Oct 21, 2024
*WARNING: This story contains graphic details that may not be suitable for all readers. DELPHI, Ind. (WANE)— Week two of the Delphi murders trial began with two testimonies from law enforcement on Monday morning. 90 minutes of that testimony included showing photos of the crime scene. Graphic crime scene photos shown The second witness called by the prosecution, Indiana State Police Sgt. Jason Page, took the stand just before 10 a.m. Page is a crime scene investigator and said he has worked more than 900 crime scenes— about 100 of those being homicides. Witness stand where Sgt. Jason Page was sitting. He photographed the area where the bodies of Abby Williams and Libby German were found near the Monon High Bridge. He said he arrived at the scene around 1:30 p.m. on February 14, 2017— the day after the girls went missing. The size of the area taped off was compared to a football field by Page. But most of the physical evidence was within 30-40 feet of the girls' bodies. Page referred to this area as "ground zero." The jury was shown three exhibits that were different diagrams of the layout of the crime scene. Then they were shown more than 40 pictures of the crime scene. The photos varied from wide views of the whole scene to close-ups of the girls. All of the photos shown were taken by Page. Monitor where exhibits are shown to the jury. The families, media and those in public seats can also see the monitor from the gallery. The families of Williams and German were given notice that Monday's session would include graphic crime scene photos. Within showing the first two photos, family members of Williams and German were wiping away tears. The families were audibly sobbing and blowing their noses as the photos were visible not only to the jury, but the entire courtroom gallery. Richard Allen's mother and stepdad were seen holding hands. As each photo was shown, Page explained to the jury what they were seeing. The photos showed that there was a lot of blood at the scene. Page testified that there was enough blood to soak into the ground beneath the leaves. Up close photos of Libby German shown were exceptionally graphic with a lot of blood. When these were shown, the families of the girls looked away and the jury was noticeably uncomfortable. Where the jury sits for the duration of the trial They were moving around in their seats, some had their hands on their head of over their mouth. There were audible reactions coming from the gallery as well. The photos showed that the bodies had sticks, twigs and limbs placed over them after they got there. There were numerous spots where blood can be seen. Page's testimony was very calm and explanatory. When asked if the scene seemed secure when he arrived, he said yes. First officer on scene testified Before Page's walkthrough of the crime scene photos, Carroll County Sheriff’s Deputy Darron Giancola was on the witness stand for about 40 minutes. Giancola was the first law enforcement officer on the scene after the bodies were discovered. Giancola wasn't on duty, but joined the search efforts for Williams and German the night of February 13. He noted that at the time he didn't think something bad happened to them. "They usually show back up," Giancola said. Some time after resuming the search on February 14, he was told that the search party found something by the creek and that it may be bodies. He arrived to that area and saw a multicolored shirt in the water and a shoe stuck in roots by the water. He couldn't see the bodies from where he was standing right away. But once he saw them, he worked to clear the scene as a detective cataloged the people nearby. Within minutes state troopers and investigators showed up and started putting crime scene tape up. Giancola said one of the bodies was nude and the other was clothed. He said there was a "substantial" amount of blood under the bodies. He took a deep breath before saying there were deep cuts to the girls' throats. When asked if any lifesaving measures were taken, Giancola said it was apparent that the girls were already deceased. Court took a recess at 11:30 a.m. when the State finished questioning Sgt. Page, after the jury had seen crime scene photos for the first time. Judge Fran Gull saying they needed a break. Court resumed at 1 p.m. on Monday with the cross examination of Sgt. Page by defense attorney Bradley Rozzi. Through Rozzi's questioning, Sgt. Page said he's not aware of any DNA evidence that directly links Richard Allen to the girls' deaths. Rozzi also tried to call the official time of death into question by asking if investigators can tell time of death by markings from scavenger animals or insects. "There are many variables involved. That is not a yes or no question," Sgt. Page said. Later in his testimony, Sgt. Page asked to go back to clarify that while they have consulted entomologists in other cases in the past when insects had been present at the crime scene, it was never used to aid in determining the time of death. Pictures of the cartridge found at the scene Rozzi entered into evidence several photos of the crime scene that showed the ammunition cartridge found to the right of Libby's foot. Terminology was clarified that the bullet is the projectile that comes out of the casing, and when the round is unspent and both the bullet and casing are intact, it's called a cartridge. The cartridge was discovered when State Police Crime Scene Investigators were using an "Alternative Light Source" to look for other bodily fluid evidence like saliva or semen. The ALS uses a blue/violet-looking light to flouresce such evidence. Two of the CSIs were wearing goggles to see if anything illuminated. A third CSI noticed something flashing in the ground under the light and that led them to finding the cartridge partially buried under leaves. The cartridge was facing down, with the "business end," as Rozzi called it, facing down into the ground. The primer and the writing around the headstamp were visible from how the cartridge was lying on the ground. Rozzi called into question why Sgt. Page didn't take pictures of the cartridge once it had been picked up off the ground to show the bullet end. Rozzi asked if the cartridges would have marks on them that are "critical in determining where they came from." Rozzi suggesting