Sukru Boztepe testified that shortly before midnight he and his wife took in a nervous white dog whose feet and legs appeared to have blood on them. While they walked the dog and let it lead them, it stopped at a pathway on Bundy, where Boztepe saw a woman’s body and a large amount of blood; they found a neighbor to call 911, and police arrived within minutes. He also identified a crime-scene photograph as showing exactly what he saw that night.
# 1 MS. CLARK: Thank you, your Honor. People call Sukru Boztepe.
# 2 THE COURT: Raise your right hand, please. THE COURT CLERK: You do solemnly swear the testimony you are about to 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 SUKRU BOZTEPE: Yes, I do. SUKRU BOZTEPE, CALLED AS A WITNESS ON BEHALF OF THE PEOPLE, WAS EXAMINED AND TESTIFIED AS FOLLOWS: THE COURT CLERK: Please be seated. State and spell your name for the record.
# 4 SUKRU BOZTEPE: Sukru Boztepe, S-U-K-R-U, B-O-Z-T-E-P-E.
# 5 THE COURT: You may inquire.
# 6 MS. CLARK: Thank you. May I have a moment, your Honor?
# 9 Q: Mr. Boztepe, as of June 12th, 1994, can you tell us in general, where you were living? You don't have to give the exact address.
# 10 A: On Montana avenue between Bundy and San Vicente.
# 11 Q: And how far from the intersection of Bundy and Dorothy was that?
# 13 Q: And is that a home or is that an apartment building?
# 16 A: It's an apartment building.
# 17 Q: Were you living there as of June the 12th, 1994?
# 19 Q: On that night, that was a Sunday night, had you gone out at some point?
# 21 Q: When did you come home?
# 22 A: I came home 11:40.
# 23 Q: When you got back, did you notice anything unusual?
# 24 A: Yeah, our upstairs neighbor, Steven, was sitting in the -- our patio area, with his wife and big white dog.
# 25 Q: Were you alone that night, when you came home?
# 27 Q: Do you have a wife?
# 29 Q: Where was she when you came home?
# 30 A: She was in our house.
# 31 Q: So, when you got home at about 11:40, you were alone at that time?
# 33 Q: Where was it that you saw your neighbor with the big white dog?
# 34 A: Just in front of our window almost, we have swimming pool and everybody is looking at the swimming pool, so they were sitting on the chair, in front of our window.
# 35 Q: So, that was the pool area?
# 37 Q: Had you ever seen that dog before?
# 39 Q: What was the name of your neighbor who you saw with that dog at about 11:40?
# 41 Q: Do you know his last name?
# 42 A: Schwab, I guess, I don't know how to pronounce it.
# 43 Q: And who -- was Steven with anybody besides the dog?
# 44 A: With his wife Linda.
# 49 Q: When you saw him with that dog, that big white dog you'd never seen before, what did you do?
# 50 A: I asked, "whose dog is this?" And they answered.
# 51 Q: Based on what they told you, what did you do?
# 52 A: I -- can you repeat it, please?
# 53 Q: Yeah. You asked him whose dog it was?
# 55 Q: And they gave you an answer?
# 56 A: Yeah, they said that --
# 57 Q: You don't have to tell me what they said.
# 59 Q: You can just tell me what you did after they told you that?
# 60 A: I came into my apartment, and woke my wife up to show the dog. And we start talk about what -- what should we do about the dog, should we go to animal shelter or should we keep.
# 61 Q: What did you decide to do?
# 62 A: We decide to keep -- keep the dog overnight, and then call the animal shelter tomorrow morning, and give it to the animal shelter.
# 63 Q: So, did you take the dog into your apartment?
# 65 MS. CLARK: Excuse me, one moment, please.
# 66 Q: What happened when you took the dog back to your apartment?
# 67 A: The dog was so nervous, running around in the house, going to the window, going to the door. And we didn't feel comfortable with such a big dog in our apartment overnight, and we decide to take the dog for a walk.
# 68 Q: How was the dog behaving when it was inside your apartment?
# 70 Q: Can you describe what you mean by that?
# 71 A: Yeah. He just like -- as I talk, running in the house, going back and forth. And we don't have a big house. The dog was going to the window, scratching the door, smelling under the door, and trying to go out, I guess.
# 72 Q: Did you notice anything unusual about the way the dog looked?
# 73 A: Can you tell me again?
# 74 Q: Anything about its body? Anything on it that you saw?
# 75 A: I was -- there was red spots on the -- on the dog -- on dog's feet, all of them.
KEY QUOTE # 76 Q: All four of them?
