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	1			THE COURT: It's been covered. Thank you.
	2	You may step down. Next witness.
	3			MR. CORGAN: Your Honor, approach the bench
	4	please?
	5			(AN OFF-THE-RECORD DISCUSSION WAS HAD,
	6			AFTER WHICH THE FOLLOWING PROCEEDINGS WERE
	7			HAD:)
	8	--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
	9				EDDIE MASON
	10	having been first duly sworn to tell the truth, the whole
	11	truth, and nothing but the truth, testified as followed:
	12		             DIRECT EXAMINATION
	13	BY MR. CORGAN:
	14	Q	State your name please.
	15	A	Eddie Mason.
	16	Q	Mr. Mason, what is your business, profession or
	17	occupation?
	18	A	Police officer with the city of Bartlesville.
	19	Q	And would you tell us how long you've been employed
	20	in that capacity?
	21	A	15 years.
	22	Q	And what is your current assignment with the
	23	Bartlesville Police Department?
	24	A	Currently I'm assigned to the detective division.
	25	Q	How long have you been assigned to the detective

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	1	division?
	2	A	Approximately two years.
	3	Q	And prior to that time what was your assignment?
	4	A	I was a street officer.
	5	Q	Mr. Mason, can you tell us how you were notified
	6	about this case?
	7	A	On June 11th at approximately ten o'clock I received
	8	a phone call from dispatcher Tern Lippert of the
	9	Bartlesville Police Department advising of a problem at
	10	1808 Jefferson and a lieutenant requested a detective
	11	there.
	12	Q	Do you know why it is that it was determined that you
	13	were to be called?
	14	A	I was the detective on call.
	15	Q	What does that mean?
	16	A	After five o'clock we have detectives that cover from
	17	Friday at five until the next day at five, and I was the
	18	detective that week. I was on call duty a week at a time.
	19	Q	And when you're on call and then you receive a case,
	20	do you have any particular assignments as to that case?
	21	A	When you are the responding detective then you will
	22	probably be the case agent in that case.
	23	Q	And in that regard did you then become the case agent
	24	in regard to this case for the Bartlesville Police
	25	Department?

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	1	A	Yes, I did.
	2	Q	Now, Mr. Mason, as case agent or officer in charge
	3	for the Bartlesville Police Department, what were your
	4	duties or responsibilities?
	5	A	When you get to the crime scene, as in this crime
	6	scene on Jefferson Road, you know that you'll
	7	automatically you're going to have to have some help since
	8	you have a homicide. So you call in some other
	9	investigators to help you, which was Detective Pottroff.
	10	And then you will assign out anything that needs to be
	11	handled while you're at that crime scene, and you will
	12	assign that out to the other investigators or maybe even
	13	to a patrolman that can handle it.
	14		You will also do the paperwork and be in
	15	charge of -- everybody will hand their paperwork to you
	16	when they do their reports at the end of the shift, like
	17	the patrol officers that were there.
	18	Q	And did you do those things in this case?
	19	A	Yes, I did.
	20	Q	Could you tell us what time you arrived there at the
	21	scene?
	22	A	At approximately 10:15.
	23	Q	And what did you do when you arrived?
	24	A	When I first arrived I talked to Officer Grayson at
	25	the scene.

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	1	Q	Why did you do that?
	2	A	You talk to your officer at the scene to find out
	3	what kind of a, in this particular case, what kind of a
	4	crime you have at that scene, and he will also tell you
	5	who was at the crime scene at that time.
	6	Q	After speaking with Officer Grayson, what did you do?
	7	A	I went inside and made a -- just a walk through and
	8	talked to the other captain -- Captain Evans and Captain
	9	Lowery that were there. Correction. Captain Evans and
	10	Captain Bevard that was present at that time.
	11	Q	And did you then -- did you gain some type of
	12	information from them?
	13	A	No. They basically knew the same thing, that there
	14	had been a crime there. At that time they had the
	15	homicide but they didn't know that much more about it.
	16	Q	What did you do next?
	17	A	I talked to Lieutenant Davis and he advised the fact
	18	that we had a suspect that was suppose to have went out
	19	through the yard of the residence.
	20	Q	So you, at that point, talked to Officer Grayson and
	21	Lieutenant Davis and the two captains. What did you do
	22	then?
	23	A	And then you go back outside, and I went out into the
	24	street to get just kind of a general view of the house to
	25	see where he might have this person running to that went

