey.
Baez is asking Dr. Neal Haskell about DNA analysis on the paper towelsHaskell did not send paper towels for DNA analysis. He sent it to Dr. V ass. He trusts Dr. Vass , his trusted colleague, to do what is  needed.
Baez is questioning him on the types of flies found . Blow flies can be found in  home. They are found where there is raw meat.  
Haskell found 1blow fly's leg in garbage. There can be thousands of these bugs around a body. Baez will try point out only 1fly leg found. 
Hanson can get in the trunk. They did not get in the trash. Baez is trying to get Haskall to say the flies came from the trash bag found in the trunk.    Baez: So it is your testimony, sir, that flies can get into the trash bag but can't get out? Kind of like the roach motel?  Haskall states there is no evidence to support the flies came from the trash.
Haskell is a gray-haired, bearded old man. Looks like a sailor. He's pretty sarcastic at times with Baez. He knows his bug stuff!


Post mortem interval. Procedure done on fies and bugs found on scene. It is done to determine time of death. Haskall states he does it on almost every case.   
Haskall states the body could have been in the trunk 4-5 days.Caylee Marie's body was not in car very long, said insect expert, read our full story here:  He states in his 50 years of entomology and 30 years of forensic astrology, this was the best collection. The OCSO did an excellent job. 


Haskell says they got as much evidence as they could out of the car. Reading notes now to check  of bugs. Dr Haskall looks at his report to find out if blowflies were found at the scene of remains. They were present.Baez: "certainly not tens of thousands?" Haskell: "Correct" He states that the maggots can go a hundred feet.  (Important, because Cindy said the maggots were there because of the trash). Most of the latre "colonizers"  are beetles and others. 
 Baez> Water would wash away blowfly evidence and change your opinion?Objection by Ashton is sustained.  
Baez> How much have you been paid today? 
HaskaLL> 22,000 dollars. By the way, I have not been paid , yet." He charges 400 dollars an hour to testify.
Redirect by Ashton.  Haskall> It is not funny in regard to the difference to garbage and trash. 
Trash is non organic stuff. Garbage has food and organic stuff. Flies do not go to trash, cardboard boxes and cans.  They go to garbage to raise their young. The trash bag in the car had trash.  There was no food.  There were only a few of the ford flies. It is possible a mother was transported to remians site and laid 400 eggs thus the presence of pupua. Key point: bugs were feeding on fluid when it was wiped up from trunk.


Baez is showing pics of the trash collected. Dr Haskall testifies to the state of the trash he studied.Baez> You did not check to see if there were openings for the flies to get into the trunk.
Haskall> NO. 
Baez is showing him the pics and asking him about inorganic materials. 
Haskall> There is not inorganic material. For the flies to be present , there would have to be a great amount of trash. 


Excused.


BOTTOM LINE, THE PRIMARY BUGS WERE NOT FOUND AT REMAIN SITE. HOWEVER, THE PAPER TOWELS IN THE TRUNK HAD HUNDREDS OF FLIES . THE HAD THE PRIMARY BUGS ASSOCIATED WITH DECOMP. THE FLIES HAD ADIPOSE TISSUE, BY PRODUCT OF DECOMP. IN HIS OPINION, SOMEONE HAD TRIED TO WIPE DECOMP FLUIDS IN THE TRUNK.  BASED ON FLIES AND HEAT PATTERNS IN JUNE 2008, CAYLEE HAD TO HAVE BEEN IN TRUNK 4-5 DAYS PRIOR TO PLACEMENT IN WOODS. 

Friday, June 10, 2011

Robin Maynard, Crime Scene Investigator OCSO






Robin Maynard was involved in collection of evidence at the scene of Caylees' remains. Maynard says she was responsible for documenting bug evidence from where Caylee's remains were found. Evidence was collected over svl days. Robin Maynard is being shown evidence and she identifies it. It is pupa. It was collected on 89OO. Suburban Drive. She documented location of collection. Evidence was given later to Dr. Neil Haskall.
Prosecuter Burdick asks for a large amount of separate evidence.  She identifies the evidence as bugs collected in December, 2008. There are many envelopes given to Ms. Maynard. She is given a larger package. She identiffies the label with her handwriting. It is the a piece of cardboard with pink heart shape sticker.

