Affidavit of Lucien Haag

The **affidavit of Lucien “Luke” Haag** is an affidavit signed by Lucien Haag, a firearms expert hired by Zellner to perform tests related to item FL.

## Affidavit of 26 May 2017

**Now comes your affiant, Lucien C. "Luke" Haag, and under oath hereby states as follows:**

1. I am of legal majority and can truthfully and competently testify to the matterscontained herein based upon my personal knowledge. The factual statements herein are true and correct to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief. I am of sound mind and I am not taking any medication nor have I ingested any alcohol that would impair my memory of the facts stated in this affidavit.
2. I am an independent forensic consultant with my own company, Forensic Science Services, Inc., in Carefree, Arizona. I have consulted as an expert and testified as an expert witness on the subject of firearms identification, firearms-related evidence, and the reconstructive aspects of shooting incidents in numerous cases across the United States and in other countries. I have also authored and presented more than 200 scientific papers, most of which address various exterior and terminal ballistic properties and the effects and behavior of projectiles. A current copy of my curriculum vitae is attached to th is declaration as **Exhibit A**.
3. I published an article in the AFTE Journal (Volume 44, Number 2, Spring 2012) regarding the forensic value of bone particles recovered from bullets. A copy of that article is attached to this declaration as **Exhibit B**.
4. I was retained by Kathleen T. Zellner & Associates, P.C., to assist with the postconviction investigation in the above-captioned case.
5. I was asked to review information and provide consultation and expert opinions regarding the ballistics evidence in that case.
6. Kathleen T. Zellner & Associates, P.C., provided me with documents relevant to the case, including transcripts of testimony, computer generated images, and photographs.
7. Based on the information I have reviewed, and past testing which I have carried out, it is my opinion, to a reasonable degree of certainty in the field of forensic ballistics, that the damaged bullet recovered from Steven Avery's garage and purported to yield a foll DNA profile of Teresa Halbach ("Ms. Halbach") (Wisconsin State Crime Lab Item FL) shows no evidence of having been shot through Ms. Halbach's skull. The bullet, which was identified as a .22 long rifle bullet, was comprised of such soft metal that there would be detectable bone fragments embedded in the damaged bullet if it had been fired through Ms. Halbach 's skull. Because no bone fragments have been identified in the damaged bullet, Item FL, over the course of its examination - including DNA and firearms/tool marks analysis - at the Wisconsin State Crime Lab, it is my opinion, to a reasonable degree of certainty if the field of ballistics, that Item FL was not fired through Ms. Halbach's skull.
8. I carried out tests to illustrate that bone fragments would become embedded in .22 long rifle bullets when fired through bone. I fired two (2) copper-plated, lead, CCI Minimag® .22 long rifle bullets through approximately 2mm thick flat bone and into a soft tissue simulant from which it was recovered. I fired two (2) additional copper-plated, lead, CCI Minimag® .22 long rifle bullets through one layer of approximately 2mm thick flat bone, then through 5 inches of soft tissue simulant, and through a final section of approximately 2mm thick flat bone, and finally into a soft tissue simulant as a means of recovering tbe bullet. Bone particles, embedded in the soft lead, were readily visible under a stereo-microscop e for both the bullets fired through one thickness of bone and two thicknesses of bone. A copy of the experimental design of this demonstration, along with diagrams and photos, is attached to this declaration as **Exhibit C**. This demonstration supports my opinion that, to a reasonable degree of certainty in the field of forensic ballistics, item FL was not fired through Ms. Halbach's skull because there were no bone particles embedded in it when it was examined by Wisconsin State Crime Lab analysts.
9. William Newhouse ("Mr. Newhouse"), a Wisconsin State Crime Lab firearms examiner, analyzed the damaged bullet, item FL, using a microscope. According to Mr. Newbouse's bullet worksheet, attached to this declaration as **Exhibit D**, Mr. Newhouse identified no trace evidence on the damaged bullet. lf there were bone fragments embedded in the damaged bullet, I would expect a reasonably competent firearms examiner to have identified them during their microscopical examination. Based upon my review of Mr. Newhouse's trial testimony, it is my opinion that Mr. Newhouse is a reasonably competent firearms examiner who would likely have identified bone fragments embedded in the damaged bullet had they been present. Because Mr. Newhouse did not note or describe any bone or bone-like particles embedded in item FL during his microscopical examination of this damaged bullet, it is my opinion, to a reasonable degree of certainty in the field of forensic ballistics, that item FL was not fired through Ms. Halbach's skull.
10. A definitive resolution and statement regarding the absence of bone particles in the item FL damaged bullet would require a detailed examination for such particles under a suitable optical microscope, or an examination by a qualified operator of a scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with an energy dispersive x-ray analyzer (EDS) who is experienced in the recognition and identification of bone particles in bullets. It is my understanding that Dr. Christopher Palenik, PhD, of Microtrace, LLC, has conducted an examination of the damaged bullet. I have been informed by Ms. Zellner that no bone was detected on the bullet, which confirms my opinions stated above. I also examined the photographs taken by Dr. Palenik of the damaged bullet and have confirmed that no bone fragments were visible in these photographs.