Henry Dodge Hendee

 

Preliminary Hearing

November 17, 2003

 

Direct Examination by David Harris

HARRIS:  Detective, can you spell your full -- tell us what your full name is and spell your last name for the record? 

HENDEE:  Henry Dodge Hendee, H-E-N-D-E-E. 

HARRIS:  And what is your occupation? 

HENDEE:  I'm a detective with Modesto Police Department. 

HARRIS:  How long have you been employed with the Modesto Police Department? 

HENDEE:  I have been employed with them since October, 1987. So about 15 years.  Prior to that, I have five and a half years with another agency. 

HARRIS:  All right.  I want to direct your attention back to December 27th of 2002 and ask if you were working in your capacity as a detective in the service of a search warrant at 1027 North Emerald, Suite B1? 

HENDEE:  Yes, I was. 

HARRIS:  Did you -- can you describe for the Court briefly what that location is? 

HENDEE:  127 North Emerald, Suite Number B1, is a warehouse complex located on the west side of Emerald, on North Emerald.  It's actually two warehouses, one that runs east and west directly next to the street, and the other one runs north and south to the west of the first building.  Scott Peterson's warehouse was the furthestmost office or warehouse on that second wing, the one that runs north and south. 

HARRIS:  And that location, that's here in Stanislaus County? 

HENDEE:  Yes, it is. 

HARRIS:  As the -- as your assignment that particular day, were you given some particular task at that location with regards to that search warrant? 

HENDEE:  Yes, I was. 

HARRIS:  And what was that? 

HENDEE:  I was appointed as the search warrant team leader for that assignment. 

HARRIS:  And at some point in time did you go inside that particular warehouse? 

HENDEE:  Yes, I did. 

HARRIS:  Did you notice if there were -- let's get to the point. Was there a boat inside? 

HENDEE:  Yes, there was. 

HARRIS:  Can you describe for the Court what you saw with regards to that boat? 

HENDEE:  The boat was aluminum 14-foot Game Fisher boat, it was on top of a trailer.  It was in the northeast end of the warehouse, which would be up near the rollup door.  There was a 15-horsepower motor, was a Game Fisher brand as well, on the end of the boat.  The boat was -- had a capacity for 4 persons or 500 pounds.  Very small boat. 

HARRIS:  Anything nearby the boat? 

HENDEE:  Yes. 

HARRIS:  What was nearby the boat? 

HENDEE:  There were -- there was a trailer, a flat pull trailer with wooden planks on top of it.  There was a lot of product -- or pallets with Trade Corp. product throughout the warehouse stacked on top, sometimes stacked on top of each other going up fairly high.  There was a forklift in the middle of the warehouse.  And next to the boat, there was tools, some shelves, and some chemical products and so forth down below that. 

HARRIS:  In the area of the boat and this trailer, would you say it was tight access or wide access, wide space? 

GERAGOS:  Objection.  Vague. 

JUDGE:  Sustained. 

HARRIS:  Can you describe for us how much room was around the trailer and the boat? 

HENDEE:  It was pretty tight spaced. In front of the boat and in front of the trailer, there was a little more wide open area.  But in between the boat and the wall and in between the boat and the trailer, it was a fairly tight space, maybe -- if memory serves me right, maybe a person or two could fit in there in between.  But it was fairly tight. 

HARRIS:  And as part of your assignment of being the manager of this particular search warrant, did you start to make notations to yourself or either in a report about items that you thought were of evidentiary value? 

HENDEE:  Yes, I did. 

HARRIS:  I'd like to have marked as next in order -- 

CLERK:  140. 

JUDGE:  140? 

CLERK:  Yes.  140. 

HARRIS:  140. (Whereupon, People's Exhibit 140 was marked for identification.) 

HARRIS:  Detective, I'm going to show you what's been marked now as People's Number 140 for identification, ask you to look at that for a second, and let us know if you recognize it? 

HENDEE:  Yes, I do. 

HARRIS:  Can you tell us, tell the Court what that is? 

HENDEE:  This is a photograph taken of the trailer, the pull trailer, the flat pull trailer that was in the warehouse next to the boat, and it shows a picture of a number of evidence placards that I had placed onto the trailer. Basically, I see 28, 29, 30, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, and 31. And it highlights -- 

GERAGOS:  There will be an objection.  The document speaks for itself.  He's identified everything that's visible on the picture. 

JUDGE:  He's already described it.  I'll stop him there.  I'll sustain it after that point. 

HARRIS:  All right.  Detective, the photograph that you have, People's Number 140, does that accurately depict the area of the trailer that you've described? 

HENDEE:  Yes. 

HARRIS:  Now, looking up here at the diagram behind you that is People's -- looks like People's 87, do you recognize this diagram by Detective House? 

HENDEE:  Yes, I do. 

HARRIS:  And does that diagram depict the general overall location of the warehouse that we're talking about? 

HENDEE:  Yes, it does. 

HARRIS:  Where in the diagram, if you can describe for the Court, is what's depicted in that photograph in front of you? 

HENDEE:  The top of the picture is, for this purposes, north.  And if you see this big flat square box with a whole lot of little small circles, at the top of the box, that's what's depicted in this picture here.  Those are the item numbers that I previously mentioned. 

HARRIS:  So what's depicted in 140 shows on People's Number 87 in about the upper right third, more towards the middle of that diagram? 

HENDEE:  Yes.  The only difference is that placards are numbered 35, 36, and on this picture they say 135, 136.  We didn't have placards that went up that high.  So everything that's placarded with a number here, actually, you add a hundred to it to make it so that it wouldn't be confused with evidence that was recovered at the house earlier. 

HARRIS:  All right.  So with regards to the trailer that you've described for us and those particular placards depicted in People's Number 140, what did -- describe for the Court what those placards represented. 

GERAGOS:  Objection.  Calls for speculation.  The placards are pictured in the picture, and there's no further explanation needed.  The document speaks for itself. 

JUDGE:  I assume they represent a location or something.  Overruled.  

HENDEE:  What the placard, some of them represent, 35, 36, 37, 38 and 39 represent an area on this trailer where there had been cement powder, it looks like cement powder poured out onto the trailer or spilling out onto parts of the trailer. These placards represent an area where there was a little less powder, a voided area, if you will, something had probably or most likely, in my opinion, been there -- 

GERAGOS:  Objection.  Nonresponsive.  No foundation.  Motion to strike. 

JUDGE:  That part is stricken, what he thinks.  He can just testify to what he saw. 

HARRIS:  Okay.  Did that describe everything that you were talking about? 

HENDEE:  Well, they -- these placards represent a voided area.

HARRIS:  The gray powder that you're describing, was there anything that led you to come to some type of belief as to what that was? 

HENDEE:  Yes. 

HARRIS:  And what was that? 

HENDEE:  Excuse me.  In the boat, identified there as evidence item number 143, was a cement anchor or weight that was inside the boat, and that was obviously made of cement, and it -- and we tested it to see if it fit in this picture, which is identified as evidence item number 128.  On the trailer, there was a plastic, one-gallon, clear pitcher, and the weight apparently was made from that pitcher, it fit perfectly into the mold -- 

GERAGOS:  Objection.  Calls for speculation. Motion to strike. 

JUDGE:  That part that's his opinion is stricken. 

