2 Pair Black Stretch Maternity Pants
Collected by: Rudy Skultety
Collected on: December 27, 2002
Collected from: The Nursery, in a bag
Items: 37A, 37B
Reason: Black pants (Laci's) were on the search warrant as items to collect
Bates No: 2211 (Hendee)
Testimony:
Detective Dodge Hendee, who was responsible for searching the nursery on December 26/27, 2002, said black pants belonging to Laci were among the items listed for collection on the search warrant. Besides these two pair, no other black pants were collected.
HENDEE: Yes. And I know the pants were collected on the next day, the 27th.
GERAGOS: They were specifically an item that you were looking for; isn't that correct?
HENDEE: Yes.
GERAGOS: And when I say you, the search warrant listed a whole itemized number of potential evidence items to go in and search for, correct?
HENDEE: Correct.
GERAGOS: The black pants were some of those, one of those items; isn't that correct?
Hendee found the black pants "in a white bag right near the front door of the baby's room." People's 133 depicts the bag and the pants in it. The two paper bags are evidence bags that Hendee prepared for the pants.
Hendee was asked if the pants were new or had ever been worn:
GERAGOS: And how did you describe those pants?
HENDEE: Two pairs of black maternity stretch pants that appeared to be clean and possibly unused.
GERAGOS: What did you mean by possibly unused?
HENDEE: To me they didn't look like they had been worn.
GERAGOS: They looked new?
HENDEE: Yeah.
GERAGOS: Okay. What size were they?
HENDEE: I don't know, sir.
GERAGOS: Are they mediums, do you know?
HENDEE: I don't know.
GERAGOS: They, to you, when looking at them, did it look like somebody had purchased them and they were placed in that bag? I mean did they, you had made the notation, based upon looking at them, that they looked unused, right?
HENDEE: Right.
GERAGOS: What I'm trying get at is, when you said possibly never been worn did, it look like they were brand new maternity pants?
HENDEE: That was my opinion, yeah.
GERAGOS: Okay. Didn't look like they were maternity pants that had been worn on the 24th or the 23rd and then stuffed back into the bag, did they?
HENDEE: That's correct.
Rudy Skultety was also asked about the pants. He provided the brand names of both pair and the size, and confirmed that black pants were listed on the search warrant.
GERAGOS: Then you also had 37 A, which was described as a Motherhood brand black pants, size medium, correct?
SKULTETY: Yes.
GERAGOS: Where were those collected from?
SKULTETY: I believe A and B were taken out of the nursery.
GERAGOS: Okay. IN Due Time brand black women's pants, size medium, also taken out of the nursery?
SKULTETY: Yes. 37 A and B. That white bag you discussed earlier in the nursery.
GERAGOS: Okay. When you say the white bag, the one that was in the nursery itself, near the crib?
SKULTETY: That was near the door.
GERAGOS: Near the door. Okay. And both of those pairs of pants were seized as evidence to be tested; isn't that correct?
SKULTETY: It was seized pursuant to -- it was one of the items that were listed that we were looking for.
Ray Coyle was also asked about black maternity pants. Coyle was responsible for the search of the Master Bedroom, and he told Geragos that he did not see any black stretch pants in the Master Bedroom during the search on December 26-27, 2002.
GERAGOS: Okay. Now, at some point were you told that you had found some black maternity pants in the closet of the home hanging on a hanger?
COYLE: Somebody told me apparently according to that report, yes.
GERAGOS: Okay. Well, what I'm asking you is, when you went through, did you not see the black maternity pants hanging on a hanger?
COYLE: I did not find any black maternity pants, no, not in the master bedroom.
GERAGOS: Were you later told that there were some that were hanging up?
COYLE: I believe I was told there were some black maternity pants found, I don't know where they were found.
Conclusion
Since the black stretch maternity pants were on the search warrant list, and Ray Coyle specifically searched the Master Bedroom looking for the items on the list, and he did not see any black stretch maternity pants, then it's safe to say that the only black stretch maternity pants in the house were the 2 pair found in the Nursery, and they appear to have been recent purchases.