DET. KEITH HAVLIK
The detective described arresting Larissa Schuster in St. Louis, Missouri. He seized her luggage and also noticed an injury to her foot. A photo of her tennis shoes was displayed for the jurors.
Defense attorney Roger Nuttall began his cross examination at 9:49 a.m. He confirmed that initially this was a missing persons case and the detective was acting as a supervisor of the investigation. The search warrant was used from July 14 through early the next morning. That search happened before he traveled to Missouri. His concern was primarily seizing the luggage. He stumbled over the shoes, and thought they might be important. Havlik knew Schuster had left Fresno on the 12th and was on a trip with her son. She initially went to San Antonio, Texas on July 13. Havlik was put in charge of the investigation on the 14th, so she was already gone. Nuttall asked who all knew about Schuster going to San Antonio. He didn't know. Det. Havlik and Det. Alcorn met Larissa Schuster and her son at the end of the walkway at the airport. There she was placed under arrest. She requested not to be handcuffed in front of her son.
9:55 a.m. She wasn't handcuffed at that time. It was not a very confrontation meeting
9:56 a.m. At some point she was separated from her son. Tyler Schuster was taken to an interview room where he sat with another detective. Larissa Schuster was placed in a separate holding area or office. At some point Charles and Jan Foreman arrived, her parents. They had picked up one of her items of luggage. That item was also turned over to police. Havlik talked with Mr. and Mrs. Foreman who are now in the courtroom. The shoes were submitted to the Department of Justice for analysis.
Det. Havlik lest the stand at 9:58 a.m.
SCOTT LEWIS/DEPT. OF JUSTICE
He took the stand at 9:59 a.m. He works at the crime lab in Fresno as a senior criminalist. He's worked there for 9 1/2 years. He works in the DNA unit, where biological elements might be present. He characterizes stains and does analysis. He has a degree in chemistry. He also has a background in biology. He spent a lot of time training with the D.O.J. He participated in a field call on this case at a laboratory in Fresno. He was to look for blood evidence. He looked for fluids in the lab and analyzed it. He examined the left femur of the victim. He sampled it, and did a DNA extraction. The sample was put in a test tube with various chemicals. The process is called PCR. It's like biological xeroxing. He also did analysis of Adidas running shoes for a possible blood stain. There was a stain on the toe area of the shoe. It appeared the stain was made from the inside, out of the shoe. He found a profile from the shoe. He confirmed the shoe belonged to Larissa Schuster.
10:07 a.m. Lewis' report was displayed for the jurors. He received DNA samples from several individuals including Shirley, Ted and Kristin Schuster. He also obtained a sample from a toothbrush.
Defense attorney Roger Nuttall began his cross-examination at 10:14 a.m. Almost all of the work he did on this case was just DNA. He described some of the samples including possible blood from a saw.
10:17 a.m. He also tested a sink and a room.
The witness left the stand at 10:22 a.m.
DEP. CORONER SARAH DAVIS/FRESNO CO. CORONER'S OFFICE
Dennis Peterson began his cross examination at 10:25 a.m. She became involved with case at the time of the autopsy. The blue barrel was brought to the lab. She was assisting in documenting what was done during the autopsy.
10:26 a.m. Peterson showed a duplicate barrel in the courtroom. It was transported by the Fresno Fire Dept. She was there when it arrived. It was placed on a gurney. They weighed it, and then moved it to the autopsy suite. They have a very large digital scale they role the gurney onto. She remembers there being a pallet, but she doesn't recall if it was also weighed. The total load weighed 526 lb. The gurney weighs around 100 lbs. Peterson showed a photo of the gurney, the barrel and the pallet to the witness.
10:30 a.m. The photo of the barrel being weighed was displayed for the juror. 10:31 a.m. We generally have homicides weighed, but they had never seen anything like that before. Peterson asked what kinds of cases they typically get.
10:31 a.m., you've never seen a a case like this one. She looked in the barrel. He had her look at the photo, but did not display the photo for the jurors. She described the remains of the deceased. She said the fluid level was visible.
10:33 a.m. At some point, they decided the fluid from the barrel had to be drained. The fire department needed to test the fluid, to see if it was safe to drain. They determined that the fluid was neutral. That top layer was a layer of fatty tissue and not acid.
