Commonwealth v. Read — Trial ArchiveAshley Vallier - Direct (Part 1)
292 linesCOURT OFFICER: Step right up here, just watch your step for me. Raise your right hand. You — the court and jury in this case — do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
MS. VALLIER: I do.
JUDGE CANNONE: So, Mr. Lally, would you remove the — good afternoon. Would you remove the exhibit that's on the witness stand, please?
MR. LALLY: Thank you.
JUDGE CANNONE: All right, Mr. Lally, whenever you're ready.
MR. LALLY: Thank you. Good afternoon. Could you please state your name and spell your last name for the jury?
MS. VALLIER: My name is Ashley Vallier, spelled V-A-L-L-I-E-R.
MR. LALLY: And Ms. Vallier, what do you do for work?
MS. VALLIER: I'm a forensic scientist at the Massachusetts State Police Crime Laboratory.
JUDGE CANNONE: All right, so, Ms. Vallier — I'm going to ask you to keep your voice up. What we've been doing is we've had to turn the air conditioning off and we can't hear. Okay?
MS. VALLIER: Thank you.
MR. LALLY: All right, how long have you been employed at the state police crime lab?
MS. VALLIER: Just over five years.
MR. LALLY: And if I could ask you just a little bit about your educational background, starting with your undergraduate work — where did you go to school for that?
MS. VALLIER: I have a Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry and cell biology from University of California San Diego.
MR. LALLY: And following your receipt of that degree, where did you go from there?
MS. VALLIER: I have a Master of Science degree in biomedical forensic sciences from Boston University.
MR. LALLY: And once you received that master's, where did you go to work after that?
MS. VALLIER: I worked at the Broad Institute for about six months before getting a job at the Massachusetts State Police Crime Laboratory.
MR. LALLY: As far as your work at the Broad Institute — that's located in Cambridge. Is that correct?
MS. VALLIER: Correct.
MR. LALLY: And what type of work did you do at the Broad?
MS. VALLIER: I worked for the Center for the Development of Therapeutics department, doing quality control checks on compounds that they think could have potential to be therapeutic drugs.
MR. LALLY: And so you went to work for the Mass State Police crime lab — or the MSPCL — in early 2019. Is that correct?
MS. VALLIER: Correct.
MR. LALLY: And when you first went to work for the MSP, what unit were you initially assigned to?
MS. VALLIER: The Trace, Arson, and Explosives unit.
MR. LALLY: Is that the unit that you still currently work in?
MS. VALLIER: It is.
MR. LALLY: And so you started with the lab as a forensic scientist one. Is that correct?
MS. VALLIER: Correct.
MR. LALLY: And so what sort of steps, or what kind of training did you go through in order to go from being a forensic scientist one to being a forensic scientist two that you are?
MS. VALLIER: A forensic scientist one is the initial job that you're hired as. After you've been at the lab for a year, and once you're qualified and signed off to do casework, you become a forensic scientist two.
MR. LALLY: Now, within the trace unit, can you describe to the jury sort of what types of things you're looking at, or what types of analysis that you do with regard to working in the trace unit?
MS. VALLIER: Specifically, what I do — or what the unit does — first, in general terms: the unit has a lot of disciplines, so there's fire debris examination, explosives examination, serial number restoration, gunshot residue analysis, fibers, paint, glass, physical match, and trace recovery.
MR. LALLY: And specific to yourself, what is it that you do within the trace unit?
MS. VALLIER: I do gunshot residue analysis, trace recovery, and physical match analysis.
MR. LALLY: And as far as each of those respective categories, those are the things that you've done essentially your entire time there, especially as a forensic scientist 2?
MS. VALLIER: Yes.
MR. LALLY: Now with regard to the physical match component that you were talking about, can you explain to the jury, just again in general terms, what goes into that — what are you looking at, what are you doing?
MS. VALLIER: Physical match analysis is looking at two or more items that have broken or irregular edges and seeing if they fit together — sort of like a jigsaw puzzle.
MR. LALLY: And when you're doing those examinations of various items with respect to that, what types of instruments are you using, or what types of ways are you looking at these from an instrumental perspective?
