1.Stacy Jones — Direct (Part 1)
327 linesMay 16, 2019
THE COURT: All right. Here's the challenge. They've exchanged, looked at, handled, examined everything, whether it came from this place or that place or another place. The Defense, handle, examine, look at, but everybody has an idea of what they want to show you, but nobody's that sure where it is. It could be in that box or the next box. It may take a while for them to look for this piece of paper that says such and so. But after they handle it, they handle it. And if they handle it, they rehandle it. It's very similar to what Joy's frustrated with. She had these kept in numerical order. The lawyers come up here and shuffle them through and out of order. She has to reorder them and make sure she's still got them all. That's what's happening here. And so, it's going to a process, and you all be patient with them and so will I. That's kind of what's going on is they're trying to organize it. As disorganized as much as it is it's a process. So you all be patient with them. That's my explanation. All right?
(Whereupon, a short break was taken.)
THE COURT: All right, Solicitor.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Thank you, Your Honor. The State calls Stacy Jones to the stand.
THE COURT: All right. Stacy Jones.
STACY JONES, being first duly sworn, testified as follows:
COURT CLERK: Once you're seated, state your full name, spelling your last.
STACY JONES: Yes, ma'am.
COURT REPORTER: Just go ahead and state your name and let me see how you sound.
STACY JONES: My name is Stacy Jones. Spelling, S-t-a-c-y, common spelling of Jones.
COURT REPORTER: And you can move that around however you want to.
STACY JONES: Okay. Thank you.
DIRECT EXAMINATION By Mr. Graham:
SHAWN GRAHAM: Stacy, I'm going to ask you to speak up so I can hear you.
STACY JONES: Yes, sir.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Currently where are you employed and what do you do?
STACY JONES: I am currently employed with the Simpson County Circuit Clerk's Office in Mendenhall, Mississippi as a Deputy Circuit Clerk.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Back on September 6th and 7th of 2014 where were you employed then?
STACY JONES: I was employed by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, which is the investigative division of the Mississippi Highway Patrol.
SHAWN GRAHAM: And what did you do for that agency?
STACY JONES: I was a forensic scientist who specializes in crime scene analysis.
SHAWN GRAHAM: In general terms, would you explain to the jury what a forensic scientist who specializes in crime scene analysis does?
STACY JONES: Sure. We respond when we're called to -- whether it be state, municipal, federal, whatever law enforcement agency that needs help with -- with forensic evidence. Predominantly ninety percent of those calls are violent homicides. So once we get on the scene, then we use our skills in each discipline of forensics to examine, to document that scene, and to prepare a forensic report, like one that would be used here today, in order to explain our actions and findings.
SHAWN GRAHAM: On September 6th of 2014 at approximately nine o'clock in the evening did you get a telephone call relating to this case?
STACY JONES: I did.
SHAWN GRAHAM: And would you explain to the jury what your understanding was of what you were asked to do?
STACY JONES: I was called by Lieutenant Eric Johnson with the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and was informed that the Smith County Sheriff's Department had requested assistance with processing a vehicle. I further talked with the Undersheriff Marty Patterson of the Smith County Sheriff's Department and he explained to me that there was a vehicle that was accounted for in a traffic roadblock in Smith County and that there was a disturbing odor, and that there was information received that the driver of this vehicle had some connection with some children, that there was -- and there was a concern, and they asked would I come and examine this vehicle. We made arrangements then to lower the windows in the vehicle because of the chemical, the chemical exposure. And he secured that vehicle inside a very large multipurpose building there in Smith County, Mississippi, and it was under lock and key and it was guarded until my arrival at 8:30 the next morning.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Your Honor, it's my understanding that the Defense has stipulated as far as the security of the vehicle and the maintenance of it from the time of the traffic stop until Ms. Jones arrived.
THE COURT: Is that correct?
ROBERT MADSEN: Yes, sir.
THE COURT: Okay. That evidence is stipulated.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Ms. Jones, when you arrived on the morning of the 7th what did you do? What happened that morning?
STACY JONES: Your Honor, may I look at my notes?
THE COURT: You may.
STACY JONES: The morning of my arrival, which like any, like any scene, I would start with photographing in a completely unaltered state. And what that means is it's photographed and documented where it is at the time of my arrival and in what condition it's in at the time of my arrival. So we start with that overall view and that photography. And then we just started looking at the different layers of processing that needs to -- that needs to happen in order to obtain the forensic evidence.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Let me ask you to pull that microphone up a little bit, please.
