Tom Lambert conducts direct examination of LAPD criminalist Dennis Fung in the civil trial, covering the numbering discrepancy between his property report (item 17) and Andrea Mazzola's notes (item 18) for OJ Simpson's blood vial, a search of Simpson's Bentley that found no blood, and the July 3 return to Bundy where blood on the back gate was collected for the first time. Several exhibits are admitted into evidence at the close of examination.
# 1 (Jurors resume their respective seats.) # 2 THE COURT: You may resume.
# 3 MR. LAMBERT: Thank you, Your Honor.
# 4 MR. BLASIER: Did I -- can I see 1412.
# 5 MR. LAMBERT: Sure. It's pages 1 through 12.
# 6 (Mr. Blasier reviews document.) # 7 Q: (BY MR. LAMBERT) Mr. Fung, let me show you pages 1 through 12 of Exhibit 1412 and ask you if you could tell us what those are.
# 8 A: These are property reports of the items of evidence I collected on June 13 and 14.
# 9 Q: And are those prepared by you, those property reports?
# 11 Q: An do those reflect all the evidence items take you collected at Bundy Rockingham and in the Bronco on June 13 and 14?
# 13 Q: And in the property report, would you tell me what exhibit -- what item number 17 is listed as?
# 14 A: In the property report, 17 is listed as a as blood, comma, within a vial labeled O.J. Simpson.
KEY QUOTE # 15 Q: Now would you take a look at this document that we've put up on the Elmo here?
I don't know if you can see it very well from there.
Do you recognize that document?
# 16 A: Yes. That is a document filled out by or made up by Ms. Mazzola.
# 17 Q: So the handwriting on there, is that of Andrea Mazzola?
# 19 Q: And I notice she listed on this, the blood vial as being number 18 as opposed to number 17. How did that come about?
# 21 MR. BLASIER: Objection. No foundation.
# 22 THE COURT: Foundation.
# 23 MR. LAMBERT: By the way, Your Honor, this is exhibit 212. I should have identified it.
# 24 (The instrument herein referred to as lab note referring to Items 17, 18, 19 was marked for identification as Plaintiffs' Exhibit No. 212.) # 25 Q: (BY MR. LAMBERT) Did Ms. Mazzola -- was Ms. Mazzola aware of the fact that you received the blood vial from Detective Vannatter at Rockingham at 5:20 on June 13?
# 26 MR. BLASIER: Objection. Calls for speculation.
# 27 THE COURT: Overruled.
# 28 DENNIS FUNG: No, she was not.
# 29 Q: (BY MR. LAMBERT) Did you, the next day, later, tell Ms. Mazzola that you had gotten the blood vial the day before and that it was to be listed as item number 17?
# 30 MR. BLASIER: Objection. Hearsay and leading.
# 31 THE COURT: Sustain as to leading.
# 32 Q: (BY MR. LAMBERT) Did you have -- did you have a conversation the next day with Mazzola in which you discussed with her the fact that you -- that you had received the blood vial the prior day?
# 34 Q: Now, and did you tell her what the evidence item was for that blood vial?
# 35 A: I told her that it would be 17 instead of 18.
KEY QUOTE # 36 Q: And did this piece of paper that we see here, was this part of an official report or just notes of Ms. Mazzola?
# 38 Q: In your official report, how is the blood vial listed?
# 39 A: No. The property report, the blood vial was listed as item number 17.
# 40 Q: Thank you.
Now, we've already talked about your doing a search of Mr. Simpson's Bronco automobile.
You can take that down.
Did you ever do a search of Mr. Simpson's Bentley automobile?
# 42 Q: When was that search done?
# 43 A: That was done on June 30.
# 44 Q: And where was that done?
# 45 A: That was also done in the print shed.
# 46 Q: And what were you looking for specifically in that search?
# 47 A: In that search, I was looking for blood within the interior of the Bentley and a knife.
# 48 Q: And did you find any knife in the Bentley?
# 49 A: I found a small pocket knife, but that didn't fit the criterion for what we were looking for.
# 50 Q: Did you find any blood inside the Bentley?
# 51 A: No. We could not detect the presence of blood within that vehicle.
# 52 Q: Is there a test that you use for the purposes of determining whether blood is presumptively present or not?
# 53 A: Yes. The presumptive tests using the reagent phenolphthalein and hydrogen peroxide was used.
# 54 Q: And that test can tell whether a stain is presumptively blood or not blood?
# 55 A: It detects the presence of blood.
# 56 Q: Did you use that test on the interior of the Bronco?
# 57 A: Bronco or Bentley?
# 58 Q: I'm sorry, thank you. The interior of the Bentley?
# 60 Q: In how many places in the interior of the Bentley did you check; do you recall?
# 61 A: There were numerous areas checked. Anytime I saw what appeared to be an anomaly in the interior -- it was a black interior so it was pretty hard to detect blood -- Anytime I saw an anomaly, I went ahead and swabbed it to see if it was positive or not.
# 62 Q: Anything that you thought could possibly be blood, you tested it?
# 64 Q: Did you find any blood at all?
# 66 Q: Did there come a time after June 14 when you returned to the Bundy location to collect any further blood evidence?
# 68 Q: And when was that?
# 69 A: That was on July 3, 1994.
# 70 Q: Who asked to go to Bundy on that occasion?
# 71 A: Detectives Lange and Vannatter requested that I come back to the Bundy scene.
# 72 Q: And when you arrived, who was there?
# 73 A: When I arrived, Detectives Lange and Vannatter were there.
# 74 Q: And what did they ask you to collect on that occasion?
# 75 A: There was a -- there was this blood on the back gate of Bundy and they pointed it out to me.
KEY QUOTE # 76 Q: And did you collect it?
# 78 Q: Did that blood get item numbers?
# 79 A: Yes. Those items -- those items became numbers 115, 116, and 117.
# 80 Q: And was that blood collected in the manner that you previously described?
# 82 Q: And those blood drops on that back gate, did you see them when you were collecting evidence on June 13 at Bundy?
# 84 Q: Do you remember examining the back gate to look for evidence at all?
# 85 A: Not specifically, no.
# 86 MR. LAMBERT: I'd like at this time, Your Honor, to move in some exhibits, items 204, 211, 1412 and 208.
208 is partially already stipulated to, Your Honor.
# 87 MR. BLASIER: Can I see what they are?
# 88 MR. LAMBERT: One of them is the glove.
1412 is the thing you just looked at.
211 is the board -- the Bronco board.
# 90 THE COURT: Okay. They're received.
# 91 (The instrument herein referred to as a box and contents Nos. 9, 10, 18 and 27 was marked for identification as Plaintiffs' Exhibit No. 204.) # 92 (The instrument herein referred to as a box and contents Nos. 9, 10, 18 and 27 was received in evidence as Plaintiffs' Exhibit No. 204.) # 93 (The instrument herein referred to as a posterboard entitled "Bronco Evidence" was marked for identification as Plaintiffs' Exhibit No. 211.) # 94 (The instrument herein referred to as a posterboard entitled "Bronco Evidence" was received in evidence as Plaintiffs' Exhibit No. 211.) # 95 (The instrument herein referred to as a blank property report was received in evidence as Plaintiffs' Exhibit No. 1412.) # 96 (The instrument herein referred to as Rockingham interior biological evidence posterboard was marked for identification as Plaintiffs' Exhibit No. 208.) # 97 (The instrument herein referred to as Rockingham interior biological evidence posterboard was received in evidence as Plaintiffs' Exhibit No. 208.) # 98 MR. LAMBERT: I have no further questions, Your Honor.