ORIGINAL. Troy C.8ennett, Jr., Clerk THE STATE OF TEXAS IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF VS. BASTROP COUNTY, TEXAS RODNEY REED 21ST JUDICIAL DISTRICT

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1 .CAUSE NO. 0 /f' THE STATE OF TEXAS VS. RODNEY REED X X X X X N THE DSTRCT COURT OF BASTROP COUNTY, TEXAS ST JUDCAL DSTRCT REPORTER'S RECORD JURY TRAL GULT/NNOCENCE MAY, MORNNG SESSON VOLUME OF / ORGNAL FLED N COURT OF r.p'mna PPEALS SEP Troy C.ennett, Jr., Clerk

2 "."!...!,.. On the th day of May,, the above entitled and numbered cause came on for hearing before said Honorable Court, Harold R. Towslee, Judge Presiding, and the following proceedings were had: Volume of 0 GULT-NNOCENCE PHASE (PAGES THROUGH ) 0

3 APPEARANCES: 0 For the State Mr. Charles Penick District Attorney, Bastrop County 0 Pecan Street Bastrop, Texas 0 SBOT #000 () - Mr. Forrest Sanderson Assistant District Attorney 0 Pecan Street Bastrop, Texas 0 SBOT #000 () - Ms. Lisa Tanner Assistant Attorney General P. O. Box Austin, Texas - SBOT #00 () -0 0 For the Defendant Mr. Calvin Garvie Attorney at Law N. Bell St., P. O. Box Bellville, Texas SBOT #000 (0) - Ms. Lydia Clay-Jackson Attorney at Law 00 N. San Jacinto Conroe, Texas 0 SBOT #00 (0) 0-

4 CHRONOLOGCAL NDEX WTNESS APPEARANCES PAGE MORNNG SESS"ON KAREN BLAKLEY (CONTNUED)! DRECT EXAMNATON BY MS. TANNER CONTNUED CROSS-EXAMNATON BY MR. GARVE REDRECT EXAMNATON BY MS. TANNER 0 RECROSS EXAMNATON BY MR. GARVE FURTHER REDRECT EXAMNATON BY MS. TANNER RECESS JMMY LEWS FENNELL DRECT EXAMNATON BY MR. SANDERSON RECESS DRECT EXAMNATON BY MR. SANDERSON CONTNUED COURT ADJOURNED FOR A LUNCH BREAK COURT REPORTER'S CERTFCATE "

5 EXHBT NDEX VOLUME * All State's Exhibits marked prior to trialin Vol., Page. (Volume No./Page No.) No. Description *Mrkd dnt'd Ofrd Admit S- HEB Shirt / 0 0 S- Knife / 0 0 D- Photo 0

6 (Day, Morning Session, May, ; Cause Number 0, the State of Texas versus Rodney Reed.) (Whereupon the Jury returned to the courtroom and the following proceedings were had open Court.) THE COURT: Please be 0 seated. Thank you very much. Go ahead. MS. TANNER: Thank you, Your Honor. DRECT EXAMNATON (CONTNUED) QUESTONS BY MS. TANNER: Ms. Blakely, have a few additional questions for you. Due to the late hour yesterday forgot about some things. One of the first things wanted to 0 ask you about was, when you first went out to the crime scene where Stacey Stites's body was, was she covered up with anything or was she still exposed? She was covered with a heavy blanket, a green one. couldn't tell if it was a rug or

7 blanket, but it was rather heavy. Who had done that? An officer that arrived at the scene before we arrived there. And did you uncover the body when you got there? Yes. And when you uncovered her body, did that 0 blanket ever get put back on her body at any time? No. When you got there and saw the green blanket on her body and took it off was dressed in the fashion that we her pants on and her bra on? she still saw her, with she was. Would there have been any way for the blanket to get in and affect what you found in any 0 way, body, the inside -- the covered parts of her the parts covered with her clothing? Not inside her clothing, no. What effect did that blanket have on her body with regard to it being over her? t attracted the heat and made the moisture collect and made a humid condition underneath,

8 kept it wet and warm. We talked yesterday about an unusual injury you saw on Stacey's breast? Yes. Can you describe that for the jury? wasn't sure what it was, when lifted up the bra the underside of the breast was brown and wrinkly. t had the look of leather, and when touched them they we stiff to the 0 touch, about where the underwires would reach and underneath the nipples. When you found her body, where was it in relation to the sun? Was it in the shade or in the direct sun shine? No, it was in the direct sun. Did those appear to be burns? exhibit. ) (ndicating on Like said, didn't know what they were, but had a conversation with Dr. Bayardo. 0 MR. GARVE: Objection, as to a conversation with someone else, that would be hearsay. THE COURT: agree. (BY MS. TANNER) Based on what you saw, do you have any idea how those injuries got there?

9 do have an opinion. And what would that opinion be? MR. GARVE: Objection, calls for speculation. THE COURT: t's overruled. You may answer that question. My opinion is that it had something to do with the fact that she had a black bra on, on a day that was clear and warm, very warm, the 0 humidity was about 0, and the bra may have damaged her skin; and since she was deceased the body was not able to compensate for that. (BY MS. TANNER) And black attracts more he~t than white, right? it attracts heat and sunlight. 0 Okay. Now you indicated that two days after this murder that you went and saw the truck? Yes. And that was the second time that you had seen the truck? That's correct. Were you involved in the full-blown processing of the truck? No. Now, on that' second day that you went, was

10 0 there a particular piece of evidence that you were directed to seize? Yes. What was that? A red shirt. An HEB shirt. Where was that shirt located? n the back of the truck. (,. L n the back of that truck? n the extended cab part. 0 Did you, in fact, seize that red shirt? we did. show you what has been marked State's Exhibit Number and ask if you can identify this item? can. And what is State's Exhibit? A red HEB shirt, and it has a little lazer tag that says Tostitos of something -- cents. And is that the shirt that you seized from the 0 cab of the truck on April,? Yes. MS. TANNER: The State offers State's Exhibit Number. (State's Exhibit No. was offered into evidence.)!!

