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.CAUSE NO. 8701 73/3f'THE STATE OF TEXAS
VS.
RODNEY REED
XXXXX
IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF
BASTROP COUNTY, TEXAS
21ST JUDICIAL DISTRICT
REPORTER'S RECORDJURY TRIAL
GUILT/INNOCENCE
MAY 5, 1998
MORNING SESSION
VOLUME 45 OF 69/
ORIGINAL
FILED INCOURT OF r.P'MINAI A.PPEALS
SEP 9 1998
Troy C.8ennett, Jr., Clerk
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..On the 5th day of May, 1998, the
above entitled and numbered cause came on for
hearing before said Honorable Court, Harold R.
Towslee, Judge Presiding, and the following
proceedings were had:
Volume 45 of 69
GUILT-INNOCENCE PHASE
(PAGES 1 THROUGH 116)
1 APPEARANCES:
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For the State
Mr. Charles PenickDistrict Attorney, Bastrop County804 Pecan StreetBastrop, Texas 78602SBOT #015748500(512) 321-2244
Mr. Forrest SandersonAssistant District Attorney804 Pecan StreetBastrop, Texas 78602SBOT #17610700(512) 321-2244
Ms. Lisa TannerAssistant Attorney GeneralP. O. Box 12548Austin, Texas 78711-2548SBOT #19637700(512) 463-2170
For the Defendant
Mr. Calvin GarvieAttorney at Law22 N. Bell St., P. O. Box 416Bellville, Texas 77418SBOT #07714300(409) 865-9781
Ms. Lydia Clay-JacksonAttorney at Law700 N. San JacintoConroe, Texas 77301SBOT #04332450(409) 760-2889
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WITNESS
APPEARANCES
MORNING SESSI"ON
CHRONOLOGICAL INDEX
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PAGE
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6 KAREN BLAKLEY (CONTINUED)
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DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MS. TANNER CONTINUED
CROSS-EXAMINATION BY MR. GARVIE
REDIRECT EXAMINATION BY MS. TANNER
RECROSS EXAMINATION BY MR. GARVIE
FURTHER REDIRECT EXAMINATION BY MS. TANNER
RECESS
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15 JIMMY LEWIS FENNELL
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DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. SANDERSON
RECESS
DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. SANDERSON CONTINUED
COURT ADJOURNED FOR A LUNCH BREAK
COURT REPORTER'S CERTIFICATE
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EXHIBIT INDEX
VOLUME 45
* All State's Exhibits marked prior to trialin
43/7 10 10
(Volume No./Page No.)
*Mrkd Idnt'd Ofrd
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Vol. 43, Page 7.
No. Description
S-75 HEB Shirt
S-76 Knife
D-1 Photo
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Admit
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1 (Day 22, Morning Session, May 5, 1998; Cause Number
2 8701, the State of Texas versus Rodney Reed.)
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Go ahead.
Thank you, Your
Please be
MS. TANNER:
THE COURT:
(Whereupon the Jury returned
to the courtroom and the
following proceedings were
had open Court.)
Thank you very much.seated.
Honor.
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14 DIRECT EXAMINATION (CONTINUED)
15 QUESTIONS BY MS. TANNER:
the crime scene where Stacey Stites's body
was, was she covered up with anything or was
she still exposed?
A. She was covered with a heavy blanket, a green
one. I couldn't tell if it was a rug or
Ms. Blakely, I have a few additional questions
forgot about some things.
One of the first things I wanted to
ask you about was, when you first went out to
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for you. Due to the late hour yesterday I
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blanket, but it was rather heavy.
Who had done that?
An officer that arrived at the scene before we
arrived there.
And did you uncover the body when you got
there?
Yes.
And when you uncovered her body, did that
blanket ever get put back on her body at any
time?
No.
When you got there and saw the green blanket
on her body and took it off was she still
dressed in the fashion that we saw her, with
her pants on and her bra on?
Yes, she was.
Would there have been any way for the blanket
to get in and affect what you found in any
way, the inside -- the covered parts of her
body, the parts covered with her clothing?
Not inside her clothing, no.
What effect did that blanket have on her body
with regard to it being over her?
It attracted the heat and made the moisture
collect and made a humid condition underneath,
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I had a conversation with Dr. Bayardo.
have any idea how those injuries got there?
to a conversation with someone else, that
would be hearsay.
Objection, as
(Indicating on
I agree.
Based on what you saw, do you
MR. GARVIE:
THE COURT:
It had the look of leather, and
(BY MS. TANNER)
and wrinkly.
Did those appear to be burns?
exhibi t. )
Like I said, I didn't know what they were, but
when I touched them they we stiff to the
touch, about where the underwires would reach
and underneath the nipples.
When you found her body, where was it in
relation to the sun? Was it in the shade or
in the direct sun shine?
No, it was in the direct sun.
kept it wet and warm.
We talked yesterday about an unusual injury
you saw on Stacey's breast?
Yes.
Can you describe that for the jury?
I wasn't sure what it was, when I lifted up
the bra the underside of the breast was brown
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Yes, I do have an opinion.
And what would that opinion be?
MR. GARVIE: Objection,
calls for speculation.
You may answer that question.
My opinion is that it had something to do with
the fact that she had a black bra on, on a day
that was clear and warm, very warm, the
humidity was about 80, and the bra may have
damaged her skin; and since she was deceased
the body was not able to compensate for that.
(BY MS. TANNER) And black attracts more he~t
than white, right?
Yes, it attracts heat and sunlight.
Okay. Now you indicated that two days after
this murder that you went and saw the truck?
Yes.
And that was the second time that you had seen
the truck?
That's correct.
Were you involved in the full-blown processing
of the truck?
No.
Now, on that' second day that you went, was
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THE COURT: It's overruled.
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there a particular piece of evidence that you
were directed to seize?
Yes.
What was that?
A red shirt. An HEB shirt.
Where was that shirt located?
In the back of the truck.
In the back of that truck?
In the extended cab part.
Did you, in fact, seize that red shirt?
Yes, we did.
I show you what has been marked State's
Exhibit Number 75 and ask if you can identify
this item?
Yes, I can.
And what is State's Exhibit 75?
A red HEB shirt, and it has a little lazer tag
that says Tostitos of something -- 99 cents.
And is that the shirt that you seized from the
cab of the truck on April 25, 1996?
Yes.
22 MS. TANNER: The State
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offers State's Exhibit Number 75.
(State's Exhibit No. 75 was
offered into evidence.)
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like this?
That's correct.
THE COURT: It's admitted.
(State's Exhibit No. 75 was
Objection, it's
Sustained.
MR. GARVIE:
Have you ever shopped at HEB?
And that looks like a sticker
admitted into evidence.)
THE COURT:
You previously indicated that you did
MR. GARVIE: No objection.
Okay.
But you touched on the fact that you did some
not do the vast majority of the DNA in this
case because of a prior commitment?
Yes.
(BY MS. TANNER)
Yes.
And is this a shirt that you would expect to
Right.
(BY MS. TANNER)
DNA on one suspect?
that you have on a product in a store?
speculation.
see
Have you seen employees at HEB wear shirts
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That's correct.
Yes.
Who was that?
Mike Kirby.
Did anyone else do any DNA work on that
suspect as well?
I'm not certain, but I know Will read my
results, he was there when they were developed
and I read them and he approved them. He put
Objection, as
I agree.
She just said
Don't tell us
That would be
MR. GARVIE:
THE COURT:
MS. TANNER:
THE COURT:
what someone else said.
(BY MS. TANNER) What happened then?
I don't know what happened after that.
Is it protocol for two separate DNA analysts
to check up on each other?
Yes, that is protocol.
You indicated yesterday that there was an
earring back found in Stacey's hair?
to what anyone else did.
hearsay.
she was there.
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Was that earring back just laying in her hair
or was it affixed?
It was tangled in her hair.
Was it easy to get out of her hair?
No.
Was the hair kind of twisted around it?
Yes, the way the backs are, they're flat and
come around in a curlicue and that's like a
spike that holds the post of the earring to
the back of the ear, and that spring had
embedded itself into the hair.
Now, the last thing I want to ask you about,
you indicated yesterday that after you got
back to the lab on the night of the 23rd you
looked at the vaginal swabs under the
microscope?
Yes.
And you indicated had that you found three
fully intact sperm?
Yes.
Because of that, would it be your opinion that
the person that left that sperm would have had
to have penetrated the female sexual organ of
Stacey Stites?
Yes.
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Would that be recent or in the past?
I would say recent.
You indicated that when you got back to the
lab that you air dried the swabs overnight,
right?
Yes.
You also indicated, did you not, that semen --
that sperm; over time breaks down?
In a living woman, yes.
Once you air dry a swab is the sperm going to,
after they dry, stay the same or is it going
to continue to break down? And by the same
token, if there's sperm or semen in a body and
that body is refrigerated, say, at the morgue
or something, at the time point that it's
refrigerated is the semen or is the sperm
going to break down further?
I can't say positively, but that's the whole
idea of refrigerating a body, is to help
preserve --
21 MR. GARVIE: I would object
22 unless this witness has some personal
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knowledge of this, Judge.
speculation.
THE COURT:
This is
It's overruled.
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Go ahead.
2 Q. (BY MS. TANNER) What is the whole purpose of
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refrigerating a body?
To preserve any evidence and to prevent
further deterioration of the body.
And when you-all store swabs, over years, how
are they stored?
Generally they are air dried, ~efrigerated,
and after we are finished processing the
results, any leftover swabs with biological
specimens on it they are then frozen.
So that same principle would apply to bodies,
correct?
That's correct.
You indicated that in your opinion the fact
that you saw three intact sperm on the slides
indicated that the sexual activity had to have
been quite recent?
Yes.
And you saw them when?
I saw them about "11:30 -- 11:00 or 11:30 that
night.
And at the point that you saw the three intact
sperms, had the swab that it had been on had
it been air dried or had it been refrigerated
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to stop the deterioration?
No.
And based on your training and your knowledge
and your experience and any research that you
have done, how long of a time frame are we
talking about there that you would expect to
see that?
I'm sorry, I got lost on the first part.
9 Q. Okay. Based on your knowledge and your
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training and experience, how long of a time
frame are we talking about that you would
expect a sperm to be able to stay intact?
I have published documentation that says that
26 hours is about the outside length of time
that tails will remain on a sperm head inside
the vaginal tract of the female.
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questions.
MS. TANNER: No further
20 CROSS EXAMINATION
21 QUESTIONS BY MR. GARVIE:
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The published documentation that you're
referring to, would that be an article from
1981?
