Part 12 (2/2)
”And were you able to locate the mold used to make that cable tie?”
”By process of elimination and some research, I was.”
”Can you tell the jury where that cable tie was made?”
”It was made by a firm in New Jersey called Qualitex Plastics.”
”Do you know when it was made?”
”No. That I cannot tell you.”
”But you're certain it was made by this company, Qualitex.”
”I am. I was able, by examining other cable ties produced by that firm, to identify ties that had the same identical pattern of toolmarks as the tie in that evidence bag.”
”And that would indicate that the sample ties you examined were made by the same mold as the cable tie that killed Kalista Jordan?”
”That's correct.”
”And you're certain about this? To the exclusion of all other manufacturing molds that might be used in this process, that this particular mold at Qualitex made the tie used to strangle the victim in this case?”
”I am.”
”Thank you.” Tannery retreats to the evidence cart and fishes through a couple of cardboard boxes until he finds what he's looking for. He asks permission to approach the witness.
”Doctor, I would ask you to examine the cable ties in this bag.”
Warnake takes it and looks at the ties through the plastic bag.
”Do you recognize them?”
”I recognize the tag tied to them.”
”Are those your initials on the tag in question?”
”They are.”
”And did you examine the ties in that bag?”
”I did.”
”Your Honor, for the record, the ties in question are the cable ties found and previously identified by Lieutenant de Angelo during his search of the defendant's house,” says Tannery. ”They were marked for identification, and the record will reflect that they were discovered in the pocket of Dr. Crone's sport coat hanging in the hall closet.”
Coats doesn't even look up. Instead he nods his a.s.sent as he makes a note on the pad in front of him on the bench.
”Dr. Warnake, can you tell the jury what you did to examine the cable ties in this bag, the ones found in the defendant's coat pocket?”
”I examined them separately, placing each of them under a stereo microscope. I looked for toolmarks on the surface at specific locations along each of the ties.”
”And what did you discover?”
”I determined that they were made by the same manufacturer as the cable tie used to strangle the victim, Kalista Jordan.”
There are noticeable murmurs in the courtroom. Whispering by people beyond the bar, some press types and the media sensing blood in the water.
”Were they produced by the same molds that produced that cable tie? The one used to kill Kalista Jordan?”
”No. They were made by other molds in the same production run. Molds in the possession of that same manufacturer.”
”Let me get this straight.” Tannery starts motioning with his hands as if drawing a picture for the jury. ”There's a whole line of these molds at the factory where they're made? Not just one.”
”That's correct.”
”And each one of these molds is giving off different toolmarks as they're injected with molten plastic?”
”That's right.”
”And after the ties are injected and cooled, what happens to them?”
”They're packaged and s.h.i.+pped to distribution points around the country, wholesalers in some cases, retailers in others.”
”So if you went to the store and bought one of these packages of cable ties, you'd get ties that could be traced back to a whole line of manufacturing molds, probably in the same plant?”
”Yes. I believe that's true.”
”And that's what you found here?”
”Yes.”
”You were able to trace the production mold that made the tie used to kill Kalista Jordan?”
”Yes.”
”And in that same manufacturing plant you were able to identify molds that produced the two cable ties found in the coat pocket of the defendant”-Tannery points with an outstretched arm and an accusing finger-”the coat belonging to Dr. David Crone?”
”That's right.”
Coats is now sitting up straight, looking down at the witness for the first time, his dark robe and gleaming bald head like an inverted judicial exclamation point to this evidence.
”Were you able to conclude from this that the tie used to kill the victim, Kalista Jordan, and the cable ties found in the coat pocket of the defendant had been purchased at the same time, from the same location?”
”Objection.” I'm on my feet. ”Calls for speculation.”
”I'm only asking as to the probability,” says Tannery. ”The witness has surveyed manufacturers and points of sale. He should be allowed to testify on the issue.”
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