11 MR. GARVE: No objection. THE COURT: t's admitted. (State's Exhibit No. was admitted into evidence.) (BY MS. TANNER) And that looks like a sticker \. 0 that you have on a product in a store? Right. And is this a shirt that you would expect to see MR. GARVE: Objection, it's speculation. THE COURT: Sustained. (BY MS. TANNER) Yes. Have you ever shopped at HEB? Have you seen employees at HEB wear shirts like this? Yes. 0 Okay. You previously indicated that you did not do the vast majority of the DNA in this case because of a That's correct. prior commitment? But you touched on the fact that you did some DNA on one suspect?

12 Yes. Who was that? Mike Kirby. Did anyone else do any DNA work on that suspect as well? 'm not certain, but know Will read my results, he was there when they were developed and read them and he approved them. He put 0 MR. GARVE: Objection, as to what anyone else did. hearsay. That would be THE COURT: agree. MS. TANNER: She just said she was there. THE COURT: Don't tell us what someone else said. (BY MS. TANNER) What happened then? don't know what happened after that. 0 s it protocol for two separate DNA analysts to check up on each other? that is protocol. You indicated yesterday that there was an earring back found in Stacey's hair? That's correct.

13 !. Was that earring back just laying in her hair or was it affixed? t was tangled in her hair. Was it easy to get out of her hair? No. Was the hair kind of twisted around it? the way the backs are, they're flat and 0 0 come around in a curlicue and that's like a spike that holds the post of the earring to the back of the ear, and that spring had embedded itself into the hair. Now, the last thing want to ask you about, you indicated yesterday that after you got back to the lab on the night of the rd you looked at the vaginal swabs under the microscope? Yes. And you indicated had that you found three fully intact sperm? Yes. Because of that, would it be your opinion that the person that left that sperm would have had to have penetrated the female sexual organ of Stacey Stites? Yes. '

14 , : Would that be recent or in the past?!. would say recent. You indicated that when you got back to the lab that you air dried the swabs overnight, right? Yes. You also indicated, did you not, that semen -- that sperm; over time breaks down? : n a living woman, yes. 0 Once you air dry a swab is the sperm going to, after they dry, stay the same or is it going to continue to break down? And by the same token, if there's sperm or semen in a body and that body is refrigerated, say, at the morgue or something, at the time point that it's refrigerated is the semen or is the sperm going to break down further? can't say positively, but that's the whole 0 idea of refrigerating a body, is to help preserve -- MR. GARVE: would object unless this witness has some personal knowledge of this, Judge. speculation. This is THE COURT: t's overruled.

15 Go ahead. (BY MS. TANNER) What is the whole purpose of refrigerating a body? To preserve any evidence and to prevent further deterioration of the body. And when you-all store swabs, over years, how are they stored? Generally they are air dried, ~efrigerated, and after we are finished processing the 0 results, any leftover swabs with biological specimens on it they are then frozen. So that same principle would apply to bodies, correct? That's correct. You indicated that in your opinion the fact 0 that you saw three intact sperm on the slides indicated that the sexual activity had to have been quite recent? Yes. And you saw them when? saw them about ":0 -- :00 or :0 that night. And at the point that you saw the three intact. sperms, had the swab that it had been on had it been air dried or had it been refrigerated,.,

16 to stop the deterioration? No.. And based on your training and your knowledge and your experience and any research that you have done, how long of a time frame are we talking about there that you would expect to see that? 'm sorry, got lost on the first part. Okay. Based on your knowledge and your 0 training and experience, how long of a time frame are we talking about that you would expect a sperm to be able to stay intact? have published documentation that says that hours is about the outside length of time that tails will remain on a sperm head inside the vaginal tract of the female. questions. MS. TANNER: No further 0 CROSS EXAMNATON QUESTONS BY MR. GARVE: The published documentation that you're referring to, would that be an article from!.? it would.

17 By Mr. Willot and Allard? Yes. And in that study, did they also say that internal vaginal swabs, to 0 hours later? you can find semen up That is semen, and all components of semen. 0 And by your testimony you're saying that intact semen up to hours, is that the figure you gave? That's intact sperm, up to hours. Okay. have some other questions for you, if might. Are you a medical doctor? No. Any type of formal medical training? have taught at medical school when was a graduate student, but other than that, no. Were you a member of that school that you taught at? 0 Yes. So you were going to medical school? No. What did you teach? taught microbiology. And what level class was that?

