Larissa Schuster Trial Blog, Day 13

Det. Larry Kirkhart/chief investigating officer

Defense attorney Roger Nuttall began his direct examination of the witness at 9:45 a.m. The witness was presented with a stack of photographs related to the crime scene. He was asked about damage to a wall in Timothy Schuster's home, where it appeared a chair was slammed into the wall. 9:51 a.m. The witness said there were a number of things that made authorities concerned for his well-being, making the investigation more than a simple missing person's case. Kirkhart was asked about forensics investigation. He said the front door was not processed for fingerprints, because multiple people had opened the door. He believed there was no evidence there. He said fingerprints were taken on the truck in the garage. The chair near the front door was not seized and tested for fibers or anything. 9:55 Authorities believed he committed suicide. They even had helicopters flying over to look for his body. They believed he was despondent about losing his job. He said that's why they took the gun. The chip in the wall was the only evidence of something out of the ordinary that was present. There are no two investigations alike. It's not necessarily true that an entire crime scene is also fingerprinted. He said had there been a body in the house, they would have done more fingerprinting. Another photograph was shown to the witness and the jurors. It appeared to be a jewelry box on a vanity. Another photo was displayed. This was at Larissa Schuster's home where there's a big screen television and some cabinets. Another photo showed Larissa Schuster's living room area. The next photo was of a master bathroom. The prosecution objected on the grounds of relevance. The objection was overruled. Several more photos were displayed showing various photos of Larissa Schuster's home. A photo also showed a stack of business cards. Nuttall asked, in the context of this investigation were other investigators assigned to try and determine if there was any trace residue of acid in any part of her house. He responded, "no." 10:05 a.m. Nuttall showed the picture of the garage, and asked if there was any indication of acid or blood. He said he didn't process the garage. He then was asked about dirty laundry. He said he didn't know of any laundry processed. Nuttall asked about James Fagone's friends, including James Thornburgh and Tim Harrison, and Hasheesh, Matt Crowder. He also had other friends he hung out with. Kirkhart was asked if the whereabouts of any of those persons were of interest. He said based on the investigation, most of those people were interviewed. Were there whereabouts independently verified? The detective said he did not do that.

Prosecutor Dennis Peterson began his cross-examination at 10:10 a.m. He asked the witness if there was any reason to question Fagone's friends. He said there was no reason to do anything beyond the interview with them. They were not considered witnesses in the case. Their statements were consistent. The forensics investigation involved taking the entire floor of the shed at her house. He said it was very thorough. There was what appeared to be the imprint of a barrel on the floor of her shed. Neighbors were interviewed. Authorities did a visual inspection of the garage. There was nothing apparent. If a person's body was stuffed into a barrel with no external injuries he said he wouldn't expect to find any blood. 10:14 am.

Nuttall began his redirect. He asked if he's aware that James Fagone solicited help to commit a murder. Peterson objected. The objection was sustained. The witness left the stand at 10:15 a.m.

