📄 Direct examination of William J. Bodziak (part 1) — Wednesday, November 20, 1996
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C:\DEPT103\CIVIL\1996\NOV\20\DIRECT-EXAMINATION-OF-WILLIAM-.DOC
TRIAL
▲ Day 19 of 57

Direct examination of William J. Bodziak (part 1)

Witness: William Bodziak
Examiner: Edward Medvene
Called by: Plaintiff • Date: Wednesday, November 20, 1996 • Utterances: 235
FBI Special Agent William Bodziak, a 25-year veteran footwear examiner, testified that the bloody shoe prints found at the Bundy crime scene on June 13, 1994 were made by Bruno Magli shoes — European size 46, which converts to U.S. size 12. He traced the specific sole design to a factory in Italy called Silga, identified the manufacturer, and explained through comparison charts and overlays why no other size in the 42-47 range could have made the impressions. He also began testimony about examining carpet from O.J. Simpson's Bronco for footwear impressions using Luminol and leucocrystal violet, before a sidebar cut the examination short.
1 THE CLERK:

Sir, if you would, please raise your right hand to be sworn.

WILLIAM J. BODZIAK, called as a witness on behalf of Plaintiffs, was duly sworn and testified as follows:

2 THE CLERK:

You do solemnly swear that the testimony you may give in the cause now pending before this court shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?

3 WILLIAM BODZIAK:

I do.

4 THE CLERK:

Thank you. Please be seated.

Please state your name and spell both your first and last names, please.

5 WILLIAM BODZIAK:

William J. Bodziak, W-I-L-L-I-A-M J. B-O-D-Z-I-A-K.

DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. MEDVENE:

6 Q:

Where do you work?

7 A:

I'm a special agent of the FBI.

8 Q:

And?

9 A:

In Washington, D.C.

10 Q:

And what's your assignment?

11 A:

I'm an examiner of questioned documents, footwear, and tire-tread evidence in the FBI laboratory.

12 Q:

How long have you been doing that?

13 A:

Since 1970.

14 Q:

Would you describe your formal schooling, please.

15 A:

I have a master's degree in forensic science from the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. and my undergraduate degree is in biology from East Carolina University.

16 Q:

Would you go through, briefly, your experience with the FBI related to footwear examination.

17 A:

My entire time in the FBI or just with footwear?

18 Q:

Your entire time.

19 A:

From 1970 to August of '73, I was a field agent assigned to the New Haven and Baltimore divisions in an investigative capacity.

I was then transferred in 1973 to the laboratory, to the document section of the laboratory, where I underwent and completed three years of training under the senior examiners there, in the field of questioned documents, footwear, and tire-tread-impression evidence.

20 Q:

The nature of your work with the FBI in terms of footwear examination is what?

21 A:

As a footwear examiner, I make comparisons of footwear impressions that are obtained from the crime scene. These can be in the form of photographed impressions, impressions on actual pieces of evidence that they've taken from the scene.

They can be cast to footwear impressions or adhesive lifts or gelatin lifts of the impressions, and I make physical comparisons against shoes of suspected -- suspects in the case.

I also, in cases where there is either no known suspect or where the shoes of the suspect have never been obtained, try to determine the brand name or manufacturer of the footwear, and if possible, the sizes of the footwear.

22 Q:

Other than the training and work experience of the FBI, have you received any other training in terms of footwear examination?

23 A:

Yes. I've attended numerous symposiums and seminars, both domestically and internationally, in this topic area.

I've also visited, for the purpose of gathering information related to that type of an examination, I have visited over 30 footwear manufacturing facilities.

24 Q:

Have you provided training for others?

25 A:

Yes, I do.

26 Q:

In what?

27 A:

I teach a course in footwear impression examination that's offered at our FBI Academy at Quantico, Virginia for examiners from other state and federal laboratories around the country.

I've also been asked on numerous occasions to teach at other locations throughout the United States and also in several other countries.

28 Q:

Are you a member of any scientific associations?

29 A:

Yes. I'm a member of the International Association for Identification, of which I was the past Chairman of the Subcommittee of Footwear and Tire-Tread Evidence.

I'm a member of the American Academy of Forensic Science; active -- although there's no formal membership, I'm active in the International Association of Forensic Science.

I'm a member of the American Society of Questioned Document Examiners, and a Diplomat of the American Board of Forensic Document Examiners.

30 Q:

Have you chaired any symposiums on footwear impressions and examination of footwear?

31 A:

Yes. In 1994, I hosted and organized a symposium at our FBI Academy involving over 230 individuals, representing 30 different countries, on the topic area of footwear and tire-tread-impression evidence.

In addition, with regard to the International Association of Forensic Science, I was the section chairman of the section on that topic in 1987; in Vancouver, Canada in 1990, and in Adelaide, Australia in 1993, and in Duseldorf, Germany.

32 Q:

Have you published articles and books on footwear and tire-tread examination?

33 A:

Yes. In 1990, I developed a book entitled "Footwear Impression Evidence" that was published in 1990 by Elsevier, E-L-S-E-V-I-E-R Sciences Publishing Company, and I have written numerous articles on the area of footwear-impression evidence.