Baez  crosses.Nothing significant. Questions her on collection process.Baez asking witness about crime scene being a common dumping ground and area where kids walk to nearby school. overruled.
Excused.
Recess for today.
Baez calls for mistrial because of superimposed video with duct tape calls highly prejudicial and speculative Odd tense moment because had to pause because of jurors cackling in the hallway.
No reaction from CA on discussion of this video state says it was fair and necessary  Judge Perry denies motion for mistrial.

Dr. Michael Vincent, second testimony





Dr Michael Vincent is on the stand. He identifies evidence folder with maggots in container. He sent item to Dr Neil Haskall for evaluation.
He is looking at another evidence folder. It is pupa, bugs late stage . They were collected on Aug 28, 2008. They were collected from trash in car.
Dr. Vincent affirms that he has training in entomology. He can testify to growth cycle of bugs and the potential evidence they can render in death  cases.
Dr. Vincent did not see bugs in trunk on July 16th, 2008/
Excused.

Dr Michael Warren, Forensic Anthropologist.

Picture superimposed over skull to show placement of tape.



 Jury re enters court.  
Warren returns to the stand. Warren is member of the human identification laboratory.. He is testifying to his background, education and work history.
Judge Perry reads to jury on the video.Perry states video only illustrates expert witness opinion. Jury may believe or disbelieve video The jury is about to see the animated video. Im interested to see wht Caylee Anthony's face. She is talking but I  see her looking at screen. She looks mad. Warren: Skull/photo of individual superimposed. See if teeth, osteometric points on the skull to see if there is a match. Warren: Used technique to scale skull with duct tape. Video will be sThe video lines up the skull with Caylee's eyes and teeth. Then a strip of duct tape appears above the mouth shown in court now. The video lines up the skull with Caylee's eyes and teeth. Then a strip of duct tape appears above the mouth.








Video showed a faded skull over Caylee's face in pix with her mom.  Baez asks Warren about location of duct tape and hair mat. Baez asked if graphic video was to appeal to jury's emotion. State objects and sidebar called immediately.Baez just finished asking Dr. Warren if this was a stunt out of presence of jury. He said no   Jury is out of courtroom.
Break.
Warren did not know another piece of duct tape found at the scene. Warren tells Ashton duct tape placed before decomposition. Warren: Duct tape never stuck to the bone. Duct tape stays in place as support for the mandible. Warren: Hair not uncommon to find around base of skull like a "bird's nest. Warren: Hair not uncommon to find around base of skull like a "bird's nest. 
Michael  Warren can  not testify to position of body and hair. 

Discussion , video of Caylee as skeleton.

Video in courtroom shows Caylee turning into a skeleton. Video shown w/o jurors in courtroom. Video shows size/shape of duct tape superimposed over Caylee's live face then turn to skull.  Baez calls video disgusting. CA did not cry as video shown in courtroom. She appeared upset. Baez  questions Dr. Michael Warren, anthropology prof. at University of Florida.Warren: Skull photo taken with photographic scale, also tape then superimposing on Caylee's face,
 Judge Perry> Unfortunately in a homicide case evidence is not so nice . Perry: Allows Dr. Warren testimony, video.