HARRIS:  Okay.  Without giving us the opinion, did you take that weight and hold it up, match it to or do something with regards to that clear plastic pitcher? 

HENDEE:  The weight was placed into the pitcher. 

HARRIS:  Did it fit? 

HENDEE:  Yes, it did. 

HARRIS:  Now, the weight that you found, where was that when you originally found it? 

HENDEE:  In the boat. 

HARRIS:  Was there any type of rope or anything tied to it? 

HENDEE:  No.  The weight has a metal rebar hook at the top, it had been bent and encased in the cement weight. 

HARRIS:  Did you also look kind of in and around that weight in the boat? 

HENDEE:  Yes. 

HARRIS:  Did you notice anything around the weight? 

HENDEE:  Yeah, there were other items of evidence that we collected from there, but one of those was a pair of pliers. 

HARRIS:  And when you first saw the pair of pliers, where was it? 

HENDEE:  It was underneath the middle bench seat that runs the width of the boat, it was underneath that and partially behind the metal center anchoring support bracket, if you will, for the seat. 

HARRIS:  Now, in front of you, do you see a photograph of the boat with the pair of pliers in it? 

HENDEE:  Yes, I do. 

HARRIS:  And what exhibit number is that? 

HENDEE:  I think it's 88 maybe, People's 88. 

HARRIS:  Looking at People's Number 88, does that photograph depict the insides of the boat as you saw them -- 

HENDEE:  Yes. 

HARRIS:  -- on that particular day that we're talking about? 

HENDEE:  Yes, it does. 

HARRIS:  And can you see the pliers in that photograph? 

HENDEE:  Yes, I do. 

HARRIS:  Did you collect those pair of pliers? 

HENDEE:  Yes, I did. 

HARRIS:  What did you do with the pair of pliers? 

HENDEE:  Well, at the point that I was going into the boat and putting down placards for items that I was gonna collect as evidence, I picked up this pair of pliers, and upon immediately picking them up, I noticed that there was a hair in the end of the pliers looping through it.  I pointed that out to the other people that were near me, Denise Ducot immediately took a photograph of it, and within a matter of five minutes, I placed it into an evidence bag. 

HARRIS:  Looking -- is there another photograph that depicts the pair of pliers more close up? 

HENDEE:  Yes.  It's People's Exhibit, I think, 139. 

HARRIS:  And can you describe for the Court what that is in 139? 

HENDEE:  Yes, it is, People's 139 is a picture of the item number 44, the placard number 44.  And above the placard, I am holding the pliers, and you can see a hair that loops into the pliers. 

HARRIS:  Now, when you say when the hair looped into the pliers, describe for the Court what you mean by that. 

HENDEE:  Well, as I recall it, the hair went through the pliers, and then a bit of it looped back in towards it.  So there's a little bit of a loop in there, and then it had gone underneath the prong or the needle-nose plier part, so that the hair went through there, and I think it had looped back, as I recall, just barely into the prong (indicates). And the hair was about five to six inches in length, as I recall. 

HARRIS:  Now, you were describing that, and you were gesturing something.  Let's just go back and see if I've got this right for the record. You were using, I can't recall which hand it was, but one hand up, and you were holding your index and middle finger apart almost like you would do a scissors or -- 

HENDEE:  Yeah. 

HARRIS:  -- to represent the pliers? 

HENDEE:  Yeah. 

HARRIS:  And then you were representing the hair with a finger from your other hand, putting it in between the teeth of the -- 

HENDEE:  Yes. 

HARRIS:  Okay.  Did you -- you indicated that this hair was about five to six inches long.  Did you measure it at that time? 

HENDEE:  No, I didn't. 

HARRIS:  Why not? 

HENDEE:  Well, because as soon as I picked it up, I thought, well, if this belongs to Laci, this could be fairly significant.  So the first thing I wanted to do -- 

GERAGOS:  Objection.  Motion to strike. 

JUDGE:  That comment is stricken. 

HARRIS:  Did you measure it? 

HENDEE:  No, I did not.  I placed it into the envelope. 

HARRIS:  Now, you say you placed it in the envelope. Describe the process of getting the hair into the envelope. 

HENDEE:  Okay.  Immediately after it was taken, this photograph was taken, we got a four-by-six-inch envelope, and brought it over to me, and I never left the boat.  I put the pliers into the -- first of all, I opened up the envelope, made sure it was brand new, that there was nothing in it, put the pliers into it, moved the handles apart, pulled the pliers back out, saw that there was no hair attached, looked in there, could see at least what appeared to be one hair, and then sealed it up. 

HARRIS:  To get the hair into the envelope, did you have to -- did you have to open the pliers? 

HENDEE:  Yes. 

HARRIS:  When you were looking at the hair on that particular day, and also visible in the photograph 139, did you notice if there was anything on, attached, or associated with that hair? 

GERAGOS:  Objection.  Compound. 

JUDGE:  Sustained. 

HARRIS:  On that particular day, did you notice anything attached to the hair? 

HENDEE:  Yes, I did. 

HARRIS:  What was that? 

HENDEE:  Something was stuck to the end of the hair.  I couldn't tell exactly what it was, but it didn't -- it appeared to be something foreign, didn't appear to be part of the hair. 

HARRIS:  When you look at photograph 139, can you see what it was that was attached to the hair? 

HENDEE:  Yeah.  Actually, you can see two little things that were attached to the hair.  The first one is the larger, more significant one down by the placard itself, and the second one, you can just barely see it right up next to the nose, needle-nose pliers itself. 

HARRIS:  And could you describe what that second thing was? 

HENDEE:  To me, it appeared to be consistent with the first larger one, but it was smaller in size, much smaller than the other one. 

HARRIS:  When you put this item into the envelope, you indicated that you closed it up.  Did you do more than close it at that time? 

HENDEE:  Yes, I did. 

HARRIS:  What did you do? 

HENDEE:  I closed it up, used the metal clasp to close it up, got out of the boat, went to the crime scene van, put tape on it so that it wouldn't fall out of there. 

HARRIS:  Was there any type of notation as to case number or item number, initials? 

HENDEE:  Yes. 

HARRIS:  If you'd look at the next photograph.  And do you see a photograph that bears that envelope or -- 

HENDEE:  I see the backside of the envelope, yes. 

JUDGE:  The number of the photograph? 

HENDEE:  134. 

HARRIS:  Looking at 134, does that depict the envelope that we've been talking about? 

HENDEE:  Yes, it does.  The back side, yes. 

HARRIS:  You were describing a number for it.  Just so, again, that we're clear about this, depicted in the photograph of the pliers, is there a placard of the number 44? 

HENDEE:  Yes. 

HARRIS:  And from what you've told us already, did you add a number of 100 to that? 

HENDEE:  Yes, we did.  Everything that was placarded at the warehouse with a number, what we did as far as evidence items number, just gave it 100 more than that, so, again, to distinguish it from evidence recovered at the house. 

HARRIS:  And the pair of pliers, that number was what? 

HENDEE:  44. 

HARRIS:  So it would be 144? 

HENDEE:  The pliers were 144, correct. 

HARRIS:  The hair that came from the pliers, what number did you assign to that? 

HENDEE:  144A.

HARRIS:  And any reason for the A or some other number? 