34 Q:

Have you qualified as an expert in many state and federal courts throughout the United States?

35 A:

Yes, I have.

36 Q:

I want to bring you to this case.

Were you contacted by the LA Police Department in mid-1994 in connection with their investigation of the murders of Ronald Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson?

37 A:

Yes, I was.

38 Q:

Approximately when was that?

39 A:

It was in the beginning of August of 1994.

40 Q:

What were you asked to do?

41 A:

I was first telephonically contacted that the evidence was being sent to the laboratory, and then received 30 photographs.

These photographs were what I call examination quality photographs; that is, they are taking -- taken directly over a footwear impression with a scale in them, and so they can be enlarged to natural size.

And I was requested to determine what brand or manufacturer of shoes made those impressions, and also to determine the size of those impressions, the shoe size.

42 MR. MEDVENE:

Could you put on the board what's been marked 41, please.

43 (The instrument herein referred to as Board entitled "Shoe Prints at Bundy, June 13, 1994, was marked for identification as Plaintiffs' Exhibit No. 41.)
44 Q:

(BY MR. MEDVENE) 41 is a board entitled Shoe Prints at Bundy, June 13, 1994. That has 15 separate photographs on it.

Does this board contain certain of the photographs included in the 30 you were originally sent?

45 A:

Yes, sir, it does.

46 Q:

And have you previously received all of these photographs from LA Police Department as photos that were taken at the crime scene June 13, 1994?

47 A:

Yes, I have.

48 Q:

What is depicted in the photographs?

And you can approach the board, if that would be more helpful.

49 A:

I can see it from here, if it's okay.

50 Q:

Sure.

51 A:

At the top right corner, as you face the board, with the label Q367 and Q68 is a general area -- I think people refer to that as the caged-in area. It's inside the front gate.

It depicts the victim, Nicole Brown Simpson; it also depicts at some distance, some footwear impressions and the first two steps or two or three steps as you enter the gate and head west toward the back of the house.

52 MR. MEDVENE:

For the record, that's Exhibit 43.

53 (The instrument herein referred to as Shoe Prints at Bundy, June 13, 1994 containing 15 separate photographs was marked for identification as Plaintiffs' Exhibit No. 43.)
54 Q:

(BY MR. MEDVENE) Yes, sir. Go ahead.

55 A:

The two photographs below that are --

56 MR. MEDVENE:

Excuse me one second.

Q68 is exhibit 2207.

Q67 is exhibit 2209.

57 (The instrument herein referred to as Photograph entitled Q68 was marked for identification as Plaintiffs' Exhibit No. 2207.)
58 (The instrument herein referred to as Photograph entitled Q67 was marked for identification as Plaintiffs' Exhibit No. 2209.)
59 Q:

(BY MR. MEDVENE) Please go ahead.

60 A:

Q67 and Q68 are closer photographs of the same area labeled with those same numbers in the photograph at the top right-hand side. in the chart Q67 and Q68.

61 Q:

To the left of the top of the chart marked B is also a photograph showing a portion of Nicole Brown Simpson's body, the first three steps, and two impressions on there marked A and B. And then below --

62 MR. MEDVENE:

Excuse me. The top photo, B, is Exhibit 44. The one with an A is 2206, and B under it is 2208.

63 (The instrument herein referred to as Photo labeled with A was marked for identification as Plaintiffs' Exhibit No. 2206.)
64 (The instrument herein referred to as Photo labeled with B was marked for identification as Plaintiffs' Exhibit No. 2208.)
65 Q:

(BY MR. MEDVENE) Could you go ahead, please.

66 A:

The two photographs below, labeled A and B, are enlargements of the same designated footwear impressions.

In the top photograph, in the next column, moving to the left, which would be the center column of the chart, is a picture taken from the top of those first three steps and pointing backwards toward the -- I believe it's the west direction, to the back of the driveway.

It might be easier to look at if you tilted your head to the side.

And it depicts four more footwear impressions, which are labeled C, D, E, and F.

67 MR. MEDVENE:

That's Exhibit 45.

Below that C is Exhibit 48 and D is Exhibit 49.

68 Q:

(BY MR. MEDVENE) Would you tell us what they are?

69 A:

Yes. Those are close-up, what I had called examination quality photographs, which were taken separately, which the scale in this case is a ruler in those photographs, so they could be later enlarged to a precise natural size.

On the next column to the left at the top, with the letters F, G, H, I and J, that is a continuing photograph of the next segment of the sidewalk heading toward the back of the house, and depicts five of the footwear impressions.

And then two of those, you're -- or one of those, F, Is at the bottom of that column. And in the middle, E, is one which is also depicted in the center top photograph.

The E and F are, again, natural size or examination quality photographs which were taken with a ruler so they could, if needed be enlarged to a natural size.

70 MR. MEDVENE:

For purposes of the record, the photograph at the top with F, G, H, I and J is Exhibit 46.

Underneath E is Exhibit 50.

Underneath that F is Exhibit 51.

71 Q:

(BY MR. MEDVENE) Would you go to the next column, sir.