STACY JONES: Okay. Sorry.
SHAWN GRAHAM: That's all right. So generally you look at the car and you began to photograph the car. Is that correct?
STACY JONES: I did, yes.
SHAWN GRAHAM: I'm going to hand you what's already in evidence, which is State's 44 through 48, and ask if you recognize those photographs.
STACY JONES: I do.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Okay. And are those photographs that you took?
STACY JONES: They are.
SHAWN GRAHAM: And they fairly and accurately depict what you saw that morning?
STACY JONES: Yes, sir. They do.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Now, when you go into the car you actually had a search warrant that allows you access to the vehicle, correct?
STACY JONES: The search warrant had been obtained by the Smith County Sheriff's Department and with the assistance of MBI.
SHAWN GRAHAM: And then you would be executing the search warrant by actually doing the search?
STACY JONES: Correct. My search was actually under the authority of Smith County Sheriff's Department.
SHAWN GRAHAM: I'm going to hand you another stack of photos and ask you to look through those and see if you recognize those as photographs that you took.
COURT REPORTER: Have we got those marked already?
SHAWN GRAHAM: I think they start at 80, they end at 131 but there's some that are missing.
THE COURT: That's 80 through several?
SHAWN GRAHAM: It's 80 through 131 is the last one, but I think there's some that were removed.
COURT REPORTER: So we'll have to go through them and do that right quick.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Or as we publish them.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Do you recognize those photos?
STACY JONES: I do recognize these photos. The photos of the vehicle are, in fact, photos that were taken by me, as well as some photos of the contents. But there are some that are in here that were photographs that were taken after they were processed in South Carolina, but they are of items that I collected and packaged from the vehicle.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Would you like me to go through the numbers with the Clerk, or how would you like me to handle this?
THE COURT: Yes. Are they going to be admitted subject to the objection of the pretrial?
ROBERT MADSEN: Yes, sir.
THE COURT: Look through and make certain they come in. I will go through the numbers and then all the numbers to Joy so there will be a record of numbers and admission or objection.
ROBERT MADSEN: Subject to previous--
THE COURT: That packet of photographs would come in subject to the pretrial hearing and objections already on the record.
COURT REPORTER: That is, we don't know yet what numbers they are.
THE COURT: I am going to let y'all go through them. There's a few numbers missing. There's one or two in there without numbers. They're all in. We just need a number.
(Whereupon, the Court Reporter marked exhibits.)
THE COURT: All right. For the record, the State has identified and shown photographs of the vehicle, have been numbered. The witness identified them. The Defense, subject to pretrial hearing objections, the photos will be admitted of the vehicle. And those numbers that are admitted subject to that objection are 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 94, 96, 97, 125, 127, 129, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 95, 93, 90, 99, 91, 108, 109, 110, 111, 98, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 130, 92, 123, 124, 126, 128 and 131, admitted subject to objection. (Whereupon, State's Exhibits 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130 and 131, were admitted into evidence.)
SHAWN GRAHAM: Ms. Jones, after you began processing the vehicle you took photographs, and I think one of the things that you were asked to do was to look and see just for the presence of human blood. Is that correct?
STACY JONES: That's correct.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Can you explain to the jury what you did in regards to that and what you found out?
STACY JONES: The first step to that was to examine the outside of the vehicle and just do, just consistent of a visual exam for the presence of any stains or -- or anything that might appear to give us a profile of any kind. The vehicle I documented as having a light layer of dust throughout the vehicle. So I would have looked for -- for several things before entering the vehicle. We try to make sure that the forensic exam is done so to where the first exam does not contaminate the second. So everything is done in an order. In a particular order. So the second step would have been to examine the exterior of the vehicle and then field test any -- any stains that field tested positive.
SHAWN GRAHAM: As far as the odor, can you describe to the jury what the odor was of the vehicle, inside the vehicle?
STACY JONES: The odor was very, very distinct. It was absolutely, based on my professional opinion, a decomposition of sorts. There was what I described a decomposition, as old blood. If you're familiar with that smell. And then a chemical bleach type smell. It's kind of all combined together. It was very, very strong and it almost -- almost burned the nostrils to work inside that vehicle.
