Opinion ID: 853312
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Pry Marks

Text: West raises a similar argument concerning the admission of Brundage's testimony as to pry marks on the door to the room in which Hollen's body was found. Brundage testified that the pry marks resulted when someone attempted to get out of the office, and not into the office. Angela McKnight, the owner of the station, testified that the pry marks were there when she bought the station. West objected to Brundage's testimony at trial on the ground that it was not a proper subject for expert testimony. In addition to being an expert on footwear, Brundage testified that he had examined toolmark evidence, including prymark evidence, for twenty-seven years. Without citation to authority, West now argues that no special expertise was shown by the witness and that he therefore should not have been qualified as an expert on this subject. Given that Brundage testified to over twenty-seven years of examining precisely this type of evidence, we cannot conclude that the trial court abused its discretion in allowing Brundage's testimony as to pry marks.