Direct examination of William Blasini (part 1)

📄 Direct examination of William Blasini (part 1) — Tuesday, September 5, 1995

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C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\SEP\5\DIRECT-EXAMINATION-OF-WILLIAM-.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 147 of 167

◀ Jury return and noon recess Direct examination of William Blasini (part 2) ▶

Examiner: Johnnie Cochran
Called by: Defense • Date: Tuesday, September 5, 1995 • Utterances: 216

William Blasini Jr., general manager of vehicle purchasing at Pick Your Part auto recycling, testified that on June 21, 1994 — nine days after the murders — he visited Viertel's garage for a routine car auction and unexpectedly encountered OJ Simpson's white Bronco. Motivated by curiosity after hearing media reports of blood in the vehicle, he opened the unlocked passenger door, sat inside, and looked all over the interior — dash, console, steering wheel, rear — and found no blood. He also noticed the driver's side floorboard carpet had been cut out.

# 1 (The following proceedings were held in open court, in the presence of the jury:)

# 2 THE COURT:

All right. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. Please be seated. And let the record reflect that we've now been rejoined by all the members of our jury panel. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

THE JURY: Good afternoon.

# 3 THE COURT:

Mr. Cochran, you may call the next witness.

# 4 MR. COCHRAN:

Thank you very kindly, your Honor. The Defense will next call Mr. Willie J. Blasini, who is present in the courtroom.

# 5 THE COURT:

Mr. Blasini, would you stand here next to the court reporter, face the clerk. Mrs. Robertson.

William Blasini, Jr., called as a witness by the Defendant, was sworn and testified as follows:

# 6 THE CLERK:

Raise your right hand, please. 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?

# 7 MR. BLASINI:

I do.

# 8 THE CLERK:

Please be seated on the witness stand and state and spell your first and last names for the record.

# 9 MR. BLASINI:

My name is William Blasini, Jr.

# 10 THE CLERK:

You have to spell your name.

# 11 MR. BLASINI:

Blasini, B as in boy, L-A-S-I-N-I.

# 12 THE CLERK:

Thank you.

# 13 THE COURT:

Mr. Cochran.

# 14 MR. COCHRAN:

Thank you very kindly. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

THE JURY: Good afternoon.

DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. COCHRAN

# 15 MR. COCHRAN:

Good afternoon, Mr. Blasini, sir. Would you move that microphone a little closer to you so we can all hear you this afternoon.

# 16 MR. BLASINI:

Okay.

# 17 MR. COCHRAN:

Thank you very kindly, sir. Mr. Blasini, what is your occupation, sir?

# 18 MR. BLASINI:

I work for Pick Your Part, the world's largest self-service automobile recycling center.

# 19 MR. COCHRAN:

And it's called Pick Your Part?

# 20 MR. BLASINI:

Yes, sir.

# 21 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. And how long have you been so employed?

# 22 MR. BLASINI:

About three and a half years.

# 23 MR. COCHRAN:

And what is your present job title with Pick Your Part?

# 24 MR. BLASINI:

I'm general manager of vehicle purchasing.

# 25 MR. COCHRAN:

And as such, tell us briefly what you do as the general manager of Pick Your Part.

# 26 MR. BLASINI:

Basically I go to auctions, police auctions, impounds and we buy cars.

# 27 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. And you've been doing this for how long?

# 28 MR. BLASINI:

At Pick Your Part, for three and a half years.

# 29 MR. COCHRAN:

Have you been in this industry before that time?

# 30 MR. BLASINI:

I was a wholesaler. I was wholesaling vehicles before this.

# 31 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. So you've been around automobiles for some time; is that correct?

# 32 MR. BLASINI:

15 years to be correct.

# 33 MR. COCHRAN:

All right, sir. I'd like, sir, to direct your attention back to the date of I believe June 21st of 1994. Did you have occasion on or about that date in the afternoon to be at Viertel's garage here in downtown Los Angeles?

# 34 MR. BLASINI:

Yes, I was.

# 35 MR. COCHRAN:

And would you tell the ladies and gentlemen of the jury under what circumstances were you at Viertel's on that date, that Tuesday, June 21st?

# 36 MR. BLASINI:

Well, every Tuesday, we go there and we bid on cars. They have four locations, and the last location is at Temple, the main garage, and that's where we wind up. And when I walked--when we finished bidding on the cars, I was walking in to do the paperwork when I just happened to see the Bronco inside the garage.