MS. VALLIER: It's mostly the stereo zoom microscope, which is a microscope that's mounted on a stand so that it can look at larger objects, and not just slides like in science class.
MR. LALLY: Now over the course of your work with the lab, you're familiar with the fact that the lab is accredited, is that correct?
MS. VALLIER: Correct.
MR. LALLY: And that's accredited by an organization known as ANAB, correct?
MS. VALLIER: Correct.
MR. LALLY: And with respect to that accreditation, what if any testing or examinations or continuing education do you have to undergo in order to maintain that accreditation, either for yourself or for the lab itself?
MS. VALLIER: As part of the accreditation, all analysts that are signed off to do casework do proficiency tests every year.
MR. LALLY: And have you done proficiency testing over the course of your five years with the lab?
MS. VALLIER: I have.
MR. LALLY: And specifically, what types of areas have you taken proficiency testing in?
MS. VALLIER: I've taken proficiency tests in gunshot residue analysis and physical match.
MR. LALLY: So with respect to each of the various areas of work that you do within the lab, is that correct?
MS. VALLIER: Except for trace recovery, but yes.
MR. LALLY: And with respect to each of those, as far as the proficiency testing was concerned, you've successfully completed each of those?
MS. VALLIER: I have.
MR. LALLY: Now, if I could turn your attention to — at some point over the course of your work within the trace unit in the lab, did you become involved with lab case number 22-02184?
MS. VALLIER: I did.
MR. LALLY: And there's a name that's associated with that number as well, is that correct — a name as far as a suspect or a defendant or something like that?
MS. VALLIER: Yes.
MR. LALLY: And whose name is that?
MS. VALLIER: Karen Read.
MR. LALLY: And as far as your work within the trace unit, how is it that you came to be involved — what piece of analysis did you become initially involved in with respect to [unintelligible]?
MS. VALLIER: I was assigned to do physical match analysis on many different items.
MR. LALLY: Before we get to the physical match, was there something — what if anything were you asked to do with regard to some clothing items associated with [unintelligible]?
MS. VALLIER: I believe I later received debris that was collected from those clothing items.
MR. LALLY: So debris specifically — do you recall which clothing items you received debris from?
MS. VALLIER: I do not, not without looking at my notes.
MR. LALLY: Your Honor, with the Court's permission, may the witness look at her notes?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yeah, go right ahead.
MR. LALLY: And is your memory refreshed as to which items of clothing you looked at?
MS. VALLIER: Yes — so, well, I didn't look at clothing, I just received the debris that was already packaged — so it was labeled as coming from jeans, boxer shorts, sneakers, a gray long-sleeve shirt, and an orange T-shirt.
MR. LALLY: Now with respect to each of those items, each had a lab label number associated with it, is that correct?
MS. VALLIER: Correct.
MR. LALLY: Is it your understanding that the larger piece of clothing would have been labeled 7-something, and then the debris from that clothing would have been labeled 7-same-thing-point-whatever — does that sound familiar?
MS. VALLIER: It does, yes.
MR. LALLY: And so with specific reference to item 7-18.18, that was debris from an orange T-shirt, is that correct?
MS. VALLIER: Yes.
MR. LALLY: And specifically — I'm sorry — debris from an orange T-shirt and a gray long-sleeve shirt, correct?
MS. VALLIER: Correct.
MR. LALLY: And from your analysis of that debris, what if any examination did you do of that debris that was provided to you within the trace unit?
MS. VALLIER: So each of these items was packaged in a fold, so I opened up the fold and looked at the items under the stereo zoom microscope, and documented it with photos.
MR. LALLY: And as far as item 7-18.8, what if anything did you observe as far as what was contained within the debris from that item specifically?
MS. VALLIER: May I look at my notes?
MR. LALLY: Yes.
MS. VALLIER: Okay, thank you. There was apparent dirt debris, many black, gray, blue, and orange apparent fibers, several pieces of red apparent plastic, several apparent hairs, one piece of green material, and one piece of clear apparent plastic.
MR. LALLY: And the clear apparent plastic — what if any measurements did you conduct with reference to that?