HENDEE:  Because it was a separate piece of evidence associated from that one item.  Typically when that happens, we just give it a subset number or a letter, A, B, C, D, E. There was only one other item collected from that plier. That was the hair.  So it became 144A. 

HARRIS:  Now, at some point in time were you -- did you talk with or consult with other detectives in the case about whether there might have been something, a root with regard to that hair? 

HENDEE:  Yes. 

HARRIS:  Do you remember when that was? 

HENDEE:  Yes.  It was on February 12th of 2003. 

HARRIS:  And did you take any action after that discussion? 

HENDEE:  Yes, I did. 

HARRIS:  What did you do? 

HENDEE:  Detective Grogan had asked me and Detective Brocchini if there had been a hair on the -- or, excuse me, a root on the hair.  And I told him I didn't know.  I told him I just collected it, and within a matter of minutes, it was in a bag, and that was all I really did with the hair at that time. So I went over with Detective Brocchini to the evidence facility to view that item to see if in fact the hair had a root on it. 

HARRIS:  Did you have to get it out of evidence? 

HENDEE:  Yes, we did. 

HARRIS:  And did you? 

HENDEE:  Yes, we did. 

HARRIS:  When you got that envelope, was it in the same sealed condition as you had put it or had it been changed? 

HENDEE:  It was in the same condition.  I don't believe it had ever been opened by anyone. 

HARRIS:  Did you open it? 

HENDEE:  Detective Brocchini did. 

HARRIS:  In your presence? 

HENDEE:  Yes, he did. 

HARRIS:  Did you look to see if there was a root attached to the hair? 

HENDEE:  Yes, we did. 

HARRIS:  What did you notice when you opened the envelope at that time? 

HENDEE:  Well, there was actually two hair fragments at that point.  This was a surprise to me, because when I had put it in originally, I thought it was one single piece of hair. So now two of them fell out, and I didn't know at that point whether the hair had broken or whether there might have been two separate hair fragments stuck underneath the needle-nose pliers at that time.  But we did definitely notice two of them, both of them amounting to the same length of hair as what I originally remembered, approximately five to six inches.  So the two parts added up to what I thought I had seen the first day as one single whole hair. In any event, we noticed that there were two there, we examined it, and neither of us could tell if there was a root attached to it or not or either one of them. 

HARRIS:  Did you repackage it? 

HENDEE:  Yes, we did. 

HARRIS:  How did you do that? 

HENDEE:  I put it into a cardboard box, hopefully to better preserve it, and then sealed that cardboard box, put my initials on it, put the item number, and then put it back into the same envelope that we had got it out of and resealed that one, and Detective Brocchini had actually signed off on the sealing of the tape on that one. 

HARRIS:  Now, the photograph that you have before you, 134, does that depict that cardboard box that you're talking about? 

HENDEE:  Yes, it does. 

HARRIS:  Does it also depict the -- this hair that you're discussing? 

HENDEE:  Yes. 

HARRIS:  Do you see depicted in the photograph those two items that you described associated with the hairs before? 

HENDEE:  Yes, I do.  The two unknown attachments, you're talking about? 

HARRIS:  Yes. 

HENDEE:  Yes, they're both there. 

HARRIS:  If you'd look at the next photograph. 

HENDEE:  People's 135? 

HARRIS:  Yes. Now, looking at People's 135, is that a more closeup view of the same box that you've been describing? 

HENDEE:  Yes, it is. 

HARRIS:  And do you again see the hair and whatever that stuff is that was attached to it? 

HENDEE:  Yes. 

HARRIS:  Now, looking at the next photograph, 136, is that a closeup of the hair fragments or hair that you were describing? 

HENDEE:  Yes, it is. 

HARRIS:  And that's the same item that you put into the envelope that came from the pliers? 

HENDEE:  Yes, it is. 

HARRIS:  Do you see those two items that you already described as being associated with one attached to each of the fragments? 

HENDEE:  Yes, I do. 

HARRIS:  And that's in 136? 

HENDEE:  And that is in 136, yes. 

HARRIS:  Detective, as part of your duties, did you also photograph and go to the Bay Area at some point in time? 

HENDEE:  Yes, I did. 

HARRIS:  I'd like to have you look at what's been marked as Number 133.  Do you recognize the general area that's depicted in that particular photograph? 

HENDEE:  Yes, I do. 

HARRIS:  And do you see up towards the center top portion of that where there's a box that says, "Conner Peterson recovery site"? 

HENDEE:  Yes, I do. 

HARRIS:  Does that generally depict the area where Conner Peterson was found? 

HENDEE:  Yes, it does. 

HARRIS:  And do you see a box to the right, going clockwise, around and down to where it says, "Laci Peterson recovery site"? 

HENDEE:  Yes. 

HARRIS:  Do you see down near the lower right portion of the diagram -- I don't know if you need to put on your glasses or not for that -- 

HENDEE:  Not yet. 

HARRIS:  -- where it says, "Berkeley Marina"? 

HENDEE:  Yes, I do see that. 

HARRIS:  And then up to the upper left side of the diagram, an area for the Brooks Island Reserve? 

HENDEE:  Yes, I see that as well. 

HARRIS:  Are you familiar with all of those locations? 

HENDEE:  Yes, I am. 

HARRIS:  What is the approximate distance from Berkeley Marina to Brooks Island? 

HENDEE:  Two and a half miles. 

HARRIS:  And what is the distance from Brooks Island to where Conner Peterson was recovered? 

HENDEE:  One and a quarter miles. 

HARRIS:  And what's the distance between Brooks Island where Laci Peterson was recovered? 

HENDEE:  One and a quarter miles. 

HARRIS:  And what's the distance between where Laci and Conner were recovered? 

HENDEE:  It's about three quarters of a mile, three quarters to eight-tenths of a mile or so. 

HARRIS:  Were you also asked to Prop 115 some witnesses as to the hairs depicted in the photographs up there? 

HENDEE:  Yes, I was. 

HARRIS:  Did you talk to an Agent Terry Scott of the FBI? 

HENDEE:  Yes, I did. 

HARRIS:  Did you ask him if he had picked up some items from a Bill Hudlow at the Department of Justice? 

HENDEE:  Yes, I did. 

HARRIS:  And what did he tell you he did? 

HENDEE:  He told me that on June 4th, he picked up two bags of evidence from William Hudlow. 

HARRIS:  Did he tell you where he took them? 

HENDEE:  Yes, he did. 

HARRIS:  Where did he take them? 

HENDEE:  He took them back to Modesto, put them in a locked file cabinet that only he has the key for it in the local FBI office.  The following morning, at 3:00 a.m., he returned, picked up the items, placed it into a single bag, and then placed it into his briefcase, and then drove to the Sacramento Airport, caught a plane for Washington, D.C. Once he landed there, he rented a car and drove to Stafford, Virginia.  And the following day, he went to Quantico -- laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, at the FBI laboratory, where he turned those items over to their laboratory. 

HARRIS:  Did Agent Scott tell you if the items he received from Bill Hudlow were in a sealed or unsealed condition? 

HENDEE:  They were sealed. 

HARRIS:  And when he turned them over to the FBI laboratory in Quantico, were they in a sealed or unsealed condition? 