# 78 Q: What about on the legs?
# 80 Q: What did that red spots -- those red spots look like to you?
# 82 Q: So, the dog was acting nervous, and so what did you want to do?
# 83 A: We want to take the dog for a walk, so maybe we thought that we can find the owner.
# 84 Q: How did you plan to walk the dog so that you could find the owner?
# 85 A: Steven said that he found the dog around Bundy and Dorothy. So we decide to take for a walk in that direction, and actually we just let the dog lead us.
# 86 Q: So, you let the dog lead you?
# 90 Q: And was the dog on a leash?
# 92 Q: What time was it when you left your apartment with the dog?
# 93 A: Very much around 12:00 o'clock.
# 96 Q: Did you go alone, or did you bring your wife?
# 98 Q: When you got out of the apartment building area, did you let the dog go in front of you?
# 100 Q: Where did the dog lead you?
# 101 A: South, to Bundy.
# 103 A: And then dog passed -- dog cross street to Bundy, cross the street to the other side, and then start to pull me a lot harder than it was before. And then he walk for a while, and then he stopped, turned right, and just stopped. I turned right, too.
# 104 Q: So as you proceeded southbound on Bundy, the dog began to pull harder and harder?
# 106 Q: And then it stopped at some point on the sidewalk?
# 108 Q: The point that -- on the sidewalk where it stopped, was there a path of any kind?
# 109 A: Yes, it was a path to a house.
# 114 Q: At that point where the dog stopped and looked to the right up that path leading to the house, how far was that from your house, your apartment?
# 116 Q: so, when the dog stopped at that point on the sidewalk, and looked to his right up the path, what did you do?
# 117 A: Dog was just in front of me, and I had to stop, too. I turned right, and looked exact the same -- same direction that dog was looking.
# 118 Q: And what did you see?
# 120 Q: Can you describe it?
# 121 A: It was woman, laying down horizontally, all the way to the path, face turned to me, and on the right side.
# 122 Q: So, her face was facing out to the street?
# 124 Q: The area where you saw her, was it well lit?
# 130 Q: Can you describe what else you saw In that area where you saw the woman?
# 131 A: There was a lot of blood. I could see only from the street lights, which comes from my -- from behind, so it was pretty dark. And I have seen only for a quick moments and I change -- I -- I just turned around and never looked there again.
KEY QUOTE # 132 Q: If the dog had not stopped where it did, would you have looked up the path and seen her?
# 134 Q: Was there any light coming from the house near where you saw her lying?
# 136 Q: Was there any light coming from the -- excuse me -- Strike that. If you recall, was there a gate anywhere near where you saw the woman?
# 137 A: That, I don't remember, I haven't seen the gate. I've just looked very low level, exactly where she was laying, so --
# 138 Q: After you saw that, sir, did you walk up the path to where the woman was lying?
# 140 Q: What did you do?
# 141 A: I tell my wife that there's a dead person there, and we should call 911. We crossed the street, around to a house to call 911. We knock the door, no one was there. And there was a lady who is walking to her car. We stopped her, and told that she should call 911. And she said that she would call from the phone box, and she left. We didn't count on her, and we went to another house, next house to the opposite side of the street. We knock the door, and there was an old gentleman there. We tell him to call 911. And he called 911, and I guess two minutes the police car came.
# 142 Q: Between the time that you saw the woman lying there, and the time that the police came, did anyone walk up the sidewalk and up the path to approach where she was lying?
# 144 Q: Did the dog do that? Go up to where she was lying down?
# 146 Q: What did the dog do after you both saw the body?
# 147 A: Dog was pretty, pretty calm. I mean, I pulled the dog, dog come -- dog came with us.
# 148 Q: When the dog looked in the direction of the woman, did it bark?
# 150 MS. CLARK: Your Honor, I have here a series of photographs. At the moment, I'm only going to be showing one labeled B.
# 151 THE COURT: All right.
# 152 MS. CLARK: I ask that they be marked as People's 5.
# 154 MS. CLARK: Collectively.
# 156 Q: Sir, I'm showing you People's 5 for identification. Can you tell me if you recognize the scene depicted in photograph B?
# 158 Q: Is that -- can you tell us what that is?
# 159 A: It's exactly what I saw.
# 160 THE COURT: I'm sorry, I can't hear you. Can speak up, sir?
# 161 SUKRU BOZTEPE: This is exactly what I saw on that night.
KEY QUOTE # 163 Q: Is that the woman that you saw?
# 165 Q: And that's the condition in which you saw her?
# 167 Q: Is that the path that you described for us?
# 170 MS. CLARK: I have nothing further.