the investigators should have taken pictures of the full cartridge in their hand or on the ground before placing it into evidence. Sgt. Page testified that yes, the cartridges would have identifying marks on them, but "we never photograph things in ourh ands. That's unprofessional. Any details you're talking about would come from a lab. We don't have [camera] lenses to get the detail you're talking about." The cartridge found at the scene was .40 cal Smith & Wesson ammunition. Rozzi, saying the CSI's job is to document the crime scene, should have taken more photos of the entire cartridge because that would "assist us to tell the same cartridge that might end up in this courtroom is the same one in the ground." Rozzi further pointed out that the bullet ends of ammunition can sometimes be different colors and made from different materials, which is why having a picture of the entire cartridge from the crime scene is so important. Duane Datzman, a retired Indiana State Police Crime Scene Investigator who was one of the three CSIs to work the Delphi scene, testified after Sgt. Page that the cartridge in the photos was the only cartridge found at the scene. He is who noticed the casing "glittering on the ground" when the other investigators were shining their blue light on the scene. Defense attorney Andrew Baldwin in the cross examination questions asked, "Would you agree video of the cartridge coming out of the ground would better show different angles?" Datzman testified that he disagreed with that and it's "better to photograph it at a labe in a safe environment." In the redirect, prosecuting attorney James Luttrell asked if Datzman's ever taken video of collecting evidence in his, at the time, his 16 years as a CSI, and Datzman said no. But, when Baldwin pressed if he could do it over again, would he take a photo of the entire cartridge on the ground and Datzman said, "If I had to do it, I'd imagine I'd had done that then submit it to the lab." The jury asked Datzman two questions, both were about the cartridge. The first question was, "Would there be any reason the bullet submitted to evidence is a different bullet?" Datzman testfied that no, it would be the same one sent to the lab from the scene. The second juror question was, " Is there a process to ensure the jury sees evidence that is not tampered with?" Datzman explained that there is a chain of custody for evidence and the investigator seals it and then signs it over to the clerk who signs it into evidence and it's kept in a secure area. The third ISP CSI at the scene, Brian Olehy, also testifed about the cartridge found at the scene. He confirmed he's the person who put the bullet into an evidence envelope and then he took it to the State Police Lafayette Post and it was put into evidence storage. He also testified that that not other cartridges were found anywhere at the scene near the bodies or in any other areas police searched. Officers testified that they used metal detectors on February 15th when they were canvassing the area. All the law enforcement officers who testified Monday said they either did not have a gun with them, or their weapon was their department-issued 9mm handgun. Sticks on the girls' bodies Questioning of all three crime scene investigators also surrounded the sticks and tree limb found on top of the girls' bodies. Datzman testifed that each stick was removed one-by-one and was examined for any blood or obvious evidence and then set aside so noone would step on them. He added that they did not collect them to be taken to a lab as evidence because there was "no evidence on them and they were in a very rough, crumbly condition with moss growing on them in areas. "We've never gotten DNA off surfaces such as this. In my opinion, it was not of value as evidence," Datzman continued. Datzman did then return on March 3, 17 days later, to collect the sticks and bring them to the ISP large evidence facility at the Lafayette Post. He said he knew which sticks they were because he knew where they were placed and he used crime scene photos to match the shapes. He testified that he was not clear on why he was asked to go back and collect the sticks. When defense attorney Baldwin asked Datzman if it was a mistake to not take the sticks, Datzman replied "I don't think so." Baldwin pressed that the sticks had blood on them and should have been collected, commenting that someone had to have placed the sticks on the girls' bodies and they didn't fall on top of the bodies on their own. Datzman replied, "Not necessarily. If the blood was swabbed and documented, you can't take every stick and leave in the forest with a drop of blood on it." Time of Death confirmation called into question Defense questioning of Datzman asked him what the girls' body temperatures were. Datzman testified that he didn't know, that they don't test that. He explained that to get a core body temperature, it's typically tested rectally and with the potential of sexual assault, they didn't want to disturb any potential evidence. Datzman further testified that they would not get time of death from the core body temperature, that there are "too many variables." Baldwin suggested investigators should have taken the temperature of the bodies using a thermometer in their armpits, "like his mom used to do." Luttrell objected to that phrasing, saying it's not relevant what Baldwin's mom used to do. Judge Gull upheld the objection. Datzman did say that's not how it's done, and Luttrell reiterated that you can't get "core body temperature" from under an armpit because that's not the definition of core. Later in Olehy's testimony, he said the bodies were cold and rigor mortis had already set in. Were Abby's clothes wet and why? A lot of testimony from all the witnesses and questions from the defense team on Monday called into question how deep the creek is and if the clothes Abby was found in were wet. The investigators testified that Abby's clothes were wet or damp and they did not think it could have been from condensation. Defense attorneys, however, brought up that there are not clear lines on the clothes showing a "water line" of where they may have been wet. Defense attorneys also pointed out that no measurements of creek depth were taken. It's thought that the girls exited the Monon High Bridge