72 A:

Yes. The top left hand of the chart, that photograph has the initials G, H, I and J. That is, again, a little bit further back on the same walkway at Bundy.

And below that are two additional photographs, G and I, which are again examination quality photographs, some of the ones which were sent to me initially with a ruler in them, and depicting individual footwear impressions at Bundy,

73 MR. MEDVENE:

For the record, the photo at the top, G, H, I, J, is Exhibit 47.

The one under it, G, is Exhibit 52.

The one under that I is Exhibit 53.

74 Q:

(BY MR. MEDVENE) When you received the photos that you told us a few moments ago that you received from the LA Police Department, what was the first step you took to attempt to determine the brand name or manufacturer of the bloody shoe prints found at Bundy?

75 A:

The FBI maintains a computerized footwear data base of thousands of designs, of shoe designs, for this purpose, because this is one of the functions or services we provide to law enforcement agencies across the country.

I first searched this impression or these impressions through that data base, but was unable to find it there.

76 Q:

What did you do?

77 A:

Well, I looked at the impressions and the characteristics in those impressions, and I noticed some individual features about them which, based on my knowledge of footwear manufacturers, led me to believe that this was a high end or expensive Italian shoe.

Some of those features were the fact that the design or pattern in the sole was the same in the heel, meaning sometimes there's a separate design in the heel, and that is normally an indicator when the design is identical, that it's a one unit -- a one-piece unit that has been molded and has a raised heel, and the design is made from that mold at the same time.

There was also a perimeter that ran around the border of the design of the heel and the sole. There was somewhat of a pointed toe on the inner corner of the heel. And in some of the photographed impressions, you could see there was an angle, as if the point of the heel had been cut off.

And, in fact, this is a characteristic which is intentionally included in the mold of the shoe -- in certain shoes. Normally, more expensive ones.

And based on these characteristics and the fact that it was a nonathletic pattern, it wasn't typical of an athletic shoe, I was of the opinion that it was a high-end Italian shoe.

So I looked through the data and information on importers, manufacturers, and people who deal with these types of shoes. And I identified approximately 80 of those that deal with expensive Italian shoes. And I contacted those places to determine if they were familiar with this design or if it was their design.

At the same time, I contacted eight other laboratories around the world that also have a computerized data base and might have that design in their data base.

KEY QUOTE
78 MR. MEDVENE:

May I approach, Your Honor?

79 (Nods affirmatively.)
80 Q:

(BY MR. MEDVENE) As a result of your contacts, did you receive anything?

81 A:

Yes. I received a pair -- or, not a pair, but two right shoes of a Bruno Magli design. One was known as Lyon, L-Y-O-N, and the other was known as a Lorenzo, L-O-R-E-N-Z-O.

82 Q:

I place before you, or I have just placed before you what's been marked 395.

Can you tell us what that is?

83 THE CLERK:

That will be by reference.

84 (The instrument herein referred to as a box containing two Bruno Magli shoes was marked by reference to Criminal Case No. BA097211 for identification as Plaintiffs' Exhibit No. 395.)
85 A:

Yes. 395 is a box which contains two shoes. These are Bruno Magli shoes.

They have the same sole design, but one of them has a lower profile around the heel and has, obviously, different seams and components to the shoe, and it's much smaller; it's a size nine and a half. And the name of this shoe is a Lyon, or L-Y-O-N.

And the other shoe is what some people refer to as a bootie, or a higher top, higher heeled, heel counter, and this is known as the Lorenzo. And this is a size 12, U.S. size 12.

These shoes have a retail price of $160. They were distributed by Bruno Magli of North America. They came in six colors in each of the styles: Black, brown, white, olive, brandy, and blue.

And this is the blue pair, or these two are blue, because I think they're somewhat faded from being in a show window.

86 Q:

When were they sold and how many stores carried it?

87 A:

They were sold between the years 1991 and 1993. There was a total of 40 stores in the United States and Puerto Rico which sold this shoe.

KEY QUOTE
88 Q:

They were sold in what sizes?

89 A:

They were sold in sizes from six and a half to 13.

90 Q:

Did you cause a photograph to be made of those shoes at the FBI laboratory?

91 A:

Yes, I did.

92 MR. MEDVENE:

Would you place on the board, please, what's marked 394, entitled Bruno Magli Shoe, with -- depicting three shoes, one with a sole, and then a Lorenzo and a Lyon.

93 (The instrument herein referred to as Board entitled Bruno Magli Shoe, depicting three shoes, one with a sole, and then a Lorenzo and a Lyon, was marked for identification as Plaintiffs' Exhibit No. 394.)
94 Q:

(BY MR. MEDVENE) We've placed on the board what's marked 394, Bruno Magli Shoe.

Could you tell us what that is?

95 A:

On the left is an enlargement of the shoe, of the Bruno Magli Lorenzo shoe, which is part of -- I think this is Exhibit 395, I believe.

96 Q:

Yes.

97 A:

And to the top right, marked "Lorenzo," is a -- what you call a three-quarter shot of that shoe, not from the front or the side, but in between.

