Dr. Timothy Huntington testimony (Asst Professor of Biology at Concordia in Nebraska)

Dr. Tim Huntington is the next witness. He has asked if they can take breaks so that he can check his blood pressure.

HHJBP - how long you plan to keep him up there Mr. Baez?

JB - these things are hard to know. Not as long as Heather Seubert - but longer than a half an hour. It could be extensive.

Jury coming back in.

9:04

DIRECT EXAMINATION OF DR. TIM HUNTINGTON BY JB:

He has a cheat sheet for the court reporter.

He is assistant professor of biology at Concordia University and a forensic entomology consultant since 2002.

BS in scient in biology, MS and PhD in entomology from University of Nebraska - Lincoln.

Training - His entire focus has been forensic entomology - insect evidence.

Certified diplomate of the American Board of Entomology - the only certifying agency in the world for forensic entomology. There are 15 members in the U.S.

He has several publications and book chapters, as well as non-peer reviewed papers.

He has conducted several studies. Entire graduate career focusing on forensic entomology.

Consults with LE and works as a deputy sheriff.

OBJECTION - SUSTAINED - disregard last statement

Received awards from U of Neb and ABE.

OBJECTION - OVERRULED

Consulted for law enforcement 65 times. Likes to go to the scene when possible. Other than that, it gets sent to him.

He has done a number of invited presentations to a number of different agencies, has traveled outside country, teaches a class at U of Neb as an adjunct professor and teaches at Concordia.

Diplomate of the American Board of Forensic entomology - highest level. Qualifications - submit case studies, level of education and publications. At the time he joined, he was the second member to join. There is a 12 hour exam.

OBJECTION by JA

SIDEBAR #1 (9:15)

SIDEBAR OVER AT 9:17

DIRECT EXAMINATION OF TIM HUNTINGTON BY JB

OBJECTION BY JA MADE PRIOR TO SIDEBAR OVERRULED

Testified as an expert witness 8 times.

JB tender the witness as an expert in the field of forensic entomology - no objection by JA.

He received a phone call from LKB on 12/11/08, asking for his involvement in this case. He then came to Florida on Saturday the 13th.

He received the entomology reports of Dr. Haskel. He then came to FL and reviewed some of the evidence in house at the OCSO, insect evidence collected from the scene, trash bag from car, and reviewed the car. He later received a box of insect material.

Dr. Haskel later received vacuum sweepings from the trunk liner of the vehicle which he has not yet received, but he has received Dr. Haskel's report, He is aware of the species of insects and number.

Entomology - the study of insects - diverse field. Vast majority of entomologists will deal with agricultural insects. Other entomologists will work at urban insects. Forensic entomology is a sub discipline of medical-criminal entomology dealing with insects in dead people. Forensic entomology deals primarily with using insects to estimate the time of death - postmortem interval - time interval between death and discovery of the remains. Insects are important because they discovery dead bodies very quickly, colonizing a human. They lay eggs, which hatch into maggots (larval insects). Witness leaving stand to write on JB's big note pad.

Flies are the main insects - they go through a complete metamorphosis - such as a butterfly. Flies hatch into maggots - starting small - their entire function is to eat. (Witness wrote too small and had to start a new page).

Eggs hatch to maggots - first stage maggot starts to feed. Insects are arthropods (a phylum of animals that has an exoskeleton- insects, spiders, ticks). Skeleton is on outside of body and can't get bigger without getting outside their body. They crawl out of their skeleton like a snake crawls out of their skin. When they do that, they get bigger. Maggots then turn into a second stage - a little bit bigger. It is very easy to tell one stage from the next because they have different characteristics. The skeleton is left behind and it either dissolves or dries up. It can be significant if you can find them as it is indicative to the time of transition. The second stage maggots get bigger and turn into third stage maggots. (The flies go through 3 stages of maggots) When they finish feeding they need to change into an adult. They will pupate which takes place in a structure that is called a paradigm ?). The adult fly will then emerge, taking time to stretch out and flex their wings, and then they fly away from the food source, to prevent other insects or animals from eating them. They go at least 30-50 feet away - up to hundreds of feet, or as little as 10 feet.

Insects are cold blooded. All organisms are dependent on temperature. Insect temperatures fluctuate with the environment.