MS. VALLIER: It measured approximately 1/8 of an inch by 11/16 of an inch.
MR. LALLY: Now from your analysis of those items, what if anything do you know about where within the lab they went following your analysis?
MS. VALLIER: I believe another analyst in the trace unit then looked at those items.
MR. LALLY: And that would be — are you familiar with another person who works in the trace unit named Christina Hanley?
MS. VALLIER: I am.
MR. LALLY: And what if any training does Ms. Hanley have that you do not have, in order to conduct that sort of further analysis?
PARENTHETICAL: [pause]
MR. LALLY: Do you recognize those?
MS. VALLIER: So Christina Hanley is the trace supervisor, and she has signed off to do casework in fibers, miscellaneous paint, and glass — the other trace disciplines that I am not.
MR. LALLY: So essentially those items contained within that debris were something that you examined microscopically, made observations of, took measurements of, and then they went to Ms. Hanley, correct?
MS. VALLIER: Of the initial items that I looked at, yes.
MR. LALLY: Yes, and what were those, generally speaking — what were those initial items that you looked at?
MS. VALLIER: There were many different items that I believe were recovered from an address, but I would have to look at my notes to —
MR. LALLY: Go ahead.
MS. VALLIER: So they were all labeled as coming from — as recovered from 34 Fairview Road.
MR. LALLY: And what types of items were they specifically?
MS. VALLIER: So it was many pieces of apparent plastic and apparent glass, and one drinking straw.
MR. LALLY: And those items were generally labeled as items 7-5 through 7-19 — does that sound familiar?
MS. VALLIER: Yes.
MR. LALLY: And with reference to the process, in general terms, when you receive these items, can you explain to the jury your process and what you did and what you looked at as you went through each of these respective items?
MS. VALLIER: Sure. So for beginning a physical match case, you'll always look at the questioned items first — which are the ones that you don't know where they came from; like here they're labeled as coming from the road, so you don't know where their actual source of origin is. And so what we'll do is we'll scan that item into my custody, and then I will document the packaging with photographs, and then I'll open that item and document it as it is. And if there are multiple pieces, each piece will get a designator like piece A, piece B, piece C. All this gets documented, written down in my notes and in photographs. If any of those pieces look like they could possibly fit together, then I will look under the stereo zoom and see if they do in fact fit together, and document it if they do.
MS. VALLIER: And then once I've finished documenting that, I'll repackage it in the original packaging. And then if there are multiple items — like in this case there were — then once that first item is sealed up, I'll clean my bench and then open the second item and do the same thing until all of the items have been documented.
MR. LALLY: And again, if you could describe to the jury the physical process of what you did in this case with respect to these items — as far as how you were looking at them, sort of physically, what did you do with those items?
MS. VALLIER: So like I said, I opened up each of these items individually, took photos, took notes, looked at them under the stereo zoom microscope, and then looked at my photos after I had looked at all of them — they'd all been packaged in their original packaging — and I looked at the photographs to see if any of those pieces could possibly fit together. And then once I looked at the photos and saw that it looked like there were possible physical match fits among those questioned items, then I opened up those items and looked to see if — like in real life versus just on photos — they could have a potential physical match. And then if it looked like they did, I brought them together and looked at that in the stereo zoom to confirm if there was a physical match.
MR. LALLY: May I approach?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. LALLY: This — I'm showing you a series of nine photographs. Just actually look at those and finish.
MS. VALLIER: Um, yes.
MR. LALLY: And what do you recognize those to be?
MS. VALLIER: Um, item 7-5.
MR. LALLY: And is that how it was presented to you or shown to you, as far as the evidence bag that you opened and the items that were contained within?
MS. VALLIER: Um, I mean, this is just a picture of the seal, not the entire bag, but yes.
MR. LALLY: Seek to introduce.
JUDGE CANNONE: It's Exhibit 262.
MR. LALLY: Your Honor, with the Court's permission, may I publish some of these photographs to the jury, please?
JUDGE CANNONE: Okay.
MR. LALLY: And Mr. Woll, if you could have photograph 1905 and display — What's up on the screen is photograph 1905, which has now been marked as Exhibit 262. Do you recognize that?