18 t was an undergraduate senior level. Many of my students were going to medical school. Undergraduate senior level? Yes. And assume by that you also mean that many of them weren't, right? Some of them were just biology students? would say that a good half of them had already been accepted to medical school by the 0 time that they were in my class and many of the others were in the process of applying. didn't conduct a poll. Would tell this jury what a pathologist is? A pathologist is a medical doctor that takes, in addition to the regular medical training, specializes in pathology, and pathology is the determination of what cells do, anything from i i _ a pathologist can be somebody who looks at cancer cells all the way up to a medical examiner, which examines bodies -- deceased bodies for the cause of death. And this person is generally considered an expert in cause or time of death? Yes. Well, at least cause of death, specifically,

19 .. right? Yes. Let me ask you this, have you ever testified for the defense in any of your cases? Yes. Okay. And how often have you done that? About twice. Twice? ~. Yeah. 0 n how many years? n over the -- guess it's been about seven years now. 0 And during that time period you have testified quite frequently for the State in cases, have you not? Yes. n fact, you are a State employee, right? No. You are not a State employee? Currently am not. But you were at the time of this testing that you're referring to, to the jury, right? Yes. The times that you testified for the defense in cases, was that during the time that you

20 0 were a state employee or since you have been away from the State? During my tenure as a State employee, yes. MR. GARVE: f might have just a moment. (BY MR. GARVE) While you were there, did anyone take samples of the soil in the area where the body was found? 0 No, don't think so. Now, did you do the actual search of the truck, or are you indicating that someone came [..,.. through and actually did the physical search? There were about three phases to the search actually, four phases to the search of the truck. initially viewed the truck, then left to go do the crime scene itself, and then on the th of April was there for the last phase of the truck, which was looking for the 0 red shirt and putting myself in the driver's seat and to look at the truck for a possibility if Stacey was laid on the hood of!. that truck or underneath the hood. Again, did you physically do the search of the. truck? Well, the answer would be yes, but not all of!.' (..

21 it. Okay. And there were other people who also did a search of the truck? Yes. And did you see any tests being made bed of the truck? No. on the So to your personal knowledge there were none made? 0 To can't say that. your personal knowledge? There may have been searches of the bed of the truck. can't answer one way or the other. n other words, you don't personally know whether that was done? All have are the notes that evidence was taken from the truck, but was not there. 0 When was Yes. you arrived at the scene where the body found MR. GARVE: May approach, Your Honor? THE COURT: (BY MR. GARVE) Okay, this would be exhibit. Was the belt laying in the roadway like

22 . this? Partially on the road and then off into the grass a little bit, yes. But part of it on the road? Yes. n this particular area, did you see any sign of a struggle? t- ' l 0 saw two drag marks, what looked like drag marks nearby. How close? Are they in the picture? No. This is State's Exhibit. Once again, can you show me picture? where those marks are in that No, can't see that. apologize, some of your testimony did not see. But just for purposes of my understanding, what route did you take getting 0 here? out. -- 'm sorry, let me separate these two This is State's Exhibit or a? THE COURT: Let me get something out of my mind. You say you didn't see her testimony, was facing away from you? it because the map was You were in the courtroom as she was testifying right?

23 l MR. GARVE: Oh yes, Your Honor, 'm sorry. For purposes of the record, was present during her testimony. simply did not see all the exhibits as she was looking at them. (BY MR. GARVE) What route did you take getting here? Getting to the scene where Stacey's body was found? Okay. don't see 0 on here, Highway 0, 0 but we traveled down 0, heading towards Houston, which would be going east, and we turned onto in Elgin, we would have turned right, so-- That would have been up here somewhere? up here somewhere. We would be traveling in this general direction, which assume is 0 south on this map, and then we turned onto. And that would have been here? No, up -- Up here? MS. TANNER: Calvin, would you turn so the jury can see? No, onto and then onto Bluebonnet from.

24 ( (BY MR. GARVE) Was all this area dirt area r - )" on? Was it all dirt area? Yes. No. Part of it was paved? Yes. And when did you get to a dirt area? When we turned on to Bluebonnet Road. 0 So the road itself was dirt? Yes. MR. GARVE: May approach the witness? THE COURT: Sure. (BY MR. GARVE) This is State's Exhibit Number. s this the scene as it appeared at the time you arrived? Yes. And which side did you find the body? 0 Off over here (indicating) in the right side of the photograph. THE COURT: Some of the jurors down here can't see the photograph? n this thicket here to the right side of the road, just behind the tape..

25 \.' (BY MR. GARVE) That would be to my right, or to your right? As you're looking at the photograph, it's to the viewer's right. Okay. And not over here in this heavily wooded area over here? No. ~ : t- Did you find anything in this area over here? There were two beer cans removed from that 0 side of the road, yes. When you arrived at the scene, did you take a cursory look around at the scene? After -- did not do anything with the scene until after the photographs had been taken, and after the photographs had been taken, then.r, did sort of a walk-through of the scene, yes. Who was with you at that time?. When did the walk-through? 0 ma'am. All the whole investigation team was there. Can you give me some specifics -- some names? Certainly, Gene Lawrence, he is the trace evidence examiner at the scene; also Javier Flores, who is a trainee in serology DNA at

26 . : the time; Terri Sandifer from latent prints, [. i... she was there also; and the photographers was otherwise engaged but they were there as well. And what officers did you see at the scene? Rocky Wardlow, the Texas Ranger, was there, as well as several others. Deputy David Campos 0 was there; Sheriff Fred Hoskins was there; Ed Selmala, who we followed to the scene was there; Corporal Earl Pence; Sergeant Skip Wobus; nvestigator David Lewis; and then later the Justices of the Peace Katie Warnke and Judy Evans; and there was also a game warden there, Ted Tolle. s all of your testimony based on your notes? You have no independent recollection of this? do, have independent recollection. When you examined the body in this case, were you the only one to take anything from the body? 0 From the body? i. Yes. No. Were any hairs taken from the body? Yes. And who did that?