OBJECTION BY JA

SIDEBAR #2 (9:37)

PROFFER EXAMINATION OF DR HUNTINGTON BY JB (NO JURY)

He did not perform a postmortem interval estimation in this case. Dr. Haskel did not conduct a specific pmi investigation. He did, however, say it was consistent with such and such date - depending on how you interpret.

It could have been possible to determine a postmortem interval based on the maggots found in the trunk of the car in July 08. It was not done in this case.

Are there any other topics? SORRY JUDGE

Is that all you plan on testifying on that topic - on PMI? No.

PROFFER EXAMINATION BY JA

A PMI could have been done - with the maggots from the trash bag in the trunk, if you assume they came from a human body, then you could have estimated how long ago those were laid.

He could not do that based on the evidence collected, for him there was no reason to assume they came from a human body. If you make that assumption, you could.

JA - make that assumption.

No more questions by JA.

By JA - now that he knows they are talking about the car, they have no objections.

JJHBP - another area of disagreement expressed at the bench, dealing with the scene. JA stated t

JJHBP - Did you file Dr. H's report?

JB - I believe I did.

hey agreed they were not going to discuss that.

SHORT BREAK TAKEN at 9:54 to 10:05

(FG asks for a SIDEBAR #3 (Time taken out of break?)

JURY BACK (10:09)

DIRECT EXAMINATION OF DR. HUNTINGTON BY JB - continued

Witness goes back to easel.

How does the bug activity tell you how long a person has been deceased? It all has to do with temperature. Cold blood insect's rate is dependent on temperature, if you know the stage, temperature and rate of development, it becomes a mathematical formulation. i.e. - farmer and degree day concept.

Size of larva has everything to do with what they have eaten, not age. Temperature is important. 1st stage maggot, at 70 degrees it takes about 8 hours for it to hatch, then one knows it has been at least 8 hours since the eggs were laid.

In a legal setting, they will take the daily temps, average daily temp or hourly temp, add them up towards a number of accumulated degree days that is necessary for the stage transitions. Mathematical computation between the days and the stages.

3 things needed to estimate insect age - 1. stage and species of sample (every species has different developmental rate). 2. Developmental rates - experimentally constructed using known temps and insects - growth curve or chart), 3. temperatures - temps the insects experienced during development - they look for a weather data recording station nearby - then compare to the scene.

JB - live human cadavers (what?)

Witness then referred to info that comes from the Body Farm for data. Also, he finds it impractical to use human body research facilities because the bodies are donated and have been dead for some period of time long before they get to the site of decomp. Pigs are used because they are readily available, cheap and very similar to human's both physically as well as their digestive processes and they can do a lot of research with a pig that they can't do with humans.

JB - showing the jury Defense Exhibit A-V - (JA - no objection as demonstrative only).

Witness - a photo of a car. He was conducting research in 09/10 in S.E. Nebraska. He received some cars from a junk yard. He was looking at what kind of barrier a trunk will form on colonizing insects.

OBJECTION BY JA - bolstering - SUSTAINED

Goal of study was to place pig bodies in the trunks and allow them to decompose to see what insect activity happens. He used a Ford Probe, not a Sunfire. The vehicle in the photo is the most intact of those he used.

He inspected the Pontiac Sunfire in 07/10. He looked at the trunk to see what kind of barrier

OBJECTION BY JA - expertise in trunk condition - OVERRULED.

The trunk of the Sunfire when he inspected it had the liner removed. He was looking for spaces or gaps or unsealed places that could allow an insect to pass through.

The car in his study is well sealed and in factory condition. He had pigs killed and placed them in the trunk of the vehicle in September and closed the trunk. He then waited, watched for insect colonization. He checked it daily. Weather was cool and rainy. The cooler it is, the more it suppresses insect activity. Rain also suppresses.

Next photo - taken through the back windshield (Exhibit D-AX). What you see is dead flies lining the back window ledge - blow flies - most common flies that colonize at a dead body

OBJECTION BY JA - time frame?

This photo was taken on Day 10 of the study.

How does this relate to FL weather?

OBJECTION BY JA - not qualified to make estimate - HHJBP - lets move on

If the temp is hotter, there is more bug activity. It is cooler in Nebraska.

The flies are blow flies - the most important flies to a forensic entomologist. Blow flies key in on dead animals. They show up in minutes to hours from death. They are outside and you don't notice them, but if you have a heart attack and die, they will be on you in a second. Fastest he's seen is 13 seconds.