SHAWN GRAHAM: So once you took out your camera and you photographed the exterior of the car, did you then begin to photograph the interior of the vehicle?
STACY JONES: I did. And I photographed the interior of the vehicle in the same manner, unaltered, showing everything as it was when I opened the door of the vehicle. Now, of course, those items were then, it was pretty much of let's peel it back like an onion. Let's take all of these -- start taking these things out so we can get to, basically down to the bottom of the vehicle. It was a lot of items stacked up in boxes and buckets and bags and just a huge amount of stuff throughout the entire vehicle.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Let's start with some of the photographs and we'll start at the top, State's exhibit number 80. Do you recognize --
STACY JONES: This is a photograph taken from the, from the driver's front door. Again, you're going to see photographs that are just simply, overall, they are not of any particular item. But in this particular photograph it is taken from the driver's side front door. It's a photograph shooting in the area of the top of the vehicle. It shows the driver's side sun visor. It shows a pair of sunglasses on top of the sun visor and it shows all the way over and across to the passenger side and out the window.
SHAWN GRAHAM: State's 81 is another shot, I believe, from the driver's side as well?
STACY JONES: This is a photograph from the -- from the same position. It's just a lower photograph. And it shows a portion of the steering wheel and it shows the top portion of the console. It shows that the console, the center console itself is open. And then you can see that there's a box in the passenger seat and there's a bottle of cleaner on the floorboard.
SHAWN GRAHAM: When you say bottle cleaner, do you know what that was?
STACY JONES: Bleach.
SHAWN GRAHAM: State's number 82. And I believe now we're shooting from the front passenger side. Is that correct?
STACY JONES: That's right. This is a photograph from the passenger front door. And again, you can see the box that's, that's there on the front seat. And then that photograph goes across over towards the driver's side.
SHAWN GRAHAM: I know one of the things, can you see the, was there a clipboard inside that box?
STACY JONES: There is.
SHAWN GRAHAM: State's number 83, can you describe what we see there?
STACY JONES: This photograph again is taken from the same position. It's just a lowered photograph that includes the passenger front floorboard. Again, the photograph shows -- now you can see some of the interior of the door, but you also again see the cardboard box that's present, and then there's multiple items in the floorboard.
SHAWN GRAHAM: State's number 84. I believe, is it correct, that that's coming from the driver's side back door?
STACY JONES: That's correct.
SHAWN GRAHAM: What do we see here?
STACY JONES: This photograph is taken from the, from the doorway of the driver's side rear door. And it shows the presence of a bag and some, again, some cleaners, Clorox wipes and a jug of water. And you can also begin to see in this photograph the reddish stains there toward the bottom right that are present on the carpet.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Next, State's number 86. I think that's shooting across that same seat. Is that correct?
STACY JONES: It is. It's from the same position, which is the driver's side rear door. It's just a more position to show across the backseat. And again, you can see the top of the cleaners from the other one. The plastic bag, as well as now a bucket and another box that's present on the passenger side.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Switching to State's 87 now. What are we looking at, at this time?
STACY JONES: That's a photograph from the passenger side rear door shooting back toward the previous photograph. It now shows clearer that there is that blue bucket that's visible in the other photograph. There's a black bag. There is -- there is also, if you look behind that blue bucket there is a silver foldout window sun, sun protector.
SHAWN GRAHAM: State's number 88. Is that about the same area?
STACY JONES: It is. It's just another closeup of as it presents itself in the vehicle unaltered.
SHAWN GRAHAM: State's 89. Is this still a closeup, even more close up. Is that correct?
STACY JONES: This is an additional photograph of the, of the bucket and just showing some of the things on the top of that bucket.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Inside the bucket, what do you see at least in the photograph?
STACY JONES: Those are trash bags.
SHAWN GRAHAM: And then--
STACY JONES: There is a gas can and some cleaner containers. Just -- just various items in there that can be seen without moving them yet.
SHAWN GRAHAM: State's number 94. What are we looking at now?
STACY JONES: This is a photograph actually of the -- I shot it from the driver's side rear door. But it's kind of shooting over into -- there's a third row seat in this vehicle. And it's just showing some items in that, stacked up in that third row seat.
SHAWN GRAHAM: State's 96. Where are we looking at now on 96?