HENDEE:  They were in a sealed condition. 

HARRIS:  Did he tell you who he turned them over to? 

HENDEE:  Yes, he did. 

HARRIS:  And who was that? 

HENDEE:  Jamie Nevus and Connie Fisher. 

HARRIS:  Did you talk to a woman by the name of Karen Korsberg? 

HENDEE:  Yes, I did. 

HARRIS:  And what is her assignment with the FBI? 

HENDEE:  I'm going to check for the exact title, if that's all right, check my notes. She's a physical forensic examiner with the Federal Bureau of Investigation at the Trace Evidence Unit in Quantico, Virginia.

HARRIS:  And when you talked to her, again, this was for Prop 115 purposes? 

HENDEE:  Yes. 

HARRIS:  Did you ask her if she received anything from Connie Fisher? 

HENDEE:  Yes, I did. 

HARRIS:  And did she tell you if she did or didn't? 

HENDEE:  Yes, she did. 

HARRIS:  What did she tell you? 

HENDEE:  She received three envelopes that she turned over to Erin Sherry, also of the same unit. 

HARRIS:  And did she tell you if when she received these they were in a sealed or unsealed condition? 

HENDEE:  Two of the envelopes were sealed, one of them was not.  The envelope inside the one that was not was sealed. 

HARRIS:  And so there was like an outside envelope and an inside envelope? 

HENDEE:  Correct. 

HARRIS:  And the inside envelope, was it in a sealed condition? 

HENDEE:  Yes, it was. 

HARRIS:  Did you talk to Miss Sherry? 

HENDEE:  Yes, I did. 

HARRIS:  And what did that person tell you? 

HENDEE:  Erin Sherry told me that she's the one that actually had the job of preparing slides for Karen Korsberg. So she's one that actually opened those three envelopes. The first one was the transport envelope containing what has been identified by Modesto Police Department as evidence item number 144A, the hair. When she looked inside that open envelope, there was a sealed envelope, a smaller one that had the hair inside, and it was also identified, and it was sealed shut.  She opened that one, and inside there was a little glassy piece of paper bindle, and inside that were the two hair fragments. 

HARRIS:  Did she indicate to you if Connie Fisher had assigned it some FBI type of number or designation? 

HENDEE:  Yes, she did. 

GERAGOS:  Objection.  Multiple hearsay. 

JUDGE:  Sustained. 

HARRIS:  Your Honor, we're not offering it for the truth.  Connie Fisher's already testified to it.  We're just connecting it up. 

GERAGOS:  Then I have no idea what it's being offered for.  Connecting it up, I believe, is for the truth. 

JUDGE:  I assume he's going for the chain of evidence, but -- 

HARRIS:  Yes. 

JUDGE:  Rephrase the question. 

HARRIS:  Did Miss Sherry indicate if this envelope had some designation on it? 

HENDEE:  Yes, she did. 

HARRIS:  What was the designation? 

HENDEE:  It was Q1. 

HARRIS:  Did she open up Q1? 

HENDEE:  Yes, she did. 

HARRIS:  And what was it that she, if anything, found inside? 

HENDEE:  The two hair fragments previously mentioned as evidence item number 144

HENDEE: 

HARRIS:  Did she prepare those for Miss Korsberg's examination? 

HENDEE:  Yes, she did. 

HARRIS:  Did Miss Korsberg tell you if she examined those hairs? 

HENDEE:  Yes, she did. 

HARRIS:  And did -- as part of the process, did she tell you that there was supposed to be a second person that looked at them as well? 

HENDEE:  Yes, she did. 

HARRIS:  Was there a second person that looked at them? 

HENDEE:  Yes, there was. 

HARRIS:  And who was that? 

HENDEE:  That was Kim Reubush, who has the same title, same job as Karen Korsberg. 

HARRIS:  Did you also, for Prop 115 purposes, talk to Miss Reubush? 

HENDEE:  Yes, I did. 

HARRIS:  And did she tell you what she did with the hairs from Q1, also known as 144A? 

HENDEE:  Yes, she did. 

HARRIS:  What did she tell you she did with them? 

HENDEE:  Well, after she had made her examination and came to the same conclusions that Karen Korsberg did, the following day, on Tuesday, June 10th, I believe it was, she cracked the slide open and took the larger of the two hairs, which she then gave it a separate -- separate number, Q1.1, and she placed that into a 1.5 plastic vial with a screw top on it.  She marked it, identified it, put it into a box, sealed it shut, identifying her initials and the FBI item number on it, and then gave it to Connie Fisher. 

HARRIS:  This particular piece of the hair or part of the hair that she -- Miss Reubush used to give to Connie Fisher, did she indicate which of the two fragments it came from? 

HENDEE:  The larger hair fragment. 

HARRIS:  People have no other questions at this time. 

 

Cross Examination by Mark Geragos

GERAGOS:  May I inquire? 

JUDGE:  Mr. Geragos?   

GERAGOS:  Detective Hendee, you prepared reports in connection with all of this; isn't that correct? 

HENDEE:  Yes, sir. 

GERAGOS:  And you considered this to be a serious investigation, so you wanted to put in all of your observations into those reports; isn't that correct? 

HENDEE:  Well, I can't possibly put all of my observations into a report, but I did try to make the important ones that I thought were important. 

GERAGOS:  Anything you thought was important you put into your report, correct? 

HENDEE:  Yes, sir. 

GERAGOS:  Now, when you say you found a hair, and I think it was pictured up there in one of the People's exhibits, there's no question but that it was a single hair; isn't that correct? 

HENDEE:  Well, I don't -- I really don't know. 

GERAGOS:  Well, did you -- you filled out a report; is that correct? 

HENDEE:  Yes. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  And in the report you specifically said that it was a single hair; isn't that correct? 

HENDEE:  I was under the impression, yes, sir, that it was a single hair at that time. 

GERAGOS:  Well, and you wrote, "Attached to the needle-nose pliers was a black-colored hair"; isn't that correct? 

HENDEE:  Yes, I wrote that. 

GERAGOS:  And you said that it was unknown whose hair it was. You understand that hair stands for singular, is that correct, one hair? 

HENDEE:  Yes, I do understand that. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  And you know that hairs is plural; is that correct? 

HENDEE:  That's correct. 

GERAGOS:  Now, when you put the hair into -- by the way, when you saw or say that it was looped, it does not appear to reflect that in the picture, does it? 

HENDEE:  No, I think I see the hair looped. 

GERAGOS:  Where do you see the hair looping? 

HENDEE:  I see it coming up here, through the pliers, and then it comes back in here (indicates)-- 

JUDGE:  What number are you looking at? 

HENDEE:  I'm sorry.  139. 

GERAGOS:  Would you show that to the Judge while you're -- 

JUDGE:  It's not in evidence yet.  Any objection? 

GERAGOS:  No. 

HARRIS:  No objection. 

GERAGOS:  No objection. 

GERAGOS:  Would you show that to the Judge, and would you describe -- you can see in that picture where the hair loops? 

HENDEE:  I believe so.  But I also saw it at the scene too. 

GERAGOS:  Well, it just didn't happen to show it on the picture? 

HENDEE:  Well, it was not as close enough as I would have liked. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  Well, there's -- you can see the hair right there, can you not? 