Dr J. Garavaglia, Chief Medical Examiner








SIDEBAR. Dr.Garavaglia  is testifying to her background.  She is testifying on how and when she was notified of remains found. She was going out of town and had Dr Utz and Dr Schultz handle the site. It generally takes a long time to cover items at the scene. She reviewed all the photographs at scene and went out to site to make sure other aspects of recovery were taking place to facilitate her examination.
She is being shown pic of hair mat. She was asked for it to be returned from FBI. It looks like there is still bone attached. She would have examined photo. It is a pic of hair mat.There are roots grown through hair.
Next pic, she was shown and reviewed photo as part of her examination. Pic of hair mat and the roots grown completely through hair mats. The hair mat has holes probably due to insect activitiy. ReporPhoto of hair looks like a child's wig but dirtyt>
Pic> teased out some of the  hair.  They used hair for toxicology. The length of hair is more than 6 inches.






ic> taken by direction of Dr. It is a pic of hair next to size of root for size comparison.



Pic> pic of soiled blanket.  There are figures on the blanket. She took photos.
Pic> It is a closer photo of figures on blanket. (Winnie the Pooh and Piglet.) This was reported to be Caylees  favorite blanket.


Pic> Pic of blanket. It had plant activity growing through it.
Pic> Astounding, Pic of plants growing through blanket. It looks like a spread out of blanket with a huge pile of bean sprouts all over it.  Wow! I am disturbed.



Pics>Other pics of root growth through  blanket.

Pics> Roots growing through black plastic bag


Pics> It was canvas on outside with vinyl inside. Outside of bag is covered in roots growing into canvas bag.
Roots and plants lot more recognizable than the blanket in photo state trying to show it had been there for awhile


Piece of shirt found where Caylee was dumped.
The shirt was disintergrated. All that was left was tag and stiching, hems.  
same type of shirt Caylee wore


She is testifying about the methodology of identification. They do not use teeth in childen. They used DNA, nuclear and mitocholdrial DNA.  They sent bone. She is shown and she identifies pic of bone after return from FBI lab. There is a portion missing from bone to use for identification.It is a tibial bone. The FBI identified the bones as belonging to Caylee Marie Anthony. 
Her job is to assist in the determination of manner and cause of death. Manner is based on scientifc principles. HIstory,condition of body, lab and results . Sidebar.
Dr. G returns and identifies package containing body bag . Frank Ashton is asking Dr G. to identify packages containing . Dr G. explains manner of death: opinion based on scientific, medical info and other factors.Her opinion is that Caylee died of homicide. Homicide based on 3 reasons: Child injury/missing not reported immediately like Caylee. Dr G> :child's body hidden, "thrown out in a field."
These bodies always found in closed containers . The duct tape located on the lower half of face. "No child shld have duct tape on the face when it dies." Dr. G explains cause of death: Chain of events that initiates the death.  Drr.G> Cause of death homicide of undermined means. Objects that could cause death are duct tape, if over mouth or nose; suffocation with bag over head.Child could die as result of chloroform.Dr G> says child could absolutely die from overexposure to chloraform.Dr. G.>   Not enough scientific info to say means of how homicide occurred
Dr. G > with just bones she can't rule out even a shooting. Cross examine by Mason. Didn't know about "circus-like atmosphere around Anthony home." Mason gets Dr G to say she knew chloroform was possibility before she began examining remains from investigators Tests for volatile chemicals limited because they were mostly bones. Dr.G>tests came back negative. Said doctor tested for volatiles in hair, soil, scrapings from bone marrow, washing of cranial cavity.  Ashton overruled several times related to dr. Goldberger being allowed to test bones for Xanax,
: Dr. G> "Nothing from media entered my decision."Homicide only logical conclusion.  "You can never det. manner of death...just on examining the body." Mason circumstantial evidence says probably a homicide? Dr.G says no not probably only logical conclusion


Big moment of case Dr. G  talks about drownings always reporting mason says that has nothing to do with case... Though was opening statement.Mason wants his question answered Ashton objects to him instructing witness. Like watching a tennis match jurors eyes back and forth between Mason and Dr.G.


DR. G. and Cheney Mason discussion appears heated. 
Jeff Ashton now questions. Body after 2 months would be skeletonized. Excused.