STACY JONES: This is the very back. This is from the hatchback of the vehicle. This is as items were when I opened the door.
SHAWN GRAHAM: There are multiple bottles there. What are those?
STACY JONES: That's correct. There is, there's lighter fluid, that the bottle with the blue and the red top, that is actually muriatic acid.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Do you remember whether that bottle was full, empty or had anything in it?
STACY JONES: If I may refer to my notes? It was an empty bottle labeled muriatic acid.
SHAWN GRAHAM: State's 97.
STACY JONES: It's just another picture of the same, of the same area. I'm just getting a little bit closer and the view.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Earlier we had talked about the clipboard that was contained in the box in the front driver's seat. Do you remember that?
STACY JONES: I do. Correct.
SHAWN GRAHAM: When you looked on the clipboard were there several pieces of paper that were attached to it?
STACY JONES: There were.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Let me show you State's 79.
ROBERT MADSEN: Just subject to the previous objection.
THE COURT: Subject to the previous objection.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Looking at State's 79, do you recognize that as the top sheet of paper that was on the clipboard in the front seat, in the box, of the vehicle? The Cadillac Escalade?
STACY JONES: I do. It was.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Your Honor, State would move 79 into evidence.
THE COURT: It's admitted subject to previous objection in the pretrial hearing. (Whereupon, State's Exhibit number 79 was admitted into evidence.)
SHAWN GRAHAM: Ms. Jones, I want to hand you what's already in evidence, which is 125, 127 and 129. And those are actually photographs of the item?
STACY JONES: That's correct.
SHAWN GRAHAM: All right. I'm going to publish those to the jury and ask your help in what you're able to make out. Looking in the upper left top corner.
STACY JONES: The paper says number one. It says, "Head to campground." It says, "Melt bodies." It says, "Saw and bones to dust or small pieces." And then there's a word I can't make out, and it says by something, and it looks like "plant". The next section number two on the list, there's several that I just can't make out. But the first one appears to say, "Loose ends." I'm not sure about the second and third. There's a Jim -- Jimmy, and in parenthesis it says, "Intel." And then there's initials, SGE maybe or SG5 and then there's a BG something maybe. And the word "pediatrician," and there's the word "Amber". And I'm not sure what that last word is.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Continue on down the page.
STACY JONES: The further down it starts again at a number one that says, it has a dollar sign and it says "fidelity". There are initials, RU, KR and R maybe, then with a circle. Inside the circle is an LV. There's an arrow from the right-hand side that also has Mississippi in a circle, then campground in a second circle, and then "Lex", L-e-x. There is in that area boxes that says "Day 1. Burn up bodies. Day 2. Sand down bones." And "Day 3," there's an "MB," a smiley face, and it says, "Dissolve and discard." At the bottom of the page there are boxes again that say -- there's a box that says "CP", there's an arrow. Next box "MB", there's an arrow. There's initials "LV" continuing to the next box with a dollar sign on top of it and the initials "KR," and there's an arrow to "RV" and an arrow to "B2". I don't know if that word is tribels. I'm not sure. I can't make out that word.
SHAWN GRAHAM: If you look on the overhead on this side, there are stickers on here that say SLED.
STACY JONES: Yes. That's for --
SHAWN GRAHAM: Those weren't on there when you collected this?
STACY JONES: No, they were not. This item was processed for fingerprints after he was returned to South Carolina, nor was it in that plastic bag. That plastic bag is simply there to keep us from getting fingerprint powder everywhere. It was just simply the piece of paper itself with the writing on it.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Ms. Jones, if you would look at the upper right corner as well. Can you tell the jury what is written there?
STACY JONES: Yes. There was two lists. The first list says "bills" and it's underlined. The next bolded item says "TWC". The next item is "SCEG". An item that says "post office," it says "car", and it says "bank accounts". To the right of that is an additional list that says "tattoos, glasses". I'm not one-hundred percent sure of what that says. It starts with a C. And the last one is "hunting gear", is what I make it out to be.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Ms. Jones, one of the things that you had testified earlier, I think, when we were on the backseat, you were talking about a sun visor.
STACY JONES: Correct.
SHAWN GRAHAM: The silver sun visor.
STACY JONES: Yes, sir.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Let me show you State's 131. Is it your understanding that that is a picture of the sun visor?
