📄 Direct examination of Dennis Fung — Wednesday, July 6, 1994
📅 Jul 6 — Day 4
🔬 Dennis Fung🛡️ Gerald Uelmen⚖️ Kathleen Kennedy-Powell
timelineevidence_handlingglovebloodpolice_procedure
Address:
C:\DEPT103\PRELIMINARY\1994\JUL\6\DIRECT-EXAMINATION-OF-DENNIS-F.DOC
TRIAL
▲ Day 4 of 6

Direct examination of Dennis Fung

Witness: Dennis Fung
Examiner: Gerald Uelmen
Called by: Defense • Date: Wednesday, July 6, 1994 • Lines: 54
Dennis Fung described his role as an LAPD criminalist and established the timeline of his June 13 work, beginning at the Rockingham residence and later moving to Bundy. He testified that he collected swatches from red stains and recovered a glove at Rockingham, but that human-blood testing was performed later by the laboratory's serology unit and he knew of no such testing completed that morning.
1 THE COURT:

Face the clerk and raise your right hand, sir.

2 THE CLERK:

You do solemnly swear that 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 DENNIS FUNG:

I do. Dennis Fung, called as a witness by and on behalf of the defendant, was examined and testified as follows:

4 THE CLERK:

Will you be seated. State and spell your name, for the record.

5 DENNIS FUNG:

My name is Dennis Fung, d-e-n-n-i-s F-u-n-g.

6 THE COURT:

You may inquire.

7 MR. UELMEN:

Thank you, your Honor.

8

DIRECT EXAMINATION

9

BY MR. UELMEN:

10 Q:

Mr. Fung, can you tell us your occupation?

11 A:

I am a criminalist.

12 Q:

And by whom are you employed?

13 A:

I am employed by the city of Los Angeles, Los Angeles police department.

14 Q:

all right. And could you tell us what a criminalist is?

15 A:

A criminalist is somebody who collects evidence, analyzes it and presents his findings in a court of law.

KEY QUOTE
16 Q:

Now, were you called on June 13 to come to the premises at 360 north Rockingham?

17 A:

If I may refer to my notes.

18 Q:

You may.

19 A:

June 13. Yes, I was.

20 Q:

Could you tell us what time you received the call to report to those premises?

21 A:

I received a call at approximately 5:30 in the morning.

KEY QUOTE
22 Q:

all right. And how long did it take you to get to the premises at Rockingham?

23 A:

I arrived at the scene at approximately 7:10 that morning.

24 Q:

all right. Now, had you previously been to any other crime scene that morning?

25 A:

No.

26 Q:

So, actually, the first scene you were called to on June 13 was Mr. Simpson's residence at Rockingham; is that correct?

27 A:

Yes.

28 Q:

Did you later go to visit the premises on Bundy?

29 A:

Yes, I did.

30 Q:

That was after you had completed your work at the premises at Rockingham; is that correct?

31 A:

The entire scene at Rockingham was not completed before I went to Bundy.

32 Q:

I see. So there was continuing criminalist activity going on at Rockingham at the time you left to go to Bundy?

33 A:

No. I completed the outdoor portion of the crime scene at Rockingham and then proceeded on to the Bundy location.

KEY QUOTE
34 Q:

All right. How long were you on the premises at Rockingham before you left?

35 A:

Roughly three hours.

36 Q:

And the activity in which you were engaged included the collection of swatches in order to examine stains, red stains; is that correct?

37 A:

Yes. That's part of the collection, yes.

38 Q:

And did you also recover a glove from the area to the south of the residence?

39 A:

Yes.

40 Q:

Now, as a criminalist are you aware of any test that can be done at the scene to ascertain whether a particular stain is human blood?

41 MS. CLARK:

Objection. Irrelevant.

42 THE COURT:

Overruled.

43 DENNIS FUNG:

We do not do human blood tests in our department at the scene.

KEY QUOTE
44

BY MR. UELMEN:

45 Q:

Where are those tests conducted?

46 A:

That is done back at the laboratory, by the serology unit.

47 Q:

And how long does it ordinarily take to accomplish one of those tests?

48 A:

I have never worked in the serology unit; so I can't really give you a good estimation.

49 Q:

Were you aware of any such tests being completed with respect to any of the evidence you collected on the morning of June 13, prior to 10:45 in the morning?

50 A:

Could you repeat the question?

51 Q:

Were you aware of any such tests to determine the presence of human blood being conducted with respect to any of the evidence you collected on the premises at Rockingham avenue on the morning of June 13?

52 A:

No, I was not.

53 MR. UELMEN:

Thank you, sir. Nothing further.

54 THE COURT:

Miss Clark.

Temperature

routine

Key Quotes (5)

Dennis Fung
A criminalist is somebody who collects evidence, analyzes it and presents his findings in a court of law.
Fung defined his forensic role and responsibility for collecting and analyzing evidence.
Dennis Fung
I received a call at approximately 5:30 in the morning.
This established the beginning of Fung's response timeline on June 13.
Dennis Fung
I completed the outdoor portion of the crime scene at Rockingham and then proceeded on to the Bundy location.
This clarified the sequence and scope of Fung's work at the two crime scenes.
Dennis Fung
We do not do human blood tests in our department at the scene.
Fung explained that stains collected at the scene were not immediately confirmed as human blood.
Dennis Fung
No, I was not.
Fung said he was unaware of any test confirming human blood in the Rockingham evidence that morning.

Evidence (3)

Informal
Fung's notes concerning his June 13 response to the Rockingham scene.
consulted
Informal
Swatches collected from red stains at the Rockingham property for later examination.
discussed
Informal
A glove recovered from the area south of the Rockingham residence.
discussed

Notable Exchanges (2)

Gerald UelmenDennis Fung
Uelmen established that Fung went first to Rockingham, spent roughly three hours there, completed its outdoor portion, and then proceeded to Bundy.
revealing
Marcia ClarkKathleen Kennedy-PowellGerald UelmenDennis Fung
Clark objected that the question about on-scene human-blood testing was irrelevant, but Judge Kennedy-Powell overruled the objection and allowed Fung to answer.
procedural

Objections

1 objections (0 sustained, 1 overruled)
Proceeding 9131 • 54 lines • Defense witness
Preliminary Trial
Department 103
📂 JUL 6, 1994 📄 Direct examination of Dennis F
JUL 6, 1994