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	1	out across the backyard. If he went towards other
	2	neighbors' houses then you would talk to your lieutenant
	3	to see if anything had been done as far as making a search
	4	of the residences or search of the fields or anyplace for
	5	this man.
	6	Q	 Now, were you aware at that time if any activities
	7	were being done in regard to searching outside or in the
	8	area?
	9	A	 Lieutenant Davis advised there were other officers
	10	that were out conducting searches at that time.
	11	Q	 Did you get involved into that aspect of it?
	12	A	 No, I did not?
	13	Q	 Why not?
	14	A	  I then go back into the house to work the scene and
	15	try to decide what had happened and --
	16	Q	  Now, when you say work the scene, what do you mean?
	17	A	 Well, you go in and the first thing you'll do to it
	18	is you'll go in and photograph the scene before anything
	19	gets disturbed. That's your number one item is making
	20	sure it gets photographed before anything can happen to
	21	it.
	22	Q	  And was that done in this case?
	23	A	  Yes, it was.
	24	Q	  And did you take any photographs?
	25	A	  Yes, I did.

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	1	Q	And when were those taken?
	2	A	They were taken probably around 11:30, between 11:30
	3	and 12:00 that night.
	4	Q	Now, had you -- did you, at some point, go through
	5	the house prior to taking your photographs?
	6	A	Yes, I did.
	7	Q	When was that done?
	8	A	I done that as I was talking to the captain and
	9	lieutenant. I done a general walk through just to see
	10	what it looked like.
	11	Q	Tell us about your observations as you made your walk
	12	through.
	13	A	After I had talked to Officer Grayson I went through
	14	the garage door and into the utility room, and as soon as
	15	you enter the utility room you have to turn to your left
	16	and you will see blood, and there was blood down the
	17	kitchen floor, around the sinks, and as you go on into the
	18	dining area you would see a big bloody place on the floor
	19	and also the walls and the ceiling of the residence.
	20		In the den there was a -- looked like a
	21	bookshelf had been -- everything had been dumped off of
	22	this bookshelf onto the floor. There was a TV with a
	23	whole in it, a mirror with a hole in it and a back door
	24	that has a glass pane broken out of it.
	25	Q	What else did you observe as you did your walk

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	1	through?
	2	A	Went into the bedroom, and both bedrooms pretty well
	3	appeared to be normal, and then what I thought was a
	4	living room or play room in the front of the house.
	5	Everything looked pretty normal in it.
	6	Q	Did that then complete your walk through?
	7	A	Yes, it did.
	8	Q	What were you feelings or impressions about the scene
	9	as you completed that walk through?
	10	A	Well, the first thought was that this was more of a
	11	family fight than it would be of a burglary because of the
	12	fact that the door was already open to the den and it
	13	looked like -- it appeared the glass was knocked to the
	14	side of the back door instead of into the middle of the
	15	den like it should have been if the glass had been broken
	16	out when the door was closed and locked.
	17	Q	So you had some problems or concerns about the scene?
	18	A	Yes, I did.
	19	Q	What was there about the scene -- you've told us
	20	about the glass in the area, but what was there -- what
	21	else was there about the scene that concerned you or
	22	caused you problems with the scene?
	23	A	The hole in the TV and the hole in the mirror.
	24	Normally you won't ever see that on a burglary call. When
	25	you work a burglary that stuff is -- the TV will be taken

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	1	but they won't destroy as far as knocking a hole in it or
	2	breaking the mirror. This kind of stuff is just not done
	3	on burglaries. You don't see burglaries that way.
	4	Q	Well, Mr. Mason, then with those feelings and those
	5	observations, those thoughts, did you then call Lieutenant
	6	Davis in and tell him to stop the search outside?
	7	A	No, I did not.
	8	Q	Why not?
	9	A	Well, we still had a thought that this could be a
	10	burglary and maybe it was going to be different than the
	11	others we had worked and still had a suspect out there
	12	running loose.
	13	Q	So after you made your walk through, what did you do
	14	at that point?
	15	A	Went ahead and photographed the scene and then we
	16	started -- Detective Pottroff arrived and Larry and I
	17	started talking about what we thought was going on and
	18	decided what we was going to have to do with it.
	19	Q	While you were there at that time, did you make any
	20	type of search for weapons or anything?
	21	A	Just what you could see in the general vicinity. We
	22	looked around some and didn't see anything on the floor as
	23	far as a knife or gun or anything like that. There wasn't
	24	any type of weapons of this kind, and later on in the
	25	evening in the garage we found -- there was some blood