# 37 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. So would you say you were accompanied by someone else at that point?

# 38 MR. BLASINI:

I was accompanied by Bob Jones, Andrew Adlen, myself and Sam Adlen I think. I'm not sure about Sam, if he was there that day.

# 39 MR. COCHRAN:

Let's take them one at a time. We've heard the name Bob Jones before. By whom is Bob Jones employed?

# 40 MR. BLASINI:

Viertel's.

# 41 MR. COCHRAN:

You knew him prior to this date of June 21st?

# 42 MR. BLASINI:

Yes.

# 43 MR. COCHRAN:

And you mentioned a Mr. Adlen. What is Mr. Adlen's first name?

# 44 MR. BLASINI:

Andrew.

# 45 MR. COCHRAN:

And who is Mr. Andrew Adlen?

# 46 MR. BLASINI:

He's a competitor. He also bids on the cars as well.

# 47 THE COURT:

How do you spell Adlen? Do you know?

# 48 MR. COCHRAN:

A-d-l-e-n I believe, your Honor. Andrew Adlen.

# 49 MR. COCHRAN:

And you mentioned another Adlen also I believe.

# 50 MR. BLASINI:

It's his uncle. I assume it's his uncle.

# 51 MR. COCHRAN:

So you were there in the company of the two Adlen's and yourself and Bob Jones; is that correct?

# 52 MR. BLASINI:

I'm not correct on the second Adlen, but the first one was there, yes.

# 53 MR. COCHRAN:

You're sure about the first one?

# 54 MR. BLASINI:

Yes.

# 55 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. You were describing that you were at Viertel's and this jury's heard something about Viertel's and the layout there. Can you describe for us where you were once you got there on that particular afternoon?

# 56 MR. BLASINI:

Well, there's two entrances, two main entrances, one from the street and one from the back of the yard, and that's where we come from, from the back of the yard. Once we're done bidding on the vehicles, we come through the back of the garage, and right there, as you walk in the area where they keep the restricted vehicles and as you continue past that area, you go down to the offices.

# 57 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. And did you--you were in this--walking in this area; is that correct?

# 58 MR. BLASINI:

Yes, I was.

# 59 MR. COCHRAN:

And while in this area--first, before we get to that, tell us what time of day was it on June 12th--on June 21st?

# 60 MR. BLASINI:

It was about 2:30, 3:00 o'clock in the afternoon.

# 61 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. And at some point after 2:30 or 3:00 o'clock in the afternoon on June 21st, did you see a white Bronco?

# 62 MR. BLASINI:

Yes, I did.

# 63 MR. COCHRAN:

And who were you with when you first saw the Bronco?

# 64 MR. BLASINI:

I was with Andrew Adlen and Bob Jones.

# 65 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. Did you have some conversation at all with Mr. Jones about that Bronco?

# 66 MR. BLASINI:

The minute I saw the Bronco, I was amazed at--

# 67 THE COURT:

Excuse me. Excuse me. The question was, did you have any conversation with Mr. Jones. Yes or no?

# 68 MR. BLASINI:

Yes, I did.

# 69 THE COURT:

Next question.

# 70 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. And with regards to that--

# 71 MR. COCHRAN:

Just before I get to that, your Honor, may I approach--thank you, Mr. Douglas. I have, your Honor, what has previously been marked--in evidence I guess now, Defense's 1254. I would like to show this just for--so we can get acclimated to the witness.

# 72 THE COURT:

Proceed.

# 73 MR. COCHRAN:

This, sir, is Defense exhibit no. 1254. And have you ever seen this before?

# 74 MR. BLASINI:

Not this picture. No, I haven't, sir.

# 75 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. This purports to be the Viertel's garage here, downtown Los Angeles, on Temple Street?

# 76 MR. BLASINI:

Correct.

# 77 MR. COCHRAN:

Do you recognize that?

# 78 MR. BLASINI:

Yes, sir.

# 79 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. And there are various buildings from T-1 through T-5. Do you see those?

# 80 MR. BLASINI:

Yes, sir.

# 81 MR. COCHRAN:

Just generally--I know you've never seen this before--can you look at Defense's 1254 and show us generally where this Bronco was housed on June 21st about 2:30, 3:00 o'clock in the afternoon?

# 82 MR. BLASINI:

It was housed at the T-2 area, the T-2 building, which is the main building right here (Indicating).

# 83 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. He's holding it up for the jury to see, your Honor. Can you all--may I inquire, your Honor? Can you all see that? He's talking about T-2.

