Opinion ID: 1713477
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Blood Evidence Hemosticks

Text: ¶ 68. Armstrong drove to the police station at about 2:15 p.m. on the afternoon of June 24 to wait for May, who was asked to give a statement to police. After arriving at the station, Armstrong was asked by Officer Hathoway to give a statement. After three interviews, at about 8:30 p.m., Armstrong signed consent forms for searches of his person, car, and apartment. Wegner took samples from Armstrong, including a standard head hair, pubic hair, a saliva sample, and tested Armstrong's hands and feet for traces of blood. ¶ 69. Wegner testified that after running hemosticksplastic strips with treated absorbent pads that react to the presence of certain proteins found in bloodunder the nails of Armstrong's fingers and toes and around the cuticles, she found a presumptive positive reaction on every finger and on several toes. [18] ¶ 70. Wegner then scraped material from underneath Armstrong's thumbs and large toes, tested the samples, and determined that the material indicated blood of human origin. However, Wegner testified that she did not have sufficient material to run additional tests and could not identify from whom the blood came or how old it was. In fact, Wegner agreed that in her experience, she had blood over one-year old produce positive hemostick results. ¶ 71. Wegner agreed that the sensitivity of the hemosticks is one in 300,000 to trigger a presumptive positive. She also agreed that the hemosticks simply react to particular chemicals within bloodiron, and plant peroxidewhich are also found in other substances besides blood. ¶ 72. Armstrong presented evidence supporting alternative explanations for the presence of human blood under his thumbnails and large toenails. During the tests in the evening of June 24, 1980, in the presence of Detectives Roger Attoe and Rudolf Jergovic, and at trial, Armstrong stated that he had fallen and scraped his elbow and his knee the previous day in a footrace with his brother in the Arboretum. Armstrong also explained that in the days preceding the tests he had sex and had taken showers with his fiancée, May, while she was experiencing her menstrual period and that she tended to bleed profusely. ¶ 73. Indeed, Wegner testified that Armstrong showed her the scab on his knee when she conducted the tests, and Armstrong presented photographs of his scrapes in a trial exhibit. Wegner's testing also found blood on the inside of Armstrong's pants that was consistent with his scraped knee. No other traces of blood were found on Armstrong's clothing or inside or outside of his boots. ¶ 74. May's testimony corroborated Armstrong's explanation about his fall during the footrace and about Armstrong's and May's physical intimacy during her menstrual period. May specifically stated that she sought medical attention regarding her particularly heavy bleeding in the days prior to Kamps' murder. May testified that she was bleeding heavily during a shower with Armstrong and that she later had surgery to correct her condition. ¶ 75. Wegner also testified that she spent two full working days examining the interior of Armstrong's car for traces of blood. Wegner tested for blood in the car's interior, including the trunk compartment, and focused on the steering wheel, gearshift lever, lock button on the driver's door, the floor, ceiling, and the front and rear seats. Wegner found no traces of blood anywhere within the vehicle and testified that it did not appear as if there had been an attempt to clean the car. ¶ 76. The State characterized Wegner's findings of trace amounts of blood underneath Armstrong's fingers and toenails in closing with the following: The defendant's fingers were tested down at the police station. Jill Wegner ran the hemosticks around the cuticles and under the thumb and under the nails and around the cuticles of every finger and lo and behold there was blood under every fingernail, every single one. That was Charise Kamps' blood. (Emphasis added.)