Yes, it would.
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By Mr. Willot and Allard?
Yes.
And in that study, did they also say that
internal vaginal swabs, you can find semen up
to 120 hours later?
That is semen, and all components of semen.
And by your testimony you're saying that
intact semen up to 26 hours, is that the
figure you gave?
That's intact sperm, up to 26 hours.
Okay. I have some other questions for you, if
I might.
Are you a medical doctor?
No.
Any type of formal medical training?
I have taught at medical school when I was a
graduate student, but other than that, no.
Were you a member of that school that you
taught at?
Yes.
So you were going to medical school?
No.
What did you teach?
I taught microbiology.
And what level class was that?
1 A. It was an undergraduate senior level.
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Many of
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my students were going to medical school.
Undergraduate senior level?
Yes.
And I assume by that you also mean that many
of them weren't, right? Some of them were
just biology students?
I would say that a good half of them had
already been accepted to medical school by the
time that they were in my class and many of
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the others were in the process of applying.
didn't conduct a poll.
Would tell this jury what a pathologist is?
A pathologist is a medical doctor that takes,
in addition to the regular medical training,
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specializes in pathology, and pathology is the
determination of what cells do, anything from
-- a pathologist can be somebody who looks at
cancer cells all the way up to a medical
examiner, which examines bodies -- deceased
bodies for the cause of death.
And this person is generally considered an
expert in cause or time of death?
Yes.
Well, at least cause of death, specifically,
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right?
Yes.
Let me ask you this, have you ever testified
for the defense in any of your cases?
Yes.
6 Q. Okay. And how often have you done that?
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About twice.
Twice?
Yeah.
In how many years?
In over the -- I guess it's been about seven
years now.
And during that time period you have testified
quite frequently for the State in cases, have
you not?
Yes.
In fact, you are a State employee, right?
No.
You are not a State employee?
Currently I am not.
But you were at the time of this testing that
you're referring to, to the jury, right?
Yes.
The times that you testified for the defense
in cases, was that during the time that you
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were a state employee or since you have been
away from the State?
During my tenure as a State employee, yes.
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MR. GARVIE: If I might have
6 Q. (BY MR. GARVIE) While you were there, did
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anyone take samples of the soil in the area
where the body was found?
No, I don't think so.
Now, did you do the actual search of the
truck, or are you indicating that someone came
through and actually did the physical search?
There were about three phases to the search
actually, four phases to the search of the
15 truck. I initially viewed the truck, then I
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left to go do the crime scene itself, and then
on the 25th of April I was there for the last
phase of the truck, which was looking for the
red shirt and putting myself in the driver's
seat and to look at the truck for a
possibility if Stacey was laid on the hood of
that truck or underneath the hood.
Again, did you physically do the search of the
truck?
Well, the answer would be yes, but not all of
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25. Was the belt laying in the roadway like
In other words, you don't personally know
whether that was done?
All I have are the notes that evidence was
taken from the truck, but I was not there.
When you arrived at the scene where the body
was found
Yes.
did a search of the truck?
Yes.
And did you see any tests being made on the
bed of the truck?
No.
So to your personal knowledge there were none
made?
I can't say that.
To your personal knowledge?
There may have been searches of the bed of the
I can't answer one way or the other.
May I approach,
Yes, sir.
Okay, this would be exhibit
MR. GARVIE:
THE COURT:
And there were other people who also
(BY MR. GARVIE)
truck.
Your Honor?
it.
Okay.
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Yes.
this?
No, I can't see that.
But part of it on the road?
Once again, can
Let me get
You say you didn't
You were in the
THE COURT:
-- I'm sorry, let me separate these two
But just for purposes of my
This is State's Exhibit 12 or 12a?
facing away from you?
something out of my mind.
courtroom as she was testifying right?
see her testimony, was it because the map was
out.
here?
see.
I apologize, some of your testimony I did not
picture?
I saw two drag marks, what looked like drag
In this particular area, did you see any sign
understanding, what route did you take getting
marks nearby.
This is State's Exhibit 24.
How close? Are they in the picture?
No.
of a struggle?
Partially on the road and then off into the
you show me where those marks are in that
grass a little bit, yes.
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1441.
I simply
Oh yes, Your
Calvin, would
We would be traveling
For purposes of the record,
What route did you take
MR. GARVIE:
Getting to the scene where
I don't see 290 on here, Highway 290,Okay.
Yes, up here somewhere.
Stacey's body was found?
I was present during her testimony.
getting here?
(BY MR. GARVIE)
did not see all the exhibits as she was
looking at them.
Honor, I'm sorry.
MS. TANNER:
you turn so the jury can see?
A. No, onto 1441 and then onto Bluebonnet from
in this general direction, which I assume is
south on this map, and then we turned onto
1441.
Q. And that would have been here?
A. No, up --
Q. Up here?
but we traveled down 290, heading towards
Houston, which would be going east, and we
turned onto 95 in Elgin, we would have turned
right, so--
Q. That would have been up here somewhere?
A.
A.
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Q. (BY MR. GARVIE)
on 1441?
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Was all this area dirt area
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Was it all dirt area?
Yes.
No.
Part of it was paved?
Yes.
And when did you get to a dirt area?
When we turned on to Bluebonnet Road.
So the road itself was dirt?
Yes.
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the witness?
MR. GARVIE:
THE COURT:
May I approach
Sure.
15 Q. (BY MR. GARVIE) This is State's Exhibit
16 Number 17. Is this the scene as it appeared
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at the time you arrived?
Yes.
And which side did you find the body?
Off over here (indicating) in the right side
of the photograph.
22 THE COURT: Some of the
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jurors down here can't see the photograph?
In this thicket here to the right side of the
road, just behind the tape.
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Q. (BY MR. GARVIE)
to your right?
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That would be to my right, or
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A. As you're looking at the photograph, it's to
the viewer's right.
5 Q. Okay. And not over here in this heavily
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wooded area over here?
No.
Did you find anything in this area over here?
There were two beer cans removed from that
side of the road, yes.
When you arrived at the scene, did you take a
cursory look around at the scene?
After -- I did not do anything with the scene
until after the photographs had been taken,
and after the photographs had been taken, then
I did sort of a walk-through of the scene,
yes.
Who was with you at that time?
When I did the walk-through?
Yes, ma'am.
All the whole investigation team was there.
Can you give me some specifics -- some names?
Certainly, Gene Lawrence, he is the trace
evidence examiner at the scene; also Javier
Flores, who is a trainee in serology DNA at
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26
the time; Terri Sandifer from latent prints,
she was there also; and the photographers was
otherwise engaged but they were there as well.
And what officers did you see at the scene?
Rocky Wardlow, the Texas Ranger, was there, as
6 well as several others. Deputy David Campos
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was there; Sheriff Fred· Hoskins was there; Ed
Selmala, who we followed to the scene was
there; Corporal Earl Pence; Sergeant Skip
Wobus; Investigator David Lewis; and then
later the Justices of the Peace Katie Warnke
and Judy Evans; and there was also a game
warden there, Ted Tolle.
Is all of your testimony based on your notes?
You have no independent recollection of this?
Yes, I do, I have independent recollection.
When you examined the body in this case, were
you the only one to take anything from the
body?
From the body?
Yes.
No.
Were any hairs taken from the body?
Yes.
And who did that?
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I did and Gene Lawrence did.
And where did you take those from?
I took hairs from a sock, one of her socks; I
took hairs from the back of her leg; and I
also took
Excuse me for interrupting you, but which leg?
7 A. The back left leg. And Gene Lawrence removed
8 a hair as well. And I also did hairs
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tapeless, where you take a piece of tape and
you apply it to the body or the surface to
11 remove hairs. I took some from the body bag
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that was between her legs onto the body bag,
from the body bag, and then also from her
14 pubic area. I applied tape directly to her
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public area and lifted it up so any loose
hairs or hairs of her own that were loose was
pulled up onto the tape.
And as far as Mr. Lawrence was concerned, what
areas did he obtain hairs from?
20
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A. Okay.
from --
My notes indicate that he took hairs
22 MS. TANNER: Judge, I'm
23 going to object to him asking her what Mr.
24 Lawrence'took. She doesn't have personal
25 knowledge of that.
28
saw him take it, she certainly has personal
knowledge.
A. He took hairs from above the waist, below the
bra area.
Q. Above the waist below the bra?
A. Yes.
Q. And was hair taken from any other area other
than the ones you've mentioned?
A. I believe that's all.
Q. All of these hairs that you've mentioned were
taken from the front side or the back of her
leg? Weren't there hairs also taken from the
back?
A. Back? Yes, Gene Lawrence removed one from her
back.
Q. Any other areas?
A. They were mostly confined to the body bag, to
her pubic area, her back and her leg area.
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do that?
problem.
MR. GARVIE:
THE COURT:
THE WITNESS:
MS. TANNER:
I apologize.
THE COURT:
Judge, if she
Did you see him
Yes.
Oh, okay, no
Go ahead.
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When you were processing the truck, did you
take any fingerprints?
No, I did not.
Did you observe anybody taking any
fingerprints?
No, I did not.
On either of the times you were there at the
truck?
No.
The fingerprint person, or who did the prints
on the tag at the scene, the HEB tag --
Yes.
-- did that person also go into the truck?
I wasn't present when the truck was printed.
But you know that it was printed?
My notes indicate so.
But you don't personally know?
I wasn't present when the fingerprinting was
done of the truck.
Did you turn over any items from the truck to
anybody to do prints?
No.
That is, other than the HEB tag?
No.
Just so I'm clear, you did not do anything to
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any of the items in the bed of the truck?
No.
So you didn't check those for blood or
anything?
No, I did not.
In your testimony yesterday, you were
explaining the testing, I guess, that you did
with respect to an individual in the seat,
being pulled -from the car?
Yes.
And would you explain to me how that was done,
because I wasn't totally clear on how you were
saying that?
14 A. Okay. I was really curious as to why the seat
15
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was reclined and the seatbelt was still
engaged and why it would be left that way. I
17 thought how could you get out? How could a
18 person get out of the car with the seatbelt
19 engaged that way? I noticed that the lap
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portion was sort of down onto the seat itself
but the harness, the shoulder harness, was
22 still engaged. I thought, how do you get out
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of the truck? Especially if there is a
lifeless body, how does a lifeless body get
removed from the truck if the seatbelt is
A. Yes, the arms and shoulders.
Q. And was the lap part engaged at that time?
A. Yes.
Q. You're saying -- just so I'm clear --
A. Yes.
Q. -- that you were pulled from the car with the
lap restraint on?