MS. VALLIER: I do.
MR. LALLY: And is that the evidence bag that you were presented with, the items labeled as item 7?
MS. VALLIER: Um, that's the seal on it. Yeah.
MR. LALLY: Now, just in general terms, as far as this process that you're talking about — fitting the puzzle pieces together — how long and how laborious a process did that entail — in this case specifically?
MS. VALLIER: Yes. Um, there were — there were many items to look at, so it did take quite a bit of time.
MR. LALLY: And if I can have photograph 198X — do you recognize what's up on the screen, which has now been marked as Exhibit 263?
MS. VALLIER: I do.
MR. LALLY: Is that one of the pieces that you have from item 7?
MS. VALLIER: Um, those are the three pieces in item 7-5. So three pieces from that — they were all red apparent plastic pieces from that same item. Is that correct? Yes.
MR. LALLY: I'm showing you another seven photographs. Do you recognize what's depicted in those photographs?
MS. VALLIER: I do.
MR. LALLY: And what do you recognize those to be?
MS. VALLIER: Um, the seal and then the items from item 7-6.
MR. LALLY: And what's contained in those photographs — is that a fair and accurate portrayal of what you observed when you were doing your analysis in the lab?
MS. VALLIER: Yes.
MR. LALLY: Seek to introduce. [Exhibits] 271 through 277. Thank you. Your Honor, with the Court's permission, if I could publish some of those photographs to the jury.
JUDGE CANNONE: Okay.
MR. LALLY: If I can have photograph 1921 — and if you could just rotate that — So what's up on the screen — that's photograph 1921 — [Exhibit] 271. Um, that is the evidence bag and box that contains the items, Reference Lab item 7-6. Is that correct?
MS. VALLIER: Correct.
MR. LALLY: And with reference to that, as far as the labeling is concerned, these are items that were submitted by Saraf, correct?
MS. VALLIER: Um, uh, yes. It's from the labeling — the labeling that's being shown in Exhibit 271 — that actually has an indication of who the submitting agency is, and the date that the item was collected, correct? Um, presumably. I don't know, because that's not our lab's labeling system.
MR. LALLY: Is it fair to say, as far as your observation of these evidence bags — or boxes — as you were opening them, they had different dates on them, some of them? Is that correct?
MS. VALLIER: Um, I don't know. I don't know.
MR. LALLY: Mr. Woll, if I could have photograph 1924 — and again, what's up on the screen has now been marked as Exhibit 272. Um, these were the items that were contained within that box — or that bag — of item 7-6. Is that correct?
MS. VALLIER: Correct. It appears two pieces of clear plastic.
MR. LALLY: Uh, apparent plastic?
MS. VALLIER: Yes.
MR. LALLY: May I approach the witness?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. LALLY: I'll bring you another series of photographs. If you can review those — — and finish. And do you recognize what's depicted in those photographs, ma'am?
MS. VALLIER: I do.
MR. LALLY: And what do you recognize those to be?
MS. VALLIER: Um, item 7-8.
MR. LALLY: And again, is this a fair and accurate portrayal of what you observed in the lab with reference to item 7-8?
MS. VALLIER: Yes.
MR. LALLY: Seek to introduce.
JUDGE CANNONE: Admitted.
MR. LALLY: Your Honor, with the Court's permission, may I publish some of these photos to the jury as well?
JUDGE CANNONE: Approved.
MR. LALLY: With regard to the items that were contained within the various bags or boxes that you would receive as evidentiary items, what, if any, difference was there between sort of the color, the size, the shape of the different items that you received?
MS. VALLIER: Sorry, what — can you repeat the question? Were they all sort of uniform as to their color, as to their size, as to their shape? Or what, if any, differences did you note between —
MR. LALLY: Um, between the items that we've already published, or just all of them?
MS. VALLIER: All of them in general. Um, so some of the pieces were clear apparent plastic, some were clear apparent glass, um, some of them are red apparent plastic, um, some of them were — some of them were silver-colored apparent plastic.
MR. LALLY: And as far as the size of these pieces of plastic or glass that you had, how would you describe sort of their physical size, shape, things of that nature?
