Cross-examination of Sukru Boztepe (part 1)

📄 Cross-examination of Sukru Boztepe (part 1) — Wednesday, February 8, 1995

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\FEB\8\CROSS-EXAMINATION-OF-SUKRU-BOZ.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 15 of 167

◀ Direct examination of Sukru Boztepe Sidebar: witness impeachment ▶

Witness: Sukru Boztepe
Examiner: Johnnie Cochran
Called by: Prosecution • Date: Wednesday, February 8, 1995 • Utterances: 172

Johnnie Cochran cross-examines Sukru Boztepe, the man who followed the Akita dog to discover Nicole Brown Simpson's body, focusing on the precise timeline of events from roughly 11:40 PM through just before midnight on June 12, 1994. Cochran systematically establishes when Boztepe arrived home, when he left for Bundy, what he observed at the scene, and what he heard from a neighbor about the dog barking at 10:30 PM. The examination ends mid-question as Cochran surfaces Steven Schwab's statement to Officer Roberts that he first saw the Akita at around 11:50 PM.

# 1 THE COURT:

MR. COCHRAN.

# 2 MR. COCHRAN:

THANK YOU VERY KINDLY, YOUR HONOR.

# 3

CROSS-EXAMINATION

# 4

BY MR. COCHRAN:

# 5 Q:

GOOD AFTERNOON, MR. BOZTEPE.

# 6 A:

GOOD AFTERNOON.

# 7 Q:

FROM THE TIME THAT YOU LEFT YOUR RESIDENCE ON MONTANA TO START THIS TREK BACK TO 875 BUNDY, DID THE DOG THAT YOU'VE BEEN DESCRIBING FOR US, DID THAT DOG BARK AT ALL DURING THAT TIME FRAME?

# 8 A:

NO.

# 9 Q:

AND THE DOG HAD APPEARED CALM AS HE WAS IN THIS COURTYARD AREA IN YOUR APARTMENT BEFORE THAT, AT LEAST UNTIL YOU PUT HIM INSIDE YOUR HOUSE?

# 10 A:

CORRECT.

# 11 Q:

YOU HAD ARRIVED BACK HOME ON MONTANA AT WHAT TIME THAT EVENING?

# 12 A:

I ARRIVED AROUND 11:40.

# 13 Q:

ABOUT 11:40 P.M.?

# 14 A:

YES. I ARRIVED TO HOME 11:40.

# 15 Q:

11:40 P.M.?

# 16 A:

11:40 P.M.

# 17 Q:

AND WHEN YOU FIRST CAME HOME -- THIS IS SUNDAY EVENING AT ABOUT 11:40 JUNE 12TH, RIGHT?

# 18 A:

CORRECT.

# 19 Q:

AND WHEN YOU FIRST CAME HOME, DID YOU IMMEDIATELY TALK WITH AND SEE MR. STEVEN SCHWAB?

# 20 A:

YES.

# 21 Q:

AND DID YOU SEE THE DOG ALMOST IMMEDIATELY ALSO?

# 22 A:

YES.

# 23 Q:

SO THAT WOULD BE RIGHT AROUND 11:40 OR SHORTLY THEREAFTER; IS THAT CORRECT?

# 24 A:

YES.

# 25 Q:

THIS IS BEFORE YOU WENT INSIDE YOUR APARTMENT, SIR?

# 26 A:

YES.

# 27 Q:

ALL RIGHT. AND AFTER A CONVERSATION WITH MR. SCHWAB AND PERHAPS HIS WIFE, IT WAS THEN DECIDED THAT YOU WOULD TRY TO KEEP THE DOG IN YOUR APARTMENT FOR THAT PARTICULAR NIGHT; IS THAT CORRECT?

# 28 A:

CORRECT.

# 29 Q:

AND YOU HAVE DESCRIBED FOR US HOW THAT DIDN'T WORK OUT BECAUSE THE DOG SEEMED AGITATED AND WAS SCRATCHING AND WANTED TO GET OUTSIDE, RIGHT?

# 30 A:

RIGHT.

# 31 Q:

SO WHAT TIME WAS IT THAT YOU LEFT YOUR MONTANA ADDRESS TO START HEADING BACK SOUTH TOWARD 875 BUNDY?

# 32 A:

JUST BEFORE MIDNIGHT.

# 33 Q:

RIGHT BEFORE MIDNIGHT?

# 34 A:

JUST BEFORE MIDNIGHT.

# 35 Q:

JUST BEFORE MIDNIGHT. SO WHEN YOU SAY JUST BEFORE MIDNIGHT, PLACE IT FOR ME. FIVE MINUTES BEFORE MIDNIGHT, 10 MINUTES BEFORE MIDNIGHT?