# 84 MR. COCHRAN:

And the vehicle was housed somewhere in T-2?

# 85 MR. BLASINI:

It was in the rear of the building.

# 86 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. The rear of T-2 as depicted on 1254; is that correct?

# 87 MR. BLASINI:

Correct, sir.

# 88 MR. COCHRAN:

All right.

# 89 THE COURT:

All right. 1386, can you see that?

# 90 JUROR NO. 1386:

Yes.

# 91 THE COURT:

All right. 165?

# 92 JUROR NO. 165:

Yes.

# 93 THE COURT:

All right. Thank you.

# 94 MR. COCHRAN:

Thank you very kindly.

# 95 MR. COCHRAN:

So--

# 96 THE COURT:

Mr. Cochran, could we move that just back six inches, the easel?

# 97 MR. COCHRAN:

Sure, your Honor. I'll try to get it back six inches, your Honor. The boards are all here.

# 98 THE COURT:

Mr. Douglas, could you help us on that, because it blocks the direct line of sight of juror no. 7.

# 99 MR. COCHRAN:

May we have a moment, your Honor? There are some boards here.

# 100 THE COURT:

Certainly.

# 101 (Pause.)

# 102 THE COURT:

All right. Mr. Cochran, why don't you go ahead and proceed.

# 103 MR. COCHRAN:

Sure. Your Honor, while he's doing that, I'll--

# 104 MR. COCHRAN:

I think I had just asked you a question about whether or not you had a conversation with Mr. Bob Jones about this particular Bronco, and you indicated yes; is that correct?

# 105 MR. BLASINI:

Yes, sir.

# 106 MR. COCHRAN:

And what was the--when you talked to Mr. Jones, can you tell us the general subject matter of what you talked to him about, the Bronco, without telling us what you said and what he said?

# 107 MR. BLASINI:

Basically why was the vehicle there.

# 108 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. And did you get some response from him?

# 109 MR. BLASINI:

Yes, I did.

# 110 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. Now, based upon that brief conversation you had with Bob Jones, did you have occasion to at any point that afternoon go over to or get inside of this particular vehicle, the Bronco?

# 111 MR. BLASINI:

Yes, I did.

# 112 MR. COCHRAN:

And describe for the ladies and gentlemen of the jury what you did in that regard, if anything.

# 113 MR. BLASINI:

As far as walking up to the Bronco and exactly what I did?

# 114 MR. COCHRAN:

Yes. Yes. Tell us what you did.

# 115 MR. BLASINI:

I opened the door to the Bronco.

# 116 MR. COCHRAN:

Let me stop you there. Was the Bronco locked at that point?

# 117 MR. BLASINI:

No, it wasn't, sir.

# 118 MR. COCHRAN:

And so you just walked over and opened the door?

# 119 MR. BLASINI:

Yes, sir.

# 120 MR. COCHRAN:

And which door did you open of the Bronco?

# 121 MR. BLASINI:

The passenger's door.

# 122 MR. COCHRAN:

On the passenger side of the vehicle?

# 123 MR. BLASINI:

Yes, sir.

# 124 MR. COCHRAN:

Now, you've seen pictures of that Bronco and you've seen the Bronco itself; is that correct?

# 125 MR. BLASINI:

Yes, sir.

# 126 MR. COCHRAN:

Okay. Now, when you opened the door to the Bronco, the passenger door, what happened next?

# 127 MR. BLASINI:

I looked in the vehicle.

# 128 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. Now, was there any particular reason why you wanted to go and look inside this Bronco?

# 129 MR. BLASINI:

Well, I guess there's a couple of reasons. It was--it was a big story. Just the fact of looking at the Bronco, O.J. Simpson being involved in it. It was a big story. I was curious.

# 130 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. You were curious at that point?

# 131 MR. BLASINI:

Yes, sir.

# 132 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. Had you read or seen any stories on television regarding the Bronco being there?

# 133 MR. BLASINI:

Some stories.

# 134 MR. COCHRAN:

Were you expecting to see it at Viertel's?

# 135 MR. BLASINI:

Not at all.

# 136 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. So you saw it and then you had heard things about it and you went over to it; is that right?

# 137 MR. BLASINI:

Yes, sir.

# 138 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. Now, when you went over to the Bronco and opened the door, tell the ladies and gentlemen what you next did after that.

# 139 MR. BLASINI:

I looked inside the Bronco. I looked at the seats, the floor. I looked at the dashboard. I basically looked all over the vehicle.

