Opinion ID: 1277356
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Crime Scene Investigation

Text: Riverside County Sheriffs Department Detective Richard Moker testified that, in the evening of March 24, 1986, he accompanied Amy in an effort to locate Diane's body. He described the manner in which he and other law enforcement officers attempted to retrace the route the girls had taken, the officers relying upon Amy's description of the stores the trio had visited, distinctive road signs they had observed, and the crime scene terrain. At approximately 11:00 p.m., after nearly six hours of searching, the officers located the Volkswagen shell. Shortly thereafter, the officers found a white plastic sack containing a Budweiser six-pack container. Fearful that the man who assaulted her might be lurking in the area, Amy asked the officers whether they were armed and indicated that she wanted to leave as soon as possible. She also told them where Diane's body could be found. Thereafter, one of the officers transported Amy to the hospital to enable her to undergo a rape examination, while investigators searched the crime scene. On cross-examination, Detective Moker testified that when he first encountered Amy, she informed him that Diane could be found lying on her back (thereby conflicting with Amy's testimony that she saw Diane lying facedown). Riverside County Detective Michael Lackie testified regarding the investigation law enforcement officers conducted at the crime scene in the early morning hours of March 25,1986, describing the steps he and Detective Moker took to avoid disturbing evidence found at the scene. In addition to encountering Diane's lifeless and bloodstained body (unclothed below the waist, with panties wrapped around one leg), officers located nearby a buck knife with the blade extended, a shoe impression, a Budweiser beer bottle, and paper grocery bags. Farther away from Diane's body, officers found four different tire impressions and a shoe impression at the spot where Amy said defendant had parked the vehicle, a white plastic sack containing an empty Budweiser beer bottle with a cap on it, a discarded Budweiser beer bottle with the label partially picked off, and Amy's torn undergarments. Lackie testified that the shoe impression found near the spot where the vehicle had been parked appeared to resemble a similar impression found near Diane's body. He added that officers were unable to locate any marijuana growing in the area. James Hall, a criminalist employed by the California Department of Justice, assisted in the investigation of the crime scene on March 25, 1986. Hall checked Diane's body for loose hairs and fibers, collecting what appeared to be a loose pubic hair from Diane's thigh. Michael Renney, a senior evidence technician employed by the Riverside County Sheriffs Department, testified that on March 26, 1986, he tested for the presence of fingerprints several items recovered from the crime scene, obtaining a latent print from the Budweiser beer bottle found in the white plastic sack.