MS. VALLIER: Um, some of them were very small, um, and some of them were larger. Can't tell you the dimensions without looking at my notes.
MR. LALLY: And you took measurements with respect to each of the pieces that you analyzed, each of the pieces that you examined, and each of the pieces that you ultimately tried to find a match for, correct?
MS. VALLIER: Correct.
MR. LALLY: Uh, Miss Gilman, if I could have photograph 1931 — and what's up on the screen is now Exhibit 278, item 7-8. Yes. And Miss Gilman, if I could have 1934 — now, what's contained in this exhibit up on the screen, number 279. Do you recognize that as the contents that were collectively sort of labeled as item 7-8?
MS. VALLIER: I do.
MR. LALLY: And so from a variety of those different pieces that are depicted up on the screen in Exhibit 279, each of them would have been respectively labeled — as far as, say, 7-8.1, or 7-8 something else — is that fair to say?
MS. VALLIER: Um, so the laboratory numbering system where it goes 7-8.1 — um, that's if you take a sub-sample. Um, so if I had collected like debris or something off of — out of this item — um, that would then be labeled 7-8.1, because it's a new entry in our LIMS system. Um, these are just the different pieces in 7-8. Um, in my notes I gave them labels such as piece A, piece B, piece C, all the way down to, um, well, however many there were.
MR. LALLY: You label them individually as sort of letters, is that correct?
MS. VALLIER: Correct.
MR. LALLY: Could I have photograph 198X, zoomed just a little bit in on that? And what's up on the screen — within this exhibit — is Exhibit 282. Do you recognize that?
MS. VALLIER: I do.
MR. LALLY: Is that one of the pieces that was submitted within this — as far as 7-8 — that you examined throughout the course of your analysis here?
MS. VALLIER: Oh — there's actually two pieces in that. There's the large one in the middle, and there's a very small one up in the corner.
JUDGE CANNONE: Okay. audio incident - open mic
MR. LALLY: Thank you. [unintelligible]— do you recognize those, ma'am?
MS. VALLIER: I do.
MR. LALLY: What do you recognize those to be?
MS. VALLIER: Um, photos that I took of item 7-10.
MR. LALLY: Yes. Again, Your Honor, with the Court's permission, if I could publish that to the jury?
JUDGE CANNONE: Okay.
MR. LALLY: Photograph 1952. And, Miss Gilman, what's up on the screen— is that the bag or box that contains item 7-10?
MS. VALLIER: Yes.
MR. LALLY: If I could have 1955. Again, what's up on the screen— is that the item that was contained within that evidence bag?
MS. VALLIER: Yes. [unintelligible]
MR. LALLY: Ma'am, do you recognize what's depicted in those photographs?
MS. VALLIER: I do.
MR. LALLY: What do you recognize those to be?
MS. VALLIER: Um, the packaging that item 7-9 and 7-19 came in.
MR. LALLY: And what's contained within those photographs— is that a fair and accurate portrayal of those items when you received them at your station and within the trace unit?
MS. VALLIER: It is.
MR. LALLY: May I approach?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. LALLY: I seek to introduce these as the next [exhibits].
JUDGE CANNONE: Okay. Photographs marked as Exhibits—
COURT CLERK: [unintelligible]. Thank you.
MR. LALLY: Your Honor, with the Court's permission, may I publish what's now been marked as Exhibits 296 through 309?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. LALLY: Miss Gilman, photograph— and again, Miss Gilman, what's up on the screen— is that the evidence bag or box that contains those items that you're testifying about, 7-9, 7-19?
MS. VALLIER: Yes.
MR. LALLY: Now, with regard to— if I could have photograph 1962 next. Now, what's been depicted up on the screen and been marked as Exhibit 297— if you zoom in a little bit. Now, contained within this are three clear pieces and the black— [unintelligible].
MS. VALLIER: Um, I'd have to look at my notes to see what I wrote.
JUDGE CANNONE: The witness— yes, go ahead, look at your notes.
MS. VALLIER: Um, three pieces of apparent plastic.
MR. LALLY: Now, I'm just going to ask about the item that's contained above those three pieces of apparent clear plastic. What is that?