A. No.
that, to see if Stacey, after she had died,
was sitting in that seat, how she could
possibly be pulled out of the truck one way or
the other; and then how hard or easy it would
be to get out of the truck with the seatbelt
engaged.
Q. From your example, did you try it both from
the driver's seat and the passenger's seat, or
just from the passenger's seat?
A. No, from both sides.
Q. And explain to me again, when you did it from
the driver's side, you were pulled by the
feet?
A. Yes.
Q. And from the passenger's side you said by the
arms?
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engaged?
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So that was the reason why we tested
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1 Q. Okay. The lap restraint was not on?
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A. No, it looked like it was sitting flat on the
seat with just the shoulder belt engaged, so II'
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had been sat on, so I sat on it, too, and just
had the shoulder harness on.
7 Q. Okay. I'm sorry, that was confusing. How
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long did either of those demonstrations take?
Not very long, five minutes.
When you were seated in this position, was it
kind of awkward for you?
No.
In the position that you were in, was it
necessary for you to touch anything?
When I was getting into the truck?
Yeah.
Yes, I pulled the harness aside a little bit,
it had some give, and then slipped into the
seat.
And when you were being pulled from the car,
in your example, did you resist in any way?
No.
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the witness?
MR. GARVIE:
THE COURT:
May I approach
Yes, sir.
1 Q. (BY MR. GARVIE) Does this look like the
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vehicle that you were in?
Yes, it does.
And does that look about the way it was
restrained?
Yes.
Except that the -- was the restraint on this
side, on the driver's side or the passenger
side?
Driver's side.
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Okay.
belt?
Right.
Without -- as you said, without the lap
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A.
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And when you sat in the passenger side, there
was no restraint?
I didn't sit in the passenger side.
You did not?
No.
19 Q. Okay. So what you're saying -- maybe I'm
20 having a slow day. Let me understand you. So
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Q.
you're saying in both instances, when you were
removed from the car, you were sitting in the
driver's seat?
That's right.
And on the second -- on one of the examples
34
(Defendant's Exhibit No.1
was offered into evidence.)
offer this as Defendant's 1 for demonstrative
purposes, Your Honor.
(BY MR. GARVIE) For demonstrative purposes
does this look -- this photograph accurately
reflect the scene as it existed at the time
(Defendant's Exhibit No.1
was marked for identification
purposes. )
I would like to
the truck?
MR. GARVIE:
Yes.
you examined the car
Yes, it does.
And everything appears to be the way it
existed at that time?
you were actually pulled from the driver's
seat, then; is that what you're saying?
That's right, over the passenger
Through the passengers seat?
That's right.
A.
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A •
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physical evidence that you collected from the
scene?
physically collect from the scene?
From the truck?
MS. TANNER: No objection.
THE COURT: One is admitted.
I collected all of her clothing; and I also
suggested to Gene, and we sort of went through
this together, that we send in some ants and
that we send in some representational foliage
that was around there, the thorny bushes, we
Besides -- you've
What other evidence did you
(Defendant's Exhibit No.1
was admitted into evidence.)
What I'm asking is, is there otherOkay.
indicated that you did a vaginal swab and you
did some swabs of the body, I'm not talking
about that.
Okay.
You've also indicated that some hairs were
taken from the body?
That's right.
No, from the scene.
(BY MR. GARVIE)
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36
sent some of those in to the medical
examiner's office. We also took the white
T-shirt. I took some flaky crusts that were
found underneath her panties, just above her
pubic area; and, as I said, most of her
clothing. And that's about it.
Did you take the earring back?
Yes.
And what did you do with that?
I put it in -- we wrapped it up and took it to
the lab.
What did you use in doing this? How did you
collect this? What did you put it into?
What did I put the earring back into?
No, all of the physical evidence?
Oh, the physical evidence. The procedure for
collecting evidence is, in order to preserve
the biological evidence, the integrity of that
evidence, is that it must be dry, so we put it
separately -- each item separately into its
own paper bag. It was then folded over, taped
across and initialled.
Did you use any plastic bags at that scene?
Perhaps for the earring, but otherwise, I
don't recall.
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37
And you did indicate that one earring was
missing?
3 A. Yes. Actually, she had no earrings on at all.
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You indicated that you found on the body a
mark that could have been a cigarette burn?
Yes, I did.
You're not stating definitely that it was a
cigarette burn?
No, it was just
There are other things that could have caused
that mark, right?
Yes, it was very consistent with one.
How is a scene like that secured?
Are you speaking of the one on Bluebonnet Road
Yes, ma'am --
. -- or the truck?
Yes, ma'am.
Yes. Officers are instructed upon coming to a
scene that they are to make sure that the area
is cordoned off and that no one is not
authorized go beyond the tape into the scene
itself, and that it is guarded until it's
deemed that everything that is needed to be
done at the scene is done.
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38
So in that instance did you block off the
entire road in that area?
No, I did not.
Did you see the road blocked off?
Yes, I did.
You indicated that there was some material
that looked -- as you described it, mucus like
material, in the car?
Yes, I did.
10 Q. Okay. Did you take a sample of that?
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A. I did not.
that.
I did not process the truck for
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And what about from the body? Did you take
that?
No, I did not take a sample of mucus from the
body.
At the time that you were dispatched to go to
the scene where the body was found, you
indicated that y'all had started to process
the truck?
Yes, that's correct.
Did everybody that was involved in that
process leave with you to go to the scene of
the body?
Yes, they did.
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39
You did not see the scene where, physically,
the truck was found?
No, I did not.
And you testified that that was brought to
you, the vehicle was brought to your -- what
did you call it --
The shop?
-- where the mechanics work?
Yes.
10 Q. Thank you. The word failed me.
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13 A.
When did you make these notes that
you have?
Which notes are you referring to?
14 Q. Your notes. When were they made?
15 A. Well, there are different times. I had some
16
17
notes that I made had on notebook paper, I
made those Sunday night as I was reviewing.
18 These are my personal notes. And I made a set
19
20
of notes on the 25th of April, that are
recollections of the scene, that may not have
21 been documented at the time. It was designed
22
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24 Q.
for such a case when I go to trial to help me
remember.
Did you give those to anybody?
25 A. Yes, I did. I put them in the folder that the
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40
people who are working on the case have access
to, and I also gave them out to the other
members of the investigation team.
So other members of the Department of Public
Safety would have had access to those notes?
Just those that were working on the
investigation.
Did you do any kind of report in this case?
No, I did not.
You indicated that you were sort of part of a
team?
Yes, sir.
13 Q. Who does the reporting for that team? If
14
15 A.
there was a report drawn, who would do that?
Are you talking about analysis, reports of
Well, analysis, collection of evidence?
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17 Q.
analysis? I'm not sure exactly
Who
18 would do that type of report for your team?
19 A. Okay. Let me just sort of go through the
20 scheme of things, the way we did it at that
21 time. When we are notified that there is a
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crime scene, we get what we call a laboratory
number, and that is put on a submission form
and that goes with us to the crime scene,
along with an inventory log of evidence, and
41
that's filled out at the scene.
It would have been -- we kind of switch off on
who are actually doing the analysis of the
is that what you're telling me?
That is
Just a really
And sometimes they're rather
After all analyses are done,
So there was that report.
Usually it's the lead person.that.
When we get back to the laboratory,
by your team, it would have been your report;
investigation.
It's designed to help us with our
investigations I try to make a more detailed
So if there was any investigative report done
evidence issues a report.
for our purpose only, for the laboratory
purpose only, and it goes into the folder.
notes and I write them in hand and I just type
each individual on that team or the persons
brief, so in this case, and in all my
brief synopsis.
them up and pass them out to everybody that
was on the investigation team.
people, who went, what we did.
to call it that, that says what time we left,
who requested the investigation, how many
we write an investigation report, if you want
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42
And the lead person at that time was whom?
Me.
Not William?
No, not at the scene, no -- not at this
particular scene.
All right.
witness and reserve the right to recall.ri
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MR. GARVIE:
MS. TANNER:
Pass the
I have a few
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follow-up questions in that regard.
12 REDIRECT EXAMINATION
13 QUESTIONS BY MS. TANNER:
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A.
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You said that you were the team leader at the
scene?
Yes.
Did Will Young become the team leader later?
Yes.
And why was that again?
Because I was going to be absent the next day,
and then I had a capital murder trial the
following week and I was going to be away from
the lab thing and things would be happening
and Will wag going to be there so he took over
at that point.
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43
Okay. And in response to Mr. Garvie's
questions, you said it was very standard
protocol with regard to a lab number and
inventory and that sort of thing?
Yes.
Do you write the lab number on every piece of
evidence that comes in that goes into DPS
custody?
Yes, we do.
And is that yet another effort to make sure
that the integrity of the evidence remains?
Yes, that's right.
Okay. For instance, State's Exhibit Number 10
-- State'~ Exhibit 75. What is your lab
number in this case?
L246937.
Would every piece of evidence in this case
somewhere on it have written L246937?
That's correct.
Okay.
And all documentation~
Okay. And that's with every analyst, that's
the number that is -- is this case's number
whether it's the fingerprints or DNA or
whatever?
III'
1 A.
44
That's right.
2 MR. GARVIE: Objection to
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her testifying to what every analyst does.
She obviously could not see what everybody
does.
6
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MS. TANNER:
if that's the protocol.
THE COURT:
I'm asking her
Ask her another
I"9 question. It was leading, too.
10 Q. (BY MS. TANNER) Do y'all, if one analyst does
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14 A.
prints on a particular case and another
analyst does DNA on that case, do you use
different lab numbers?
No.
15 Q. Okay. Through your DNA work and your serology
II
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19 A.
work, have you had the opportunity as an
employee of DPS and the State of Texas to
exclude suspects, to clear them, basically?
Yes, I have, many times.
20 Q. Okay. And in that vein, is that what caused
21
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23 A.
you to end up testifying for the defense in a
couple of cases?
Yes.
24 Q. Okay. And when you exclude or clear a
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25 suspect, do you forward that information to
45
uncommon occurrence?
from?
her face.
Anything that was
Did you have any reason, based onOkay.
around the area was likely to be picked up.
this case?
We were being thorough.
Q. Was it pretty obvious where that had came
Q. And you indicated that you did not take a
sample of mucus from Stacey's body?
A. That's correct.
A. Yes, I watched it run out of her nose and down
other or to even think they were connected to
everything you saw, to know one way or the
law enforcement as soon as you get it?
of beer cans on the other side of the road?
Q.
A.