KEY QUOTE

# 140 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. And why did you look all over the vehicle?

# 141 MR. BLASINI:

Well, Andrew and I were talking that it was said that there was a lot of blood in the vehicle.

KEY QUOTE

# 142 MR. COCHRAN:

Who had said there was a lot of blood in the vehicle?

# 143 MR. BLASINI:

Well, it was said in the papers.

# 144 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. You had read or heard that?

# 145 MR. BLASINI:

I heard that, yes.

# 146 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. And were you looking to see if there was a lot of blood in that vehicle?

# 147 MR. BLASINI:

Well, that was the first thing I looked for, yes.

# 148 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. And will you describe for us how you--did you get inside the vehicle at some point?

# 149 MR. BLASINI:

Yes, I did, sir.

# 150 MR. COCHRAN:

Describe for the jury again how you got inside the vehicle and where you were when you were inside the vehicle.

# 151 MR. BLASINI:

Well, once I looked in the vehicle, I sat in the passenger seat. I continued to look around the vehicle. I looked between the seats and I looked to the back of the vehicle.

# 152 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. So when you got inside the vehicle and sat in the passenger seat and looked all around the vehicle, did you see any blood?

# 153 MR. BLASINI:

No, sir, I didn't.

# 154 MR. COCHRAN:

Were you looking specifically for blood?

# 155 MR. BLASINI:

At first, yes, we were.

# 156 MR. COCHRAN:

Now, you said "We." When you got into the passenger side of the vehicle and sat in the passenger seat, what did Mr. Adlen, Mr. Andrew Adlen do, if anything, that you saw?

# 157 MR. BLASINI:

He opened up the driver's door.

# 158 MR. COCHRAN:

And did you see him at any point put any part of his body inside the Bronco vehicle?

# 159 MR. BLASINI:

Yes. Half of his body came into the vehicle.

# 160 MR. COCHRAN:

Can you describe for the jury again how he did that, that movement?

# 161 MR. BLASINI:

The vehicle sits up high because it's a truck, and he basically opened the door and leaned over the seat and looked in the vehicle.

# 162 MR. COCHRAN:

At the time he made that movement of leaning inside the vehicle and looking inside, were you already inside the vehicle?

# 163 MR. BLASINI:

I was already inside the vehicle, yes.

# 164 MR. COCHRAN:

And you were seated in the passenger compartment just as though you're seated in the witness seat there?

# 165 MR. BLASINI:

Correct, sir.

# 166 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. Take your time and describe for the jury what you did from that particular vantage point inside the driver's compartment of that Bronco on June 21st, 1994.

# 167 MR. BLASINI:

Well, I basically at first looked for blood and I looked all over the vehicle. Uh, I looked for fingerprint dust.

# 168 MR. COCHRAN:

Do you recall seeing any fingerprint dust?

# 169 MR. BLASINI:

Not inside the vehicle, no.

# 170 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. Tell us what else. What happened after that?

# 171 MR. BLASINI:

I saw some dust on the window sill. So I put my fingers on the window sill to see if there was any dust on there.

# 172 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. So you're holding your fingers up. And I want you to describe for this jury how you did this. What did you do with regard to your fingers on the window sill and which window sill was it?

# 173 MR. BLASINI:

It was the same side I was sitting in, the passenger side, and I put my fingers up on the window sill like this (Indicating).

# 174 MR. COCHRAN:

So did you leave fingerprints there as far as you could tell?

# 175 MR. BLASINI:

Smudges, but I looked at my hands.

# 176 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. And you did that while you were inside the vehicle; is that correct?

# 177 MR. BLASINI:

Yes, sir.

# 178 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. After you did this, what happened next, if you recall?

# 179 THE COURT:

I'm sorry. Mr. Cochran, did you want to describe the motion that the witness--

# 180 MR. COCHRAN:

Yes. I'm sorry, your Honor, I should. Thank you, your Honor. He made a motion, your Honor, as though with all 10 of his fingers extended out in front of him as though he touched the windshield.

# 181 THE COURT:

Palms forward.

# 182 MR. COCHRAN:

Palms forward. Is that correct?

# 183 MR. BLASINI:

Fingers. Not palms on the window, but fingers.

# 184 MR. COCHRAN:

Okay. Fingers forward?

# 185 MR. BLASINI:

Correct.

# 186 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. Thank you.

# 187 MR. COCHRAN:

Thank you, your Honor.