on the south side of the creek, but their bodies were found on the north side. No one testified a clear way the girls ended up on the other side of the creek. Olehy testified that Abby's jeans were bunched up at the waistband and were wet to the touch. "I can see the jeans are darker on the leg bottom and the waistband was still wet," he said. He also said that during the autopsy on February 15, the clothes were still wet and moist and were taken to the Putnamville State Police post in Greencastle because they have a facility that's designed to dry out evidence. Clothes found in the creek were taken to that same facility to be dried out. Clothes found in the creek Brian Olehy testified that he worked for the Indiana State Police from 1995 to 2021 and was in the lab as a CSI from 2015 to 2021. He said he's worked around 275-350 crime scenes and around a third involved a death. Olehy was the lead CSI at the Delphi scene. When the Carroll County Sheriff's Department called him to come to the crime scene to assist, he called Sgt. Page to come to the scene, knowing two girls who had been missing were found dead. On his way, he got a second call that it appeared to be a homicide with foul play suspected. That's when Olehy then called Datzman to come assist as well. During Olehy's testimony, the state moved to enter another 60 photos of the crime scene and the autopsy into evidence. The defense objected to 15 of them and the judge addmitted them over objection saying the state has to prove their intent with the pathologist testimony. The photos that had objection were not shown to the jury on Monday. Most of the other photos were of clothes and items found in Deer Creek. The bodies were upstream and north of where the following items were found in the creek: pair of jeans size 26 waist that were inside out with pink colored underwear on the legs one Nike black athletic shoe with white sole and white swoosh, the left shoe a white bandana-type piece of fabric pink footed sock black spaghetti strapshirt that was inside out, size L 10-12 tiedye T-shirt, size XL that was inside out black footie sock grey zip up hooded sweatshirt of cotton-type material Libby German's body was found nude. Abby Williams was found wearing what was believed to be Libby's clothes. Her jeans were unfastened and looked too big for her. She had on a black hooded sweatshirt with the words "Delphi Swimming"on the front and "German" on the back in yellow block letters. More photos also showed Abby wearing a grey sports bra and a pink T-shirt under the sweatshirt and black Converse All Star shoes. More photos shown during Olehy's testimony revealed the right black and white Nike tennis shoe under Abby's body around the small of her back and Libby's cell phone in a purple Harry Potter Gryffindor case under the shoe. Both the shoe and phone were hidden under Abby's clothes and body until investigators moved Abby's body, Olehy testified. Several photos also showed the girls' faces and bodies upclose to show where blood was located. Libby's mother was visibly emotional with a family member putting her arm around her in comfort. One juror looked at the picture, but then lowered his head, putting his hand over his forehead until the next photo. Another juror sat with his hand over his mouth during the most graphic images. It was pointed out there was blood on Libby's right foot heel and on the back of her right calf and leg. Olehy testified that the wounds to her neck were made by a sharp instrument. Photos again showed both of Libby's hands being bloody and a lot of blood on her face. Olehy described how they swab blood with a "Q-tip-like" stick and then each location of a swab is put in its own envelope or paper bag and sealed to be taken to evidence. They don't use plastic bags because that could cause the blood evidence to degrade. He explained that when you take swabs, you sometimes take it from an area with less blood to have a better chance at finding cells or blood transfered from a suspect, referring to Libby's wrists over her hands. Olehy explained the more blood-dense areas would mute out a suspect's DNA with Libby's DNA from her own blood. Another photo showed blood on Libby's thigh. Some appeared to be droplets and others were more streaks, which Olehy testified indicated blood trails and movement. When investigators rolled Libby onto her left side, there were a lot of leaves and mud marks along the back of her body. Olehy also said there was "a lot of blood under her." Abby's body was found with her right leg bent under he left leg with the right foot under the calf area of the left leg. Her arms were folded at the elbow with her hands up near her collarbones near her face. The arms were not crossed and her hands were hidden inside the sweatshirt sleeves. More photos showed Abby's hands after investigators had moved the sweatshirt sleeves down and while there was dirt and debris on her hands and sweatshirt, there was no obvious blood. Olehy testified that the blood found on Abby was all around her neck area, on the back of her sweatshirt and on the ground under that same area where her body was laying. Pictures of her feet with the shoes removed showed dirt on the bottom of her feet, Ohely testifying that it indicated she had her shoes off at some point. He also said mud silt found on the bottom of her shoe was consistent with the soil on the bottom of the river. Olehy also explained that a new, unused, clean white sheet the size of a twin bedsheet was used to wrap each body individually and then the bodies were each put in new, unused and clean body bags. The bags are then sealed and he initialed each one. Olehy testified that the vicimes were then transported by the "cargo van" of the Carroll County coroner's office to Terre Haute for an autopsy the next day, February 15. Olehy arrived to witness the autopsy at 7:30 a.m. because he said the autopsy is still considered a crime scene and "it's my job to document evidence found in the autopsy." It was at this point that Judge Gull decided to break for the day at 5:48 p.m. Olehy's testimony will continue Tuesday morning and then the defense will have a chance to cross examine him. It's also possible the pathologist who did the autopsy could testify on Tuesday.
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