27 did and Gene Lawrence did. And where did you take those from? took hairs from a sock, one of her socks; took hairs from the back of her leg; and also took Excuse me for interrupting you, but which leg? The back left leg. And Gene Lawrence removed a hair as well. And also did hairs ' \. tapeless, where you take a piece of tape and 0 you apply it to the body or the surface to remove hairs. took some from the body bag that was between her legs onto the body bag, from the body bag, and then also from her pubic area. applied tape directly to her public area and lifted it up so any loose hairs or hairs of her own pulled up onto the tape. that were loose was And as far as Mr. Lawrence was concerned, what areas did he obtain hairs from? 0 Okay. from -- My notes indicate that he took hairs MS. TANNER: Judge, 'm going to object to him asking her what Mr. Lawrence'took. She doesn't have personal knowledge of that.

28 MR. GARVE: Judge, if she saw him take it, she certainly has personal knowledge. THE COURT: Did you see him do that? THE WTNESS: Yes. MS. TANNER: Oh, okay, no problem. apologize. THE COURT: Go ahead. 0 He took hairs from above the waist, below the bra area. Above the waist below the bra? Yes. And was hair taken from any other area other than the ones you've mentioned? believe that's all. All of these hairs that you've mentioned were taken from the front side or the back of her 0 leg? back? Weren't there hairs also taken from the Back? Gene Lawrence removed one from her back. Any other areas? They were mostly confined to the body bag, to her pubic area, her back and her leg area. i:.

29 When you were processing the truck, did you take any fingerprints? No, did not. Did you observe anybody taking any fingerprints? No, did not. On either of the times you were there at the 0 truck? No. The fingerprint person, or who did the prints on the tag at the scene, the HEB tag -- Yes. -- did that person also go into the truck? wasn't present when the truck was printed. But you know that it was printed? 0 My notes indicate so. But you don't personally know? wasn't present when the fingerprinting was done of the truck. Did you turn over any items from the truck to anybody to do prints? No. That is, other than the HEB tag? No. Just so 'm clear, you did not do anything to

30 0 any of the items in the bed of the truck? No. So you didn't check those for blood or anything? No, did not. n your testimony yesterday, you were explaining the testing, guess, that you did 0 with respect to an individual in the seat, being pulled -from the car? Yes. And would you explain to me how that was done, because wasn't totally clear on how you were saying that? Okay. was really curious as to why the seat was reclined and the seatbelt was still engaged and why it would be left that way. thought how could you get out? How could a person get out of the car with the seatbelt engaged that way? noticed that the lap 0 portion was sort of down onto the seat itself but the harness, the shoulder harness, was still engaged. thought, how do you get out of the truck? Especially if there is a lifeless body, how does a lifeless body get removed from the truck if the seatbelt is,.., -

31 engaged? So that was the reason why we tested that, to see if Stacey, after she had died, was sitting in that seat, how she could possibly be pulled out of the truck one way or the other; and then how hard or easy it would be to get out of the truck with the seatbelt engaged. From your example, did you try it both from the driver's seat and the passenger's seat, or just from the passenger's seat? No, from both sides. And explain to me again, when you did it from the driver's side, you were pulled by the feet? Yes. And from the passenger's side you said by the arms? the arms and shoulders. And was the lap part engaged at that time? Yes. You're saying -- just so 'm clear -- Yes. -- that you were pulled from the car with the lap restraint on? No.

32 , ", i Okay. The lap restraint was not on? i No, it looked like it was sitting flat on the seat with just the shoulder belt engaged, ' i sat very much like it was. t looked like it so had been sat on, so sat on it, too, and just had the shoulder harness on. Okay. 'm sorry, that was confusing. How r. long did either of those demonstrations take? Not very long, five minutes. 0 When you were seated in this position, was it kind of awkward for you? No. n the position that you were in, was it necessary for you to touch anything? When was getting into the truck? Yeah. 0 pulled the harness aside a little bit, it had some give, and then slipped into the seat. And when you were being pulled from the car, in your example, did you resist in any way? No. MR. GARVE: May approach the witness? THE COURT:

33 (BY MR. GARVE) Does this look like the,., vehicle that you were in? it does. And does that look about the way it was restrained? Yes. Except that the -- was the restraint on this 0 side, on the driver's side or the passenger side? Driver's side. Okay. Without -- as you said, without the lap belt? Right. And when you sat in the passenger side, there was no restraint? didn't sit in the passenger side. You did not? No. Okay. So what you're saying -- maybe 'm 0 having a slow day. Let me understand you. So you're saying in both instances, when you were removed from the car, you were sitting in the driver's seat? That's right. And on the second -- on one of the examples

34 . 0 A you were actually pulled from the driver's seat, then; is that what you're saying? That's right, over the passenger Through the passengers seat? That's right. (Defendant's Exhibit No. was marked for identification purposes. ) (BY MR. GARVE) For demonstrative purposes does this look -- this photograph accurately reflect the scene as it existed at the time you examined the car the truck? it does. And everything appears to be the way it existed at that time? Yes. MR. GARVE: would like to 0 offer this as Defendant's purposes, Your Honor. for demonstrative (Defendant's Exhibit No. was offered into evidence.)