STACY JONES: It is.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Your Honor, as far as some physical evidence, it's my understanding that some of these items were going to be sent to SLED for DNA analysis and that the Defense is stipulating to their collection and to their chain actually to the analyst.
ROBERT MADSEN: Subject to the previous --
THE COURT: Subject to the previous hearing. All right. They've stipulated the chain in the analysis subject to the pretrial hearing. (Whereupon, State's Exhibit number 131 was admitted into evidence.)
SHAWN GRAHAM: That was 131. That's the unfolded sun visor that you found?
STACY JONES: That's correct.
THE COURT: 131 came in.
COURT REPORTER: Yes, right.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Now, there was some paperwork that you found dealing with the Defendant graduating from Mississippi State. Let me show you 101 and ask if you recognize that as a document that you collected?
STACY JONES: I did. It is.
SHAWN GRAHAM: And publicize and tell the jury what it is.
STACY JONES: This is a photograph of a diploma and it's issues from the Mississippi State University and it reads that it's a Bachelor of Science degree for Timothy Ray Jones, Jr.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Does it have a date on it?
STACY JONES: April the 13th of 2011.
SHAWN GRAHAM: State's 102. What are those documents?
STACY JONES: Yes, sir. This is a photograph of six Social Security cards that I recovered from the vehicle starting with Abigail Elizabeth Jones -- do you want their numbers?
SHAWN GRAHAM: No, just their names.
STACY JONES: Okay. Merah Gracie Jones, Gabriel Asher Jones, Elias Xavier Jones, Nahtahn, I can't pronounce the middle name, Jones, and Timothy Ray Jones, Jr.
SHAWN GRAHAM: And in addition to the Social Security cards did you also find birth certificates?
STACY JONES: I did.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Looking at State's 103, who does that birth certificate belong to and what's the date of birth?
STACY JONES: This birth certificate belongs to Merah Gracie Jones, and her date of birth was May the 15th of 2006.
SHAWN GRAHAM: State's 104 is another birth certificate. Who does that birth certificate belong to and what was the date of birth?
STACY JONES: This birth certificate belongs to Elias Xavier Jones, and his date of birth was April the 22nd of 2007.
SHAWN GRAHAM: State's 105, another birth certificate.
STACY JONES: This birth certificate is for Nahtahn, again I can't pronounce that middle name, Jones, and his date of birth was April the 4th of 2008.
SHAWN GRAHAM: State's 106.
STACY JONES: This is a photograph of a Certificate of Birth for Gabriel Asher Jones, born on the -- December the 5th of 2011.
SHAWN GRAHAM: And 107, Ms. Jones.
STACY JONES: This is a birth certificate for Abigail Elizabeth Jones, and her date of birth was December the 12th of 2012.
SHAWN GRAHAM: State's 111 was a receipt that you found in the vehicle?
STACY JONES: It is.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Are you able to read that receipt from there?
STACY JONES: Yes, sir. This is a, it's a Walmart receipt. And it's a receipt from -- from 2401 Augusta Road in West Columbia, South Carolina.
SHAWN GRAHAM: And looking down at some of the items. The ones that you can easily read. For instance, are you able to say what that is?
STACY JONES: Yes. There is an item listed for dust -- dust masks, there was 3M goggles, there was two Jab Saw blades, and it looks like one was voided, like they meant to only ring up one. And an item that -- here it says multi-saw, but it's referring to a package of multiple saw blades. That's just shortened down. And there's also the KSG m-u-r-i acid, would be for muriatic acid.
SHAWN GRAHAM: And a five --
STACY JONES: And a five gallon pail.
SHAWN GRAHAM: And the date on that receipt?
STACY JONES: The date is September the 3rd of 2014.
SHAWN GRAHAM: State's number 98. Now, the black on there, that's the fingerprinting later. That wasn't there when you collected it?
STACY JONES: That's correct. This is the empty bottle of muriatic acid that was collected from the vehicle. And then it was packaged and transferred to, here to South Carolina where they fingerprinted it after they received it.
SHAWN GRAHAM: State's 112.
STACY JONES: The same situation. It was packaged -- this is the bucket that was taken out of the vehicle in Mississippi and it was packaged and sealed and it was transported here to South Carolina, and it was processed here.
SHAWN GRAHAM: State's 113.