# 36 A:

THREE, FOUR MINUTES, TWO MINUTES.

KEY QUOTE

# 37 Q:

A VERY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME?

# 38 A:

VERY.

# 39 Q:

ALL RIGHT. AND THEN YOU'VE DESCRIBED FOR US HOW YOU -- THE DOG PULLED YOU ALONG THE STREET AND YOU ENDED UP AT 875 SOUTH BUNDY, RIGHT?

# 40 A:

RIGHT.

# 41 Q:

ALL RIGHT. AND THE PHOTOGRAPH -- WITHOUT PUTTING THAT PHOTOGRAPH BACK UP THERE, WHEN YOU STOPPED AND YOUR ATTENTION WAS TURNED TO YOUR RIGHT UP THIS WALKWAY, YOU SAW A LOT OF BLOOD FOR ONE THING; IS THAT CORRECT?

# 42 A:

CORRECT.

# 43 Q:

AND YOU SAW A GATE THAT WAS OPEN; WAS THAT CORRECT?

# 44 A:

I DIDN'T SEE THE GATE.

# 45 Q:

YOU DIDN'T SEE THE GATE, BUT YOU SAW THE BODY OF A WOMAN; IS THAT CORRECT?

# 46 A:

CORRECT.

# 47 Q:

ATTIRED IN A BLACK DRESS, RIGHT?

# 48 A:

RIGHT.

# 49 Q:

APPEARED TO BE BLOND?

# 50 A:

YES.

# 51 Q:

AND THERE WAS NOTHING BLOCKING YOUR VIEW? IN OTHER WORDS, YOU COULD LOOK RIGHT UP THE WALKWAY AND SEE THIS PARTICULAR BODY THERE, RIGHT?

# 52 A:

YES.

# 53 Q:

AND YOU -- IN LOOKING AT THAT PHOTOGRAPH, DID YOU NOTICE THAT THE GATE WAS OPEN, WAS WIDE OPEN?

# 54 A:

I DIDN'T SEE THE GATE.

# 55 Q:

AND IF YOU SAW THE PHOTOGRAPH, WOULD THAT REFRESH YOUR RECOLLECTION AT ALL?

# 56 A:

I STILL DIDN'T SEE THE GATE.

# 57 Q:

YOU DIDN'T SEE THE GATE AT ALL THAT NIGHT. YOU JUST SAW AN OPEN SPACE. WOULD THAT BE A FAIR STATEMENT?

# 58 A:

YES.

# 59 Q:

AND THEN YOU SAW THE BODY BELOW THE OPEN SPACE; IS THAT CORRECT?

# 60 A:

YES. CORRECT.

# 61 Q:

AND AT THE TIME YOU MADE THESE OBSERVATIONS, WERE YOU BY YOURSELF OR WITH YOUR WIFE AT THAT POINT?

# 62 A:

FIRST I SAW THE BODY AND THEN I TOLD HER. SO SHE SAW IT TOO.

# 63 Q:

AND SHE WAS -- WAS SHE STANDING RIGHT ALONGSIDE OF YOU, SIR?

# 64 A:

SHE WAS A LITTLE BIT BEHIND OF ME.

# 65 Q:

ALL RIGHT. SO SHE MOVED UP TO WHERE YOU WERE SO SHE COULD THEN LOOK UP AND SEE?

# 66 A:

WELL, SHE DIDN'T GET A CLEAR VIEW BECAUSE I WAS ALMOST BLOCKING THE ISSUE. SHE WAS JUST BEHIND OF ME AND SHE JUST LOOKED AT IT.

KEY QUOTE

# 67 Q:

SO AS I UNDERSTAND IT, YOU SAW -- YOU MADE THESE OBSERVATIONS.

# 68 A:

CORRECT.

# 69 Q:

YOU SAID SOMETHING TO YOUR WIFE, SHE GOT A -- KIND OF A GLANCING VIEW OF WHAT WAS TAKING PLACE; IS THAT RIGHT?

# 70 A:

RIGHT.

# 71 Q:

YOU SAW ENOUGH THAT YOU WANTED TO THEN GO MAKE THAT 911 CALL TO GET SOME HELP; IS THAT CORRECT?

# 72 A:

CORRECT. CORRECT.

# 73 Q:

NOW, FROM A STANDPOINT OF PERSPECTIVES, HOW GOOD ARE YOU AT DISTANCES?

# 74 A:

I DON'T KNOW.