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	1	going up the ladder into the attic, and we went up into
	2	the attic to see what would be up there, if there was a
	3	weapon laying up there or maybe even a suspect up there.
	4	Q	Now, when you went up that ladder later in the
	5	evening, had you at that point had any contact with the
	6	defendant?
	7	A	No, sir. Not the first time.
	8	Q	And when you went up into the attic at that time
	9	what, if anything, did you do and what did you observe?
	10	A	In reference to the first time we went up?
	11	Q	Yes.
	12	A	We just went up into the attic where we could look
	13	for a suspect or a weapon and there was nothing there, so
	14	then we came back down from the attic.
	15	Q	What kind of search did you conduct there in the
	16	attic area at that time?
	17	A	All we done was look to see if there was anything
	18	laying out in plain view.
	19	Q	Did you go through any of the items there?
	20	A	No, sir, we did not.
	21	Q	Why not?
	22	A	We don't have a right to at that time.
	23	Q	What do you mean?
	24	A	Well, we really couldn't go into a complete search of
	25	that like you would if you knew there was something there


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	1	or if you'd of had a search warrant.
	2	Q	Now, at some later point did you have occasion to
	3	talk to the defendant, Mr. Allen?
	4	A	Yes, I did.
	5	Q	What time was that?
	6	A	Approximately two o'clock in the morning.
	7	Q	And where was that?
	8	A	At Reverend Brummett's house in Oak Park.
	9	Q	And after speaking with him at that location, what
	10	did you do?
	11	A	After we had talked to Mr. Allen he had told us about
	12	a hammer being in the attic of the residence, so we went
	13	back to the residence and myself and Agent Otte went up
	14	into the attic and found the hammer.
	15	Q	Now, in regard to what you found there in the attic,
	16	were any photographs taken of where the hammer was and the
	17	condition that you found the hammer in?
	18	A	Yes, there was.
	19	Q	And do you know where those photographs are today?
	20	A	Yes. They're in that folder that Agent Otte's
	21	looking in.
	22	Q	Would you get those photographs and produce those at
	23	this time? Mr. Mason, I'll hand you now what you have
	24	previously handed me and have been marked as State's
	25	Exhibits 49 and 50 for identification purposes. Mr.

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	1	Mason, without displaying those to the jury, would you
	2	examine those and state for the record by exhibit number
	3	what each of those items appear to be?
	4	A	Exhibit No. 49 is a photograph taken in the attic
	5	before anything was moved of the approximate location of
	6	the hammer.
	7	Q	And would that photograph truly and accurately depict
	8	what you found on that occasion?
	9	A	Yes, it does.
	10	Q	And would you tell us what State's Exhibit No. 50 is?
	11	A	Exhibit 50 is a picture of a hammer and a roll of
	12	paper towels that were also laying in the attic with the
	13	hammer.
	14	Q	And would that photograph truly and accurately depict
	15	what you observed on that occasion?
	16	A	Yes, it does.
	17	Q	Your Honor, we'd move the admission of State's
	18	Exhibit 49 and 50.
	19			MR. CARLSON: We have no objection.
	20			THE COURT: State 49 and 50 allowed
	21	Q (By Mr. Corgan) Mr. Mason, after the hammer and
	22	towels were found, what was done with those items?
	23	A	Agent Otte seized those items at that time.
	24	Q	And what happened to them after that? Did you have
	25	any contact with those items?

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	1	A	No, sir, I did not.
	2	Q	Now, during the course of your investigation, did you
	3	have occasion to be involved in the handling or chain of
	4	custody of any type of items of evidence?
	5	A	Yes, I did.
	6	Q	And what would those items have been?
	7	A	The first item would have been a blue First Assembly
	8	or First Assembly Church T-shirt, a pair of blue shorts
	9	and a pair of white tennis shoes.
	10	Q	And who did you receive those from?
	11	A	From Officer Pottroff.
	12	Q	And when did you receive those?
	13	A	While we were at the Allen residence in the early
	14	morning hours.
	15	Q	I'm sorry.
	16	A	In the early morning hours.
	17	Q	And after you received those items, what was done
	18	with those items?
	19	A	I took them out and placed them in the trunk of my
	20	blue Oldsmobile, which is my detective unit, and they were
	21	secured there, and then they were transported to the
	22	police department. At that time they were locked in the
	23	evidence locker at the police department.
	24	Q	Tell us a little bit about the evidence locker that
	25	you have at the police department and how that works.