Flies trapped in car were not there initially. Car was closed, windows up. The fact the flies are dead in the car is important. A fly that gains access to a sealed environment - the adult flies don't fight their way out.

Photo - Exhibit D-AW. This shows decomposed remains of pig when he opened the trunk on Day 11. White spots are maggots that have fed on pig and are actively crawling away from the pig and looking for a place to pupate. Decompositional fluid ring showing, extensive tissue loss - fly colonization starts in head and moves it way down. The maggot activity has caused disarticulation of skull. Some flies were attracted to the pig when he opened the trunk. Black material is decomp fluid - combo of body fluid, bacterial waste, maggot waste, maggot secretion. Is the stain distinguishable?

OBJECTION BY JA - stain is not Dr.'s expertise - OVERRULED

VOIR DIRE BY JA:

What expertise are you bringing to talk about the fluid in the picture. Years and years of observation. He has never analyzed the fluid.

HHJBP - OBJECTION OVERRULED.

Decomp fluid - most studies and cases have been in outdoor environments. The fluid goes into the ground and is very distinguishable. In cases like this with a mat or carpet, it is very noticeable.

OBJECTION BY JA - another discovery issue

SIDEBAR #4 (10:39)

JURY NOT IN COURTROOM

HHJBP - at some point it may be helpful that any subsequent experts that may appear - I'd like their report.

PROFFER BY JB:

Based on your experience is the stain easily distinguishable. Anyone with experience would be able to look at it and smell it and tell. There are also presumptive tests such as phenolphthalein.

Were you questioned about this study during your depo? Yes.

OBJECTION BY JA - it speaks for itself.

JB - it may depend on the interpretation of questions by counsel.

HHJBP - All I need are his opinions. Either show it to me in his report or his deposition. What opinion is he going to give? Attorneys can then argue whether that was disclosed.

1/28/11 deposition shown to judge. Judge - go ahead

JB - he is asked there about the decomp in trunk relative to his study.

JA - have we finished listening to the opinion of the witness. Obviously he is not qualified to talk about the phenol. I'll wait - counsel is busy texting.

HHJBP - I DO NOT WANT TO HEAR EDITORIAL COMMENTS. LET'S STICK TO THE FACTS. I CARE LESS WHAT MR. BAEZ MAY BE DOING OR NOT DOING. ALL I AM CONCERNED WITH AT THIS TIME IS THE PROFFER AND WHETHER OR NOT IT WAS IN HIS REPORT VS HIS DEPO IS A VIOLATION OF THIS COURT'S ORDER. I DO NOT CARE IF MR. BAEZ IS STANDING ON HIS HEAD, STANDING ON ONE LEG, LETS JUST STICK WITH THE FACTS AND BE PROFESSIONAL. NOW, MR. BAEZ ASK HIM THE QUESTION

JB - If a body was to decompose in a car - what type of fluid, what would you expect to see of the decomp fluid?

The decomp fluid has a blackish staining quality to it. In a car trunk it will seep into the liner and then into the liner underneath. In a day or two, in these temperatures, the body fluids leach rather rapidly due to rupturing of the skin surface3 of the body.

JB - that is what I believe is a slightly expanded answer that he gave in his depo.

JA - It is not even similar to any answer he gave, or opinion he gave. He apparently now wants to state he can identify the fluid compared to other fluids. Not in depo. His statements and opinions of what occurs with decomp fluid is not in his depo or report and completely outside his area of expertise. The only other reference he made to the trunk is at page 32 where he acknowledges even 2 years later detecting the fowel odor.

JA - OBJECT as in violation of court order and outside of expertise.

JB - not outside expertise - Dr. Haskel testified to these things.

HHJBP - refresh my memory as to what Dr. Haskel testified to.

JB - he testified about the different stages of decomp, what happens to the body and the insects and how they relate to decomp.

JA - No objection to testimony of generalities. Objection is to specific talk about stains of decomp. Not discussed in depo.

JB - Dr. Haskel also identified the stain as decomp fluid and the napkins and paper towels were decomp fluid. I don't understand the distinction.

HHJBP - go to page 28 of depo - BOTH OF YOU. Read pages 28 thru 32. After you read, then tell me, both of you (I guess we'll get a tale of 2 cities) as to what this doctor testified in his deposition. Tell me how similar or dsisimilar this was to Dr. Haskel's testimony.