HENDEE:  Yes, I can. 

GERAGOS:  And you can see the little substance right there; isn't that correct? 

HENDEE:  Yes, I can. 

GERAGOS:  And it appears that the hair with the little substance is only about two inches to two and a half inches long, isn't that correct, of what you can see in this picture? 

JUDGE:  Are you talking about the substance only being two inches long or the entire hair? 

GERAGOS:  No, the hair itself, from the tip of the pliers, what's visible in that picture is only about two to two and a half inches; isn't that correct. 

HENDEE:  No, not to me.  I can see more of it than you can, apparently. 

GERAGOS:  Well, apparently, you didn't see enough to measure it that day, did you? 

HENDEE:  No, I didn't. 

GERAGOS:  Yeah. 

HENDEE:  I didn't.  But we do have it in a scale. 

GERAGOS:  Well, you didn't bother -- well, you had plenty of rulers there that day, didn't you? 

HENDEE:  Yes, we did, sir. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  You didn't bother to take that hair and lay it on a ruler, did you? 

HENDEE:  I didn't want to take a chance of measuring it in the warehouse, where it might fall on the ground or get lost, and then we've got a real problem.  So I could put it right in the envelope, and it could always be measured later. 

GERAGOS:  Right.  So you then would just open it up inside the lobby of the evidence room where it wouldn't get lost -- 

HENDEE:  Yes. 

GERAGOS:  -- is that correct? 

HENDEE:  Yes. 

GERAGOS:  Is that standard operating procedure for Modesto PD? 

HENDEE:  We look at evidence all the time over there, sir. 

GERAGOS:  In the lobby? 

HENDEE:  In the lobby?  Yes, we do. 

GERAGOS:  You opened up an envelope for hair evidence in the lobby? 

HENDEE:  Yes, we did. 

GERAGOS:  And when you opened that up, you -- today, for the first time, you testified that it may have broken; is that correct? 

HENDEE:  Well, I've never testified in this case before, but yes. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  Do you have any report anywhere where you ever wrote that the hair may have broken? 

HENDEE:  I don't know if I knew if the hair had broke or whether it was actually two hairs wedged in between the prongs of the plier. I did write a report to reflect that when I opened up the pliers into the bag, or how I did that.  And then in the course of the time, we discovered it with Detective Brocchini that there were two hairs.  But I don't know for sure whether the hair broke or whether it was already two hair fragments on the pliers at the time I saw it. 

GERAGOS:  You're not shy about putting in your reports your speculation, are you? 

HARRIS:  Objection.  Relevance. 

GERAGOS:  Well, it is relevant. 

JUDGE:  I'll sustain that as argumentative, though. 

GERAGOS:  Well, you put in your report, "When Detective Brocchini and I opened and emptied the envelope, we both observed what I had originally thought was a single hair," comma, "was actually two hairs"? 

HENDEE:  Correct. 

GERAGOS:  "We both examined the hairs" -- plural, right? 

HENDEE:  Yes. 

GERAGOS:  -- "under a magnifying glass, and neither saw what we thought might be a root on either of the two hairs." 

HENDEE:  Correct. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  Can you point me to, and I'm at Bates stamp 2236, anyplace in this report where you mentioned that you thought that the hair, the one hair could have broken and became two hair fragments? 

HENDEE:  Well, I didn't write it in my report. 

GERAGOS:  You didn't write it in your report? 

HENDEE:  I don't know how it broke. 

GERAGOS:  You don't know that it did break? 

HENDEE:  Correct. 

GERAGOS:  You thought it was two hairs, that's what you wrote in your report, and up until the time I filed a motion challenging the chain of custody, you still maintained that it was two hairs; isn't that correct? 

HENDEE:  I'm not sure I understood the question.  Please repeat it. 

GERAGOS:  Did you ever any time -- at any time write down on any report that you suspected that one hair broke into two? 

HENDEE:  I don't know what happened to that hair. 

GERAGOS:  I'm asking you if -- do you know if you ever wrote a report? 

HENDEE:  Well, if I wrote a report as to -- I did write a report as to the fact that it had become two.  Now, I don't know how it was two, I don't know whether it was two on the pliers or whether it broke later in the evidence envelope. I just don't know. 

GERAGOS:  Do you see two hairs in the picture? 

HENDEE:  Here (indicates)? 

GERAGOS:  Yes. 

HENDEE:  It could have been two -- 

GERAGOS:  Did you see two? 

HENDEE:  I see one -- what I thought was one looping hair. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  Did you also write a report that said that you placed one hair into the envelope? 

HENDEE:  Yes. 

GERAGOS:  Did you also write a report that said when you opened the envelope, it was actually two hairs? 

HENDEE:  Yes. 

GERAGOS:  Did you ever at any point -- today you testified while Mr. Harris was asking you questions that the two hairs appeared to be the same length as the one hair; is that correct? 

HENDEE:  Yes. 

GERAGOS:  Is that in any report that you're aware of? 

HENDEE:  Not -- not that I've written, no. 

GERAGOS:  No.  You never wrote that, did you? 

HENDEE:  That the two hairs combined? 

GERAGOS:  Yes. 

HENDEE:  No, they just apparently are the same length as what I had originally put down, five to six inches. 

GERAGOS:  Apparently the same length of a hair that you never measured in the first place; is that correct? 

HENDEE:  Well, I visually -- 

GERAGOS:  Do I understand it correctly? 

HENDEE:  I visually measured it. 

GERAGOS:  You visually measured it? 

HENDEE:  Exactly. 

GERAGOS:  How do you visually measure it? 

HENDEE:  Well, when you take a look at something, you can -- you obviously do, you -- 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  You didn't bother to visually measure it against one of the rulers that was sitting there? 

HENDEE:  There was no ruler sitting next to it.  And, again, I mentioned that I thought that it was important to get it into an evidence envelope and not take a chance of losing the hair. 

GERAGOS:  But you didn't mind opening up the hair and -- from that evidence envelope in the lobby of the area there in the Modesto PD? 

HENDEE:  No, I did not mind that. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  And you didn't have -- you're going to say in this entire warehouse, when you're executing the search warrant, you didn't have a ruler? 

HENDEE:  No, I'm just saying I didn't have a ruler with me at that time. 

GERAGOS:  Well, was that something that was difficult to find, to document, the ruler -- 

HENDEE:  Well, Mr. Geragos, for me to do that, I would have had to take it off the pliers, and I didn't want to do that. I wanted to put it right into the evidence envelope.  That's the choice I made at the time. 

GERAGOS:  You put it next to a placard, you set up a placard, right? 

HENDEE:  Yes. 

GERAGOS:  You had somebody come over and take a picture, right? 

HENDEE:  Yes. 

GERAGOS:  Was there anything preventing you, when you set up that placard, from also laying a ruler out and just taking a picture with the hair and the ruler? 

HENDEE:  Well, there is a -- a ruler of sorts on the placard, so it wasn't totally done without a ruler in place, we just didn't get one that has inches on it. 

GERAGOS:  Well, what did it have, grams? 

HENDEE:  No.  It's got centimeters on it, sir. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  And did you measure it on the centimeters? 

HENDEE:  No, I did not. 

GERAGOS:  Oh, okay.  So it's a ruler of sorts, just not a ruler? 