# 75 Q:

OKAY. WELL, LET'S SEE HOW GOOD YOU ARE. WITH REGARD TO -- LET'S ASSUME THAT YOU ARE OUT ON THE STREET, OUT ON THE SIDEWALK IN FRONT OF 875. HOW FAR WAS THIS BODY FROM WHERE YOU WERE? IF YOU'RE ASSUMING THAT THE WITNESS BOX, YOU WERE AT THAT LOCATION, CAN YOU POINT TO SOMETHING ABOUT WHERE I AM OR SOMEWHERE IN THIS COURTROOM?

# 76 A:

YOU SHOULD GET A LITTLE BIT CLOSER TO ME.

# 77 Q:

YOU STOP ME WHEN I SHOULD BE, AND I'LL DO THAT, OKAY, SIR?

# 78 A:

CORRECT. THAT'S OKAY.

# 79 Q:

RIGHT HERE (INDICATING)? ALL RIGHT.

# 80 MR. COCHRAN:

YOUR HONOR, WE CAN ESTIMATE OR YOU CAN TELL US.

# 81 THE COURT:

THAT'S ABOUT 10, 12 FEET.

KEY QUOTE

# 82 Q:

BY MR. COCHRAN: ABOUT 10 OR 12 FEET LOOKING STRAIGHT ON; IS THAT RIGHT?

# 83 A:

RIGHT.

# 84 Q:

AND THAT WOULD BE FROM THE SIDEWALK ON THE WESTERN SIDE OF BUNDY TO WHERE YOU MADE THESE OBSERVATIONS; IS THAT CORRECT?

# 85 A:

CORRECT.

# 86 Q:

AND NEITHER YOU NOR YOUR WIFE OR THE ANIMAL APPROACHED WHERE YOU SAW THIS BODY; IS THAT CORRECT?

# 87 A:

CORRECT.

# 88 Q:

YOU THEN LEFT THE AREA AND THAT'S WHEN YOU WENT AND MADE THE CALLS TO THE POLICE; IS THAT CORRECT?

# 89 A:

CORRECT.

# 90 Q:

AND DID I UNDERSTAND YOU TO SAY THE POLICE ARRIVED IN A VERY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME AFTER THAT?

# 91 A:

YES.

# 92 Q:

WOULD I BE CORRECT IN ASSUMING THE POLICE ARRIVED THERE ABOUT 12:00, 12:13?

# 93 A:

12:00, 12:13?

# 94 Q:

ABOUT 12:13 A.M.

# 95 A:

I DIDN'T HAVE WATCH, SIR.

# 96 Q:

YOU WEREN'T WEARING A WATCH. THEY CAME, THE POLICE OFFICERS CAME A FAIRLY SHORT TIME AFTER YOU CALLED?

# 97 A:

CORRECT.

# 98 Q:

HOW MANY MINUTES WAS THAT?

# 99 A:

AFTER I MADE OLD MAN CALL THE POLICE, PROBABLY TWO OR THREE MINUTES.

# 100 Q:

NOW, BEFORE YOU ASKED THE ELDERLY GENTLEMAN TO CALL THE POLICE, YOU HAD GONE TO ANOTHER HOUSE AND RANG THE BELL?

# 101 A:

CORRECT.

# 102 Q:

AND THEN -- AND NOBODY RESPONDED THERE, RIGHT?

# 103 A:

CORRECT.

# 104 Q:

SO DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR BEST APPROXIMATION WHAT TIME IT WOULD BE THE POLICE WOULD HAVE BEEN CALLED?

# 105 A:

I CAN'T MAKE ANY.

# 106 Q:

ALL RIGHT. BUT THEY CAME WITHIN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME AFTER THAT; IS THAT CORRECT?

# 107 A:

CORRECT. CORRECT.

# 108 Q:

AND YOU THEN HAD OCCASION TO TALK TO THIS POLICE OFFICER WHEN HE ARRIVED; IS THAT CORRECT?

# 109 A:

CORRECT.

# 110 Q:

AFTER THE POLICE ARRIVED, YOU WERE PRESENT, WERE YOU NOT, WHEN A MAN WHO LIVED ACROSS THE HOUSE -- ACROSS THE STREET FROM 875 BUNDY CAME OUT AND MADE A STATEMENT TO THE POLICE? DO YOU RECALL THAT?

# 111 A:

NO.

# 112 Q:

YOU DON'T RECALL A MAN COMING OUT AND MAKING A STATEMENT ABOUT THE TIME THAT THE DOG STARTED BARKING THAT NIGHT?

# 113 A:

NO.

# 114 Q:

DID YOU AT SOME POINT ON JUNE 13TH, 1994 AT ABOUT 4:25 IN THE MORNING HAVE OCCASION TO SPEAK WITH AN OFFICER BY THE NAME OF ROBERTS, R-O-B-E-R-T-S?

