Dirt Devil Vacuum Cleaner
Collected on: December 26, 2002
Collected by: CSO Tech Doug Lovell under instruction by Det. Skultety, Crime Scene Manager
Evidence Item No.: 14
Reason: Scott was seen vacuuming the area on December 25, 2002
Received by: California Department of Justice crime laboratory, Ripon, CA
Case No: CV-02-010941
Request No.: 4
Tested by: Pin Kyo
Results: No evidentiary value
Initial Suspicion
Stacey Boyers was interviewed by Detective Jon Buehler on December 27. According to Buehler's report, Boyers was at the Peterson home on December 25 around 5 p.m. and observed Scott "doing an unusual amount of vacuuming" in the area in front of the washer and dryer. This caused suspicion that Scott was still trying to clean up trace evidence. Detectives also wanted to know if there were any traces of the blue tarp they suspected Laci was wrapped in when Scott dragged her body out of the house.
Exhibits
People's 111-K was taken during the search on December 26-27, 2002. People's 246A-E are Pin Kyo's photographs of the vacuum cleaner, the bag, and the debris found in the bag.
Test Results
Pin Kyo described the contents of the debris from the bag under direct examination by David Harris:
HARRIS: You said that you are going to go through this tweezing out these things. What was it that you found as you go through?
KYO: I found Christmas tree debris, pine needles, dry grass cutting material, feather, pieces of feathers, fibers, plastic, blue -- in this particular photo, blue-colored plastic piece. Onion skins. So general debris.
HARRIS: Now, pointing out something to us, that little blue piece of plastic. Could you tell or describe for us what type of plastic that was this?
KYO: It's a thin piece of plastic. It's measure approximately one centimeter by three centimeter. Very small. And it looked like to me possibly from the grocery bag kind of material. Very thin and crunchy.
HARRIS: When you saying thin and crunchy, you are holding your index finger and thumb, kind of squeezing them together?
KYO: That's right.
HARRIS: You are pinching between your fingers, it would have some kind of sound to it?
KYO: That’s correct.
HARRIS: Now, you pick through this -- looking at again at 246E. Do you separate these items out and try and look at them in terms of age? Or can you to that?
KYO: I try to look at the most recent, the last piece of debris that comes through, which would be directly across from where the incoming hole is. So that would be 27-2. And then there are other clumps of debris in the vacuum bag also on top -- I mean behind it, but close also. So I look at them also. But I look at it in separate pile as they come out of it.
HARRIS: Again, this photograph represents the most recent stuff that would be -- or the last items going into that vacuum cleaner bag?
KYO: That’s correct.
On cross examination, Geragos specifically asked Kyo if any traces of a blue tarp were found in either the Dirt Devil vacuum cleaner or the vacuum debris from the vacuum cleaner that CSO Tech Lovell used.
GERAGOS: And the reason you did that is you got it marked here looks like 216C. Now, one of the things that you were supposed to take a look at, or you were asked to take a look at, is to see whether or not there was any piece of blue tarp that was observed in the vacuum debris and Dirt Devil vacuum; is that correct?
KYO: That’s correct.
GERAGOS: Okay. And your conclusion was, is that there were no pieces of blue tarp observed in the vacuum debris and Dirt Devil vacuum, correct?
KYO: That’s right.
Conclusion
Scott was not engaged in any clean-up effort, but was simply performing household chores either to just pass the time or to keep the house clean in anticipation of Laci's return.