HARRIS:  Objection.  Argumentative. 

GERAGOS:  Is there a -- 

JUDGE:  Sustained. 

GERAGOS:  Is there a reason that you can think of as you sit here as to why you never put in any report that you thought that the hair had broken? 

HENDEE:  I didn't know that the hair had broken until February 12th. 

GERAGOS:  Did you put that in a report? 

HENDEE:  I -- I wrote a report to reflect -- 

GERAGOS:  That it was two hairs? 

HENDEE:  -- that it was two hairs. 

GERAGOS:  Right. 

HENDEE:  Maybe I'm drawing the assumption that I thought it broke and didn't need to spell it out in a report, I don't know, but -- I thought that was obvious, but maybe not. 

GERAGOS:  Isn't the fact of the matter is that you always assumed it was two hairs and never came up with this idea that it had broken until it was suggested to you by the DA's office? 

HENDEE:  No, that's not true. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  But you just don't have any report anywhere that says that the hair broke? 

HENDEE:  Correct. 

GERAGOS:  Now, you also claim that when you went in there -- by the way, who was present with you when you went into the warehouse? 

HENDEE:  At what time, sir? 

GERAGOS:  For the search warrant that you've been testifying to today. 

HENDEE:  I know, but what -- at the beginning, are you talking about? 

GERAGOS:  At the beginning when you entered -- you entered the warehouse, right? 

HENDEE:  Yes, sir. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  When you entered the warehouse, were you by yourself? 

HENDEE:  The very first time, yes. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  Was there a dog that entered there as well? 

HENDEE:  Yes, there was, but that was later. 

GERAGOS:  Twist? 

HENDEE:  Yes. 

GERAGOS:  A dog by the name of Twist? 

HENDEE:  Yes. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  Is that what's commonly called a cadaver dog? 

HENDEE:  That's what I was told, yes. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  And you were told that that cadaver dog, you'd made arrangements the day before for that cadaver dog to be at the premises, isn't that correct, or somebody had from Modesto PD? 

HENDEE:  Somebody had. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  That cadaver dog first went over to the house at Covena; isn't that correct? 

HENDEE:  I believe it had. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  After it went to the Covena address, it was then brought over to the warehouse, and prior to you taking items out of the boat, the dog was placed into the boat; isn't that correct? 

HENDEE:  It was, yes. 

GERAGOS:  And that dog -- you later found hairs in the boat; isn't that correct? 

HENDEE:  That's correct. 

GERAGOS:  And you surmised in your report that those hairs came from Twist, the cadaver dog; isn't that correct? 

HENDEE:  Yes. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  Then after Twist, the cadaver dog, went into the boat, it was then taken out of the warehouse; is that correct? 

HENDEE:  The dog was -- 

GERAGOS:  At some point, the dog was -- the dog went around the warehouse, and the dog was removed at some point from the boat; is that correct? 

HENDEE:  I would assume, yes. 

GERAGOS:  And then you went into the boat after that; isn't that correct? 

HENDEE:  That's correct. 

GERAGOS:  And when you went into the boat, that's when you started logging items, basically, with the various placards and making a list; is that correct? 

HENDEE:  That is correct. 

GERAGOS:  And after you logged the items, you saved a number of them.  Did you save the Twist hair or the samples of the hair?  Did you take some of those and -- take samples of those and put them into an evidence envelope? 

HENDEE:  Those -- no, I did not. 

GERAGOS:  But you did notice numerous hairs that you attributed to being from the dog; is that correct? 

HENDEE:  Yes. 

GERAGOS:  The -- the pliers in the boat, were they readily visible to you? 

HENDEE:  Yes. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  Could you see the head of the pliers or the entire length of the pliers? 

HENDEE:  You could basically just see the handle portion. 

GERAGOS:  And was that a yellow color?  

HENDEE:  Yes. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  And when you put that into the envelope, did you -- did you crush the hair?  Did you see yourself break the hair as you put it in? 

HENDEE:  No, sir, I did not. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  And the little substance that -- you said there was two pieces of substance that were on the hair; is that correct? 

HENDEE:  Yes. 

GERAGOS:  And the smaller one looked to be a fragment or a smaller version of the larger, to your -- to your eye? 

HENDEE:  Well, at the time, if you're referring to what's going on at the warehouse, I thought it was one hair. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  No, I'm talking about the substance.  You had two pieces of -- 

HENDEE:  Oh, yes.  I'm sorry. 

GERAGOS:  -- of substance that you claimed were attached to this hair; is that correct? 

HENDEE:  Right.  Yes. 

HARRIS:  Objection.  Argumentative as to the use of "claim." 

JUDGE:  Sustained. 

GERAGOS:  The substance, you thought one was a portion of the other; is that correct? 

HENDEE:  One more time, sir?  I'm sorry. 

GERAGOS:  You said there was a smaller piece and a larger piece, right? 

HENDEE:  Of the substance? 

GERAGOS:  Yes. 

HENDEE:  Yes, sir. 

GERAGOS:  And they looked to you to be one in the same; is that correct? 

HENDEE:  No.  They looked to be about the same type of thing, whatever it was -- 

GERAGOS:  Right. 

HENDEE:  -- but they weren't -- 

GERAGOS:  One was a piece of the other?  One was a smaller piece of the other? 

HENDEE:  No, I wouldn't -- I couldn't even say that.  I just said that they looked similar.  Whatever they were, they looked similar. 

GERAGOS:  Now, when you put that into the evidence envelope, did both pieces go in there, both pieces of whatever this substance that looked similar was? 

HENDEE:  Yes.  I -- 

GERAGOS:  Okay. 

HENDEE:  I thought I did. 

GERAGOS:  And when you closed it at that point, did you -- did you break the envelope?  Did you crumple the envelope up? 

HENDEE:  No, sir. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  And when you opened the pliers, did you have to jiggle the hair off or did it just fall off? 

HENDEE:  To the best of my knowledge, they just -- it just fell off.  When I pushed them apart, they just fell off.  I didn't have to jiggle it. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  Did you -- so, basically, all you did was open or manipulate the handles -- 

HENDEE:  Exactly. 

GERAGOS:  -- and the hair just fell into the envelope; is that correct? 

HENDEE:  Yes. 

GERAGOS:  Now, the hair itself, you were later told by Detective Grogan that it was mashed or splayed, is that correct, that the ends of the two hairs were mashed or splayed? 

HENDEE:  I don't know the word splayed, but mashed, yeah, might be the way it was characterized to me. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  He actually used the term crushed? 

HENDEE:  Is that what I used? 

GERAGOS:  In your report. 

HENDEE:  I'll check it, please. 

GERAGOS:  Bates stamped 2236. 

JUDGE:  I don't think he has those Bates stamped. Do you have a Bates stamp on yours? 

HENDEE:  No, but I have the report here, sir. 

GERAGOS:  On the top it says, "Page one of two, investigative narrative." 

HENDEE:  Yeah.  Okay. 

GERAGOS:  Now, do you see where Grogan told you that, "A portion of the hair was crushed" -- 

HENDEE:  Yes.  

GERAGOS:  -- "which might very well be consistent with being pinched in the nose of the pliers"? 

HENDEE:  Yes. 

GERAGOS:  Do you see that? 