35 MS. TANNER: No objection. THE COURT: One is admitted. (Defendant's Exhibit No. was admitted into evidence.) (BY MR. GARVE) What other evidence did you physically collect from the scene? From the truck? 0 No, from the scene. Besides -- you've indicated that you did a vaginal swab and you did some swabs of the body, 'm not talking about that. Okay. You've also indicated that some hairs were taken from the body? That's right. Okay. What 'm asking is, is there other 0 physical evidence that you collected from the scene? collected all of her clothing; and also suggested to Gene, and we sort of went through this together, that we send in some ants and that we send in some representational foliage that was around there, the thorny bushes, we

36 sent some of those in to the medical examiner's office. We also took the white T-shirt. took some flaky crusts that were found underneath her panties, just above her pubic area; and, as said, most of her clothing. And that's about it. Did you take the earring back? ~ Yes. And what did you do with that? ) 0 put it in -- we wrapped it up and took it to! the lab. What did you use in doing this? How did you collect this? What did you put it into? What did put the earring back into? No, all of the physical evidence? Oh, the physical evidence. The procedure for collecting evidence is, in order to preserve the biological evidence, the integrity of that 0 evidence, is that it must be dry, so we put it separately -- each item separately into its own paper bag. t was then folded over, taped across and initialled. Did you use any plastic bags at that scene? Perhaps for the earring, but otherwise, don't recall..!

37 And you did indicate that one earring was missing? Yes. Actually, she had no earrings on at all. You indicated that you found on the body a mark that could have been a cigarette burn? did. You're not stating definitely that it was a cigarette burn? No, it was just 0 There are other things that could have caused that mark, right? it was very consistent with one. How is a scene like that secured? Are you speaking of the one on Bluebonnet Road ma'am or the truck? ma'am. Yes. Officers are instructed upon coming to a 0 scene that they are to make sure that the area j' is cordoned off and that no one is not authorized go beyond the tape into the scene itself, and that it is guarded until it's deemed that everything that is needed to be done at the scene is done.

38 r:. ' So in that instance did you block off the ( entire road in that area? No, did not. Did you see the road blocked off? did. You indicated that there was some material f that looked -- as you described it, mucus like i. material, in the car? did. 0 Okay. Did you take a sample of that? did not. did not process the truck for that. And what about from the body? Did you take that? No, did not take a sample of mucus from the body. At the time that you were dispatched to go to (. 0 the scene where the body was found, you indicated that y'all had started to process the truck? that's correct. Did everybody that was involved in that i! process leave with you to go to the scene of the body? they did. j. i

39 , ' You did not see the scene where, physically, the truck was found? No, did not. And you testified that that was brought to you, the vehicle was brought to your -- what did you call it -- The shop?, i i -- where the mechanics work? Yes. 0 Thank you. The word failed me. When did you make these notes that you have? Which notes are you referring to? Your notes. When were they made? Well, there are different times. had some notes that made had on notebook paper, made those Sunday night as was reviewing. These are my personal notes. And made a set of notes on the th of April, that are 0 recollections of the scene, that may not have been documented at the time. t was designed for such a case when go to trial to help me remember. Did you give those to anybody? did. put them in the folder that the

40 0 - people who are working on the case have access to, and also gave them out to the other members of the investigation team. So other members of the Department of Public (. Safety would have had access to those notes? Just those that were working on the investigation. Did you do any kind of report in this case? No, did not. 0 You indicated that you were sort of part of a team? Who does the reporting for that team? f there was a report drawn, who would do that? Are you talking about analysis, reports of analysis? 'm not sure exactly i. Well, analysis, collection of evidence? Who would do that type of report for your team? Okay. Let me just sort of go through the 0 scheme of things, the way we did it at that time. When we are notified that there is a crime scene, we get what we call a laboratory number, and that is put on a submission form and that goes with us to the crime scene, along with an inventory log of evidence, and i : \

41 . r.,. that's filled out at the scene. When we get back to the laboratory, we write an investigation report, if you want to call it that, that says what time we left, who requested the investigation, how many people, who went, what we did. Just a really brief synopsis. And sometimes they're rather 0 brief, so in this case, and in all my investigations try to make a more detailed notes and write them in hand and just type them up and pass them out to everybody that was on the investigation team. So there was that report. That is for our purpose only, for the laboratory purpose only, and it goes into the folder. t's designed to help us with our investigation. After all analyses are done, each individual on that team or the persons who are actually doing the analysis of the 0 evidence issues a report. So if there was any investigative report done by your team, it would have been your report; is that what you're telling me? t would have been -- we kind of switch off on that. Usually it's the lead person.

42 i And the lead person at that time was whom? Me. Not William? No, not at the scene, no -- not at this r particular scene. All right. MR. GARVE: Pass the r i 0 witness and reserve the right to recall. MS. TANNER: have a few follow-up questions in that regard. REDRECT EXAMNATON QUESTONS BY MS. TANNER: You said that you were the team leader at the scene? Yes. Did Will Young become the team leader later? Yes. And why was that again? 0 Because was going to be absent the next day, and then had a capital murder trial the following week and was going to be away from the lab thing and things would be happening and Will wag going to be there so he took over at that point.

43 , i-' Okay. And in response to Mr. Garvie's questions, you said it was very standard protocol with regard to a lab number and inventory and that sort of thing? Yes. Do you write the lab number on every piece of 0 evidence that comes in that goes into DPS custody? we do. And is that yet another effort to make sure that the integrity of the evidence remains? that's right. 0 Okay. For instance, State's Exhibit Number 0 -- State'~ Exhibit. What is your lab number in this case? L. Would every piece of evidence in this case somewhere on it have written L? That's correct. Okay. And all documentation~ Okay. And that's with every analyst, that's the number that is -- is this case's number whether it's the fingerprints or DNA or whatever?

