Simple Green Safety Towels container
Collected on: December 27, 2002
Collected by: Detective Rudy Skultety, Crime Scene Manager
Evidence Item No.: 208A
Reason: Suspected of being used to clean up evidence
Received by: California Department of Justice crime laboratory, Ripon, CA
Received on: December 30, 2003
Case No: CV-02-010941
Request No: 01
Tested by: Pin Kyo
Results: Negative, nothing of evidentiary value
Initial Suspicion
The towels from the container were used in a clean-up.
Fingerprints
Geragos remarked in his Closing Statement that a fingerprint was taken off the Simple Green Safety Towels container, but that it didn't match either Laci's or Scott's, and it was not known who the fingerprint belonged to.
The fact of the matter is that there are no fingerprints that matter of any, that they found. And the one fingerprint testimony we had in this case was about that Simple Green container, and apparently they lifted a fingerprint off and the fingerprint didn't match Laci or Scott, but we don't know who it matched? And that was just kind of the end of that. And they tested all of these other items and they don't have it. And there's so many internal inconsistencies with this case.
Galen Nickey, Latent Print Analyst, testified that the two partial prints collected were put into the AFIS database, but no match was indicated.
Mark Geragos: And the, specifically, you, the one other attempt to get one of the prints, one other item, which was a Simple Green container; is that correct?
Galen Nickey: That's correct.
Mark Geragos: And you were able to, looks like that was done some time in January of 2003; is that right?
Galen Nickey: That's correct.
Mark Geragos: And you were able to develop some prints, actually got prints on that container, correct?
Galen Nickey: That's correct.
Mark Geragos: And you compared the prints to both Laci and to Scott; is that correct?
Galen Nickey: That's correct.
Mark Geragos: And the prints that you got were neither Laci nor Scott's?
Galen Nickey: That's correct.
Mark Geragos: There is a system that's used in California called AFIS. Department of Justice have the Automatic Fingerprint Identification System? Or do you have a similar style database?
Galen Nickey: Yes, we have the AFIS system. I think the system you are referring to is the ALPS system. Automated print database.
Mark Geragos: The prints that you were able to raise up on the container, did you run them through that system?
Galen Nickey: Yes, I did.
Mark Geragos: Okay. Did you get any hits?
Galen Nickey: No.
Mark Geragos: And do you remember how many prints you were able to develop off that Simply Green container?
Galen Nickey: I believe there were two partial prints on it. But, again, I'd have to look at my report to be sure.
Mark Geragos: I think I have it here.
Galen Nickey: Yes, there were two partial prints, for total of six lift cards. I did a couple of multiple lifts of the same print.
Mark Geragos: And can you, those multiple lifts, you put them through the system, and you say you got no hit. What happens is the database compares the number of points of identification and tries to find a minimum number of points of identification in common?
Galen Nickey: That's how the system works. But it made no identification, which could either be the print in the database was insufficient quality, or the person's prints are not in the database.
The test results
Defense 6M-9, 6M-10, & 6M-11, are Kyo's analysis of the "Simple Green Safety Towels" container, which was empty. It was seized from the Ford pickup. The 7-inch container had stains on it which Kyo tested, and which were negative. Kyo even tested the liquid that was on the lid, and the tests were negative. Click to enlarge.
Conclusion
The container, or the towels that were once in it, were not used by Scott Peterson to clean up a crime scene. However, they may have been used by someone else, and the empty container discarded in the pickup. Hopefully, the fingerprint cards Nickey made are still available for comparison to future suspects.