MS. VALLIER: Um, that is item 7-9. That is a black straw.
MR. LALLY: And if I can have photograph [unintelligible]— what's up on the screen— which has now been marked as Exhibit 299— is that essentially the straw with a ruler showing its measurements? Is that correct?
MS. VALLIER: Yes.
MR. LALLY: Thank you. Now, with reference to the photographs that I asked you to look at before— have you had a chance to review those?
MS. VALLIER: I have.
MR. LALLY: And do you recognize what's contained within those?
MS. VALLIER: I do.
MR. LALLY: And what do you recognize those to be?
MS. VALLIER: Um, the photos I took of item 7-1.
MR. LALLY: And what's contained in those photographs of item 7-1— is that a fair and accurate portrayal of what you observed in your lab when you conducted your analysis in reference to this case?
MS. VALLIER: It is.
MR. LALLY: Your Honor, I seek to introduce and admit these as the next exhibits.
JUDGE CANNONE: Okay. [unintelligible] Thank you.
MR. LALLY: And with your permission, if I could publish— yes. Miss Gilman, photograph 1979. Again, for the record, what's up on the screen— is that the evidence bag that contains item 7-1?
MS. VALLIER: Yes.
MR. LALLY: And for the record, that's been marked as Exhibit 310. If I could have 1982— and again, what's depicted up on the screen as Exhibit 311— is that the items, the pieces of plastic, that were contained within the aforementioned evidence bag?
MS. VALLIER: Yes.
MR. LALLY: Now, with regard to the photographs that I just placed before you— have you had a chance to review those as well?
MS. VALLIER: I have.
MR. LALLY: And do you recognize what's contained within those photographs?
MS. VALLIER: Um, photos of item 7-14.
MR. LALLY: And what's contained in those photographs of item 7-14— is that a fair and accurate portrayal of what you observed in your lab when you conducted your examination in this case?
MS. VALLIER: It is.
MR. LALLY: Thank you. Your Honor, I seek to introduce [Exhibits] 325, 326, 327. Thank you. Miss Gilman, photograph INAUDIBLE— if I can draw your attention up to the screen just for a moment— now marked as Exhibit 325— do you recognize that?
MS. VALLIER: I do.
MR. LALLY: Is that what's contained— is that correct?
MS. VALLIER: Yes.
MR. LALLY: Again, what's up on the screen— is that the item that contains— labeled— sorry. What's depicted on the screen— is that a fair portrayal of what was contained in the evidence bag from the previous exhibits, labeled as item 7-4?
MS. VALLIER: Yes.
MR. LALLY: Thank you. I'm sorry, I interrupted— were you able to review the bulk of those photographs that I just placed before you?
MS. VALLIER: Yes.
MR. LALLY: And do you recognize those?
MS. VALLIER: Yes.
MR. LALLY: And what do you recognize those to be?
MS. VALLIER: Um, the photos of item 7-12.
MR. LALLY: If I could— excuse me— ask that those be marked as the next exhibits.
JUDGE CANNONE: Okay. [Exhibits] 328 through 342. Thank you.
MR. LALLY: Miss Gilman, if I could have photograph [unintelligible]. And I will direct your attention up to the screen— what's contained and what's marked now as Exhibit 328— are those the evidence bags that contain the items labeled as 7-12?
MS. VALLIER: Yes.
MR. LALLY: And if I could have photograph 2018— and, directing your attention up to the screen— which is now marked as Exhibit 329— are those the items that were labeled collectively as 7-12, that were contained within that evidence bag prior to examination?
MS. VALLIER: Yes.
MR. LALLY: As far as those photographs that I presented to you a moment ago— have you had a chance to review those as well?
MS. VALLIER: I have.
MR. LALLY: And do you recognize what's contained within those photographs?
MS. VALLIER: I do.
MR. LALLY: And what do you recognize those to be?
MS. VALLIER: Um, photos of item 7-13.
MR. LALLY: And what's contained within those photographs— is that a fair and accurate portrayal of what was contained, or labeled, as item 7-13?
MS. VALLIER: It is.
