Stacy Jones

Stacy Jones, a former Mississippi Bureau of Investigation forensic scientist, testified on Day 13 about processing the Cadillac Escalade after it was secured in Mississippi. She described an odor she characterized as decomposition and old blood combined with a bleach-type smell, photographed and collected items from the vehicle, and identified suspected blood samples, a pillow, a bucket, and a cell phone.

Jones resumed direct examination after the court qualified her as an expert in crime scene analysis. She described collecting an object near the cargo-area tailgate that appeared to be dehydrated tissue with hair, cataloguing cleaning products, clothing, documents, electronic devices, and personal effects, and packaging the recovered items into 12 large boxes for release to Keith Sprinkle. She also testified that samples sent for testing were positive for human blood.

During an in-trial exhibit discussion, counsel arranged for Jones to identify a jump drive containing her photographs; Defense Exhibit 79 was marked for identification only. On cross-examination, defense counsel questioned the approximately 12-hour vehicle search and whether non-evidentiary trash might have been discarded. On redirect, Graham asked her to identify savings bonds from the vehicle and read handwritten notes. Jones qualified words she could not read with certainty.