44 ' That's right. MR. GARVE: Objection to! her testifying to what every analyst does. She obviously could not see what everybody does. MS. TANNER: 'm asking her if that's the protocol. THE COURT: Ask her another " question. t was leading, too. 0 (BY MS. TANNER) Do y'all, if one analyst does prints on a particular case and another analyst does DNA on that case, do you use different lab numbers? No. Okay. Through your DNA work and your serology work, have you had the opportunity as an employee of DPS and the State of Texas to exclude suspects, to clear them, have, many times. basically? 0 Okay. And in that vein, is that what caused you to end up testifying for the defense in a couple of cases? Yes. Okay. And when you exclude or clear a suspect, do you forward that information to i ".

45 . i. i 0 law enforcement as soon as you get it? do. Okay. You indicated that there were a couple of beer cans on the other side of the road? That's correct. Have you seen beer cans on a country road? Yes. And can you tell us whether or not that is an uncommon occurrence? No, that is not uncommon, by any means. y'all went ahead and collected those, right? Yes. Okay. Did you have any reason, based on everything you saw, to know one way or the other or to even think they were connected to this case? We were being thorough. Anything that was around the area was likely to be picked up. And you indicated that you did not take a 0 sample of mucus That's correct. from Stacey's body? Was it pretty obvious where that had came from? watched it run out of her nose and down her face.

46 Okay. And, by the way, when you were there and you saw her body, with regard to her face,. did she have on a tell? lot of makeup or could you couldn't -- didn't see that she had any makeup on.!. Okay. When you were out there at the scene, you indicated that the entire road of ~, ' Bluebonnet Circle was cordoned off, correct? 0 That area around the scene was, yes. Did that appear to be a very busy thoroughfare? No. You testified in response to both my questions and Mr. Garvie's questions about the length of time that you would expect intact sperm to be seen from a vaginal swab? 0 Yes. Can you tell' the jury, based on your training and knowledge and experience, would that length of time that you would expect to see intact sperm be longer or shorter if it was a rectal swab as opposed to a vaginal swab? would expect it to be shorter. And why would that be, in your opinion?

47 i' With regard to tails on or just sperm in general? n general. t would be shorter because of drainage, or any sort of elimination. Also the depth to which sperm was deposited is often very shallow. And also they just degrade quicker. t's not a clean area. t's not designed to 0 have semen in it, and so it would break down rather quickly. More quickly than you would expect it to break down on a vaginal swab? That's right. Okay. How many crime scenes do you think you -- homicide crime scenes do you think you have gone out to in your career? Homicide crimes? That also includes looking 0 at cars and trucks and such? Dead body crime scenes? Oh, with dead bodies. Probably about 0 to 0, maybe more. Have you, aside from actually going out to the scene, had the opportunity to observe evidence and observe victims of homicides in other cases?

48 . have. Okay. And would that be on few or many occasions? Many. n your training and educational background to make you a crime scene analyst, have you had the opportunity to view numerous other f' i-. \. homicide cases in that regard? have. 0 Okay. Have you, as a result of all those things, seen scenes that, based on your training, knowledge, and experience, told you that this was a crime of passion? Yes. How many times do you think? ' There are about four that really stand out in!, my mind. And why was it -- what was it about them that stood out in your mind? 0 MR. GARVE: Objection, that's other cases, Judge. first of all. t's not relevant, THE COURT: t's overruled. She may answer. MR. GARVE: Objection,, l '

49 under 0, also. Relevant value, if any, is outweighed by unfair prejudice. THE COURT: t's overruled also. Do you want to restate the question? (BY MS. TANNER) What was it about the scenes j \. that you've have seen in your training and in your background that told you that they were crimes of passion? 0 They were extremely brutal. The victim's underwent severe trauma before they died. Often it was a case of overkill. They were often very bloody, very gory. The victim often showed defensive wounds. That would be, often a victim, in order to fend off a knife they throw up their arms, or to shield a bullet or something, they'll throw their arms 0 up, and so in the case of a bullet their fingers may be missing; or in the case of a knife attack, they will have slashes on their arms. Also, they will have multiple stab wounds or multiple shooting -- multiple bullet wounds. Or they may be just beaten to pieces, basically. n this particular case, based on everything

50 0 you saw of this crime scene, in relation to your knowledge, your training, your experience and your background, did this appear to you to be a crime of passion in your opinion? MR. GARVE: Objection. i. t Calls for speculation; not relevant; and under 0 the relevant value is outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice. THE COURT: They are 0 overruled. MR. GARVE: All three, Your Honor? THE COURT: all three. You may answer that question. saw no defensive wounds. did not see multiple wounds. This did not this looked like a very clean crime scene. t did not 0 appear to me to be the result of a crime of passion. Thank you. MS. TANNER: No further questions. MR. GARVE: Just one second. MS. TANNER: Your Honor, may \ ask her one other question?

51 .' THE COURT: Go ahead. MS. TANNER: Thank you. (BY MS. TANNER) just completely forgot to ask you this. We talked about the injuries, the odd injuries on Stacey's breasts? Correct.,,. Did you take swabs of her breasts in that, in order to maybe look at some evidence in that 0 regard? did. Okay, and when you did that, was it the same procedure you did before, with the sterile Q-tip? Yes. And did you just use the Q-tip and swab her breasts? 0 wetted it down with sterile water and then swabbed the top part of the breast and then the bottom part -- and used another swab for the bottom part of the breast. used two swabs per breast. r And you did that according to standard protocol? ' did.