STACY JONES: That's just a view of the -- of the bar code of that item to match to the receipt.
SHAWN GRAHAM: State's 114.
STACY JONES: This is the package that's listed on the receipt under Jab Saw. And again, the black on it is from latent print processing here in South Carolina.
SHAWN GRAHAM: And I know earlier when we were looking at the previous photos we were able to see the bucket. Can you tell the jury where the Jab Saw was found, or the saw that you see here on 114? Can you tell from your report where it was found in the car?
STACY JONES: Yes, absolutely. The Jab Saw was in -- it's in the photograph that you saw in the passenger side rear seat where you see the bucket and the black bag and all. It was in that -- in that group of stuff.
SHAWN GRAHAM: State's 115. Would that just be back of the saw that we just saw?
STACY JONES: That's correct. Photographed in order to match to the item numbers on the receipt.
SHAWN GRAHAM: State's 116.
STACY JONES: That is what I have listed and described in my notes as a package of saw blades with one missing.
SHAWN GRAHAM: So when we look on here, there is a blade here. This appears to be empty?
STACY JONES: That's correct.
SHAWN GRAHAM: State's 117.
STACY JONES: And again, that's the backside of that. That's how I know that although the receipt said multi-saw, this bar code number matched that receipt. So it is just shortened down for multiple saw blades on the receipt.
SHAWN GRAHAM: State's 118.
STACY JONES: This is the goggles that were listed on the receipt.
SHAWN GRAHAM: State's 119?
STACY JONES: That's just a back view of those goggles, I believe.
SHAWN GRAHAM: State's 120?
STACY JONES: That's a photograph of an empty plastic bag that is labeled protective masks.
SHAWN GRAHAM: State's 121?
STACY JONES: The reverse side of that photograph.
SHAWN GRAHAM: State's 122.
STACY JONES: And this is a white face mask that was recovered.
SHAWN GRAHAM: All those items that we just discussed were items that were found in the vehicle which were, vehicle which you processed?
STACY JONES: They are.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Going back to the State's 110. Just so the jury can see. That's actually the clipboard with the piece of paper that we discussed earlier, correct?
STACY JONES: It is.
SHAWN GRAHAM: So as you took everything else out of the car and documented what you found, did you then go back and take additional photographs?
STACY JONES: I did.
SHAWN GRAHAM: And what was the purpose of doing that?
STACY JONES: Well, the -- I wanted to get everything out of the vehicle and get it documented as to where it was. Again, with the -- with the documentation process of a crime scene, not only are you documenting in notes, but we're documenting in photography just for human error. If we miss it in one place, we catch it in another. So once this process was done, and there was a lot in that vehicle, then it was emptied out where I could then start looking for my biological evidence.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Looking at State's number 85, would you describe what part of the vehicle we're seeing in that photograph?
STACY JONES: This is a photograph taken from the driver's side rear door and it shows in the photograph the interior of the door. You can see that the rear seats are flipped forward in this photograph. You can begin to see some -- some discoloration on the carpet. And I don't know how well you can see it from your view, but you can just barely see that center -- that center console that's in between those two front bucket seats.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Now, the center console, you've referenced that for a reason. Why is that?
STACY JONES: There was a stain on the back of -- on the backside of that center console that was, it tested positive, tested presumptive positive for the possibility of blood. So it was collected from that area. And my attempt with that is I was, I'm attempting at this point to locate and find biological stains that are not on the floor, if you will. And that will be explained soon. But I'm trying to find the least contaminated evidence that I can find at this point.
SHAWN GRAHAM: In looking at the center console, you've talked about collecting something. Did you actually bring something to demonstrate to the jury how you collect?
STACY JONES: I did.
SHAWN GRAHAM: And would you explain that process to them, please?