A. No, that is not uncommon, by any means.
Q. y'all went ahead and collected those, right?
A. Yes.
Q. And can you tell us whether or not that is an
A. Yes.
A. That's correct.
Q. Have you seen beer cans on a country road?
Q. Okay. You indicated that there were a couple
A. Yes, I do.
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1 Q. Okay.
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And, by the way, when you were there
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and you saw her body, with regard to her face,
did she have on a lot of makeup or could you
tell?
I couldn't -- I didn't see that she had any
makeup on.
! . 7 Q. Okay. When you were out there at the scene,
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you indicated that the entire road of
Bluebonnet Circle was cordoned off, correct?
That area around the scene was, yes.
Did that appear to be a very busy
thoroughfare?
No.
You testified in response to both my questions
and Mr. Garvie's questions about the length of
time that you would expect intact sperm to be
seen from a vaginal swab?
Yes.
Can you tell' the jury, based on your training
and knowledge and experience, would that
length of time that you would expect to see
intact sperm be longer or shorter if it was a
rectal swab as opposed to a vaginal swab?
I would expect it to be shorter.
And why would that be, in your opinion?
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47
With regard to tails on or just sperm in
general?
In general.
It would be shorter because of drainage, or
5 any sort of elimination. Also the depth to
6 which sperm was deposited is often very
7 shallow. And also they just degrade quicker.
8 It's not a clean area. It's not designed to
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A.
have semen in it, and so it would break down
rather quickly.
More quickly than you would expect it to break
down on a vaginal swab?
That's right.
14 Q. Okay. How many crime scenes do you think you
15
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-- homicide crime scenes do you think you
have gone out to in your career?
17 A. Homicide crimes? That also includes looking
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Q.
A.
Q.
at cars and trucks and such?
Dead body crime scenes?
Oh, with dead bodies. Probably about 20 to 30,
maybe more.
Have you, aside from actually going out to the
scene, had the opportunity to observe evidence
and observe victims of homicides in other
cases?
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48
Yes, I have.
2 Q. Okay. And would that be on few or many
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occasions?
Many.
In your training and educational background to
make you a crime scene analyst, have you had
the opportunity to view numerous other
homicide cases in that regard?
Yes, I have.
10 Q. Okay. Have you, as a result of all those
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things, seen scenes that, based on your
training, knowledge, and experience, told you
that this was a crime of passion?
Yes.
How many times do you think?
There are about four that really stand out in
my mind.
And why was it -- what was it about them that
stood out in your mind?
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MR. GARVIE:
that's other cases, Judge.
first of all.
THE COURT:
She may answer.
Objection,
It's not relevant,
It's overruled.
II,l '
25 MR. GARVIE: Objection,
II 1 under 403, also.
49
Relevant value, if any, is
2 outweighed by unfair prejudice.
3
4 also.
THE COURT: It's overruled
5 Do you want to restate the question?
6 Q. (BY MS. TANNER) What was it about the scenes
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that you've have seen in your training and in
your background that told you that they were
crimes of passion?
10 A. They were extremely brutal. The victim's
11 underwent severe trauma before they died.
12 Often it was a case of overkill. They were
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often very bloody, very gory. The victim
often showed defensive wounds. That would be,
often a victim, in order to fend off a knife
they throw up their arms, or to shield a
bullet or something, they'll throw their arms
up, and so in the case of a bullet their
fingers may be missing; or in the case of a
knife attack, they will have slashes on their
21 arms. Also, they will have multiple stab
22 wounds or multiple shooting -- multiple bullet
23 wounds. Or they may be just beaten to pieces,
24
25 Q.
basically.
In this particular case, based on everything
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you saw of this crime scene, in relation to
your knowledge, your training, your experience
and your background, did this appear to you to
be a crime of passion in your opinion?
5 MR. GARVIE: Objection.
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Calls for speculation; not relevant; and under
403 the relevant value is outweighed by the
danger of unfair prejudice.
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THE COURT:
overruled.
MR. GARVIE:
Honor?
THE COURT:
They are
All three, Your
Yes, all three.
14 You may answer that question.
15 A. I saw no defensive wounds. I did not see
16 multiple wounds. This did not this looked
17 like a very clean crime scene. It did not
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20 Q.
appear to me to be the result of a crime of
passion.
Thank you.
21
22 questions.
MS. TANNER: No further
23 MR. GARVIE: Just one second.
I ask her one other question?\
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MS. TANNER: Your Honor, may
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THE COURT:
MS. TANNER:
Go ahead.
Thank you.
51
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Q. (BY MS. TANNER)
ask you this.
I just completely forgot to
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We talked about the injuries, the odd
injuries on Stacey's breasts?
Correct.
Did you take swabs of her breasts in that, in
order to maybe look at some evidence in that
regard?
Yes, I did.
Okay, and when you did that, was it the same
procedure you did before, with the sterile
Q-tip?
Yes.
And did you just use the Q-tip and swab her
breasts?
Yes, I wetted it down with sterile water and
then swabbed the top part of the breast and
then the bottom part -- and used another swab
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for the bottom part of the breast.
swabs per breast.
I used two
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Q.
A.
rAnd you did that according to standard
protocol?
'Yes, I did.
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questions.
MS. TANNER:
I apologize.
52
No further
4 RECROSS EXAMINATION
5 QUESTIONS BY MR. GARVIE:
her question about spermatozoa in the anal,,,[
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Q. Your information regarding in response to
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cavity?
Yes.
Is that based on part on the study that you
presented to me by Dr. Henis and Byer?
Not so much that as other readings that I've
had, and training.
And in this study, this particular one that
you handed to me, isn't it also in some
instances where spermatozoa has been mistaken
for other things?
You mean other things mistaken for
spermatozoa?
I'm sorry, vice-versa, yes.
It's possible.
And those are things called artifacts, right?
That's correct.•
And by the way, you didn't find any
spermatozoa in the anal cavity, did you?
53
FURTHER REDIRECT EXAMINATION
occurred is if there are tears in the anal
witness, reserve the right to recall.
very visible.
I have no
Again, pass the
No further
That will be all,
MS. TANNER:
MR. GARVIE:
MR. GARVIE:
THE COURT:
ma'am, you may step down.
recall.
questions.
lining that lead to the rectum, and they are
further questions and reserve the right to
flag?
is the best way tQ determine if a person has
been sodomized if there is semen present in
the anal or rectal cavity?
referred you to, what does the study tell us
A. Yes, it is.
Q. And according to this study, that's the red
A. One is of the biggest tips that sodomy has
Q. In that vein, that study that Mr. Garvie
QUESTIONS BY MS. TANNER:
A. I did not look.
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did give me information to reach her in the
home to Bryan for Father's Day, but I'll be
,instructions I have given to you.
get in touch with her by telephone.
We
May she be
Well, I'm going
I have no
Your Honor, just
As long as we can
Let's take a
You're not going
All right.
{The witness was excused from
the witness stand.}
MR. GARVIE:
MS. TANNER:
MR. GARVIE:
THE COURT:
THE COURT:
THE WITNESS:
THE COURT:
THE COURT:
Please remember the
objection to that, Your Honor.
morning break.
event we want to recall her.
excused to return to work, Judge?
may call you.
back.
for the Court's record, yesterday Ms. Blakley
or three weeks?
anywhere out of town, are you, in the next two
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(At this time a recess was
on and has nothing to do with it, but in the
the presence of the jury.)
Your Honor, it
The person that called me is
MS. TANNER:
We've received a report that an
taken and the following
to talk to him.
proceedings were had outside
have told him repeatedly that they don't want
this morning that he's called them repeatedly,
defense has been harassing witnesses. One
witness, in particular, called us frantically
investigators were contacting them and
investigator, John Vasquez, working for the
comes by their house over and over, and they
as police officers, and I talked to counsel
about it and apparently it stopped.
to preface my remarks by saying that I have no
we need to take up on the record, and I want
representing themselves as Texas Rangers and
reports from the witnesses that defense
has come to my attention, a matter that I feel
past we received a report -- or several
doubt that counsel is unaware of what's going
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actually the witness's mother, and he went so
far, either yesterday or today, as to inform
the witness's mother that there were warrants
outstanding for her arrest and that she was
going to be arrested if. she didn't talk to
him, or words to that effect.
That is obviously highly, highly
improper, and I would simply ask the Court to,
if possible, instruct counsel to instruct the
investigators to play by the rules. If the
witnesses don't want to talk to them, they
don't want to talk to them; and, you know,
13 that's that. I don't think there is any place
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for that sort of thing.
And as I said, I don't think counsel
had anything to do with it, but I would like
to sort of nip that in the bud because this
woman called us in tears and very frantic this
morning.
20 MR. GARVIE: Judge, once
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again, we have informed our investigators not
do anything like that, and they all have
assured us they are not doing anything like
24 that. Obviously, some of the people that they
25 have talked to are going to be hostile
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witnesses, who might say anything; but the
fact of the matter is, that we have instructed
3 them not to do that. And, in fac~, just so
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the Court is clear, co-counsel here has
actually sent letters to all the witnesses
instructing them they don't even have to talk
7 to us, before we ever talked to them. The
{ .
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people that were on the State's list, that
they didn't even have to talk to us at all.
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nearby?
right now.
THE COURT:
MR. GARVIE:
THE COURT:
Is this Vasquez
He's not here
When he does
15 come, I'd like to visit with him on the record
16 here. I just want to make sure that this is
17 not happening. This may be a long trial, and
18 there may be many witnesses. I just want to
19 make sure he understands what the rules are,
20 etcetera. I'm not going to limit his
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investigation, but I do want him to be
forthright with the people.
Will you ask him to come in and we
will talk to him here in the courtroom?
25 MR. GARVIE: And while we're
I,
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on that subject, Judge, I hate to bring this
up, but we've had reports of family members of
this gentleman being stopped for no reason.
4 THE COURT: And likewise,
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that should not happen either.
MS. TANNER: Well, I can
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assure the Court that the purpose was in an
attempt to serve a search warrant, and thati·I. 9 was all. We've taken care of that matter
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since then, and that won't be a problem.
I'd also like to let the Court know
that with regard to that particular witness
when she was told there were warrants pending
for her arrest, we did check local, State and
county records, and there are no warrants.
16 THE COURT: I don't want to
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go down too many side trails so we can stay
focused, but I will try to clear this up.
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MS. TANNER:
MR. GARVIE:
I don't either.
Certainly, Your
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Honor, I don't have any proQlem with that.
MS. TANNER: Thank you.
THE COURT: May we go ahead
with the next witness?
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(Whereupon the Jury returned
to the courtroom and the
following proceedings were
had open Court.)
