Opinion ID: 3047100
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Roger Martz

Text: Trepal’s first witness was Martz. Martz discussed his methodology and testimony and acknowledged some errors, but ultimately held fast to his opinion at 27 trial that thallium nitrate had been added to Q1, Q2, and Q3, the full Coca-Cola bottles. Martz believed the OIG Report contained three major criticisms of his work in the Trepal case: (1) Martz gave a stronger opinion than the OIG believed was warranted when he opined the thallium nitrate “was added” to the samples instead of the results being “consistent with thallium nitrate having been added”; (2) Martz’s notes were incomplete and in places inaccurate; and (3) Martz said all three samples Q1 through Q3 were tested for nitrate, but Q3 was not tested using the IC. Martz acknowledged he could have done a better job of taking notes, and he erred in not mentioning that he did not run the IC test on Q3. But neither failure affected his final report or final opinion. Martz’s opinion was still that thallium nitrate was added to the Coca-Cola. Martz testified that “in hindsight, [he] probably should have” tested all three samples using the IC test, but “a lot of time if we have multiple samples, we wouldn’t test all of them. We would test a representative sample for the confirmatory test just to speed things up.” As to Q3, Martz did no other tests besides the DP test. Martz justified his conclusion that Q3 had nitrate in it, despite only running one test on that sample: I have 25 years of experience testing samples that are associated with 28 the case and doing representative samples from those cases, that if you take two out of three of the samples, they both have thallium in it, two of the three have nitrate, and the third one has a presumptive test for nitrate, I used my 25 years—or 20 years of experience working these type of cases to conclude that the third sample, even though I didn’t do the confirmative test, the only logical explanation would be nitrate. Martz also explained that the DP test is a presumptive screening test for oxidizing agents, such as nitrates. The DP test was positive for Q1, Q2, and Q3, and negative for an unadulterated Coca-Cola sample. A positive result is indicated by a blue color. At Trepal’s trial, Martz testified that when you pour DP into a solution that contains a nitrate, “you get a blue color.” However, that testimony failed to acknowledge that “there’s other chemicals that will give a blue color” in a DP test. Although Martz had first testified at trial that his conclusion that thallium nitrate was added to the Coca-Cola was based on the DP test, later in his trial testimony he clarified that he had also relied on the IC test results in reaching that conclusion.15 Martz testified that the IC is used as a “confirmatory test” to confirm the 15 Martz conducted four other tests on the Coca-Cola bottle samples: mass spectrometry (“MS”), x-ray diffraction (“XRD”), scanning electron microscopy (“SEM”), and liquid chromatography (“LC”). Martz’s MS testing of the samples “wasn’t successful,” and he did not rely on it for any of his conclusions. Martz tested the Q1 sample, but not Q2 or Q3, using XRD and SEM. The tests other than DP “were to give [Martz] negative results, and [he] didn’t need to repeat them on the other samples.” In short, Martz did not mention the testing other than DP and IC because his “opinion was basically . . . from the [DP] test and the [IC].” 29 results of the DP test. However, without a positive result on both tests, Martz “would not call it a positive nitrate.” Martz acknowledged that neither the DP nor the IC tests alone provide positive identification for nitrate (by themselves, each test can at best produce results “consistent with” nitrate). But Martz stated that if both tests are positive, then in his opinion you have proven the presence of nitrate. And, both the DP and IC tests were positive for the Coca-Cola in Q1 and Q2. Martz stated that “generally in forensic science, you do a multiple of tests, at least two, in order to prove something is present because of the fact that you can get false positives.” In the State’s cross-examination, Martz pointed out that the OIG never said Martz’s actual testing of the samples in the Trepal case was done improperly. The OIG merely questioned the documentation and testimony. Martz also opined that “based on the data [he] provided,” he did not believe anyone could say thallium nitrate was not added to the Coca-Cola samples. That is because thallium is present and there are elevated levels of nitrate.16 16 At the 3.850 hearing, two other FBI toxicology experts testified: (1) Thomas Jourdan, who worked in the FBI Lab’s Chemistry and Toxicology Unit from 1992 to 1997 and served as chief of the Materials and Devices Unit since 1997; and (2) Steven Burmeister, the chief of the FBI Lab’s Chemistry and Toxicology Unit. Both agreed that to a reasonable scientific certainty, thallium nitrate was added to Q1 and Q2, and they gave reasons for their opinions. Both could not testify as to Q3 because no IC test was run on Q3. In its ruling, the 3.850 court discounted the testimony of Jourdan and Burmeister, so we do not rely on it. 30