STACY JONES: Sure. The process of testing blood in the field -- and again, it's a presumptive test, because one thing I can't tell you in the field is if it's human or not. So we have to collect it and identify it and preserve it in a manner where it is intact and it is still viable for examination in a laboratory by a bio-scientist. And what I do to do that is I, it's not rocket science, I promise. It's sterile, I start with sterile Q-Tips and I simply find the area. I use a distilled water which is an H2O2, and I dampen this swab, or one like it. And then I will use a, what's called, it's called a Hemastick. And it reacts to hemoglobin if present on that sample. It's a lot, a lot in comparison to like a urine stick, if you will. But when I touch the Q-Tip to this, if it is hema present it will immediately pop to a green color. So if that happens and in doing that, let me say too, that I will only sample a very tiny portion of whatever stain I'm looking at, because then I don't want to collect what I've just touched to the chemicals on this Hemastick. So I always will leave a portion of the sample for me to go back and again wet another sample, collect the remaining part of the stain. And then I put it into a cardboard box just like this that is aerated and it will dry and is packaged in a brown paper bag so that it can breath.
SHAWN GRAHAM: So specifically on the back of the center console did you see something?
STACY JONES: I did.
SHAWN GRAHAM: And did you do a presumptive test?
STACY JONES: I did.
SHAWN GRAHAM: And what were the results of the presumptive test?
STACY JONES: It yielded positive.
SHAWN GRAHAM: And once you got a positive presumptive test result what did you do?
STACY JONES: Then I collected the sample in this same manner and placed it into a brown paper bag. I labeled it and sealed it.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Let me show you State's number 78 and ask if you recognize that.
STACY JONES: I do.
SHAWN GRAHAM: How do you recognize it?
STACY JONES: This is a brown paper bag that is labeled by my handwriting, number seven. And the description is one swab box containing two swabs of suspected blood collected from back of center console by Stacy Jones on September 7, 2014 at 10:54 hours.
SHAWN GRAHAM: And once you collected it you put it in the bag and you sealed the bag. Is that correct?
STACY JONES: That's correct. And then I initial and date the seal itself.
SHAWN GRAHAM: And that would be so to preserve the integrity of it?
STACY JONES: That's correct.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Your Honor, the State would move 78 into evidence.
ROBERT MADSEN: Just subject to our previous objection.
THE COURT: Subject to your previous objection it'll be admitted, 78's admitted. (Whereupon, state's Exhibit number 78 was admitted into evidence.)
SHAWN GRAHAM: So we have talked about the silver in color windshield sunblock.
STACY JONES: Yes, sir.
SHAWN GRAHAM: You collected that and that was passed on to SLED. And we have talked about swabs taken from the center console just now. There was also a pillow, I believe, that was found in the vehicle. Do your notes reflect that?
STACY JONES: Yes, sir. That's correct.
SHAWN GRAHAM: And where was that pillow found?
STACY JONES: On the third row seat of the vehicle.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Let me show you photographs 124, 126 and 128 that are already in evidence. Do you recognize those as being, 124 is a package containing the pillow you have. And then 126 and 128 is the pillow itself.
STACY JONES: That's correct. I do. The photograph in 124 is actually a photograph of a bag that is labeled by me in my handwriting as number 11. And the description is one white in color pillow with suspected blood, collected from the third row seat on the driver's side by Stacy Jones on 7 September of 2014 at 14:58 hours.
SHAWN GRAHAM: State's 124 on the overhead. That's what you were just referring to in the reading?
STACY JONES: That's correct. Yes, sir.
SHAWN GRAHAM: And you recognize your handwriting on the outside of that bag?
STACY JONES: Yes, I do.
SHAWN GRAHAM: State's 126, that's a photograph of that bag?
STACY JONES: That's a photograph of the contents of the bag, yes.
SHAWN GRAHAM: The pillow?
STACY JONES: Yes, sir.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Now, there's black writing on there. That black writing was not there when you collected the pillow, correct?
STACY JONES: It was not.
SHAWN GRAHAM: And the hole that appears to be in the pillow, was that there when you collected the pillow?
STACY JONES: No. That's examinations that was done at SLED.
SHAWN GRAHAM: State's 128 is just another photograph of that pillow, correct?
STACY JONES: Yes, it is.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Your Honor, my understanding is Defense is, again, stipulating from the chain of custody from Ms. Jones collecting the pillow from the car to the analyst at SLED.
THE COURT: And that was the same stipulation, subject to the objection?
ROBERT MADSEN: Yes, sir.
THE COURT: It is so stipulated.
SHAWN GRAHAM: And I believe, Your Honor, if I didn't say it, the five gallon Walmart bucket would be the same, that they stipulate to the chain of custody from the vehicle to the DNA analyst.
THE COURT: Is that stipulated on the same terms subject to objection--
ROBERT MADSEN: Yes, sir.