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	1	A	Depending on which locker we use. In our detective
	2	division we have a room off of it that we have a wooden
	3	cabinet which is assigned to us and we're the only one
	4	that has a key to that~ besides Lieutenant Newman, and you
	5	can use that or you can use the big one down stairs, which
	6	these were placed in the lab which is next to the evidence
	7	locker where they could dry. They were laid out where
	8	they could dry at that time. It's also secured.
	9	Q	And what -- how long did those items stay there at
	10	the police department in the lab?
	11	A	They were there until the 14th when Agent Otte came
	12	up and picked them up to transport them.
	13	Q	And after you turned those items, the shirt, the
	14	shoes and the pants, to Agent Otte, did you have any
	15	further contact with those items?
	16	A	No, I did not.
	17	Q	Did you have any other items of evidence in your
	18	custody other than the chair, the shoes, the shirt -- I'm
	19	sorry. The shirt, the shoes and the pants?
	20	A	Had a chair, a TV, a mirror and a door frame. I
	21	guess we'll say a wooden door -- piece of the door frame.
	22	Q	Okay. Tell us how you got those particular items
	23	into your custody.
	24	A	On the morning of the 12th Detective Pottroff and
	25	myself went back to the crime scene. It was still secured

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	1	by reserve officers, and we entered the crime scene and
	2	took a TV, a mirror, and the wooden -- be the right side
	3	of the wooden door frame from around the door.
	4	Q	You mentioned something about a chair.
	5	A	There was a chair in the dining area or kitchen area
	6	of this house that was also taken.
	7	Q	When was that taken?
	8	A	I believe it was taken on the -- would have been on
	9	the early morning hours of the 12th.
	10	Q	In regard to the TV, the mirror, the chair, would you
	11	have treated those items any differently than what you
	12	told us in regard to the shirt, the shoes and the pants?
	13	A	They were wrapped in a yellow plastic material and
	14	transported to the police department.
	15	Q	Okay. Now, were they all put in together or how were
	16	they packaged?
	17	A	They were singly wrapped with this yellow plastic.
	18	Q	And where were they placed upon going to the police
	19	department?
	20	A	They were all placed in the lab at the police
	21	department also.
	22	Q	And how long did they remain there?
	23	A	I think we transported them on the 15th over to
	24	Tahlequah.
	25	Q	And who did that?

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	1	A	Myself.
	2	Q	Now, are you familiar with a patio door there that
	3	had a broken pane of glass?
	4	A	Yes, I am.
	5	Q	And were you or anyone else in your presence involved
	6	in taking any type of items out of that patio door?
	7	A	Yes, Detective Pottroff and myself.
	8	Q	And what did you take from that patio door?
	9	A	Took the glass from the patio door.
	10	Q	And when was that?
	11	A	Let me say the pane that was broken out we took with
	12	the remaining glass in that pane. That was also in the
	13	early morning of the 12th.
	14	Q	And what was done with it?
	15	A	It was also taken over to the lab.
	16	Q	And would that have been the same time as the TV -- I
	17	mean, TV and those type items?
	18	A	Yes, it was.
	19	Q	In regard to the chair, did you ever take that to the
	20	laboratory or was something else done with it?
	21	A	The chair was given to Agent Otte.
	22	Q	And when was that?
	23	A	On the 14th.
	24	Q	Now, in regard to the defendant, did you have
	25	occasion to be with him at any time when a blood sample

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	1	was taken of his?
	2	A	Yes, I did.
	3	Q	Would you tell us the facts and circumstances
	4	surrounding that?
	5	A	On May the 30th Mr. Carlson and Mr. Allen and myself
	6	met out at Jane Phillips Hospital at approximately ten
	7	o'clock in the morning, and Mr. Carlson had a court order
	8	to let Jane Phillips draw blood from this person, and we
	9	went in and Ron Lawson took the blood from him. He is an
	10	assistant supervisor -- correction. Mike Lawson,
	11	assistant supervisor Jane Phillips Hospital. He drew two
	12	vials of blood. He handed those to me and they were put
	13	in a styrofoam box and transported to O.S.B.I.
	14	immediately.
	15	Q	You say this was done on May 30th?
	16	A	Yes, sir.
	17	Q	Of what year?
	18	A	1991.
	19	Q	All right. Now, do you see the person in the
	20	courtroom today that told you about the hammer and the
	21	person in the courtroom today that had the blood drawn on
	22	May 30th of 1991?
	23	A	Yes, I do.
	24	Q	And, for the record, would you point to that person
	25	and describe how that person is dressed today?