52 f -. " MS. TANNER: No further questions. apologize. RECROSS EXAMNATON QUESTONS BY MR. GARVE: Your information regarding in response to,,, [ her question about spermatozoa in the anal (., cavity? Yes. 0 s that based on part on the study that you presented to me by Dr. Henis and Byer? Not so much that as other readings that 've had, and training. And in this study, this particular one that you handed to me, isn't it also in some 0 instances where spermatozoa has been mistaken for other things? You mean other things mistaken for spermatozoa? 'm sorry, vice-versa, yes. t's possible. And those are things called artifacts, right? That's correct. And by the way, you didn't find any spermatozoa in the anal cavity, did you? i \!

53 r : did not look. MR. GARVE: Again, pass the witness, reserve the right to recall. FURTHER REDRECT EXAMNATON QUESTONS BY MS. TANNER: n that vein, that study that Mr. Garvie referred you to, what does the study tell us is the best way tq determine if a person has 0 been sodomized if there is semen present in the anal or rectal cavity? One is of the biggest tips that sodomy has occurred is if there are tears in the anal lining that lead to the rectum, very visible. and they are And according to this study, that's the red flag? it is. MS. TANNER: No further 0 questions. MR. GARVE: have no further questions and reserve the right to recall. THE COURT: That will be all, ma'am, you may step down. '

54 MS. TANNER: May she be excused to return to work, Judge? MR. GARVE: have no objection to that, Your Honor. THE COURT: As long as we can get in touch with her by telephone. MR. GARVE: Your Honor, just for the Court's record, yesterday Ms. Blakley did give me information to reach her in the 0 event we want to recall her. THE COURT: You're not going anywhere out of town, are you, in the next two or three weeks? THE WTNESS: Well, 'm going home to Bryan for Father's Day, but 'll be back. THE COURT: All right. We may call you. 0 {The witness was excused from the witness stand.} THE COURT: Let's take a, ' l i i morning break.,instructions Please remember the have given to you. '.

55 .!. (At this time a recess was taken and the following proceedings were had outside the presence of the jury.) i MS. TANNER: Your Honor, it 0 has come to my attention, a matter that feel we need to take up on the record, and want to preface my remarks by saying that have no doubt that counsel is unaware of what's going on and has nothing to do with it, but in the past we received a report -- or several reports from the witnesses that defense investigators were contacting them and representing themselves as Texas Rangers and as police officers, and talked to counsel about it and apparently it stopped. We've received a report that an investigator, John Vasquez, working for the 0 defense has been harassing witnesses. One witness, in particular, called us frantically this morning that he's called them repeatedly, comes by their house over and over, and they have told him repeatedly that they don't want to talk to him. The person that called me is,

56 ', actually the witness's mother, and he went so far, either yesterday or today, as to inform the witness's mother that there were warrants outstanding for her arrest and that she was going to be arrested if. she didn't talk to him, or words to that effect. That is obviously highly, highly improper, and would simply ask the Court to, if possible, instruct counsel to instruct the 0 investigators to play by the rules. witnesses don't want to talk to them, f the they don't want to talk to them; and, you know, that's that. don't think there is any place for that sort of thing. And as said, don't think counsel had anything to do with it, but would like to sort of nip that in the bud because this woman called us in tears and very frantic this morning. 0 MR. GARVE: Judge, once again, we have informed our investigators not do anything like that, and they all have assured us they are not doing anything like that. Obviously, some of the people that they have talked to are going to be hostile

57 i witnesses, who might say anything; but the fact of the matter is, that we have instructed them not to do that. And, in fac~, just so the Court is clear, co-counsel here has actually sent letters to all the witnesses instructing them they don't even have to talk to us, before we ever talked to them. The {. people that were on the State's list, that they didn't even have to talk to us at all. 0 THE COURT: s this Vasquez nearby? MR. GARVE: He's not here right now. THE COURT: When he does come, 'd like to visit with him on the record here. just want to make sure that this is not happening. This may be a long trial, and there may be many witnesses. just want to make sure he understands what the rules are, 0 etcetera. 'm not going to limit his investigation, but do want him to be forthright with the people. Will you ask him to come in and we will talk to him here in the courtroom? MR. GARVE: And while we're

58 , on that subject, Judge, hate to bring this up, but we've had reports of family members of this gentleman being stopped for no reason. THE COURT: And likewise, that should not happen either. MS. TANNER: Well, can assure the Court that the purpose was in an attempt to serve a search warrant, and that i. was all. We've taken care of that matter 0 since then, and that won't be a problem. 'd also like to let the Court know that with regard to that particular witness when she was told there were warrants pending for her arrest, we did check local, State and county records, and there are no warrants. THE COURT: don't want to go down too many side trails so we can stay (. i focused, but will try to clear this up. MS. TANNER: don't either. 0 MR. GARVE: Certainly, Your Honor, don't have any proqlem with that. MS. TANNER: Thank you. THE COURT: May we go ahead with the next witness? i.