6
7 seated.
THE COURT:
Thank you very much.
Please be
8 Is this your next witness?
9 MR. SANDERSON: Yes, sir.
10 THE COURT: Sir, will you
11 come up here and let me swear you in before
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you testify.
here.
Please have a seat right over
II
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18
JIMMY LEWIS FENNELL, the witness, after
having first been duly sworn, assumed the witness
stand and testified upon his oath as follows:
19 DIRECT EXAMINATION
20 QUESTIONS BY MR. SANDERSON:
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Q.
A.
Will you please state your full name for the
jury and spell your last name?
Jimmy Lewis Fennell, Jr., last name spelling,
F-E-N-N-E-L-L.
25 THE COURT: Will you scoot up
II.I'
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60
a little closer to the microphone so that we
can all hear you.
3 Q. (BY MR. SANDERSON) Mr. Fennell, let me start
4
5
6 A.
with some background information.
you currently living?
I'm living in Giddings, Texas.
Where are
7 Q. All right. And are you employed in the City
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of Giddings?
Yes, sir.
And how are you employed, sir?
Police officer with the City.
How long have you been a police officer for
the City of Giddings?
Approximately two and a half years.
And how long have you been certified as a
peace officer in the State of Texas?
Approximately three years.
For that half year or so that you were not
working for Giddings PD, where were you
employed?
Bastrop County Sheriff's Department.
And what were your functions at the Bastrop
SO?
Was a corrections officer assigned to the u.S.
Marshall's service in Austin, Texas.
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61
And what did you do for them at the time?
Prisoner transport and court duty.
And are we talking about federal prisoners?
Yes, sir, federal prisoners.
Describe to the jury, if you would, exactly
what it is you do as a peace officer for the
City of Giddings?
Basic patrol duties, narcotics, and kind of
special functions dealing with the public, or
the basic protect and serve.
Do you have regular hours or do you have hours
that ·fluctuate from month to month?
Hours that fluctuate.
Let me turn your attention -- before I do
that, are you currently married?
No, sir.
Have you ever been married?
No, sir.
You have, however, been engaged, have you not?
Yes, sir.
And who were you in engaged to?
Stacey Lee Stites.
Let me ask you some questions now about your
-- the relationship you had with Stacey
Stites. How did you first meet her?
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·62
I first made her acquaintance in Smithville
when I was working at a dance, and then later
became acquainted with her at a dance at the
Oyster Bar, in Bastrop.
That was the first time you met her; is that
correct?
Yes, that's correct.
Do you recall about what time it was when you
and she first started going out together?
Sometime in May of 1995.
Was that shortly after these events that you
first met her, or was there a long time in
between?
It was shortly thereafter.
How long did it take, once you started dating
Stacey Stites, for the two of you to become
17 seriously dating? In other words, exclusively
18
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A.
Q.
dating one another?
Approximately two to three weeks.
Describe a little bit about the relationship
21
22
you had with her.
your own words?
How would you put it in
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A.
Q.
It was a close-knit relationship.
What kinds of things would you like to do
together?
63
Don't
With regard to
We participated in family functions, traveling
to different places, going hiking and outdoor
activities.
Would you describe, especially early on, your
relationship with her as being fairly open?
MS. CLAY-JACKSON:
Objection, Your Honor, this is leading.
THE COURT: Sustained.
lead him.
(BY MR. SANDERSON)
communications about personal matters, how was
your relationship with her?
We were very open with each other.
Especially early on? If you had been dating
somebody else when you first met her, would
you have told her about that?
Yes, sir.
Vice-versa?
Yes.
At what point in time did you and Stacey
become engaged?
Somewhere around the first of the year, in
, 96.
Sometime in January would it be?
Yes, around January, or little bit before the
A.
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64
year, in December.
And did you purchase a ring for her?
Yes.
And was it at the time of the engagement?
No, it was a little after.i.I
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Q. Okay. Now, let's talk about where you and
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where she lived when you first met her.
did you live whenever you and she first
started dating each other?
I lived Lake Bastrop Acres.
Is that in Bastrop County?
Yes, sir.
Do you know where she lived at the time?
Where
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Yes, sir, she lived in the City of Bastrop
or correction, when we first met she lived in
the City of Smithville.
And what caused the two of you to start living
in Giddings?
I received a position there on the police
department.
Where was she working when you first met her?
I believe she was unemployed at the time.
And what was the first job that she acquired
after the two of you started dating?
She worked for Covert Chevrolet.
65
I'm not sure.
then?
I believe she was full-time.
did she work?
Do you know what
and sacker before she moved on to other things
And about how long did she stay as a cashier
employee at that time or part-time?
When she first started working there, she
The afternoons.
And what were her working hours on the average
first started to work there.
was supposed to report for w~rk?
started the basic job of cashier and sacker.
duties she had at the time?
Do you know whether or not she was a full-time
Let me take you back to her duties when she
Yes, sir.
when she worked at HEB, in terms of when she
Are you aware of the schedule that she had
Yes, sir.
short life, that you knew her?
And was she working at HEB for the rest of her
And after she left employment at Covert', where
She started to work at HEB.
Do you know about how long she wo~ked there?1 Q.
2 A.
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66
in the store?
I don't recall.
Did she, in fact, move on to other things?
Yes, sir.
And when she moved on to other things, where
were the two of you living at the time?
I don't recall. I believe it was in Giddings.
Do you recall when it was that you moved to
Giddings, in terms of dates?
I moved there in December of 1995.
Okay. Let's talk some more, then, about her
schedule, Stacey's schedule, whenever she
started doing something besides being a
cashier. What was it that she moved into
after that period of time?
She moved to a position -- I think it was a
managerial position in the produce department.
Did she have a job title, or do you know?
I don't recall it.
And in the produce department did her hours
remain the same or did they change?
No, sir, they changed.
What were her normal working hours when she
was working in this produce department?
Early, early mornings.
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67
Was it the same time each and every morning,
or did it fluctuate?
No, sir, it fluctuated, based on when they got
shipments in or so forth.
On the average, at what time was she supposed
to report?
Anywhere from 3:00 to 3:30.
Now, at some time during this period of time,
both yourself and also Stacey and her mom
moved to Giddings; is that correct?
Yes, sir.
Where were you all living in Giddings?
In an apartment complex just outside the city.
And all three of you lived in the same
apartment complex?
No, sir, her mother lived in a separate
apartment from me and Stacey.
But in the same complex?
Yes, sir.
Separate apartments?
. Yes, sir.
Was your apartment upstairs or downstairs?
Upstairs.
And was Carol, the mom's apartment, upstairs
or downstairs?
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68
Downstairs.
Did Stacey move in immediately with you or did
she first move in with her mother?
She moved in, basically, with me, immediately.
5 Q. Okay. Did you have a one-bedroom or
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two-bedroom apartment?
One bedroom.
What about Carol, her mom, was that a
one-bedroom?
One bedroom.
Did Stacey bring all of her stuff and move it
into your apartment, or was some of her stuff
in her mom's apartment?
Some of her stuff was still down in her
mother's apartment.
And about how much time would she spend in her
mom's apartment versus your apartment?
We probably spent more time in her mother's
apartment than we did ours.
Tell me about what would happen in terms of
the normal routine, in terms of the hours in
which you would work and the hours in which
she would work? And what I want to focus your
testimony upon is what happened there in your
..
25 apartment? In other words, what time would
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69
you normally come home from work?
Okay .. When she first started that shift I was
working late nights, from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.,
and I would come in and wake her up for her
morning shift; she would then leave and get
6 back that afternoon. And then shortly
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thereafter I switched to the daytime shift 6
a.m. to 2 p.m., and she would in turn wake me
up before she left and then we would go from
there.
In terms of the month of April of 1996, would
you focus your attention on that month alone?
Yes, sir.
What shift were you working and what shift was
she working?
She was working, varying from 3 a.m to 3:30
a.m., and I was working 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Was that kind of awkward for the two of you,
since you're waking and your non-waking hours
were somewhat different?
It actually worked better than me working
midnights and her working the morning.
Why was that?
We were able to be up in the afternoon to
spend more time together, in preparation.
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And in preparation for what?
The wedding.
What blocks of the day, timewise, were you-all
both awake and able to spend time together?
Anytime after 2 p.m., whenever I came home
from work.
And she would go to bed about what time,
normally? That is, normally being on a day
when she had to get up early to go to work?
It would be fairly early, around 8 p.m.
Would she set her alarm for the same time
every morning, or would her alarm be set at
the time depending on when she had to be at
work on that given day?
The time depending on work.
And I should have asked you, did she wake up
by her alarm, or did you wake ahead of time
and wake her up? How did that happen in your
household?
Most of the time I would wake up whenever the
alarm went off because it was on my side of
the bed.
And would she be woken by the sound of the
alarm or would you have to wake her up at that
point?
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She would be woken by the sound of the alarm.
Let me ask you something about your
3 engagement. First of all, when exactly was it
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that the two of you became in engaged? Was
there a specific date?
No, sir.
Could you give us an about date, what month
and what year did you make things official?
We probably made it official around December
or January, late '95, early '96.
And when you bought her the ring, the
engagement ring, did she wear it all the time?
Not necessarily.
And at what times did she not wear it?
She wouldn't wear it to work.
Do you know why?
She was afraid she was going to lose it
dealing with all the produce, sticking her
hands in stuff.
When she did not wear it to work, where would
she leave the engagement ring?
I don't recall.
Let me ask you now about your transportation.
And by "your" I'm talking about both you and
25 Stacey, collectively. How many vehicles at
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that time did you own?
Just one.
And what kind of vehicle was that?
It was a Chevrolet extended cab S-10 pickup
truck.
Is that a full-sized truck?
No, sir, it's the smaller size.
What color was it?
It was a, like, cherry red.
And what year model was that truck, do you
know?
I believe it was a '95.
Did you buy it used, or did you buy it new?
New.
Did Stacey, herself, have a vehicle of her
own?
No, sir.
Whenever it was time for her to go to work,
normally what vehicle would she use to go to
work?
She used my truck.
Now, as an employee with the Giddings Police
Department, were you issued a car from the PD?
No, sir, not until later on.
Did that ever cause problems with regard to
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you getting to work if she was gone in your
truck?
No, sir, the on-duty patrol officer would pick
me up.
How far was it from your apartment where you
resided to the PD station?
Approximately a mile.
Was there ever a time where you would borrow
Carol's car to get to work?
No, sir.
Was there ever a time where you ever used her
Tempo?