And on the bottom is a photograph of the Lyon shoe, all on Exhibit 395.

98 Q:

Would you mind, if it's helpful, going to the board and pointing out some of the features that you described so the jury can see exactly what you're talking about.

99 A:

Okay.

100 MR. MEDVENE:

With the Court's permission.

101 (Nods affirmatively.)
102 WILLIAM BODZIAK:

I was referring first to the design or pattern that was evident in the impressions at the scene. And for lack of a better term of describing each design element. I guess it could be a Z-shaped or H on the side with a connecting bar. But each of these different elements I will refer to as a design element. And these design elements are consistent in their size and they're the same on the heel as they are in the sole.

Around these design elements is a very thin but raised line, and it's even with the depth of those design elements. And that's true, also, not only in the heel, but also around the perimeter of the area containing these design elements up in the sole.

Those features are even so that when an impression is left on a hard surface, those both will be printing or can be printing, depending on the amount of material on them.

I noticed the semipointed nature of the shoe; I noticed that the heel was raised; that on the inner corner, that would be as you're standing with your feet together, the corners of your heel to the inside of your body, were intentionally, through the design and the mold, shaved off. And this is a characteristic that I had seen in the impressions before determining what kind of shoes they were.

Also, there is the fact that it is a nonathletic shoe design; it's not typically found on athletic shoes. Also, the name Silga, S-I-L-G-A, appears here in the center.

There is an ovular design which says Bruno Magli. It has a capital M in the middle, and at the very bottom in the shadow, it says made in Italy.

103 Q:

Were you able to visually determine whether or not the design elements that you've described on the shoe were similar or dissimilar to the photographs you observed that you were sent by the LAPD of the bloody shoe prints?

104 A:

Yes. I received these shoes. I was able to confirm that the bloody impressions in the photographs from the Bundy crime scene were this design, this Bruno Magli design.

105 Q:

Thank you.

106 (Witness resumes witness stand.)
107 A:

Yes. I determined that they were made at the Silga factory. And that's the name I pointed out to you on the bottom of the sole.

Silga is located in Civitinova Marche in Italy. C-I-V-I-T-I-N-O-V-A, M-A-R-C-H-E.

108 Q:

And Silga exclusively made the soles?

109 A:

Silga owns the casts. There's a total of ten casts, and they exclusively make the soles.

110 Q:

Did you determine who made the tops?

111 A:

The tops were made by a company in the same town in Italy called 4C.

That's just the numeral 4 and the capital letter C.

112 Q:

Now, after -- after determining that the shoe design elements that you've described visually compared to the bloody imprints you were sent, did you make any attempt to determine what size shoe made that imprint?

113 A:

Yes. I obtained from Silga samples of the left and right shoe soles, from left and right mold casts, size 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, and 47.

114 Q:

I place before you what's been marked 399, and ask what that is.

115 A:

These are the left and right pairs from the mold casts that Silga supplied to me that represent the sizes from 42 through 47. Those are European sizes.

116 THE CLERK:

That's marked by reference, as well.

117 (The instrument herein referred to as left and right pairs from the mold casts that Silga supplied to Mr. Bodziak was marked by reference to Criminal Case No. BA097211 for identification as Plaintiffs' Exhibit No. 399.)
118 Q:

(BY MR. MEDVENE) What did you do with the soles?

119 A:

I took the soles and made a physical comparison of the soles with the crime-scene impressions in the photographs at Bundy, and I also made test impressions of the soles for assistance in comparison of those crime-scene impressions.

120 Q:

Did you prepare enlarged charts to explain the basis for any opinion you might offer on what size shoe left the bloody imprints that you've just shown us that were found at Bundy?

121 A:

Yes, I did.

122 MR. MEDVENE:

Would you place on the board, 402, please.

123 (Mr. Foster complies.)
124 MR. MEDVENE:

We're placing on the board now Exhibit 402, which is marked "Reverse Photographs of Soles."

125 (The instrument herein referred to as Board entitled Reverse Photographs of Soles was marked for identification as Plaintiffs' Exhibit No. 402.)
126 Q:

(BY MR. MEDVENE) And could you tell me whether or not that board was prepared under your supervision?

127 A:

Yes, it was.

128 Q:

You have the soles up -- still up there with you, I believe?

129 A:

Yes.

130 Q:

Using this board, 402, and the soles in front of you that are 399, could you explain to us how you're able to differentiate between sole sizes?

131 A:

Yes.

May I step down?

132 Q:

Yes, sir, please.

133 (Witness approaches large exhibit entitled "Reverse Photographs of Soles.")
134 A:

I will first explain the photographs of the soles.

On this particular chart, it only represents the left soles. For demonstration it's only necessary to talk about the left or right. It's not necessary to talk about both. They are reverse photographs of the soles and of course they are larger than life size.

By reverse photograph, I mean that the sole is photographed -- and this is a left sole, goes on the bottom of a shoe. You can see it's a left sole. And it's photographed and then the negative is turned around and printed in reverse. That's because the impression that the shoe makes is in that same alignment, it's actually a reversal when you look at the bottom of the shoe.

So for demonstration purposes I have reversed these photographs.