# 115 A:

I DON'T KNOW THE NAME.

# 116 Q:

ALL RIGHT. BUT DID A POLICE OFFICER COME AND TALKED TO YOU AT YOUR MONTANA ADDRESS?

# 117 A:

A POLICE OFFICER -- WELL, I WAS IN THE POLICE STATION. SO DETECTIVE COME AND TALK TO ME AND THAT'S --

# 118 Q:

ALL RIGHT. DID YOU TALK TO THE POLICE AT THE POLICE STATION?

# 119 A:

CORRECT. I DID.

# 120 Q:

HOW LATE DID YOU STAY DOWN AT THE POLICE STATION THAT MORNING?

# 121 A:

CAN YOU REPEAT?

# 122 Q:

HOW LATE DID YOU STAY AT THE POLICE STATION THAT MORNING?

# 123 A:

I BELIEVE IT WAS AROUND 4:30 OR 5:00.

# 124 Q:

AND WHILE -- AND THAT WAS WEST LOS ANGELES POLICE STATION?

# 125 A:

YES.

# 126 Q:

THE WEST LOS ANGELES DIVISION? WHILE YOU WERE THERE, DID YOU GIVE A STATEMENT TO A POLICE OFFICER BY THE NAME OF ROBERTS?

# 127 A:

I DON'T KNOW THE NAME, BUT I GAVE A STATEMENT.

# 128 Q:

AND IN THAT STATEMENT, YOU TRIED TO BE AS ACCURATE AS YOU COULD; IS THAT CORRECT?

# 129 A:

I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU SAY.

# 130 Q:

IN THAT STATEMENT TO THE POLICE OFFICER, YOU TRIED TO BE AS ACCURATE AS YOU COULD?

# 131 A:

CORRECT.

# 132 Q:

YOU TOLD THE POLICE ABOUT THIS WOMAN BY HER CAR THAT YOU ASKED TO CALL 911; DID YOU NOT?

# 133 A:

YES.

# 134 Q:

DID YOU TELL THE POLICE THAT AFTER THE POLICE ARRIVED, A MAN THAT LIVES ACROSS THE STREET FROM 875 CAME OUT AND SAID THE NEIGHBORHOOD DOG STARTED BARKING AT 10:30 P.M.? DID YOU TELL HIM THAT?

# 135 A:

YES, I REMEMBER.

# 136 Q:

YOU REMEMBER MAKING THAT STATEMENT TO THE POLICE WHILE YOU WERE AT WEST LOS ANGELES STATION?

# 137 A:

YES.

# 138 Q:

WHICH MAN WAS THAT WHO MADE THAT STATEMENT?

# 139 A:

IT WAS THE OLD MAN WHO CALLED 911 I GUESS.

KEY QUOTE

# 140 Q:

THE SAME OLD MAN, THE ELDERLY GENTLEMAN WHO CALLED?

# 141 A:

CORRECT.

# 142 Q:

WHO MADE THIS CALL?

# 143 A:

CORRECT.

# 144 Q:

AND DO YOU KNOW HIS NAME?

# 145 A:

NO.

# 146 Q:

AND YOU WERE PRESENT WHEN HE MADE THAT STATEMENT TO THE POLICE OFFICER, RIGHT?

# 147 A:

YES.

# 148 Q:

NOW, AT ANY TIME, WERE YOU EVER PRESENT ON OR ABOUT JUNE 17TH, 1994 -- WELL, STRIKE THAT. WERE YOU EVER PRESENT ON JUNE 13TH, 1994 AFTER YOU WENT BACK HOME TO MONTANA AND DID THE POLICE COME TO YOUR HOUSE AFTER YOU HAD BEEN AT THE POLICE STATION AT ALL AND TALKED TO ANYONE?

# 149 A:

WELL, THEY GAVE A RIDE BACK TO US AND THEY THEN COME TO OUR HOUSE.

# 150 Q:

THEY GAVE YOU A RIDE BACK HOME?

# 151 A:

CORRECT.

# 152 Q:

AND WHEN YOU GOT BACK HOME WITH THE POLICE, DO YOU RECALL WHETHER OR NOT THEY TALKED TO YOU, MR. BOZTEPE, AND ALSO TO MR. STEVEN SCHWAB?

# 153 A:

THEY DIDN'T TALK TO ME. THEY TALKED TO MR. SCHWAB.

# 154 Q:

THEY TALKED TO MR. SCHWAB? AND WERE YOU PRESENT DURING THE TIME YOU SAW THEM TALKING TO HIM?

# 155 A:

YES.