Only if they wanted me to drive, for some odd
reason, whenever we all went somewhere
together.
All right. Let me ask you now about the route
that Stacey would take to HEB from her
residence there with you in Giddings. Are you
aware of what route she would go?
Yes, sir.
Leaving from Giddings, where would she go?
She would take 290 west to State Highway 21,
take Highway 21 from 290 into Bastrop, and
from there she would cross over 95 and go
through town.
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And you're familiar with these roads, are you
not?
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A. Yes, sir.
MR. SANDERSON:
may I approach the witness?
Your Honor,
6 THE COURT: Yes, sir.
7 Q. (BY MR. SANDERSON) Let me show you a map,
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which has been marked and admitted into
evidence as State's Exhibit Number 2, and let
me represent to you that this purports to be a
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map of the city of Bastrop.
familiar to you?
Yes, sir.
Does this look
14 Q. All right. Now, I'm not so much interested at
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this time in her route leaving Giddings, but I
am interested in her route when she gets at or
near the City of Bastrop.
Does this map show the streets that
you just named, that would be the streets she
would take once she's in the City of Bastrop
to get to HEB? And if you can't see it, HEB
22 is way over here. (Indicating) ?
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Yes, sir, that's correct.
How is her route marked on this?
As the red color.
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Okay. Now, on the far right-hand side of the
map, there is a notation "to Giddings". What
highway are we talking about?
State Highway 21.
All right. And as State Highway 21 heads
west, there appears to be an intersection
right here. Do you know what area this
represents, or should represent?
Yes, Highway 95.
Highway 95 would be going north and south?
Yes, sir.
Okay. And what would be contained -- it looks
like city blocks, but what is actually over
here to the southeast of that intersection?
Basically, fields.
And about a mile or so before you get to this
intersection, in this area, (indicating on
exhibit) what .would be here?
The VFW hall and I believe there's a small bar
there.
And even before you get to there?
You have the Bastrop State Park.
And that would be southeast of this
intersection where it says "loop"?
Yes, sir.
1 Q. Okay.
76
Now, my question I want to ask you is:
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At any point in time that her car would be
coming down this long hill from the State Park
all the way to HEB, are there any stop signs
or red lights along this way?
Yes, sir.
Are there a lot of them, or one or two?
There is a lot of them.
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map?
What does this appear to be on this
11 A. Railroad tracks.
12 Q. Okay. And is there an overpass or an
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underpass along this road?
No, sir.
In other words, if there was a train coming
through there at any particular time, what
would have to happen with the traffic?
The traffic would have to stop.
19 Q. All right. Okay. And after you get into the
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downtown area where the Loop 150 is sometimes
called Chestnut Street, are there also stop
signs and red lights along that area?
Yes, sir.
24 Q. Okay. Once again, in terms of her schedule,
25 what times would she normally have to be at
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work?
In between 3 a.m. and 3:30 a.m ..
So it would vary from day to day?
Yes, sir.
Do you know what her routine was like there
inside your apartment before she would leave?
In other words, about how long would she get
up before she had to walk out the door to get
in her car?
Anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes.
What would be her normal routine? Would she
shower that morning or would shower the night
before?
She showered the night before.
All right. Would she put on makeup?
No, sir.
Would she eat breakfast?
No, sir.
What would she do other than obviously putting
on her clothes?
She would grab a glass of water or juice,
whichever one.
And would she drink it there at the apartment
or would she take it with her?
No, she usually took it with her.
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All right. Now, let me turn your attention
now to the events that occurred on April 22nd
of 1996, the day before the death of Stacey
Stites. Do you recall that day?
Yes, sir.
Was that day a fairly normal day in your
household?
Yes, sir.
What did you -- did you work that day?
Yes, sir, I did.
What was your shift at work that day?
Six a.m. to 2 p.m.
After 2 p.m., what did you do?
I came home and got ready to go back to the
ball fields and coach little league baseball.
Is that something you normally do?
Yes, sir.
Do you have a specific team that you are the
coach of or do you coach the whole league?
Yes, I have a specific team.
How long have you been doing that?
At that time, approximately two years.
You have no children, do you?
No, sir.
What inspired you to become a little league
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coach?
As a baseball player in the past, myself, I
enjoy doing it.
Do you like kids?
Yes, sir.
You got off work at two o'clock and then you
went to coach baseball?
Yes, sir.
9 Q. Was there anything in between? Did you go
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back to the apartment to change clothes or get
something to eat?
12 A. I might have. It might have been -- baseball
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practice usually didn't start until around
3:30 or 4.
And about what time would it be over?
We usually practiced around three to three and
a half hours, so around in between 7- or 8
p. m••
Is that what time you got home on this
particular day?
Yes, sir, around 8- or 8:30 p.m ..
Was Stacey there at· the apartment when you got
home?
Yes, sir.
Was she in your apartment or was she in her
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mom's apartment, or do you recall?
When I came home she was outside, to begin
with, where I was checking the mail, then we
went up to my apartment.
What was -- if you recall, what was your mood
like with her at that time, that day?
It was fairly well.
Meaning what?
It was.-- we was both in a good mood, good
spirits.
Were there any ongoing conflicts about
anything?
No, sir.
Do you recall what you-all were visiting
about?
We was discussing the next day, when we would
go to Bastrop and I would pick out the flowers
for the wedding ceremony and also get some
more insurance on the truck.
You were planning to do that the very next
day?
Yes, sir.
About what time were you planning on doing
that?
After she got off around noontime.
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Were you working the next day?
No, sir.
So you were off, completely?
Yes, sir.
Did you have any conversations, either with
Stacey or with Stacey's mother, about just the
arrangements of that next day, of April 23rd,
in terms of who was going to take what car and
so forth so that you could accomplish these
errands?
We had talked prior to that with her mother
and her mother suggested, you know, that I
take her to work -- or I suggested that I take
her to work and then come back and we'd use
the truck, but that night she wanted to go
ahead -- we decided that we was going to go
ahead and let her take the truck to work and I
was going to get up and make arrangements with
her mother to go over there with her mother
instead of taking her over there with the
truck and then come back.
So Carol was going to go there with you?
Yes, sir.
Now, did anything else happen that late
afternoon or that early evening that was
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particularly significant?
Not necessarily.
Do you recall whether or not the two of you
went down and visited with Carol?
No, sir, we didn't.
6 Q. Okay. About what time did Stacey retire or go
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to sleep that night?
Around 9 p. m..
9 Q. Okay. Were you going to go to sleep with her,
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or were you going to stay up later that night?
I went ahead and stayed up and watched the
news.
Now, I hate to have to ask you this, but I
14 have to ask you this. Did you and Carol
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I'm sorry, I mean, did you and Stacey have any
type of sexual relations that night?
No, sir.
Did you take a shower?
Yes, sir.
Did she take a shower?
Yes, sir.
Did you take a shower together?
Yes, sir.
But nothing happened thereafter?
Nothing happened.
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And is there any specific reason why nothing
sexual happened that night between you?
Yes, sir.
What is that reason?
She was on birth control and there was a
certain amount of the pills that she takes
that are not actually birth control, they're
just vitamins, and within that period of time
there is a greater possibility of getting
pregnant than the other pills, and she was on
those type of pills so we didn't have any kind
of sexual relationship during that time.
And that information comes to you as a result
of the prescription?
Yes, sir.
Is that what they told you?
Yes, sir.
Once again, what was your intent with regard
to how she, Stacey, was going to get to work
the next morning?
She was going to drive herself and then I was
going to go down and get with her mother and
we was going to go that afternoon.
24 Q. All right. Do you recall at exactly what time
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I sure don't.
I'm talking about the morning of the 23rd?
No, sir.
Do you recall waking up and waking her up?
No, sir.
Do you recall that she woke up and woke you
up?
No, sir.
Are you a light sleeper or heavy sleeper?
On the evenings that I coach baseball, I'm
usuall~ a heavy sleeper, because I get up
there running around and everything and my
exercise and everything so I sleep heavier.
Do you know what her schedule called for on
that particular day?
I believe it was the 3:30 a.m. shift.
Okay. Which would mean she would get up at
what time to be there by 3:30?
She would usually get up around 2:45, or 2:50.
And it would take her how long before she left
the apartment?
About fifteen -- ten or fifteen minutes.
And that would give her enough time to make
that drive and be there by 3:30?
Yes, sir.
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Okay. Let me ask you about Stacey's keys
right now. Are you aware of what she had on
her key chain?
To some extent, yes.
Did she have -- well, just tell me, what did
she have that you know about?
S~e had keys to her mother's car, she had keys
to my vehicle, and a couple of keys, I don't
if they were for work or what.
Did she have anything else on her key chain,
decorative objects?
Yes, sir, she had like a metal object that was
engraved into her name.
Tell me about what's on your key chain, or at
least what was on your key chain on April the
23rd?
It was my truck key, basic keys to the police
department evidence room, and all the keys to
the patrol vehicles.
Did you have a key to Stacey's mother,
Carol's, Tempo?
No, sir.
I think you have already testified, but did
Stacey have a key to the Tempo?
Yes, sir.
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And, obviously, Carol's mother had a key to
the Tempo?
Yes, sir.
Do you know what where she kept the keys?
Yes, right inside the bookcase.
And I assume that you're referring to a
bookcape that's in Carol's apartment?
Yes, sir.
And is there is no key -- correct me if I'm
wrong, is there any key at all to Carol's car
that would be in your apartment except for the
one that was on Stacey's key chain?
No, sir.
Did you have a key to get inside Carol's
residence?
No, sir.
Do you know if Stacey had a key to get inside
her mother's residence?
I'm not sure.
Let me turn your attention now to the event
that took place on April the 23rd, 1996.
What was the first thing that
happened that woke you up, other than
partially waking up perhaps when Stacey left
that morning?
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The phone ringing.
And do you recall about what time it was that
the phone rang?
4 A. I didn't exactly look at the time. I know it
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was sometime around -- the sun was coming up
so it was sometime around 6 a.m., somewhere in
there.
And did you answer the phone?
Yes, sir.
Who was on the other e n'd of the phone?
Carol.
Do you recall what Carol's concern was and why
she was calling you that early in the morning?
She was real frantic stating that HEB had
called and said that Stacey hadn't made it to
work.
By the way, were you asleep when the phone
rang?
Yes, sir.
What would be your normal time of wakening
that morning, since that was a day off for
you?
Whenever I got up.
On average, when would that be?
Probably around 9- or 10 a.m.
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You're a pretty late sleeper in the mornings?
Yes, sir.
Is the telephone right there by your bed --
Yes, sir
-- or do you need to get out of bed to get it?