On the bottom is part of some of the test impressions that I made of the area enclosed in red as marked on the bottom of the reverse pictures of the soles. And this is enlarged to a very large size so the detail can easily be seen. So that would represent the area here on the corner, the pointed corner of the heel.

I had mentioned before that the design elements were the same size in both the heel and the sole. They are also the same size in each of the different size shoes so the design element in a small 42 is the same as in the largest 47.

When each sole size gets bigger, there will be more of these design elements within this perimeter area in both the heel and the sole. So the overall pattern cannot ever be the same because the design size is consistent.

This is demonstrated with the portion of the test impression on the bottom where you can look at the respective areas going from 47 to 46 to 45 to 44, and looking at different areas, the positioning and the exact content of that design in those positions is not the same.

And that is how, by looking at a bloody footwear impression, or any footwear impression by these shoes it's possible to determine not only which sole it came from but what size sole it was.

In this case I determined that the impressions were made by the left and right size 46 soles.

135 Q:

Now, if you just have an impression of a heel as opposed to a sole, are you able to tell the shoe size?

136 A:

Yes.

137 Q:

And again, how?

138 A:

Because each of the heels are distinctly different and each of the soles are distinctly different. So you could have just a sole or just a heel or both and you can make the same determination.

139 MR. MEDVENE:

Let me ask that we put up what's marked 403 which is entitled "Shoe Comparison Board."

140 (The instrument herein described was marked for identification as Plaintiffs' Exhibit No. 403.)
141 Q:

(BY MR. MEDVENE) And I'd like to go through that board and see if you can explain to us what that has to do, if anything, about how you actually went about comparing certain of the bloody shoe imprints that you saw with the actual size 46. In other words, I want you to show me why you say it's a 46.

142 A:

Okay, I can explain what is on this board.

First, on the left side, as you face it, labeled shoe print E --

143 Q:

Hold it right there. When we say shoe print E, a few minutes ago when we were on the other board -- it's tough to work with them all -- there was a shoe print E?

144 A:

Yes.

145 Q:

Is that related to what we were going to look at?

146 A:

This is an enlargement of that exact same photograph.

147 Q:

Sorry, I interrupted. Go ahead.

148 A:

Labeled shoe print E, FBI Q107, which is our laboratory designation of the same letter, this is an approximate two-time enlargement of this impression. It consists not only of the heel but of the sole as well, and attached to it is a transparency also in a two-time enlargement of a test impression made from the left size 46 sole.

On the right-hand side, labeled shoe print FBI 268 --

149 Q:

There is Q68. If we were to put up that other board -- and we will in a moment -- was that shown on the other board as one of the footprints by the cage area?

150 A:

Yes, it was.

151 Q:

Go ahead.

152 A:

This is a heel impression and over the top of that is the same two-time enlargement transparency of the size -- European size 46 left sole.

Well, based on comparison of the soles themselves as well as the test impressions, and this was done with natural size photographs and the original test impressions, I was able to determine based on the orientation and positioning of these design elements that the only sole size which could have made these impressions, shoe print E and shoe print FBI Q68, was the European size 46 left sole.

None of the other sizes that I had, 42 through 45 or 47, fit the same geometric pattern and positioning within these shoe prints.

153 Q:

Now, were you able to convert the European size 46 to a comparable American size?

154 A:

Yes, I was.

155 Q:

And I want to briefly put on the TV monitor what's been marked 2210 and ask you if you could tell us what that is, if you can run it right across?

156 (The instrument herein referred to as Shoe conversion chart was marked for identification as Plaintiffs' Exhibit No. 2210.)
157 A:

Okay. This is a size conversion chart that's used by Bruno Magli specifically for this design of shoe.

I'll say also that it generally conforms with the general footwear conversion chart as well.

On the right-hand side, the largest size -- European size that they made in this design was a size 47, which is at the top. On the bottom of that is the U.S. size that they manufactured on that shoe using that sole. So the size 47 sole would be a U.S. size 13.

Just to the left of that, you have size 46 in the European size which is the one which I had been demonstrating with. And on the bottom is the U.S. size for that which is U.S. size 12.

And then the next is 45 and 44 and so forth, with the U.S. conversions beneath it, going all the way down, so their smallest sole size, 38, which is actually a -- would have been a U.S. size 6, but which they didn't sell. According to their information, they started with the six and a half.

158 Q:

I see it says sizes of soles. We talked some about soles.

Underneath it says sizes of lasts. What does that mean? What's a last?

159 A:

I went to the factory in Italy. I actually brought a last back that was used in the production of the American or U.S. size 12 shoes.

160 MR. MEDVENE:

May I approach?

161 Q:

(BY MR. MEDVENE) I place before you what's been marked 401.

Tell us what that is, please.

162 A:

401 is a pair of lasts. On the lasts are the markings that were on those shoes in the factory. 12, that's in a toe area and on the side and also in this area, and also handwritten is a 46 and some other notations and -- on one of those lasts in its extended form. This is the form it would be in when the upper of the shoe is placed over this last.