Dr. Paul Herrmann/Forensic Pathologist

He described his extensive background in forensic pathology and testifying in criminal cases. In this particular case he was retained by Roger Nuttall's office on behalf of Larissa Schuster in 2005. At that time he reviewed materials including, but not limited to photographs of the autopsy performed in this case. He reviewed other delicate materials that had been obtained in the course of the investigation pertaining to the death of Timothy Schuster. He reviewed police reports, toxicology reports, photos of autopsy and the body in the barrel before the autopsy was performed. He reviewed various statements made by people. He also went to Fresno and viewed some of the tissue that was removed and still in various containers . He reviewed the work done by Dr. Gopal. He was asked specific questions related to his expertise and assessment of this case. Nuttall asked him, as a general proposition, can a person's spine be consumed by acid? 10:24 a.m. He said he can be eaten up if there is a significant amount of acid. Nuttall asked, assume a body is placed in a barrel of acid, how would the acid consume the body. 10:25 a.m. The witness used the example of acid in your stomach, and how it breaks down food you eat. He said acid in a barrel would work the same way. The acid would start on the outside and then work in. It would first eat away at the skin, muscles, then organs, and then finally at the bones. He said the acid would turn a body into a soft pulpy mass. The bones, teeth and jewelry would be left. The acid would then become neutralized and stop eating away at the body all together. 10:28 a.m. Nuttall then asked more specific questions about this case. Nuttall advised the witness that the remains of Timothy Schuster weighed 103 lb., and alive, Timothy Schuster weighed more than 200 lbs. He said it's been maintained that Timothy's entire body was placed in the acid, he asked if in a week's time that much of the body could be destroyed. 10:29 a.m. He doesn't believe that would occur. He doesn't think there was enough acid to do that. He said the body was sharply cut off right at the middle of the body. He said the bone was cut off right at the 10-T vertebrae. He said half of the body did not get dissolved in acid in that barrel 10:30 a.m. Gopal maintains that the acid consumed the body from the head down to 10-T. The arms, neck, head, shoulder were all dissolved, according to the coroner's office. The witness heard that testimony. Herrmann said that's not possible. The defense then brought in a skeleton, to show the jury, where 10-T is located. It's the tenth thorasic vertebrae. It's right around the where the rib bones end. 10:34 a.m. If any acid is placed in the barrel, it would eat away at the outside in. 10:36 a.m. He said he would not expect the body to be cut in half. In some of the pictures, the fluid is relatively clear. It's brown and red in color. Light was coming through it. He said that would not be the case if the body was half dissolved. Herrmann said the first thing he would have thought when evaluating the body is that it had been cut in half before being placed in the barell. 10:38 a.m. He said he told them they need to go find the rest of the body. Herrmann was furnished with Dr. Michael Cole's testimony. He did a sample experiment with a pig. He reviewed Cole's testimony and the report he offered the district attorney's office. He said Cole's findings didn't change his opinion. The experiment showed what he said before, that he did not believe there were 200 ccs of fluid in the barrel, with 103 lbs. of tissue. The coroner's office has since acknowledged that was incorrect. Cole's acknowledged there were not 200 ccs of fluid. They cut of the head of the pig, and put roughly 100 lbs. of pig into the barrel to determine how much fluid might go into the barrel. The witness said Coles went into the experiment with the assumption that the acid ate away half the body. 10:42 a.m. The witness said the wrong experiment was done. It should have been a 200 lbs. pig and then see how the acid would affect the body. That would be the obvious experiment, he said. He learned early on that Dr. Gopal suggested it was possible that the body had been cut in half. Herrmann said the bones were broken. There are a lot of unanswered questions. 10:47 a.m. THE MAIN QUESTION, IS WHERE'S THE REST OF THE BODY. The coroner's office people said this case presented some unique challenges.

Peterson began his cross-examination at 10:49 a.m. He initially asked Herrmann about testifying in the past. Hydrochloric acid is a clear liquid. The fluid appeared to be a liquid that was sort of a brownish color. Gopal said the consistency of the fluid varied as it was drained. At the bottom of the barrel it got thicker. After the barrel was cut in half down to the base, it had to be tilted, and the gooey remains were shoveled out. Since his retirement, he largely testifies for the defense. Gopal has an open-door policy to allow investigators to inspect tissues and what not. The attorneys and Herrmann met there Aug. 30, 2005. They viewed two samples of tissue from Timothy Schuster's remains. Peterson showed the witness a transcript from that examination. The witness then read the transcript to the court. Dr. Herrmann said it contains muscle 10:59 a.m. He said this is a soft tissue that looks a little like liver, but can't be sure, more muscle. It resembles lung. Some looks like heart, piece of bone, looks like rib, piece of muscle, intestine. It's a very soft tissue. The tissue, the witness said, wasn't distinct. 11:02 a.m. The tissue was beaten up by the acid and it was decomposing. "It was very hard to identify. The tissue was in very bad condition." Dr. Gopal found two pieces of broken arm bones were found in the barrel. The witness said they were probably just thrown into the acid. Peterson then opened the replica barrel in the courtroom. Peterson asked him about the various ways the body could be placed in the barrel. 11:06 a.m. The two debated about the meaning of "broken bones." The prosecutor then grabbed the box with all the empty bottles of acid. If 18 bottles were poured into the barrel, it would likely not fill the barrel. He said it would take 208 liters to fill the barrel. He asked about 50 liters, which would fill a quarter of the barrel. Peterson than grabbed the skeleton and put it over the barrel. 11:09 a.m. Then Peterson showed him a bottle of water, and asked if the fluid looked like the water. He said it was brownish in color. 11:11 a.m. "I think you'd have trouble sticking a 220 lb. body in a barrel, but it can be done, I've seen bodies in barrels." He said he's never seen a body in a barrel of acid. He has a lot of experience with bodies. Experiments were done with acid, involving a cow vertebra that was entirely digested within 7 hours.

Court recessed for the lunch break at 11:15 a.m. Testimony will resume at 2 p.m.