HHJBP - On line 15 of page 28 there is a question - is there any evidence here that one might have cleaned the trunk of decomp - based on insects NO - based on my experience of decomp in a trunk - I don't now that you could clean it up with paper towels. Any evidence of clean up? Paper towel?

JB - I agree court both experts have been questioned thoroughly

JA - Surprise is the witness's claim that he can identify a stain as to whether it is or is not decomp. Change in testimony. Nothing in report or depo to indicate this. Nothing in report about color of decomp. Completely outside his area of expertise. He is an entomologist. Dr. Haskel talked about decomp fluid in napkins. He doesn't recall asking him about the stain or to identify it.

JB - Dr. Haskel testified extensively about the areas of decomp.

HHJBP - pulling Dr. Haskel's testimony up now.

HHJBP - Doctor if you need to stand down, you can. Witness leaves witness stand.

JB - May I assist the court?

HHJBP - You'll get a chance - let me assist myself for now.

JB - referring court to 9:11 a.m. where Dr. Haskel began to discuss the stages of decomp.

(ICA whispering with DCS and CM)

HHJBP wants them to come up and to look at his screen - starting on page 14. YA'LL CAN READ JUST AS WELL AS I CAN. JA, JB and CM at Judge's computer. CM leaves, JB leaves - leaving JA alone and looking confused. JA leaves and HHJBP comes back to the bench.

HHJBP - Anything else? Nothing from defense. Mr. A - nothing about the stain.

HHJBP - Court founds that it does not violate the Court's order. Dr. Haskel talked about decomp. While I'll agree with JA, every opinion is not expressed - the area and subject matter is decomposition and it is not a major earth-shattering opinion and to disallow at this point due to minor inconsistencies would be error Whether the jury finds him to be an expert.... Mr. Baez, don't get too enthused and try to make him into an expert in something he is not If you think there will be other areas of surprise, I will permit you at this time, Mr. Ashton, to question him, since you are saying you did not know which would be the remedy for this.

JA - Specifically the issue of the phenolphthalein test is outside his area of expertise.

HHJBP - you can ask him that.

Witness returns to stand.

HHJBP - state may question.

EXAMINATION BY JA:

Stain identification experience revolves around a paper he publishes regarding the identification of grave soil analysis which is decomp fluid. Stains on carpet or fabrics? My experience is watching and observing decomp of animals and humans on carpets - 20 or 30 times. Carpet colors? I don't know off hand. Will you testify that human decomp stains have a color? Decomp stains do have an identifiable color quality - a dark blackish stain. Literature to support color? Literature on case study or histories will refer to a blackish stains around the body. Can't give a year or location. Beneke (sp) has published case studies regarding human remains in indoor environments - the color is mentioned. Only one he knows. He has not physically examined the carpet in this case and is not prepared to say what the stain is from. Other qualities of decomp stains? In this case he was going to talk about the smell and texture - greasy stain from body fats. In how many cases were the bodies in a bag - if there is a decomp stain in the carpet and the body was in a bag... In his personal experience - zero.

HHJBP to Witness - when did you arrive at this opinion? Are you going to give us an opinion on the stain in the car in questions?

I think I was attempting to describe what one would typically see where there had been a body in a trunk.

HHJBP - what would you expect to see?

What I would expect to see is shown in the picture. You would expect an obvious decomp stain from body fluid, lots of insect activity, dead insects, migrating maggots....

HHJBP - Is there any variation in those stains because of cleaning?

In my experience and others, if you think it's there, it's not there. It's either there or it's not. Decomp fluid staining is very obvious. When these scense are cleaned, the staining does not clean. He is not aware of any method you could use to remove that stain.

HHJBP - have you ever testified to this in courts before.

I've testified on decomp, but car trunks only this case. No other testimony than this because he has not been asked.

HHJBP - Your field is insects?

Especially those in decompositional remains.

(Signal lost from courtroom)

HHJBP - his evaluation of pictures of the stain?

If it were a decomp stain, there was substantial cleaning - professional cleaning. Decomp stains do not go away easily.

HHJBP - did you share that opinion?

With the defense, yes - shortly after I viewed the photo in 2009.

HHJBP - What did you share?