It's right there beside the bed.
When Carol relayed this message to you, what
was going through your mind?I
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9 A. Several things. I didn't know what to think.
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I didn't know if the vehicle had broke down,
or something of that sort, or her have a
wreck, or something bad.
Did Stacey have any enemies?
Not that I know of.
Was she pretty well-liked?
Yes, sir.
What did you do after this phone call?
I went down and spoke with Carol for a little
bit and advised her to go ahead and contact
Bastrop County and Lee County and let them
know that we were looking for her, and then I
went ahead and left.
What clothes were you wearing as you came
down?
Just a pair of bluejeans and I was putting a
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shirt on, on my way down.
Okay. And were those the same clothes you
wore throughout the day, or did you change
clothes at some point in time?
Those were the same clothes I wore.
How lo~g did you visit with Carol once you
went downstairs?
Just a few minutes.
By then had it gotten light outside?
Yes.
After this visit, what did you do?
I asked Carol for the keys to her car, and
from there I went to Bastrop.
Do you recall -- did she get up and get the
keys or did she tell you where to go and get
the keys yourself, or do you know?
I believe she got them herself and handed them
to me.
And so where did you go and what was your
intent when you went there?
I was just checking to make sure that she had
not break down on the side of the road.
So did you drive the entire route
Yes, sir.
-- from your residence to where?
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To HEB.
And did you run across' anything on the way?
No, sir.
Once you got to HEB, what did you do?
I turned around and started back to make sure
I didn't miss anything.
Did you look around the parking lot to see if
the truck had arrived?
Yes; sir, I sure did.
Did you go inside and talk to anybody?
No, sir.
As you said, you turned around and came back,
where exactly did you go back to?
I went back to -- I went back to Carol's
residence for a little bit.
Was she still there?
Yes.
What did you do with Carol?
She had some people from church there with
her, talking to her, you know, helping her
calm down and from there I went to the
Giddings Police Department.
How would you describe Carol's mood at that
time?
She was worried, very worried.
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91
Is she pretty excitable?
Excuse me?
Is she fairly excitable?
Yes, sir.
What was your mood by that time?
About the same.
What did you do after you left Carol's?
Went to the police department.
For what purpose?
I was going to advise them of what was going
on.
Do you know whether or not they ordered
anything, any kind of search within the City
of Giddings?
No, sir.
What did you do next?
By that time they advised me that -- by the
time I got to the police department they
advised that Bastrop had called and said that
they had found my truck.
And did they tell you where they had found
your truck?
They said somewhere near the high school in
Bastrop.
So what did you do then?
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92
I then came to the Bastrop County Sheriff's
Department.
Why did you go to the sheriff's department?
I knew all the guys there and I didn't know
any of the guys at the police department.
Had you been requested at that time to go to
your truck to look around and assist them in
any way?
Not at that time.
You went to the Bastrop Sheriff's Department
to talk to these people that you knew?
Yes.
Did anybody there have any information to
share with you?
No, sir.
At what time were you requested to come to the
location of your pickup truck to assist them
there?
After I had left the police department from
leaving Bastrop County Sheriff's Department.
So you we went to Bastrop PD department next?
Yes, sir.
And who did you speak to there?
I spoke with the investigator and also spoke
with the chief.
93
And that was who at the time?
Ronnie Duncan.
Did they have any information to share with
you at that time?
Yes, sir.
And what was that information?
They had found the vehicle parked in the
school parking lot, and they had found some
miscellaneous stuff outside the vehicle.
They asked me to identify the objects that
were outside the vehicle.
Now, was the vehicle still at the school at
that time or had it been --
No, sir, it had been placed in a secure place.
And what secure place was that? Was it at the
sheriff's department or at the PD?
It was, I believe, at Basco Towing.
So did you go to that location?
Yes, sir.
What did you do and see once you got there?
I was asked by the detective to go ahead and
point out anything that was obviously not
supposed to be in the vehicle, or obviously
was something wrong, to point out any kind of
1 Q.
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5 A.
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Okay. And what did they ask you to do?
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94
reason for her disappearing.
What time of day was it at this time?
I want to say around 8 a.m.
In terms of objects, do you recall what it was
that they showed to you identify?
They just basically uncovered the vehicle and
asked me to look inside, without touching
anything or anything like that, just peer
through the window and observe anything that
was out of the ordinary.
11 Q. All right. And were you able to notice
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anything that was out of the ordinary?
Yes, sir.
What were those things?
I noticed that one of her shoes that she
usually wore was in the passenger floorboard.
And also in the passenger floorboard was
several drops of what appeared to be like a
foamy substance or saliva.
Let me slow you down and take you back to the
21 shoe. Is this one of her shoes that she would
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normally wear to work?
Yes, sir.
And did she have more than one pair that she
would wear from time to time?
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95
Yes, sir.
Do you know where the other shoe was?
No, sir.
And you said there with was something on the
floorboard; is that right?
Yes, sir.
Describe that again?
It was a foamy substance that appeared to be
saliva.
Now is the floorboard of your truck carpeted
or is it just vinyl?
Carpeted.
How much of it -- and I don't know how you
quantify this, but to give the jury some idea
of how big a spot we're talking about.
It's probably about half an inch in diameter.
And tell us, as best you can, where on the
floor you found that?
Somewhere right near the hump on the passenger
side, the hump that's in the middle for the
transmission.
Was than an automatic or a five speed?
It was a five speed.
So your gearshift was on top of that hump; is
that right?
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96
Yes, sir.
Could you see anything else on the floorboard
that was out of the ordinary?
Yes, sir, there was several -- there was
pieces of glass that she usually took to work
to drink her water out of, that was not
necessarily on the floorboard but in the door
console.
Did she use the same glass by habit everyday?
We had all the same kind of glasses so they
were all the same.
Were they plastic or were they glass?
They were plastic.
And I think you've already testified, but was
it her custom to take a glass of whatever it
was she was consuming with her?
Yes, sir.
You said these fragments were in the console
area on the door?
Yes, sir.
But not on the floor?
No, sir, not that I could see.
Have you ever been in your truck where
anything like that has broken and come apart?
No, sir.
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97
Was there anything that happened in your truck
-- let me take you now back a day or so
before this -- that would have been unusual?
Did you carry a bunch of kids around from your
baseball or anything like that?
The day before I had just taken one of the
other coaches son's with me, and he rode in
the passenger's seat, but that was it.
9 Q.. Anything else that you can think of?
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No, sir.
Did anybody else have access to your truck
other than you and Stacey?
No, sir.
Just you and Stacey?
Just me and Stacey.
Are you aware of whether or not Stacey might
have allowed somebody else to ride with her on
the previous day?
No, sir.
By the way, you did say that was extended cab;
is that right?
Yes, sir.
Did you see anything out of the ordinary in
that little back seat area of your extended
cab?
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98
I don't recall anything, but I believe that it
was just in disarray back there, everything
was like piled up in a little pile.
4 Q. All right. Now, by saying "everything was in
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A.
Q.
disarray," are you meaning that it was unusual
or was this the way you kept your truck?
Well, I had thrown my baseball stuff back
there the night before.
So that was normal?
10 A. Yes. But there was some of her shirts and
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stuff laying back there, and I didn't recall
them laying back there.
Was it like her to leave objects of clothing
in your truck?
Every now and then it was.
So did you see anything that was really
unusual about what you saw in the back seat?
No, sir.
Was there anything else that you saw in your
truck that you thought was unusual?
Yes, sir.
What else?
The front driver's seat was laid back.
I take that to mean that's not the way that
you normally drive?
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99
No, sir.
And how far was it laid back?
It was laid back quite a bit.
Was it all the way to the bottom; as far as it
could go, in other words?
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A. No, sir.
angle.
It was approximately at a 45-degree
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Do you know whether or not she ever drove that
pickup in a 45-degree angle position?
No, sir.
Is there anything else that you can think of?
The seatbelt was still attached, and it looked
like someone had sat on it because it was
pushed down into the seat.
Let's talk about the seatbelts for a second.
Do you -- did that truck have the kind of
17 seatbelt that where the cross the shoulder
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strap was automatic so that when you turn the
key on the thing would come back with some
sort of mechanism?
No, sir, it was manual, you pulled it over
yourself.
And was it the new type of seatbelt where you
have one unit being both the shoulder strap
and the waist strap all put together?
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100
Yes., sir.
And explain again how that was unusual?
It was still buckled and it was like someone
had sat on it, because it was pushed down into
the seat.
And are you talking about the shoulder part or
are you talking about the waist part?
Both parts.
Anything else about the truck that was
unusual?
There was a -- appeared to be like a smudge
mark on the back window, on the passenger side
of the truck.
14 Q. Okay. Can you think of anything that you
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Q.
would have done or anybody that might have
been riding with you would have done to cause
that smudge mark on the back window?
No, sir.
Would somebody have had to be in the back
seat, that little back seat, in order to make
that mark?
MS. CLAY-JACKSON:
23 Objection, Your Honor. Speculation. He has
24
25
already testified that he doesn't know how it
got there.
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THE COURT:
101
I'll overrule
3 Answer the question, please.
4 Q. (BY MR. SANDERSON) In other words, could
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somebody be sitting in the front seat --
Yes, sir, with the seat laid all the way back,
yes, sir, it could get on there.
8 Q. Okay. We're not talking about a very big back
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seat, are we?
No, sir.
Is there anything else that you can think of,
out of the ordinary, that you observed when
you went through that truck?
No, sir.
What things, if any, did the investigators
that were currently there, did they show you
17
18
that were found in and around the truck?
they have you look at anything?
Did
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Yes, the police department, they had a bag of
stuff that they had found outside the vehicle.
Do you recall what was the in the bag?
Yes, sir, there was several carbon copies of
personal checks with my name on them, and also
several miscellaneous papers.i ..
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25 Q. Let's take them one at a time. Carbon copies
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102
of checks. Would that be, obviously, from
your checkbook?
Yes, sir.
Was there anything unusual about them?
I usually don't tear them out. I don't know
why they would just be laying around.
Did you have your checkbook with you?
No, sir, it was in truck.
Was that normal for you to leave your
checkbook in the truck?
Yes, sir.
What else did they show you?
They showed me a piece of a belt, that was
concurrent with the type that she usually
wore.
Did this belt -- did this piece of a belt have
a buckle on it or not?
I don't recall.
Do you recall whether or not that belt looked
familiar to you?
Yes, sir.
Was it something that Stacey normally would
wear?
Yes, sir.
What else did they show you?