MR. LALLY: May I approach?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes. [Exhibits] 330 through 33?. Thank you. Thank you very much.
MR. LALLY: Miss Gilman, if I could have photograph 1997— and for the record, what's depicted on the screen in that photograph, which has now been marked as Exhibit 333— is that the evidence bag that contains the items labeled as 7-13?
MS. VALLIER: Yes.
MR. LALLY: And, Miss Gilman, if I can put up— and directing your attention to the screen— are those the items contained within that exhibit from prior exhibits, collectively labeled by the lab as 7-13?
MS. VALLIER: Yes.
MR. LALLY: As far as the photographs that I had placed before you— have you had a chance to review those?
MS. VALLIER: I have.
MR. LALLY: And do you recognize what's depicted in those photographs?
MS. VALLIER: I do.
MR. LALLY: What do you recognize those to be?
MS. VALLIER: Um, photos of item 7-15.
MR. LALLY: And what's contained in those photographs— is that a fair and accurate portrayal of what was contained in items— — excuse me— item 7-15?
MS. VALLIER: It is.
JUDGE CANNONE: Okay, hold on one second. Do we have the court reporter? Yeah— for— 323, 368. Thank you, thank you very much, Mr. L. Those are the last exhibits we'll be doing today.
MR. LALLY: Okay. 2072. I'd like to direct your attention to the screen. You recognize this as the evidence bag that contains item 7-5, that's now been marked as exhibit 352?
MS. VALLIER: I do.
MR. LALLY: And if I could have photograph 2077. Again, what's up on the screen — those are the items that were collectively identified by the lab as item 7-5 from that evidence bag, contained in the prior?
MS. VALLIER: Yes.
MR. LALLY: Now, Miss, as far as your analysis was concerned with regard to each of these items — and we'll get to that a little bit, I think, the next time — but with regard to the labels that you assigned to them, as far as the letters of the alphabet, A through whatever letter that you went, when you were conducting your sort of physical match analysis, how was that shown on a particular piece? Or did you label those pieces? Or how are we able to sort of quantify that?
MS. VALLIER: The pieces that were large enough to — I printed out labels from a label maker with the lab number, the item number, and then the piece — the letter that I assigned it, so A, B, C — and my initials — and those are on the pieces.
MR. LALLY: And then as far as those pieces were concerned, if you were able to find some consistency between, say, piece A and piece B, and you were able to sort of fit them together, what, if anything, did you do to memorialize that sort of physical method?
MS. VALLIER: Within the same item, if there were two pieces that fit together, I documented that with photos, wrote it down in my notes, and then — if it was within the same item — I held it together with tape and then repackaged it still together as a single piece.
MR. LALLY: And as far as these consistencies, or the matches that you were examining or looking for, was that solely within piece to piece? Or at some point did you also look at a sort of larger piece as far as a housing unit for a tail light?
MS. VALLIER: For this case, yes.
MR. LALLY: And with regard to pieces that you had sort of put together, what, if anything, were you able to do with regard to some of those pieces and the tail light housing item 3-1?
MS. VALLIER: So from those items that we just saw, I was able to piece one larger piece — many of those pieces all fit together into one piece that I then called piece one. There are some other pieces that also fit together among those, which I called piece two, piece three, piece four, and piece five. Piece one was a physical match with item 3-1, the tail light.
MR. LALLY: Your Honor, I — I think that may —
JUDGE CANNONE: Okay, all right. So, Miss Vallier, we're going to have to have you back on. I'm going to ask our jurors — so we don't meet tomorrow, we'll meet Wednesday, and we'll go a full day Wednesday with an abbreviated line and sometime between 4 and 4:30. So please do not discuss this case with anyone, don't do any independent research or investigation into the case. If you happen to see, hear, or read anything about the case, please disregard it. I know we took a long time today — we're getting exhibits in before you, but it's a very important part of the case and it does just take some time. So we appreciate your patience. All right, we'll see you on Wednesday.
JUDGE CANNONE: Thank you. So I was just talking to Miss Vallier about whether I needed to call Lawrence Court for her or not, so you are all set. Thank you very much. All right, you don't need me for anything until Wednesday. We'll see you Wednesday.