A last is actually a foot form that the shoe is built on. And the different stitch -- the different size components that comprise the upper after they're stitched together would be placed over this.

And of course at that time there could be -- there would be no sole on the bottom, but that material would be stretched down tightly over this last and turned over and special machines will form and tuck that excess material around the bottoms and the heel.

And then this would be placed into the respective size -- in the case with the U.S. size 12 last. They match that specifically when they design these with the European size 46.

So with a little bit of thickness of the material now on the shoe, it would be placed into this and would be glued and stitched in the stitching groove to make the completed shoe.

163 Q:

Would you describe what you've put together.

For purposes of the record, you've taken a 46 sole which is part of 399 and you've put it together with the 46 or size 12 American last?

164 A:

That's correct.

Now, in order -- once this is done --

165 MR. BAKER:

There's no question.

166 Q:

(BY MR. MEDVENE) Yes, sir. Once that's put together, the -- the -- the last and the sole, what occurs?

167 A:

Well, the last must be removed from the shoe which is now tightly around it. And there's a special device for unlinking that last and then removing it from the shoe, which is what it would look like here.

168 Q:

When you say it would look like here, the other part of 401, you're showing how that bends down and releases from the shoe?

169 A:

Well, the last actually separates into two parts.

170 MR. MEDVENE:

Would you put on the board, please, or put up another board, 408. We're going to put Exhibit 408 on the board. It's called "Shoe Print at Bundy."

171 (The instrument herein described was marked for identification as Plaintiffs' Exhibit No. 408.)
172 MR. MEDVENE:

With the court's permission, we're not going to use the TV monitor, and put up one other chart here that will -- which I think will better explain the other chart. If I have your permission.

173 THE COURT:

All right.

174 (Indicating to TV screen.)
175 (Chart entitled "Shoe Print at Bundy June 13, 1994" is placed in front of TV screen.)
176 Q:

(BY MR. MEDVENE) Are the -- well, first, let's go to 408, if you would, and did you assist in preparing 408?

177 A:

Yes, I did.

178 Q:

Could you go down, if you wouldn't mind, to 408 with a pointer and describe what 408 is?

179 A:

Okay. May I do it from here?

180 Q:

Sure.

181 A:

Okay. 408 is a diagram of the walkway at Bundy beginning on the right side as you face it at the front, what is known as the front gate, and then heading westward -- I believe it's west, to the -- what is marked the driveway at the end of that. And I believe that distance is approximately 100 feet although I -- that's an estimate that I made, not an exact measurement.

To the right are two yellow forms and these represent the victims and their positioning at the scene, and in between them are two numbers, Q67 and Q68, which have been discussed before and which are on this other board on the right-hand column, Q67 and Q68, up there to the left of those.

182 Q:

The other board, what we marked C41?

183 A:

Yes.

184 Q:

And are we saying that if we have Q67 and Q68, this is -- if we looked at C41, that's a close-up of Q67 and Q68?

185 A:

Yes, it is.

186 Q:

If we have -- on the second step, this is a close-up of and so forth?

187 A:

Yes.

188 Q:

So there's an interrelationship between this drawing at least in part and the actual pictures of the bloody shoe print?

189 A:

Yes.

190 Q:

Okay, keeping going. I'm sorry.

191 A:

Well, as you look from that area I just described, slightly to the left, we're still at the very far right-hand side of the Bundy walkway chart, there is then the letter A and B, C, D, E, F and so forth, and those letters continue through the alphabet as you move to the left.

Each of those letters designates a separated footwear impression which was submitted to me for examination.

The ones in pink represent left impressions. The ones which had sufficient detail for me to determine that they were left size 46 impressions, they may be a heel impression, they may be a sole impression or they may be both, but they can be designated as size 46 left.

The purple impressions are right impressions and in the same manner they would represent either heel or sole or both and they were determined by me to be size 46 European sole impressions.

192 Q:

What part did you play, if any, in placing the letters or numbers on what's marked 408?

193 A:

Okay. After receiving the photographs and doing the examinations and being familiar with those impressions, I was asked to go to the Bundy scene and to reconstruct on which tiles each of those were.

This was a very simple task to do because each specific impression was on a tile that had a lot of detail to it, a lot of imperfections and splotches in different marks. It was very easy to determine where these had come from, particularly since they were labeled A, B, C, D in order from the very beginning.

194 Q:

Now, you've told us that the pink on the board are identifiable left; the purple identifiable right.

I notice there's some oval blue. What is that -- does that represent?

195 A:

The blue represents photographed footwear impressions or photograph marks in blood that could not be specifically distinguished. In other words, there was insufficient detail in those impressions to determine that they were a Bruno Magli impression or that they were a size -- specific size impression.

196 Q:

Now, you had taken us through a moment ago the comparison you did to demonstrate to the jury the basis for your opinion that Q67, I think E, were size 12 American size Bruno Magli shoes.

You've now given an opinion about a number of other left and right shoe prints?

197 A:

Yes.

198 Q:

And I ask you did you make the same type of comparison with respect to the other bloody impressions on the walkway pictures as you previously described when you told us about Q68 and E?