HENDEE:  Yes, I do. 

GERAGOS:  Well, if this was one hair that broke in two, then it would appear that it wasn't in fact crushed in the tip of the pliers, that it was crushed when it was placed into the envelope; isn't that correct? 

HENDEE:  I think you're speculating something I have no knowledge of.  I couldn't say that. 

GERAGOS:  Do you know, was Detective Grogan speculating that it was crushed in the tips of the pliers? 

HARRIS:  Objection.  Double speculation. 

GERAGOS:  Which is basically this entire case. 

JUDGE:  He talked to Detective Grogan, so if that's what he told him, that's evidence under Prop 115.  It's overruled. 

HENDEE:  I think Detective Grogan had mentioned to me that it was his impression from talking, I guess, to DOJ that the hair appeared to be crushed at the end or something of that sort. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  And he told you specifically, "Which might very well be consistent with being pinched in the nose of the pliers"? 

HENDEE:  No, he didn't say that.  That's my writing in my report. 

GERAGOS:  So you were speculating, then? 

HENDEE:  Yes. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  And you were speculating that the hair, if it had a crushed ends, that that would have come from the tip of the pliers, right? 

HENDEE:  Possibly. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  Now, the -- he advised you that at least one of the hairs had some substance on it; is that correct? 

HENDEE:  Yes. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  And, now, at the time that you placed the hair in there, who did you tell that you had found a hair? 

HENDEE:  Well, everyone that was at the scene that was -- 

GERAGOS:  Well, was Brocchini there? 

HENDEE:  He was there during part of the scene. 

GERAGOS:  Did you tell him that you found a hair? 

HENDEE:  I don't recall specifically telling him. 

GERAGOS:  When is the first time you recall telling Brocchini you found a hair? 

HENDEE:  Actually, they came to me on February 12th asking me about the hair. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  And to the best of your recollection, you don't remember ever talking to Brocchini about the hair prior to February 12th? 

HENDEE:  That's correct. 

GERAGOS:  The area when you -- Mr. Harris asked you about the space, if you will, in the warehouse that's on the picture that you've got there, the diagram that you've got there. 

HENDEE:  Yes, sir. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  Is there enough room to bring the truck or to park the truck in that warehouse as it was when you had this diagram? 

HENDEE:  His truck?  I assume we're talking about Scott Peterson's? 

GERAGOS:  Yes. 

HENDEE:  Fit it in there and close the door without hooking it up or lining it directly up with the trailer, or what are we talking about? 

GERAGOS:  Are you able to put the truck inside and then close the door?  Is there enough room for that? 

HENDEE:  I don't know for sure.  There might have been. You'd have to do it kitty-corner.  I don't think you could do it -- you couldn't have backed it in and hooked it to the boat and closed the gate.  I don't think you could have done that.  You might have been able to get it in front of the trailer, the pull trailer, possibly. 

GERAGOS:  You never measured to determine that? 

HENDEE:  No. 

GERAGOS:  Isn't it approximately four feet of space right there where the door is, open space? 

HENDEE:  I don't know what you're talking about.  Which four feet -- 

GERAGOS:  You're looking at the -- at the diagram there, and that's a diagram that's apparently done to scale of the location, correct? 

HENDEE:  Well, it says right on it, "Not to scale." 

GERAGOS:  Well, what are the measurements here?  Somebody measuring it? 

HENDEE:  Yeah. 

GERAGOS:  Did you do that? 

HENDEE:  No. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  Now, this is the rollup door that I'm pointing to, correct (indicates)? 

HENDEE:  Yes, sir. 

GERAGOS:  The rollup door and the boat, apparently, is right abutting the rollup door; is that correct? 

HENDEE:  Well, it's not drawn to scale, and I'm not sure it was right up against the door.  I'd have to look at some photographs, perhaps I could get a better idea. 

GERAGOS:  Well, do you have -- did you have anything to do with the measurements of this?  

HENDEE:  No, I did not. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  Do you know who did? 

HENDEE:  Yes. 

GERAGOS:  Who? 

HENDEE:  Detective Rick House. 

JUDGE:  To make it clear, we're looking at 87, correct? 

GERAGOS:  Yes. 

GERAGOS:  The -- do you have a memory as you sit here today as to how much space there was between the rollup door -- I assume the rollup door was down when you arrived there that morning; is that correct? 

HENDEE:  That afternoon, yes. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  And when you arrived there, do you have a memory of rolling up the door? 

HENDEE:  I don't know if I rolled it up, but, yes, it was rolled up while I was there, yes, sir. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  Do you have a memory of how far in the boat was? 

HENDEE:  A vague memory, yes. 

GERAGOS:  And approximately how far? 

HENDEE:  I don't know for sure. 

GERAGOS:  Four feet?  Two feet? 

HENDEE:  I think it was further than that. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  Did you move it before pictures were taken? 

HENDEE:  No. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  So the pictures of the inside of the warehouse on the 26th and 27th are going to be most accurate as to the condition of the warehouse on that morning as when you arrived? 

HENDEE:  Yes. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  Now, had you been into the house at Covena prior to the -- prior to the time that you went to the warehouse? 

HENDEE:  Yes. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  And where had you been specifically in the Covena address? 

HENDEE:  I would imagine every room. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  And did you do a thorough search of rooms there? 

HENDEE:  Yes, some of them. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  Did that involve getting down and looking on the floor and underneath things as well? 

HENDEE:  Yes, sir. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  And you did a close examination of the walls, the doors, the ceiling, the floor, the closets and bed for forensic evidence; is that correct? 

HENDEE:  And the baby's room, yes. 

GERAGOS:  And also it included an examination of the clothes that were found, dresser drawers, and the armoire and the bedroom closet; isn't that correct? 

HARRIS:  I have to object.  This witness just testified that he did the baby's room, so this would be outside of -- 

JUDGE:  Sounds like he said the baby room also.  So I assume he looked at the entire house. Is that correct, Detective Hendee? 

HENDEE:  Well, I was in all the rooms.  I don't know if on that particular date I -- without looking at my report, I don't know if that particular day I happened to search the closets and armoires of Mr. Peterson's room or his wife's. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  Well, you do have a memory of going into all the rooms of the house on the -- what was that, the morning of the 26th? 

HENDEE:  I was there the evening of the 26th, the morning of the 27th. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  And then at some point you left there, and you went over to the warehouse at some point, -- 

HENDEE:  That is correct. 

GERAGOS:  -- as you said, on the afternoon of the 27th, correct? 

HENDEE:  That is correct. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  And you had done a, your memory is, at the very least, an extremely thorough search looking for forensic evidence in the baby's bedroom; isn't that correct? 

HENDEE:  Yes. 

GERAGOS:  And who did you do that with? 

HENDEE:  Detective Darren Ruskamp. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  Then when you -- when you went to search the warehouse -- I'm going to get back to who was -- who -- were you assigned with somebody, a partner or somebody else, when you went there? 

HENDEE:  No.  I was the team leader.  There were a number of detectives and CSO's that went. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  Do you have any idea how many people were with you when you went -- arrived at the warehouse? 

HENDEE:  Well, we met outside the warehouse.  But before we -- before we went in, there was probably a total of about nine or ten.  I can give you an exact count, if you'd like. 

