Morning:

Jurors arrived in the courtroom at 9:47 a.m. Larrissa Schuster stood with her attorney Roger Nuttall as the 12 jurors and four alternates entered the room.

At 9:48 Judge Wayne Ellison began reading jury instructions. He described the purpose of the opening statement, and emphasized that the attorneys statements are not evidence. He explained some of the basic laws and procedure of the courtroom.

The jurors are not allowed to discuss the case with anyone until deliberations begin. They may only discuss the case when all jurors are present. They may not do any research on the case or watch or read any media reports.

When the trial is ended, the jurors are free to discuss the case with anyone they like. They must wait 90 days before receiving payment for any kind of book deal.

Afternoon:

Dennis Peterson resumed his opening statement after a lunch break. He showed a time line when authorities entered the storage unit. Inside they found a piano dolly with the barrel. In the course of their normal business, CCRL uses four different piano dollies, one of them was missing. On the 14th, behind the CCRL business, there's a dumpster in a locked fence.

The only people who have access to it are CCRL employees. He showed the jurors a picture of the dumpster with a box of empty hydrochloric acid bottles inside.

1:43 p.m. The box shows the bottles were ordered in June 2003. Peterson will have witnesses who will provide accounts of Larissa Schuster's whereabouts, and their contact with her surrounding the investigation into Timothy Schuster's disappearance. One of Larissa Schuster's friends will describe how she was concerned that police caught her in a lie. The friend offered the explanation, that police could probably go to the court and have search warrants authorized at her home and her business. Larissa Schuster had planned an out-of-state trip, and was scheduled to leave on the 13th.

Her friend advised her that police could search her home even if she's out of town. Larissa Schuster then made a quick exit from the house. Larissa Schuster's fingernails were cut and had no nail polish. This was unusual because Larissa Schuster had a standing appointment with a manicurist every Thursday. Additionally, the friend noticed Larissa Schuster had multiple bruises and abrasions on her body.

Later on, during the execution of the search warrant of her pick-up truck. Inside was an acrylic fingernail that was photographed and today, shown to jurors. Another eyewitness account will come from Leslie Dobbs, who worked with Larissa Schuster for quite a period of time. She gave Larissa Schuster full custody of the rental unit.
July 12, Leslie met Larissa Schuster at the lab. She said she was worried about being a suspect in the disappearance of her husband. She was worried that maybe her telephone was tapped. Later that day, at around 3 p.m., Larissa Schuster asked Dobbs to make some phone calls to find a truck with a lift gate. She said she wanted to lend a rototiller to a friend. A U-haul truck was rented. Dobbs was asked to retrieve the U-haul truck. Peterson showed a map that shows the route Larissa Schuster would have likely taken. Peterson displayed the cell phone map. One cell phone tower serviced a large area .There were at least two cell phone calls, one around CCRL location, to Leslie Dobbs. The second call was made closer to the Public Storage, to tell Dobbs should meet Larissa Schuster back at the U-Haul facility.
There's a Smart and Final location on west Shaw Avenue.

There's an indication that when Larissa Schuster was arrested July 15, she was carrying a purse. Everything was seized at that time. Inside of her purse was a receipt for cleaning products.

A photo of the cleaning products was shown to jurors. A Smart and Final employee will testify to talk about the receipt. Dobbs will also testify about the activities that occur at CCRL. She'll talk about various aerosol cans found at the facility. You're not supposed to use those at the business, because it can affect the soil sample testing that goes on at the lab. On Dobbs desk, was a check for more than $500, Dobbs believed was a reimbursement plus much more for the rental truck.
Larissa Schuster discussed her anger towards Timothy Schuster to Boatwright. She was mad about some Christmas ornaments. She wanted to break them up and give them back to Timothy Schuster.

A part-time employee at the lab will discuss a local story about a woman who tried to run over her

2:12 p.m. Husband with a car. And she said she'd like to do it, if she could get away with it. Terry Lopez was Larissa Schuster's manicurist.

2:13 p.m. Describe how her client wanted to kill her husband and admitted to the robbery. She said it was better than having sex. After this October 2002 robbery, she was questioned by police and an insurance agent, and she told Lopez, she gave an academy award winning performance.

Peterson described with the odor from the barrel On Monday the 14th it was so strong, officers had to be assisted with breathing devices. Dr. Gopal will discuss the decomposition process.

2:20 It's like connecting dots. Some of the lines will be in dark ink because the inferences are so strong. Pay close attention to all the evidence and make those determinations yourself. The more details they hear, the stronger the defense's guilt will appear.
At 2:22 p.m., the first witness took the stand.

SGT. JIM COOK, CLOVIS POLICE DEPT.
Clovis has around 90,000 people. A map of Clovis was displayed, exhibit #2.
He was contacted by officers who were investigating a missing persons case. He is now the lead investigator on this case. He described the storage unit where Timothy Schuster's remains were found. A photo for the court was displayed. The same picture was displayed during opening statements. The photo shows a large round cardboard covering with styrofoam on the top. The next picture showed the blue barrel which contained the remains.

2:31 p.m. The replica was displayed in the courtroom.
When he opened the barrel, he recognized it as human remains,

2:34 p.m. When he arrived at the storage unit, he was told from officers on the scene, there was a strong odor emitting from the unit. He could smell a decaying body in there. While traveling to the unit, he contact a fireman and requested a breathing apparatus. He wore it when he opened the barrel.

Defense attorney Roger Nutall began his cross-examination.