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	1	A	(Indicating.) Sitting at the second table on the
	2	right. He's wearing glasses and looks like he's either
	3	black or dark brown headed. He's wearing a dark colored
	4	suit with blue shirt and a tie.
	5		         MR. CORGAN: Your Honor, might the record
	6	reflect the witness has identified the defendant, Stephen
	7	Lee Allen?
	8		         THE COURT: So reflect.
	9		         MR. CORGAN: I believe that's all.
	10	---------------------------------------------------------------------
	11		              CROSS-EXAMINATION
	12	BY MR. CARLSON:
	13	Q	Mr. Mason, you are the chief investigating officer in
	14	this particular case, is that correct?
	15	A	Yes, I am.
	16	Q	Okay. And you were the one that was in charge of
	17	this particular investigation, is that correct?
	18	A	For the City of Bartlesville.
	19	Q	All right. And with regard to your talking to Steve
	20	on the early morning hours of June the 12th, 1990 -- that
	21	was, what, approximately two to three o'clock a.m., is
	22	that correct?
	23	A	That's correct.
	24	Q	And that particular conversation was tape recorded,
	25	was it not?

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	1	A	That's correct.
	2	Q	Okay. And that tape has been lost, is that correct?
	3	A	That's correct.
	4	Q	And it was lost within the police department, is that
	5	correct?
	6	A	Yes, it was.
	7	Q	When was the last time you saw that particular tape?
	8	A	When I handed it to our detective division secretary.
	9	Q	Have you ever seen it since it has handed to the
	10	secretary in the department?
	11	A	No, sir, I have not.
	12	Q	And have you attempted to find that particular tape?
	13	A	Yes, we have.
	14	Q	Have you been able to find it?
	15	A	No, sir, I have not.
	16	Q	Have you ever had that happen before, sir?--
	17	A	No, sir, I have not.
	18	Q	Officer, you said, if I understood your testimony
	19	correctly, that this appeared to you to be more of a fight
	20	than anything else, a family fight. Were those your
	21	words?
	22	A	That's correct.
	23	Q	Officer, what you formed that opinion on was the fact
24	that you saw a sign of a struggle, isn't that correct?
25	A	Not necessarily a -- well, you have the signs of a

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	1	struggle because you have a person laying in the floor
	2	where the blood is, but the TV and mirror is something
	3	that is not necessarily in the struggle itself. That's
	4	something that was done either previous to the struggle --
	5	the fight where the lady ended up being the victim or it
	6	could have been done after.
	7	Q	Are you telling us, sir, that in your opinion it
	8	could not have been done during the struggle?
	9	A	No, sir, I don't think so.
	10	Q	Would you agree with me, sir, that people will
	11	sometimes do certain things out of frustration after
	12	they've done something?
	13	A	That's correct.
	14	Q	Would you agree with me, sir, that you have come
	15	across, in your experience, whether from academies or
	16	whatever, that certain intruders will sometimes ,break
	17	things out of frustration? Isn't that correct?
	18	A	Not unless it's vandalism.
	19	Q	I'm sorry.
	20	A	Not unless it's a vandalism. I haven't ever seen it
	21	in 15 years. Actually 18 years.
	22	Q	But you have heard about that and learned about that
	23	in particular schools, have you not?
	24	A	No, I have not.
	25	Q	Never have?