I said there was nothing I could see that would indicate a decomposing body had been in this vehicle.

HHJBP - Did you include that in your report?

He did not.

HHJBP - Why?

I was speaking specifically to the insects.

HHJBP - Were you told that the Court expected all opinions that one would give to be memorialized so as not to be a surprise to either side.

Yes, at some point.

HHJBP - Were you asked to do an addendum.

I said my first report was preliminary and I have not turned in a final report because I have not seen all the evidence.

HHJBP - Why should I permit that testimony when the defense knew in 2008 and did not disclose that even after the court ordered and we've had numerous conversations about disclosures? It's one thing for him to talk about decompositional fluids and that process, but it is quite evident to have him give an opinion on the stain in the trunk?

JB to Dr. Huntington - did there come a time when I asked you to witness a report. Yes. Was that because of the court order I shared with you? Yes. Did I ask you to issue a report on ALL of your opinions. Yes. Did I ask you to leave anything out? No. Were you asked if you were going to render an opinion as to the stain in THIS car? No. Was it your understanding that you would be speaking of the decomp fluid and the stains that you would expect to see? Yes. I assumed I would be speaking in generalities about what I would or would not expect if there is a body in the trunk.

JB - he is only going to talk about generalities.

JA - Stain identification was not known to the state and JA would have gotten numerous experts regarding the color.

HHJBP - I'm not too concerned about the color of the stain. If it was not a stain, it would not have a color to it. A stain is a discoloration of the original color. That's a logical conclusion that one can come to. HE WILL NOT BE PERMITTED TO TESTIFY TO, SINCE IT WAS NOT DISCLOSED, IS HIS OPINION ABOUT THE STAIN IN THE VEHICLE IN QUESTION; BUT HE CAN TESTIFY TO DECOMP STAINS IN GENERAL - unless someone opens the door where we can drive elephants through the cracks.

Jury coming back (they were out from 10:49 - 11:39)

11:39 - Jury back

DIRECT EXAMINATION OF DR. HUNTINGTON BY JB:

Witness going bak to easel. Defense's Exhibit AY - stain resulting from decomp fluid. As things decompose - the photo shows a particular corner of his study vehicle trunk. This shows a typical scenario of insect movement and decompositional processes in a trunk. This is Day 11. Photo shows numerous maggots moving away from the remains. Corner shows pupated maggots that a burrowing under the trunk liner and into the carpet. Also shows dead flies and decompositional ring that comes from the body. A portion trails away - maggots pull the fluid with them as they leave the body. Decomp fluid will kill grass in outside situations. He did not think you could wipe it up with paper towels. Fluid is very greasy and sticky. He did not even think professional cleaners could get it out. Carpets at scenes are removed and destroyed. An example....

OBJECTION - SUSTAINED.

Give us some examples.

OBJECTION - SUSTAINED.

Can you give relavent example.

OBJECTION - SUSTAINED.

Can you give helpful example

OBJECTION -

Can you give an example of a stain in the trunk of a car? The reason...

OBJECTION - OVERRULED.

These cars were used because there was never going to be another use for these vehicles. The owner gave me these vehicles....

OBJECTION - HHJBP - just talk about the stain. Let's get to the point.

What else did you learn in your study?

What I found was the barrier in the trunk poses very little barrier to the insects that colonize bodies. The blow flies that show up very quickly act very similar to the way people might with their own food - they are very picky. The flies will only colonize a body for a very short period of time. They gained access to the vehicle rapidly after death, within a day or so.

In this case, there were no early colonizers found in the trunk of the car. A leg similar to a blow fly was found by Dr. Haskel in the garbage bag. In his opinion, one leg does not mean anything. They could probably find one in this courtroom. Assuming there is a body in a car trunk, there will be many....

OBJECTION - OVERRULED.

If we assume there is a body in a car trunk, you would expect to find hundreds if not thousands of these adult blow flies. They have 6 legs each. A fly does not enter a closed container, lose a leg, then leave. He would expect to find hundreds, if not thousands of insects not only in the trunk, but in the passenger compartment as well. Their presence is to be expected in a bag of garbage. They are the sort of insects you would expect to find in your garbage.

Because these insects are so small, they don't require much food. He has seen hundreds emerge from a very small piece of material. The numbers in the trash bag are not remarkable.

11:55 Lunch recess until 1:30