THE COURT: -- the chain.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Let me show you 109. Do you recognize that?
STACY JONES: I do.
SHAWN GRAHAM: What does that show?
STACY JONES: It's a white plastic bag that it contained trash, and in that bag there's what appears to be like a Slim Jim wrapper, along with a white face mask.
SHAWN GRAHAM: State's 108. What is that?
STACY JONES: It's photographs of cell phones that were collected. I was instructed by the investigators to collect any and all electronics that were present and to hold them separate for examination.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Now, do you remember where that phone was found in the vehicle?
STACY JONES: I do. It was in the -- in that box of things on the passenger front seat.
SHAWN GRAHAM: That would be the same box as the clipboard?
STACY JONES: That's correct.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Were the, is the battery in it or was the battery removed from it when you found it?
STACY JONES: No. It was just as -- just as is.
SHAWN GRAHAM: So it was taken apart like this when you found it in the box?
STACY JONES: Yes. The battery was taken out.
SHAWN GRAHAM: State's 91. Let me ask if you recognize that.
STACY JONES: Yes, sir. I do.
SHAWN GRAHAM: How do you recognize it?
STACY JONES: It's a brown paper bag that's labeled by me as number 16 with a description of one Samsung Galaxy Note 3 cell phone, serial number RV8F30J95, that's a correction, M5N, collected from the passenger front seat area of the vehicle by Stacy Jones on 7 September 2014 at 16:55 hours.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Again, that's your handwriting?
STACY JONES: It is.
SHAWN GRAHAM: And that's the phone that you found that had the battery removed? You put it in a bag and you sealed it for security?
STACY JONES: That's correct.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Okay. And I believe that you took that phone and you handed it directly to Lieutenant Eric Johnson. Is that correct?
STACY JONES: Correct.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Your Honor, the State would move this into evidence and --
COURT REPORTER: That's 91?
SHAWN GRAHAM: 91.
ROBERT MADSEN: Subject to the previous objection.
THE COURT: Admitted subject to the previous objection. (Whereupon, State's Exhibit number 91 was admitted into evidence.)
SHAWN GRAHAM: I think one of the questions that I'd asked earlier when we got sidetracked at the very beginning was one of the things that you were asked not only to photograph and collect but actually look at the moment, and do a quick test to see about the presence of blood in the vehicle. Is that correct?
STACY JONES: That's correct.
SHAWN GRAHAM: And as you were processing the vehicle, did you take samples and send them off?
STACY JONES: I did.
SHAWN GRAHAM: And are you aware of what those results were?
STACY JONES: Yes. They were positive.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Positive for?
STACY JONES: For human blood.
SHAWN GRAHAM: After you removed the items from the vehicle, then you went back and photographed again, correct?
STACY JONES: I did.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Looking at State's 93, can you tell the jury what we're looking at?
STACY JONES: This is a photograph taken now with all the items removed all the way down to the floor. The photograph was taken from the driver's rear door. And it just, now you can see what appears to be the bleach stains, quite a bit of reddish brown stains that are actually running from -- from the back area down to the door track well. There's actually, that's actually a pooling there on the track of the, on the bottom edge of the photograph.
SHAWN GRAHAM: The white areas that we see, what were those?
STACY JONES: Just discoloration. There's -- I had in my notes that there's a presence of maggots. So there was a lot going on there.
SHAWN GRAHAM: State's 90. I should have shown that one first.
STACY JONES: It's just an additional photograph taken from the -- from the same area, just showing a little bit more of the, this goes all the way across to the passenger side.
SHAWN GRAHAM: State's 95.
STACY JONES: That's a photograph taken from the passenger front door area. And it's a photograph shooting all the way back to the, I believe, that's actually in between the second and third row, if you will. But it just, the photograph is showing a huge discoloration where, in my opinion, it was use of bleach.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Moving to the rear of the vehicle, State's 99. What are we looking at?
STACY JONES: That's a photograph after items were removed from the very back that, in the hatchback area if you will. And that's just an overall photograph of that empty area.
SHAWN GRAHAM: In the middle of the picture right there near the end of the tailgate in the cargo area, what is that?
STACY JONES: Correct. There's a presence of what I collected that appeared to be human tissue with hair. And it was collected and sent to bio for examination.