199 A:

Yes. In the same type of comparison, examining the original soles and all of the sizes and examining the test impressions made of size 42 through 47, I was able to determine that the ones in pink and purple designated on that board were specifically European size 46 Bruno Magli design shoes.

200 Q:

I have placed before you what I'll represent to you are Exhibits 412A through O, 413, 414, 415, 411, 410 and 416, that basically each separately deal with footprints A through J, L, M, N, O, S, X, Y, Q68 and 116. In other words, a significant part of the various footprints on Exhibit 40.

201 A:

Yes.

202 Q:

Could you just take one of those and tell us if you went through the same exercise on each of those as you've described to the jury when you talked about Q68 and E in showing us how you determined that they were size 12 U.S. size?

203 A:

Yes. For instance, this one in my hand which I'm showing to the jury is marked A, and it represents the same impression marked A on the Bundy board, to the right of the board. It is an impression of a sole.

In it are two rulers. It's a black-and-white photograph which was taken on June 13 and it has been enlarged so that one inch on the ruler equals one inch. It's the actual size that the tile and the footprint would have been at the scene.

Attached to it is a transparent overlay of a test impression of part of the size 46 left shoe or left shoe sole.

In the same type of comparison, using the variations in the pattern and the physical size, I was able to determine that this impression, like the others and like all of these others that you just read in the -- in the -- in the record, were made by either the left or right European 46 shoe.

204 Q:

U.S. 12?

205 A:

U.S. 12.

206 Q:

Bruno Magli shoe?

207 A:

Yes, sir.

208 Q:

You've told us a few moments ago about the blue ovals that as you go down the walkway start to get these blue ovals that you say you weren't able to identify sufficiently.

Could you explain to us why, why that is, why particularly at the beginning of walkway are there enough design elements, and then later, as you get on the walkway, you're not able to?

209 A:

Okay. As -- as a person walks or tracks through blood, particularly a large quantity of blood such as was the case at the gate area of that scene where the two victims were, a considerable amount of that blood will be covering the surface of the shoe, whatever it comes in contact with.

And the shoe has raised areas and it has grooves in it, and the raised areas are the areas that when you walk actually make contact with the surface. So as this design or pattern and -- with all the different sizes and shapes on it makes contact with the sidewalk, with the very first step it's going to leave a relatively dark impression because there is a larger quantity of blood on it at that time.

As that shoe presses against the walk, it's going to press a lot of that blood into the pavement in the form of an impression, and any excess blood will be squeezed to the sides under the pressure and will either fill the grooves or around the edges of that design element.

With the next step, there will be less blood on the shoe, and a similar type of physical reaction will take place but there will be a slightly lighter footwear impression and so on with each subsequent step so that you will start to get at a point where there is no longer sufficient detail left on the walkway to recognize what it was in terms of the pattern or size features, even though you may still see traces of blood on the walkway.

In this case, most of the discernible footwear impressions were to the right close to the blood area and there's an area in the middle where they're kind of mixed up. Some of them you could see in enough detail and some of them you couldn't.

And then as you get to the left or further down the walkway, most of them are blue, and although you can see that there are steps and blood impressions on the walkway, you cannot discern their physical features.

There's one exception which is at the very end, and I believe it's marked Q116F.

210 (Indicates.)
211 A:

Yes. That was an area where, after going down two steps, you could see two parallel lines up in this area and a little blood at the tip, and you could discern that it was a right shoe, and the curvature of those lines match the 46 sole.

This may have been a situation where the blood was around the edges of this design, and after jumping down the step, two-step or angling the foot, there was just a little bit of that excess blood further squeezed out, but in normal walking the distance between there, all the way -- midway back in the walkway, there are no longer any bloody impressions.

212 Q:

Did you prepare a chart that demonstrates this fact that the blood gets lighter?

213 A:

Yes.

214 MR. MEDVENE:

Would you be kind enough to put up Exhibit 407.

215 (The instrument herein described as Footwear impressions after stepping in liquid was marked for identification as Plaintiffs' Exhibit No. 407.)
216 MR. BAKER:

I object to that. That's argument and cumulative.

217 THE COURT:

Overruled.

218 Q:

(BY MR. MEDVENE) Could you describe what this chart depicts?

219 A:

This chart depicts on the top what occurs when a person walks through a liquid such as water, grease or blood.

And you can see at first to the left, after coming out of the liquid area, the impressions are very heavy, and with each subsequent step they get lighter and lighter. Eventually, if I were to extend that chart, you would no longer see any evidence of those footwear impressions.

On the bottom are three impressions I made wearing Exhibit 395, the Bruno Magli shoe, the right shoe, and those were made with latex paint where I actually stood in a tray of latex paint, took a step out of the tray onto a piece of paper.

And the one in the middle is the second step and the one to the right is the third step.

So it shows that there's considerably more liquid material on the first as you look at it to your left, a lot less on the second, and by the time you get to the third, most of the dark areas are actually the edges around the design elements because that's where the liquid has been squeezed to. There could also be some up in the grooves of the shoe that are not at all at that point making contact with the flat surface.

220 Q:

Did you have occasion to examine certain carpet from Mr. Simpson's Bronco?