10:34 a.m. Hazmat eventually provided direction with how to dispose of the fluid. When it was drained, they decided to poke a hole in the bottom of the barrel. It was extremely pungent.
10:36 a.m. They then followed with bleach. At that point, they determine the fluid was acid. Once the fluid started to flow out, it's difficult to stop that flow. There was an attempt to document the amount of fluid that came out of the barrel. Deputy Tiger and an autopsy technician grabbed pans, and then disposed of the fluid. They are typical pans used in day to day operations. The quantity of each pan was measured in liters. The pans hold around four to five liters per pan.It was more of a makeshift process. They had to rush doing it because the fluid kept coming.
10:38 a.m. She photographed and took notes. She attempted to document the number of pans that were strained. After so many pans were filled, she started to make hash marks. They started out with large pans and then switched to liter cups.
The morning break was called until 11 a.m.
Cross examination continued at 11:05 a.m. Peterson showed her a series of more graphic photos of the autopsy process. Those photos were not displayed to the jurors. Some photos were shown. One depicts the blue barrel on a gurney with a man in a hazmat suit opening up the top of the barrel. The next photo shown for jurors was a coroner taking acid out of the barrel. The next photo shows a hole being drilled into the barrel. A metal pan is on the table next to the barrel. The pans show the amount of fluid going into the pan. The next photo shows the fluid falling into a picture. They then attempted to cut the barrel to remove the remains. They initially used shears. That method was not successful. The barrel was very difficult to cut, so they used a saw. The barrel was cut on both sides all the way down.
11:12 a.m. Peterson asked if there was some ambiguity regarding the actual substance in the barrel. They tried to obtain a more accurate measurement of the fluid that was drained.
11:13 a.m., everyone's eyes and throats were burning. Eventually they had to start pouring it out and not counting. They recreated the barrel and the fluid to try and get a more accurate measurement. 12 pans of fluid were poured down the drain. Their experiment to reenact the dumping of fluid involved the barrel in the courtroom. The remains in the barrel weighed 103 lb. In an attempt to recreate the conditions in which the fluid was drained, they used a pig that was around 103 pounds and started pouring liters of water up to the area of the original amount of water.
11:15 a.m. Dr. Gopal and various police and attorneys were present. Peterson displayed the barrel again. There are markings on the barrel that help determine the amount of liquid in the barrel. Once it reached the same visual benchmark, they stopped adding water. The amount of fluid added was 120 liters.They were able to determine the pans represented one liter each. There were about four to five liters per pound.
Roger Nuttal began his cross examination at 11:18 a.m. Nuttall established that they had met earlier at a hearing. The autopsy was July 15, 2003. The fire department brought the barrel in on a pallet. She said there was a very strong odor when the barrel was brought in, but it was when the barrel was open that it started burning everyone's eyes.
11:24 a.m. it should have been saved properly, but nobody did that? no. If anyone would have determined it was hazardous material, Nuttall asked, "it wouldn't have been drained in that fashion?" He continued to question the method in which the fluid was drained. 11:26 a.m. that was the only way we had to do it. 11:26 a.m. "we've never had anything close to this before, we had to do it the best way we could," the witness said. The team determined this wasn't a very effective way to measure. Some of the liquid was poured down the drain, so it interfered with being able to accurately calculate. They bought a pig at a butcher shop.
11:29 a.m. The experiment was done in May 2006, nearly three years later. That's when the coroner's office realized they needed to do something a little different. They measured the best they could at the time, but they wanted to know exactly how much fluid was in the barrel.
11: 30 a.m. The witness didn't know exactly how much fluid was poured down the drain. Nuttall asked if there was any methodology as to taking samples of layers of liquid. They saved some of the initial fluid, and then ever so often they would notice a color change, so they saved a sample of that. The various samples represented are not documented. All of the fluid was released down the drain.
11;33 a.m. we all figured it was acid when we started smelling it, and it started draining. She said there was a strainer present. It was to catch anything that might also come out with the fluid, including tissue. The strainer didn't seem to catch anything.
11:38 a.m. The remains were much less than a whole body? yes. Nuttall asked her if anyone at the coroners office expressed concern that the body was cut before placed in barrel. 11:38 a.m. we were all surprised that the whole body wasn't there. Nuttall asked her about there being no skull bone or teeth.
