Mistaken Identity

“Dr. Pettis, are you also aware that a sweatshirt was found in a Dumpster in an alley, is that right?”

“I was told that by the prosecutor, yes.”

“No gun was found in the Dumpster, that you know of?”

“Not that I know.”

Be

“Yes, provided there’s no intermediate barrier, such as a glove.”

“Can you test for the presence of such residues in your lab?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Were you asked to perform any such test on Alice Co

“No.”

“You have no knowledge if any samples of residues were taken from Alice Co

“I do not.”

“Thank you. Let’s move on.” Be

“Yes.”

Be

“Yes.”

“And most law enforcement professionals, such as the police, are familiar with its principles, are they not?”

“Objection, calls for speculation, Your Honor,” Hilliard said from his chair.

“Overruled,” Judge Guthrie said. “Dr. Pettis may so testify.”

Dr. Pettis faced Be

“Do you lecture on blood spatter to the Philadelphia police, as part of their training?”

“I do, and on other forensic principles as well.”

Be

“I’m so long in the tooth, God only knows,” he said, and the jurors smiled with him. “Thousands, easily.”

“Thank you.” Be

“Yes, I did.”

“You teach this in your lecture course to the police, is that right, sir?”

“Yes.”

Be

“Yes. All the time. I do it to test my hypotheses and confirm my conclusions.”

“So you create blood spatter, all the time? How do you do it?”

“I simply spray blood, I use pig’s blood, at different garments. If it’s at a distance I use a spray gun. But short of that, I simply flick the blood onto the garment, as Jackson Pollock did with paint. It isn’t difficult.”

Be

“Yes.”

Be

Dr. Marc Merwicke was the most respected of the city’s medical examiners, and Be

Hilliard asked a series of questions that took Merwicke through the autopsy he performed on Della Porta. Over Be

Merwicke finally testified that the “shooter”-borrowing the term from police lingo-could have been a man or woman, but was a tall person. Be

“I have one last question, Dr. Merwicke,” Hilliard asked, returning to the podium. “Does your office routinely perform tests for gunshot residue on the hands of murder suspects?”

“Yes.”

“Did you perform a residue test on Alice Co

“No.”

“Why was that, Dr. Merwicke?”

“Lawyers,” the witness said flatly, and the jury laughed.

“Move to strike, Your Honor,” Be

“Your Honor,” Hilliard said from the podium, “I was about to ask the witness to explain his answer.” Judge Guthrie nodded, and Hilliard asked the witness to elaborate.

Dr. Merwicke’s mouth tightened. “I meant that we can’t always perform the tests we need to because criminal defense lawyers obstruct our efforts.”

“Objection!” Be

“But they did,” Merwicke broke in, pointing a finger. “Alice Co

“Move to strike the testimony!” Be

“Your Honor,” Hilliard argued, “defense counsel opened the door, with Dr. Pettis. The Commonwealth is entitled to elicit why a gun residue test wasn’t performed on the defendant’s hands, now that defense counsel made it an issue in her examination.”

“Quite right, the objection is overruled,” Judge Guthrie said. “I’ll not strike the testimony.”

“Thank you, Your Honor,” Hilliard said. “Permit me a minute while I determine if I have any further questions.”

Be

“I have no further questions, Your Honor,” Hilliard said, his tone ringing with confidence as he gathered his papers and took his seat.