GERAGOS:  Yes, if you can determine, how many people were there to execute this warrant? 

HENDEE:  They weren't necessarily all there at the same time, though. 

GERAGOS:  Okay. 

HENDEE:  Coming and going. There were 14 people. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  How many of those 14 were there initially? 

HENDEE:  Officer Ruiz, who was maintaining security on the warehouse prior to our arrival.  He was there.  Detective Rick House, myself, CSO Joyce Smith, Denise Ducot, and then I had -- there's some other ones here that I assume were there -- Detective Banks was there at the time we started. Detective Ray Coyle may have been there at the exact time that we served the search warrant.  Detective Hermosa showed up later.  Investigator Stockham, I think, showed up later, or he may have been there at the exact moment we went in. There was CSO Veronica Holmes, who also went in.  I don't know if she was there at the exact moment that we started. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  Now, how long did you spend in the warehouse? 

HENDEE:  We got there at four -- 2:30 in the afternoon, we served the search warrant at 2:45, and we left there about 6:30 p.m, 6:30, 6:40 p.m. 

GERAGOS:  And did you say that Brocchini was there? 

HENDEE:  He was there part of the time. 

GERAGOS:  What time did he arrive?  Do you remember? 

HENDEE:  Well, according to the log, he entered the warehouse at 3:35 and left at 7:02 -- or, I'm sorry, 5:02. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  He and -- is it fair to say that Boyer and Anderson were from Contra Costa? 

HENDEE:  Actually, I forgot those two.  They were there as well. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  They were from the dog team? 

HENDEE:  Uh-huh. 

GERAGOS:  Is that yes? 

HENDEE:  Yes.  I'm sorry. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  And they were -- were they the first ones through the warehouse?  I mean, when I say "through," that actually went in and started doing something inside the warehouse. 

HENDEE:  Well, I was the first one in. 

GERAGOS:  Okay. 

HENDEE:  I went in for about five minutes, then I came out. Then I had Joyce Smith go in and take a videotape of the warehouse before we did anything else.  Then I had Denise Ducot go in and take photographs before we did anything else.  And then I sent the dog team in. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  So you were trying to preserve the scene, so to speak, both by via video and photograph, and then you had the dog team go in? 

HENDEE:  That's correct. 

GERAGOS:  You didn't do any kind of a search prior to the dog team going in? 

HENDEE:  No, we did not. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  Now, you also -- Mr. Harris had asked you about receiving a call or -- from Richmond, that I think there were some locations and paced off locations or determined how far away one was from another; is that correct? 

HENDEE:  Yes. 

GERAGOS:  And you were advised on April 13th that the body of a full-term male fetus had washed ashore; isn't that correct? 

HENDEE:  I think it was April 14th. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  Do you have your report in front of you? 

HENDEE:  Yes. 

GERAGOS:  Maybe we're saying the same thing, but didn't you write that you were advised that on Sunday, April 13th, the body of a full-term male fetus washed ashore in Richmond

HARRIS:  Objection. 

HENDEE:  I was advised of that on the 14th. 

HARRIS:  Objection. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  And you -- 

HARRIS:  Objection. 

JUDGE:  Let me hear it. 

HARRIS:  Well, Counsel continues to ask questions. Hearsay and lack of foundation. 

GERAGOS:  He's testifying 115, I assume.  

HARRIS:  Well, we'd have to know who he's Prop 115'ing. 

JUDGE:  I'll sustain it.  Lay the foundation. 

GERAGOS:  Yeah, who did you talk to -- was that Dave Young, Assistant Chief Dave Young? 

HENDEE:  Yes. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  And did he advise you that on Sunday, 4-13, the body of a full-term male fetus had washed ashore in Richmond, California? 

HENDEE:  Yes.  I can see where this is going. 

GERAGOS:  On the 14th, he advised you that on the 13th -- 

HENDEE:  Right. 

GERAGOS:  -- a full-term male fetus had washed ashore; is that correct? 

HENDEE:  If he used the word full-term, possibly.  I don't know.  That's my writing.  That's my writing.  Probably was relayed to me that it was full-term.  You know, I'm not gonna say that that was his exact words, that it was full-term, but that's my writing. 

GERAGOS:  When you say that's your writing, this is the report you prepared -- 

HENDEE:  Yes. 

GERAGOS:  -- on what date, on April 15th? 

HENDEE:  Yes, sir. 

GERAGOS:  And you considered this to be a significant portion of the investigation, right?  

HENDEE:  Yes, sir. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  And you wrote down, "The body of a full-term male fetus"; is that correct? 

HENDEE:  Yes, I did, I wrote that down. 

GERAGOS:  Did you just say under your breath, "I can see where this is going"? 

HENDEE:  Well, because -- 

GERAGOS:  Did you? 

HENDEE:  Yes, I did. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  Is that because you're trying to now avoid what it is you wrote down on April 15th? 

HENDEE:  No.  No, sir, I'm not. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  Now, the -- can I have just one moment, Your Honor? (Whereupon, the defendant and his counsel confer.) 

GERAGOS:  You also recovered from the boat on the 27th a -- just a loose shoestring from the bottom of the boat? 

HENDEE:  Yes. 

GERAGOS:  How far away was that proximity, distance from the pliers, or was it next to the pliers? 

HENDEE:  It was very close to the pliers. 

GERAGOS:  And what color was that shoestring? 

HENDEE:  It was brown. 

GERAGOS:  Did the pliers itself have a hole in the handle drilled through the handle?  Do you remember? 

HENDEE:  The yellow rubberized handle? 

GERAGOS:  Yes. 

HENDEE:  No. 

GERAGOS:  So there was no hole that was drilled in the handle itself? 

HENDEE:  Not that I recall. 

GERAGOS:  Okay.  I have no further questions. 

 

Redirect Examination by David Harris

HARRIS:  Detective, I want to go back to this lobby question, you were asked -- 

HENDEE:  Yes. 

HARRIS:  -- if you thought it was okay to look at the hair in the lobby.  Is this like the regular lobby of a hotel or a business office? 

HENDEE:  No, it is not. 

HARRIS:  What's different about it? 

HENDEE:  Well, first of all, you have to have access to get in there, and that would be a key card, that's the only way you can get in, or you buzz the buzzer, and then they'll let you in.  So it is closed off to the public.  You can't get in without being allowed in. 

HARRIS:  And the area that you were looking at this, was this in that secure area that you're talking about? 

HENDEE:  Yes, it was.  Detective Brocchini and I were the only ones there in that area.

HARRIS:  Now, you were also asked about the circumstance of who was going into the warehouse first.  If I recall what you said, it was you first? 

HENDEE:  Yes. 

HARRIS:  And then you had someone go in and videotape the scene? 

HENDEE:  That's correct. 

HARRIS:  And then someone photographed the scene? 

HENDEE:  That is correct. 

HARRIS:  Have you reviewed the videotape or the photographs? 

HENDEE:  Yes, I have. 

HARRIS:  And does it depict in the videotape or the photographs the pliers being in the same position as depicted in that photograph? 

HENDEE:  Yes, they do. 

HARRIS:  And this is before the dog ever went in? 

HENDEE:  That is correct. 

HARRIS:  People have no other questions. 

GERAGOS:  I have no further questions.