221 A:

Yes, I did.

222 Q:

And approximately when was that?

223 A:

That was on September 1, 1994.

224 Q:

And where?

225 A:

At the LAPD laboratory.

226 MR. MEDVENE:

Would you be good enough to put up 419, please.

227 (The instrument herein described as Chart entitled Bronco carpet LAPD No. 33 was marked for identification as Plaintiffs' Exhibit No. 419.)
228 Q:

(BY MR. MEDVENE) What did you -- could you tell us what you did to the carpet, if anything?

229 A:

Okay. I examined the carpet and -- I was requested to examine the carpet for any possible footwear impressions and to chemically enhance any blood impressions that I saw on that carpet.

And I did that on September 1 at the LAPD laboratory, first with Luminol and secondly with leucocrystal violet which turns the blood sort of a dark purplish color.

230 Q:

And did you then cause certain photographs to be made?

231 A:

I made photographs of the carpeting before it was enhanced and through each stage of it and at the end of the enhancement.

232 Q:

Could you tell us what Exhibit 419 is?

233 A:

419 contains three photographs. The top right is just a general shot of a white Ford Bronco. The two larger photographs depict the carpeting from the driver side of the Bronco which was cut out prior to my examining it. The left photograph is a smaller than natural size. In other words, the ruler is smaller than it actually would be in real life, but it depicts the entire piece of carpeting that I examined after it was enhanced. And to the right is a natural size of a portion of that carpeting showing the life size representation of the enhanced blood marks on there.

234 Q:

Would you mind coming -- going up to the chart and orienting the jury by moving the pictures, if appropriate, to depict where the carpet would be found in the vehicle and where the blood was found.

MR. P. BAKER: Your Honor, I'm going to object to this. May we approach, quickly?

235 THE COURT:

You may.

Temperature

procedural

Key Quotes (4)

Bodziak
I was able to determine that the impressions were made by the left and right size 46 soles.
Core forensic conclusion linking the crime scene shoe prints to a specific European size that converts to U.S. size 12.
Bodziak
They were sold between the years 1991 and 1993. There was a total of 40 stores in the United States and Puerto Rico which sold this shoe.
Establishes the rarity of the shoe — only 40 retail locations nationwide carried the Bruno Magli design, limiting the universe of possible owners.
Bodziak
I looked at the impressions and the characteristics in those impressions, and I noticed some individual features about them which, based on my knowledge of footwear manufacturers, led me to believe that this was a high end or expensive Italian shoe.
Explains the reasoning chain that led from unidentified bloody prints to the Bruno Magli identification — showing the methodology, not just the conclusion.
Bodziak
As this design or pattern and — with all the different sizes and shapes on it makes contact with the sidewalk, with the very first step it's going to leave a relatively dark impression because there is a larger quantity of blood on it at that time.
Explains why impressions near the victims' bodies are clear and identifiable while those further down the walkway fade — anticipating a defense challenge to the evidence.

Evidence (14)

Plaintiffs' 41/43
Board entitled 'Shoe Prints at Bundy, June 13, 1994' containing 15 photographs of crime scene impressions
introduced and described in detail
Plaintiffs' 2207, 2209
Individual photographs Q67 and Q68 — close-up shots of shoe impressions near the victims at the front gate
introduced
Plaintiffs' 2206, 2208
Photos labeled A and B showing first three steps and two impressions near Nicole Brown Simpson's body
introduced
Plaintiffs' 395
Box containing two Bruno Magli shoes — a Lyon (size 9.5) and a Lorenzo (size 12) — both with the same Silga sole design, retail price $160
introduced and physically demonstrated
Plaintiffs' 394
Board titled 'Bruno Magli Shoe' depicting three views including the sole
introduced; used to show design elements matching crime scene impressions
Plaintiffs' 399
Left and right mold cast soles from Silga factory in European sizes 42 through 47
introduced; used for size comparison against crime scene photographs
+ 8 more

Notable Exchanges (3)

MedveneBodziak
Extended methodical walk-through of the size determination process: Bodziak explained that the Silga sole design elements are constant across all sizes, so more elements fit into larger soles — making each size geometrically unique and allowing him to exclude all sizes except 46.
systematic and authoritative
MedveneBodziak
Bodziak physically assembled a Silga size 46 sole with a size 12 American last retrieved from the Italian factory — demonstrating to the jury the exact construction process used to make the shoe.
demonstrative
Robert BakerHiroshi Fujisaki
Baker objected to Exhibit 407 (the blood-fading chart) as 'argument and cumulative.' Fujisaki overruled without discussion.
brief, unsuccessful challenge

Witness Demeanor

(Witness approaches large exhibit entitled 'Reverse Photographs of Soles')
(Witness resumes witness stand)
(Witness offers to step down to demonstrate charts; allowed by court)

Objections

2 objections (0 sustained, 1 overruled)
Proceeding 8363 • 235 utterances • Plaintiff witness
Civil Trial
Department 103
⚖️ Start
📂 NOV 20, 1996 📄 Direct examination of William
NOV 20, 1996 KRT DvH TD