59 (Whereupon the Jury returned to the courtroom and the following proceedings were had open Court.) THE COURT: Please be seated. Thank you very much. s this your next witness? MR. SANDERSON: 0 THE COURT: Sir, will you come up here and let me swear you in before you testify. Please have a seat right over here. JMMY LEWS FENNELL, the witness, after having first been duly sworn, assumed the witness stand and testified upon his oath as follows: DRECT EXAMNATON 0 QUESTONS BY MR. SANDERSON: Will you please state your full name for the jury and spell your last name? Jimmy Lewis Fennell, Jr., last name spelling, F-E-N-N-E-L-L. THE COURT: Will you scoot up

60 0. ' a little closer to the microphone so that we (. can all hear you. (BY MR. SANDERSON) Mr. Fennell, let me start with some background information. you currently living? Where are 'm living in Giddings, Texas. All right. And are you employed in the City of Giddings? \. 0 And how are you employed, sir? Police officer with the City. How long have you been a police officer for the City of Giddings? Approximately two and a half years. And how long have you been certified as a peace officer in the State of Texas? Approximately three years. i. For that half year or so that you were not working for Giddings PD, where were you 0 employed? Bastrop County Sheriff's Department. And what were your functions at the Bastrop SO? Was a corrections officer assigned to the u.s. Marshall's service in Austin, Texas. : '

61 .. And what did you do for them at the time? Prisoner transport and court duty. And are we talking about federal prisoners? sir, federal prisoners. Describe to the jury, if you would, exactly what it is you do as a City of Giddings? peace officer for the Basic patrol duties, narcotics, and kind of special functions dealing with the public, or 0 the basic protect and serve. i. Do you have regular hours or do you have hours that fluctuate from month to month? Hours that fluctuate. Let me turn your attention -- before do that, are you currently married? No, Have you ever been married? No, You have, however, been engaged, have you not? r 0 And who were you in engaged to? Stacey Lee Stites. Let me ask you some questions now about your -- the relationship you had with Stacey Stites. How did you first meet her?

62 i first made her acquaintance in Smithville i -, when was working at a dance, and then later became acquainted with her at a dance at the Oyster Bar, in Bastrop. That was the first time you met her; is that correct? that's correct... i. Do you recall about what time it was when you and she first started going out together? 0 Sometime in May of. Was that shortly after these events that you first met her, or was there a long time in between? t was shortly thereafter. How long did it take, once you started dating Stacey Stites, for the two of you to become seriously dating? n other words, exclusively dating one another? Approximately two to three weeks. 0 Describe a little bit about the relationship you had with her. How would you put it in your own words? t was a close-knit relationship. What kinds of things would you like to do together?

63 We participated in family functions, traveling to different places, going hiking and outdoor activities. Would you describe, especially early on, your relationship with her as being fairly open? MS. CLAY-JACKSON: Objection, Your Honor, this is leading. THE COURT: Sustained. Don't lead him. 0 (BY MR. SANDERSON) With regard to communications about personal matters, how was your relationship with her? We were very open with each other. Especially early on? f you had been dating somebody else when you first met her, would you have told her about that? Vice-versa? Yes. 0 At what point in time did you and Stacey become engaged? Somewhere around the first of the year, in,. Sometime in January would it be? around January, or little bit before the

64 i~ : year, in December. And did you purchase a ring for her?. i. Yes. And was it at the time of the engagement? i. No, it was a little after. Okay. Now, let's talk about where you and where she lived when you first met her. Where,. J ~ did you live whenever you and she first started dating each other? 0 lived Lake Bastrop Acres.. \.. s that in Bastrop County? Do you know where she lived at the time? sir, she lived in the City of Bastrop or correction, when we first met she lived in,.. the City of Smithville. And what caused the two of you to start living i. i in Giddings? received a position there on the police 0 department. Where was she working when you first met her? believe she was unemployed at the time. Q. And what was the first job that she acquired after the two of you started dating? She worked for Covert Chevrolet.

65 :! Do you know about how long she wo~ked there? 'm not sure. i And after she left employment at Covert', did she work? where She started to work at HEB. And was she working at HEB for the rest of her short life, that you knew her? Are you aware of the schedule that she had 0 when she worked at HEB, in terms of when she was supposed to report for w~rk? Let me take you back to her duties when she first started to work there. duties she had at the time? Do you know what When she first started working there, she 0 started the basic job of cashier and sacker. And what were her working hours on the average then? The afternoons. Do you know whether or not she was a full-time employee at that time or part-time? believe she was full-time. And about how long did she stay as a cashier and sacker before she moved on to other things

66 in the store? don't recall.. Did she, in fact, move on to other things? And when she moved on to other things, where were the two of you living at the time? don't recall. believe it was in Giddings.. Do you recall when it was that you moved to.. Giddings, in terms of dates? 0 moved there in December of. Okay. Let's talk some more, then, about her schedule, Stacey's schedule, whenever she started doing something besides being a cashier. What was it that she moved into after that period of time? She moved to a position -- think it was a managerial position in the produce department. Did she have a job title, or do you know? don't recall it. 0 And in the produce department did her hours remain the same or did they change? No, sir, they changed. What were her normal working hours when she was working in this produce department? Early, early mornings.

67 Was it the same time each and every morning, or did it fluctuate? No, sir, it fluctuated, based on when they got shipments in or so forth. On the average, at what time was she supposed to report? Anywhere from :00 to :0. Now, at some time during this period of time, both yourself and also Stacey and her mom 0 moved to Giddings; is that correct? Where were you all living in Giddings? n an apartment complex just outside the city. And all three of you lived in the same apartment complex? No, sir, her mother lived in a separate apartment from me and Stacey. But in the same complex? 0 Separate apartments? L. Was your apartment upstairs or downstairs? Upstairs. And was Carol, the mom's apartment, upstairs or downstairs?