# 156 Q:

AND WOULD THAT HAVE BEEN ABOUT 5:30 IN THE MORNING?

# 157 A:

POSSIBLE, YEAH.

# 158 Q:

AND DID YOU HEAR THE OFFICER, THIS SAME OFFICER ROBERTS WAS THE SAME OFFICER WHO HAD TALKED TO YOU AT WEST LOS ANGELES STATION?

# 159 A:

CORRECT.

# 160 Q:

TALKED TO HIM, RIGHT?

# 161 A:

CORRECT.

# 162 Q:

AND YOU OVERHEARD THE CONVERSATION, RIGHT, A PART OF IT?

# 163 A:

PART OF IT.

# 164 Q:

AND DID YOU HEAR MR. SCHWAB TELL THE OFFICER THAT HE HAD BEEN WALKING HIS DOG IN THE AREA AROUND BUNDY AND DOROTHY?

# 165 A:

YES.

# 166 Q:

DID YOU HEAR HIM SAY THAT THIS DOG, MEANING THE AKITA, HAD COME UP TO HIM AND STARTED FOLLOWING HIM AND HIS DOG? DID YOU HEAR HIM SAY THAT?

# 167 A:

YES.

# 168 Q:

AND IT WAS OBVIOUSLY LOST, RUNNING FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE. THAT IS AKITA HAD BEEN LOST?

# 169 A:

AS I HEARD, YES.

# 170 Q:

AND, "IT KEPT FOLLOWING ME UNTIL I GOT HOME," WORDS TO THAT EFFECT?

# 171 A:

YES.

# 172 Q:

AND THAT MR. SCHWAB TOLD OFFICER ROBERTS THAT, "WHEN I FIRST SAW IT," THE AKITA, "IT WAS AROUND 11:50 P.M."?

Temperature

procedural

Key Quotes (4)

Sukru Boztepe

YES, I REMEMBER... IT WAS THE OLD MAN WHO CALLED 911 I GUESS.

Boztepe confirms he reported to police that a neighbor said the dog started barking at 10:30 PM — a detail he initially could not recall but recovered when pressed, potentially placing the murders earlier than midnight.

Sukru Boztepe

THREE, FOUR MINUTES, TWO MINUTES.

Pins his departure from Montana to just 2-4 minutes before midnight, tightening the timeline for when the body was discovered.

Sukru Boztepe

WELL, SHE DIDN'T GET A CLEAR VIEW BECAUSE I WAS ALMOST BLOCKING THE ISSUE. SHE WAS JUST BEHIND OF ME AND SHE JUST LOOKED AT IT.

Establishes that his wife had only a partial view of the body, limiting her as a corroborating eyewitness to what was seen at the scene.

Lance A. Ito

THAT'S ABOUT 10, 12 FEET.

Judge Ito steps in to estimate the distance between the sidewalk and the body — roughly 10-12 feet — a detail relevant to what Boztepe could clearly observe without approaching the scene.

Evidence (1)

Informal

Photograph of the 875 Bundy walkway/entry area, used to test Boztepe's recollection of the open gate

discussed; Cochran offered to show it, but Boztepe maintained he never saw the gate regardless

Notable Exchanges (3)

Johnnie Cochran•Lance A. Ito

Cochran physically walked toward the witness box to demonstrate the distance from the sidewalk to where Nicole's body was found; Judge Ito estimated the distance at '10, 12 feet.'

collaborative/demonstrative

Johnnie Cochran•Sukru Boztepe

Cochran surfaced that Boztepe told police a neighbor (the elderly man who called 911) stated the neighborhood dog started barking at 10:30 PM — a detail Boztepe initially said he didn't recall, then confirmed when Cochran refreshed his memory with the specific statement.

strategic

Johnnie Cochran•Sukru Boztepe

Cochran pressed three times on whether Boztepe saw the gate at 875 Bundy; Boztepe consistently denied seeing a gate, only 'an open space,' even when offered a photograph.

persistent/revealing

Light Moments (1)

Sukru Boztepe

Cochran asked Boztepe to stop him when he reached the right distance, then walked toward the witness box; Boztepe told him 'YOU SHOULD GET A LITTLE BIT CLOSER TO ME,' treating it as a participatory demonstration.

Credibility Attacks (1)

⚔ Sukru Boztepe

prior inconsistent statement / memory challenge

Cochran used Boztepe's own police statement (given at West LA Station around 4:30-5 AM on June 13) to surface the 10:30 PM dog-barking detail that Boztepe initially claimed not to remember, forcing him to confirm it when confronted with his own words.

Objections

None recorded

Proceeding 4762 • 172 utterances • Prosecution witness

Criminal Trial

Department 103