11:39 a.m. The experiment that was done in 2006, the witness participated in that. She participated because she was a deputy coroner. The purpose was to determine how much actual liquid would have been in that barrel in 2003. 11:42 a.m., that was significantly different in size, in terms of volume and mass the pig was smaller.
The witness was excused at 11:42 a.m.
DR. MICHAEL COLES, kineseology professor at Fresno State
He works in exercises science and the effect of physical activity. He has a PhD from U. of Utah. He also has various other degrees. He regularly check body composition assessments. His lab does assessments on physical characteristics as they relate to adaptations to exercises. They estimate body volumes and densities. They often use immersions fluids--hydrostatic weighing. Individuals are placed in a large water. The body volume is determined by the displacement of water. He was consulted by the Fresno Co. District Attorney's office on May 2006. The pig had all the organs still present. It was placed in the barrel in the courtroom. Photos were taken at the time of the autopsy to duplicate the fluid level in the barrel. A pig was selected because it would be a substitute for something in the same general physical realm. Pigs are often used. It was the best substitute, aside from a human body. The body was released for burial or cremation. He was approximately 220 lbs., 6ft. 1, alive. Coles had to do a calculation. He was contacted by deputy district attorney Chris Gularte. He used two different methodologies to make the calculations. He was given some constants. He needed to look at percent body fat. He uses an equation to convert density to body fat. In this case, he worked the equation backwards, to determine the body volume. He also thought about another way to arrive at an answer. He just looked at weights of fluids and the body, and their densities. Peterson showed the witness a report, a demonstration of his calculations.
Testimony resumed after the noon break at 1:35 p.m. Coles used a diagram depicting two male figures. He showed what portion of Timothy Schuster's body was still in the barrel. He explained that there were 296 pounds of liquid. Peterson didn't show the picture of the pig in the barrel but showed it to the witness.
Roger Nuttall began his cross examination of the witness at 1:40 p.m. He asked Coles about the report on his assessment of the experimentation. Nuttall referred to a report by Judy Tucker, she said the experiment was conducted because it was determined that the autopsy report of Timothy Schuster was incorrect in the statement that 200 liters of fluid was drained from the barrel. Coles said he never saw that report. 1:43 p.m. Nuttall asked Coles if the 200 liters amount was incorrect. He said his only knowledge of the experiment was the 120 liters put back in the barrel. 120 liters is the total amount put back in the gallon, 31.7 gallons. The experiment, Coles said, he had no idea why it was being conducted. He was simply asked to observe the experiment. 1:46 p.m. The autopsy produced a body weighing around 103 lbs., but Coles knew nothing about the autopsy results. He said he was told a 104 lb. pig was used because that's what the body weighed. He said he saw pictures of Timothy Schuster's body and the top half had been dissolved. Nuttall established what information Coles was provided, including the victim's pre-death body weight of 220 lbs. He assumed a 25 percent body fat amount. 1:55 he didn't make assumptions about there initially being a whole body or a half body. He said he made the estimates based on what he was given. 1:56 Nuttall asked him if inaccurate information can skew his results. He's never before conducted an experiment involving acid and the human body. In reference to the report, for the purposes here, Oct. 19, 2007.
Dennis Peterson began his redirect. He pointed out that Coles was only given 120 liters liquid, 103 lbs of human remains, and one assumption, that Timothy Schuster was 220 lbs., and 6 ft. 1. He used a baseline assumption that he had 25 percent body fat. If the body had been 30 percent fat instead, the calculations are a fraction of a percent difference in gallons.
DR.VENU GOPAL/FRESNO CO. CORONER
He is a licensed physician in California. He has a specialty in forensic pathology. He performs autopsies of public interest. Cases get investigated, and if need be, he performs the autopsy. His education ended in 1976. He's done many years of residency in India, New York, etc. He's also been an instructor. He's been a consultant in Jamaica. He came to the U.S. in 1986. He's been at the Fresno Co. Coroner's office for about 15 years. Now he is the chief forensic pathologist. He held that job on July 15, 2003. He's conducted 10,500 autopsies as a forensic pathologist. His main job is to systematically document the findings on the human body. Based on those findings, he forms an opinion on the cause and manner of death. He's done been autopsies involving gun shots, strangulation, stabbing and poisoning. He's also dealt with other unnatural deaths. like drownings. On July 15, he responded to a storage unit at Shaw and Marks. He observed a blue barrel, Peterson showed similar to the barrel in the courtroom.