# 188 MR. COCHRAN:

Now, what happened after you did this, you made this movement with your fingers forward?

# 189 MR. BLASINI:

I looked at Andrew and can't remember word for word, but basically what we said, we didn't find any blood. At that point, I happened to look down on the ground, and I noticed that the floorboard on the driver's side, the carpet itself was cut out.

# 190 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. You didn't see any carpet on the driver's compartment; is that correct?

# 191 MR. BLASINI:

Correct.

# 192 MR. COCHRAN:

Okay. Now, tell the jury how long did you stay approximately in this--inside the vehicle looking for blood and putting your finger--fingers first in the window of the driver's compartment? How long did you stay in this position?

# 193 MR. BLASINI:

It felt like it was for five minutes, but I really couldn't tell you. It probably was a couple of minutes.

# 194 MR. COCHRAN:

All right. Did you look--now, let's look and see--let's try to determine where you looked. Did you look on the dash?

# 195 MR. BLASINI:

Yes, sir.

# 196 MS. CLARK:

Objection. This is all asked and answered.

# 197 MR. COCHRAN:

I'm trying to--

# 198 THE COURT:

Overruled.

# 199 MR. COCHRAN:

Thank you, your Honor.

# 200 MR. COCHRAN:

Did you look on the dash at that point?

# 201 MR. BLASINI:

Yes, sir, I did.

# 202 MR. COCHRAN:

Did you have occasion to look at the console?

# 203 MR. BLASINI:

Yes, I did.

# 204 MR. COCHRAN:

Did you have occasion to look on the driver's side door?

# 205 MR. BLASINI:

Yes, I did.

# 206 MR. COCHRAN:

Did you have occasion to look at the--

# 207 MS. CLARK:

Objection. It's leading.

# 208 THE COURT:

Overruled.

# 209 MR. COCHRAN:

Did you have occasion to look at the steering wheel?

# 210 MS. CLARK:

Objection. Leading.

# 211 THE COURT:

Overruled.

# 212 MR. BLASINI:

Yes, I did.

# 213 MR. COCHRAN:

Did you look--could--you described for us earlier you got in and you looked to your rear. Did you look toward the rear of the vehicle also?

# 214 MR. BLASINI:

Yes, I did.

# 215 MR. COCHRAN:

Now, if I were to--at the last break, I showed you some photographs--

# 216 MR. COCHRAN:

And again, I'd like to have these placed up, certain exhibits, your Honor, have him take a look at it.

Temperature

procedural

Key Quotes (4)

William Blasini Jr.

I looked inside the Bronco. I looked at the seats, the floor. I looked at the dashboard. I basically looked all over the vehicle.

Establishes the thoroughness of his inspection, setting up his conclusion that he saw no blood

William Blasini Jr.

Andrew and I were talking that it was said that there was a lot of blood in the vehicle.

Explains his motivation and establishes that media reports of blood were circulating, making his finding of none all the more relevant

William Blasini Jr.

No, sir, I didn't.

Direct answer to Cochran's question 'did you see any blood?' — the core exculpatory point of the testimony

William Blasini Jr.

I noticed that the floorboard on the driver's side, the carpet itself was cut out.

Unexplained alteration to the Bronco interior — potentially significant to chain of custody and evidence handling arguments

Evidence (1)

Defense 1254

Aerial or diagram photograph of Viertel's garage on Temple Street, showing buildings labeled T-1 through T-5

Used to orient the witness and jury; Blasini identified the Bronco was housed in the rear of the T-2 building

Notable Exchanges (2)

Johnnie Cochran•Lance A. Ito

Ito intervened to have the hand gesture formally described for the record, ultimately clarifying it was fingers-forward (not palms) touching the window sill

procedural

Lance A. Ito•Juror No. 1386•Juror No. 165

Judge personally checked with two jurors by number to confirm they could see the exhibit being shown

procedural

Light Moments (1)

Lance A. Ito

Ito had to ask Cochran to move the easel back six inches because it blocked juror no. 7's line of sight; Cochran enlisted co-counsel Douglas to physically reposition it mid-examination

Witness Demeanor

(Indicating) — witness held up exhibit 1254 to show jury the T-2 building location

(Indicating) — witness demonstrated finger-forward gesture on window sill, requiring judge to stop and have it formally described for the record

Objections

4 objections (0 sustained, 4 overruled)

Proceeding 7508 • 216 utterances • Defense witness

Criminal Trial

Department 103