103
of objects, and I'm going to hold them over
here because these objects have not yet been
I don't recall anything else.
Are you aware of whether or not Stacey, as a
part of her job, had to have a knife with her
to work with the produce?
Yes, sir.
Was that something the officers showed you, or
do you recall?
I don't recall.
if you recognize any of these objects. The
first one had been marked State's Exhibit
Number 76, can you see what that object is?
Yes, sir.
And do you recognize this object?
Yes, sir.
What do you re~ognize this object as being and
where was it from?
Let me show you a couple
Your Honor,
Yes, sir.
That's her knife
I just want to see
THE COURT:
she used every day for work.
It was inside the vehicle.
MR. SANDERSON:
may I approach the witness?
introduced into evidence.
(BY MR. SANDERSON)
1 A.
2 Q.
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4
5 A.
6 Q.
7
8 A.
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19 A.
20 Q.
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24 A.
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1 Q. Okay. And let me show you what has been
104
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A.
marked as State's Exhibit Number 104.
this look familiar to you?
Yes, sir.
And from what does this look familiar?
That's the belt that she wore.
Does
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MS. CLAY-JACKSON:
take the ·witness on voir dire?
May I
9 THE COURT: Wait a minute
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MR. SANDERSON:
not offering them at this time.
Judge, I'm
12
13 them.
THE COURT: He didn't offer
14 Q. (BY MR. SANDERSON) How long do you recall
15
16
being there with the truck and performing
these duties with the local police?
17 MS. CLAY-JACKSON: I'm sorry,
18 I didn't hear the last part of that question.
19
20 he there.
MR. SANDERSON: How long was
21 A. Not very long. Just enough to look inside and
22
23
advise them of what I saw that was not
supposed to be there.
24 Q. (BY MR. SANDERSON) You said you got there
25 about eight o'clock, do you recall about what
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105
time it was when your left?
I don't recall.
Where did you go after you left?
Back to my residence.
What were you feeling by the time that you got
back, knowing that your truck had been
recovered?
MS. CLAY-JACKSON:
Objection, Your Honor, his feelings at that
time are irrelevant in this case, to the facts
of the case.
12 THE COURT: It's overruled.
13
14
15
A. I was feeling pretty bad, because as a police
officer we're taught to expect the worse and
then downgrade from there.
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18
Q.
A.
(BY MR. SANDERSON)
to Carol?
Yes.
Did you corne back and talk
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25
Q.
A.
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Did you explain to Carol what you had
observed?
No, sir.
Why not?
In her mental state, at the time, I didn't
want to make it even worse.
And I'm sure one of the hardest things to do
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106
in that context is just to wait, but was there
anything else you could do at that point in
time?
4
5
A. No, sir.
house.
I was instructed to stay at the
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How long did you stay at the house before you
were advised that ~ny other discovery had triok
place?
That afternoon.
About what time?
I don't recall.
Who called you?
They didn't call, they notified me personally.
Who came to you and notified you personally?
One of the deputies with the Lee County
Sheriff's Department.
Giddings is in Lee County; is that right?
Yes, sir.
And what did that representative tell you?
He advised me that they had found Stacey dead.
What did you do then?
22 A. (Witness crying.) I don't recall.
23
24
Q. Did they ask you to do anything for them, to
help them in any way?
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25 A. No. (Witness crying.)
1
2 a moment?
MR. SANDERSON:
107
May we have
3 THE COURT: Sure.
4
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MR. SANDERSON:
good time for a break.
It may be a
6
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THE COURT:
break, about five minutes.
Let's take a
We'll try to
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finish this part before lunch.
(At this time a recess was
taken. )
(Whereupon the Jury returned
to the courtroom and the
following proceedings were
had open Court.)
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THE COURT:
thank you very much.
Please be seated,
21 DIRECT EXAMINATION CONTINUED
22 QUESTIONS BY MR. SANDERSON:
23
24
25
Q. J~mmy, let me shift gears a little bit and ask
you a couple of things about Stacey's habits.
Did she ever smoke cigarettes?
1 A. Every once in a while.
108
She started when she
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was younger, but she had tried to quit, but
she did it every once in a while.
Also, are you aware of what she would normally
wear when she went to work every morning.
Would there be, in other words, a kind of
uniform?
Yes, she'd wear like blue trousers, or like
blue pants that were like a uniform, and then
they would wear a red HEB shirt, but also
underneath that she would usually wear like a
long-sleeve T-shirt type, since it was cold in
the produce area.
14
15
MR. SANDERSON:
may I approach the witness?
Your Honor,
16 THE COURT: Yes, sir.
17 Q. (BY MR. SANDERSON) Let me show you a couple
18 of things. The first one has been marked and
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21
22
23
A.
Q.
A.
admitted as State's Exhibit Number 55.
this shirt look familiar to you?
Yes.
And how do you recognize this shirt?
That is one of my shirts.
Is
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25
Q. And would you be the only person who would
wear this shirt?
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109
No, sir.
Who else would wear it?
Stacey would wear it.
And I'll also show you State's Exhibit Number
75 and ask you whether or not you recognize
this shirt?
Yes, sir.
From where?
That's her work shirt.
And by "her," you mean Sta~ey, right?
Yes, sir.
And, once again, in what order would she wear
13 those? What would be on top and what would be
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on the bottom?
She would wear the other shirt underneath 'the
red uniform shirt.
Let me shift gears entirely and ask you about
a sequence of events that took place once this
investigation was in full force.
Now, you were an object of this -- or
a suspect in this investigation early on, are
you aware of that?
Yes, sir.
24 Q.
25
Were there any times that the investigators
came to you, personally, and asked you
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110
questions or interrogated you? Whatever word
you want to use.
Yes, numerous times.
Numerous times?
Yes, sir.
Which investigators did that?
It was Lieutenant Campos with the Bastrop
County Sheriff's Department, Sergeant John
Barton with the Bastrop County Sheriff's
Department, and also Sergeant Ranger Rocky
Wardlow.
12
13
14
Q. Now, you are a police officer yourself.
you familiar with the techniques, the
mannerisms, the methods by which police
Are
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officers use whenever they are talking with a
suspect?
The basic knowledge, yes, sir.
And were those techniques used with you by
those officers that you just testified to?
Yes, sir.
Do you feel like you were handled with any
special privileges while you were a suspect in
this case?
No, sir.
Were there times when these officers would get
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5
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A.
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111
pretty rough with you, in a verbal sense?
Yes, sir.
Now I'm not asking you to tell the jury what
they said, that would be hearsay, as you know,
but what kinds of things went during some of
these session?
7 A. A lot of yelling. A lot of emotional dropping
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Q.
A.
Q.
down from high emotion to low emotion, using
empathy or sympathy, that sort of thing, and
using the bad cop/good cop syndrome, and stuff
like that.
Did they ever call you names?
Yes, sir.
What other things would they do that might
15 affect your employment? The fact that you
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A.
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were still a hot suspect in their minds?
They continuously tried to get the chief of
police to suspend me, in order to get me off
the job.
Now, from the time of Stacey's death on April
the 23rd, 1996, for how long a period of time,
as far as you know, were you an active suspect
in their minds?
Basically, through the duration of the
investigation.
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112
At some point in time did someone from the
investigation approach you and ask you to give
them some blood samples or other samples of
body substances?
Yes, sir.
And did you do that?
Yes, sir.
Did you have any hesitation?
No, sir.
Where do you live now, Jimmy?
I live in Giddings.
Do you still live in the same apartment?
No, sir.
Why did you move?
Reasons of not being there anymore and not
wanting to be there.
Do you still have that truck?
No, sir.
What happened to the truck?
After DPS released it, it was sold.
Did you handle the transaction?
No, sir.
Why not?
I didn't want any part of it.
Have you had an opportunity to get into any
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113
professional counseling, that type of thing,
to help you through this?
Not necessarily professional, I've seen church
counselors and such.
Have you been prescribed any medication to
help you through this?
Early, yes, when it first occurred.
What was Stacey's attitude about the wedding
and all the planning that was taking place?
She was very excited, and happy.
What other things had you-all planned, in
terms of preparation for the wedding?
It was basically just putting the finishing
touches on.
Was this going to be a church wedding?
Yes, sir.
A big wedding or a small one?
Yes, sir, a big wedding.
About how many folks did you anticipate might
come?
Somewhere near a hundred.
Were there a lot of your family in the area
that would come?
Yes, sir.
Friends also?
114
I was excited about it.
And also on her side?
No, sir.
Yes, sir.
Judge,
I have a
Did you
I'll pass
Yes, ma'am.
Go head, ma'am.
MS. CLAY-JACKSON:
THE COURT:
THE COURT:
MR. SANDERSON:
larger family.
the witness.
may we approach?
No, sir.
No, sir.
What were your feelings about the upcoming
anticipated to be pretty much half and half?
Was it --" in term of the invitations, was it·
wedding?
Prior to any of this happening, did you ever
Jimmy, I do have to ask you this.
Probably more favored to my side.
Yes, sir.
knowing a person named Rodney Reed?
Did Stacey ever mention to you ever even
kill Stacey Stites?
know a person named Rodney Reed?
1 A.
2 Q.
3 A.
4 Q.
5
6 A.
7
8 Q.
9
10 A.
11 Q.
12
13 A.
14 Q.
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16 A.
17 Q.
18
19 A.
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21
22
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24
a.
\ 25
\i
\
115
for a luncheon break until
one o'clock.)
(Whereupon the Court recessed
Thank you.
I'm going to ask
Let's take a
Please remember the
(Whereupon a brief discussion
was held off the record.)
THE COURT:
instructions I have given to you.
lunch break now, it's 11:45.
o'clock this afternoon.
you to come back and be ready to work at one
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[L.
I
116
STATE OF TEXAS
COUNTY OF BASTROP
I, Carolee Murray, Official Court
Reporter in and for the 21st Judicial District
Court of Bastrop County, State of Texas, and Notary
Public for the State of Texas, do hereby certify
that the above and foregoing contains a true and
correct transcription of all the proceedings (of
all proceedings directed by counsel to be included
in the Statement of Facts, as the case may be), in
the above styled and numbered cause, all of which
occurred in open Court or in chambers and were
reported by me.
I further certify that this
transcription of the record of the proceedings
truly and correctly reflects the exhibits, if any,
offered by the respective parties.
WITNESS my hand this the 16th day of
July, 1998.
Carolee MurrayOfficial Court Reporter335th Judicial DistrictCertification No. 1938Expiration Date 12-31-98P.O. Box 2441Brenham, Texas 77834(409) 277-0707
Taxable Court Cost:
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