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	1	A	No, sir, I have not.
	2	Q	All right. Now, is there any way for you to tell us
	3	whether that, in your opinion, the TV was broken before or
	4	after?
	5	A No, I cannot.
	6	Q	And on what do you base the fact that it was not
	7	broken during the struggle, sir?
	8	A	Well, it's not something that the victim's head hit.
	9	The struggle appeared to be in the living area or in the
	10	den -- let me look here a minute. In the dining room and
	11	the kitchen area is the only place there really appeared
	12	to be a struggle.
	13	Q	Sir, let me ask you, if someone, for instance, swung
	14	at someone with something and missed them and hit the TV,
	15	couldn't that happen?
	16	A	It's possible. Sure it is.
	17	Q	So we can't eliminate that possibility, can we, sir?
	18	A	No, we cannot.
	19	Q	And that possibility certainly would e different
	20	than whether it was broken before or after the struggle?
	21	A	That's correct.
	22	Q	So you agree with me it could have been broken during
	23	the struggle?
	24	A	Okay. I'll agree with you.
	25	Q	All right. Did you ever take into consideration,

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	1	sir, in regard to this particular case, that someone,
	2	other than Steve Allen who knew Mrs. Allen, could have
	3	been involved in the struggle with her?
	4	A	That's correct. -
	5	Q	Did you take that into consideration?
	6	A	Yes, sir, we did.
	7	Q	Now, based upon the fact that you walked through the
	8	residence and you considered it as you walked through it
	9	in your own mind a family fight.
	10	A	Possibility.
	11	Q	That was the first thing that came to your mind,
	12	wasn't it?
	13	A	Yes, sir, it was.
	14	Q	So very, very early on then Steve became the suspect,
	15	did he not?
	16	A	Somewhat of a suspect. We still have a suspect out
	17	running around on the street because Mr. Allen had told us
	18	he had a man outside.
	19	Q	All right. But in Mr. Mason's mind, as you walk
	20	through the residence, it looks to you like a family
	21	fight, and at that point you begin to turn your thoughts
	22	to Steve Allen --
	23	A	That's correct.
	24	Q	Isn't that correct?
	25	A	Correct. We have two suspects instead of one.

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	1	Q	All right. And you arrived there at the scene at
	2	what time, sir?
	3	A	Approximately 9:15.
	4	Q	Well, you probably are mistaken on the time. You
	5	said 9:15.
	6	A	Correction, 10:15.
	7	Q	Probably misspoke yourself. So if you arrive there
	8	at 10:15 then we certainly know that probably by your walk
	9	through by 10:30 that Steve Allen has become a suspect,
	10	isn't that correct?
	11	A	That's correct.
	12	Q	Wouldn't you agree with me, sir, at that point in
	13	time in Mr. Mason's mind Steve Allen is, to you, the prime
	14	suspect?
	15	A	Not necessarily. We're still looking at the man
	16	outside on the street.
	17	Q	But at that point in time when you're still looking
	18	still your primary thought is it's a family fight?
	19	A	That's correct. But we still have the broken glass
	20	showing that we may of had a burglary that resulted in a
	21	fight or maybe even a man just came in and killed her, and
	22	we still have the suspect out on the street.
	23	Q	Now, you issued a report in regard to this particular
	24	matter, didn't you?
	25	A	That's correct.

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	1	Q	And in that particular report you talked about that
	2	you felt like the glass that was broken out of the door
	3	was suspicious, did you not?
	4	A	That's correct.
	5	Q	And you felt that it was suspicious because of the
	6	location of the glass, isn't that correct?
	7	A	That's correct.
	8	Q	And by the location of the glass you mean that it was
	9	up on the -- some of the glass was up on the brick?
	10	A	There was some on the brick, a piece or two around
	11	the fireplace and over against the east wall of the house
	12	instead of towards the north of the residence if the door
	13	had been closed.
	14	Q	And this particular opinion that you form in regard
	15	to the glass, was that formed also on your walk through,
	16	sir?
	17	A	I don't know if it was exactly on the walk through or
	18	when I came back and started looking at it later on.
	19	Q	But it's fair to say it was formed early on?
	20	A	Yes, that's correct.
	21	Q	If you got there at 10:15 you formed that opinion,
	22	would it be fair to say, on or before eleven o'clock?
	23	A	No, sir. I'd say somewhere between probably 11:30
	24	and midnight.
	25	Q	All right. Within two hours after you arrived?

