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Physical Evidence
Item 7-16: Large Taillight Pieces Collected by Proctor (February 18)
Three mechanically fitting red taillight pieces and clear fragments recovered by Proctor on February 18, 2022. The red pieces measured about 11, 18 and 19 centimeters.
About
These large fragments, recovered a full week after Bukhenik's search of a general area that he described as expanding with the snow melting, were central to the defense's challenge of the evidence discovery timeline; the defense's missed-search premise concerned whether the earlier search had encompassed the later recovery location. Bukhenik did not know the total number of pieces and was unsure whether Proctor or someone else recovered the February 18 items. The pieces also contributed to the physical reconstruction of Read's taillight.
Three red taillight pieces that mechanically fit together, along with clear plastic fragments, were recovered by Trooper Proctor on February 18, 2022 — nearly three weeks after the incident. Individual pieces measured approximately eleven, eighteen, and nineteen centimeters, with the largest exceeding the length of the measurement ruler.