2:07 p.m. At the scene he inspected the contents. The lid was already removed. Arrangements were made to transfer the barrel to the office. 2:08 p.m. there was question whether to remove the body there, or to transfer the whole thing. Generally when you find the body in an object, it's removed. Here there were some issues involving the content of the barrel,
2:09 p.m. A human body floating in a pool of fluid. The body was bobbing up and down. 2:09 p.m. The body was transported with the barrel. It took the help of the fire department personnel. When it arrived at the coroner's office. There were quite a few issues. They had to make some observations, and information indicated the contents could be a biohazard material.
2:11 p.m. This is a very unusual case. Typically the body is placed on a gurney and then the gurney and body are weighed together, and the gurney weight is subtracted. 2:12 we had a battle with fluid and human remains, and then the gurney weight needed to be subtracted. The gurneys are around 118 lbs. In this case, that initial weighing of the body, because it was contained in the barrel with fluid, there were additional obstacles. The barrel was cut down the side on two sides. The intact body was 103 lbs.
2:16 p.m. it was free-floating in the barrel in the drum. There were chunks of human tissue, some fat, some skin, some muscle segments floating on top of the body. The holes were made at the bottom, and the fluid was drained. They knew what the toxic substance could be. He had dealt with acid before, he could really appreciate that there is some corrosive materials. There were fumes.
2:18 p.m. The consistency changed. In the beginning it was clear, more liquidly. It was similar to water. As it started draining it got thicker and thicker. 2:18 p.m. There was a lot of gooey material, stuck to the side and the bottom of the barrel. Samples were taken throughout the draining. Initially he said, he was misled to the acidity. The DOJ tested the fluid at the scene. They said it was neutral, and they could go ahead and perform the autopsy. Hazmat was called in again. They collected the fluid and determined the substance was neutralized.
2:20 p.m. as soon as they made holes, they were dealing with gloves that were not suitable. they didn't know what they were dealing with. 2:21 This was a trying situation for all of the people in the room that day. He said at some point, they had to stop what they were doing, change masks and continue draining the barrel, and continue doing what they can in the case. They had samples from the fluid in the top and bottom of the barrel tested. Gopal transported the specimens for stat analysis. 2:23 p.m., the fluid came back for concentrated hydrochloric acid. That was the black fluid in the bottom. The 103 lbs. in-tact body. He starts with an external examination of the deceased. He would generally look for an apparent surface issue, such as injuries. He described the body as he saw it.
2:25 p.m once he had the portion of the body. First he noted the body was decomposing. This is a natural process. Some of the things that happen to the dead, occurred. The body itself had islands. It's irregular. There were islands of skin patches in the abdomen, hip region, lower back, etc. He said the skin showed irregular markings. The muscle was soft and slimy and appeared to be melting
2;27 p.m. The upper area had a horizontal marking. They were bleached from the acid. It was soft and easily bloated. The underlying soft tissue and muscle strands had melting. This is the upper part of the body. Part of the liver was exposed. It was easily broken. He didn't find kidneys or a segment of the large intestines. He could not find the stomach and all of the segment of the large intestine was black. The lower section of three ribs, the fractures were irregular. The lower end of the femur was exposed. The left knee was exposed and all the muscles and tissue had a pungent odor. That's where he started collecting specimens.
2:30 p.m In the upper part of body, there was a protruding back bone. It was the 10th thoracic vertebrae that coats the main backbone. It was still attached to the rest of the body. It was very shaggy, falling off and easily broken, 2:30 p.m. Bloody material was leaking out of the column. He was just describing it as he saw it. For example, a bread stick dipped in water or coffee, it starts melting or breaking apart easily. Gopal collected a number of tissue samples. The organs were tested. There was definitely a chemical that was positive of chloroform,
2:33 p.m. Gopal is familiar with chloroform used as an anesthetic. Generally it is put in the area of the mouth. Once a person inhales, the chloroform vapors, in around seven seconds, the person feels faint. Later, there are different stages of anesthesia. It depends on the amount of chloroform a person is exposed to. A person can become unconscious within 10 to 20 minutes. It can be embedded in the tissue in that amount of time. Experts go by the half-lives. It's in the system for 7 to 8 hours or more. Then it starts to get detoxified.