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	1	A	That's correct.
	2	Q	Now, I noticed in your report that -- strike that.
	3	noticed that there was a purse that was checked. Were you
	4	there when the purse was checked?
	5	A	I was standing beside Detective Pottroff when he
	6	checked it.
	7	Q	Did you make any notes in regard to that particular
	8	purse?
	9	A	No, I did not. Everything appeared to be fine and
	10	had not been messed with in it as far as we could tell.
	11	Q	I'm sorry. I misunderstood you.
	12	A	Everything appeared to be fine in the purse. Nothing
	13	had been taken. The credit cards, there was cash in it
	14	and everything appeared to still be there as far as we
	15	knew.
	16	Q	Did you ever go out and check the fence? I think you
	17	did, did you not, out in the northeast corner?
	18	A	Yes, I did.
	19	Q	And you walked across the yard on the way out there,
	20	did you not?
	21	A	Yes, I did.
	22	Q	And that would have been at approximately, what,
	23	eleven o'clock?
	24	A	I would say probably after midnight, somewhere after
	25	twelve.

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	1	Q	Do you know if it was after or before midnight?
	2	A	I'd say it was after twelve. It was later on in the
	3	evening before I went outside.
	4	Q	You know that Officer Davis was out there, don't you.
	5	A	I knew he had been out there.
	6	Q	And you know that Officer Benton was out there.
	7	A	I didn't know for sure where Tony was.
	8	Q	Okay. Were there some other people that walked out
	9	there from the house?
	10	A	I don't know who all was outside.
	11	Q	Now, you did not keep any type of a crime scene log,
	12	did you, sir?
	13	A	No, I did not.
	14	Q	When you arrived there, who was in the house, sir?
	15	A	Captain Evans, Captain Bevard, Sheriff Silver and
	16	Lieutenant Davis. My report's got if there's anybody
	17	else. I think that's everybody.
	18	Q	How about Mr. Grayson? -
	19	A	Officer Grayson was standing outside the garage. He
	20	was not in the house.
	21	Q	If I handed you a copy of your report would it help
	22	you some?
	23	A	Sure.
	24	Q	Okay.
	25	A	And ambulance personnel and fire department personnel

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	1	were getting Mrs. Allen.
	2	Q	I'm sorry. I didn't understand you.
	3	A	The ambulance personnel and the fire department
	4	personnel were -- I don't remember if they were actually
	5	in the house or starting out the door with Sandra Allen at
	6	that time.
	7	Q	Let me refer you to the report for just a minute.
	8	When you got there you noticed that there was some books
	9	down, were there not?
	10	A	Yes, sir, there was.
	11	Q	And did you also notice, sir, that those books also
	12	appeared to have blood on them, did they not?
	13	A	I didn't notice at that time.
	14	Q	Did you notice that at a later point in time?
	15	A	No, I did not.
	16	Q	Did anyone notice that that you're aware of? Has
	17	that come to your attention?
	18	A	No, sir, it has not.
	19	Q	Well, officer, if the books were down and they had
	20	blood on them, what would that tell you?
	21	A	It could have been blood splatter(sic) because the
	22	books were just inside the doorway going from the kitchen
	23	to the den.
	24	Q	Wouldn't that tell you also, sir, that there was a
	25	struggle prior to the blood being splattered off?


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	1			MR. CORGAN: Calls for speculation on the
	2	part of the witness.
	3			MR. CARLSON: From his experience.
	4			THE COURT: You may answer.
	5	A	Not necessarily.
	6	Q  (By Mr. Carlson) Well, can you tell me what you
	7	formed that opinion on, not necessarily, sir?
	8	A	There didn't appear to be a struggle in the den
	9	itself. The books were close enough to where the body and
	10	blood were on the floor that blood splatter(sic) could
	11	have gotten on those books, if there was blood on the
	12	books.
	13	Q	All right. Well, let me see if I can nail it down a
	14	little bit. We know that, don't we, sir, that if there's
	15	blood spatter on the books the books were for sure down at
	16	the time that the blood struck?
	17	A	If there was blood on it, probably so, yes.
	18	Q	I'm sorry.
	19	A	If there was blood on the books probably so.
	20	Q	All right. And that would tend to indicate to us,
	21	sir, from your experience, would it not, that certainly
	22	the books were down before Mrs. Allen?
	23	A	Possibly.
	24	Q	Now, is there any reason that you say possibly and
	25	not probably?

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	1	A	You could still bet blood on the books if they were
	2	on the shelf from their location. It would depend upon
	3	where the blood was at on the books.
	4	Q	All right. Did you notice, sir, whether there was
	5	some blood on the inside of the books?
	6	A	I didn't notice any on the books in the den. I
	7	didn't see any blood on them at all.
	8	Q	Well, would you agree with me, sir, if there was
	9	blood on the insides of the books, that certainly the
	10	books would have been down at the time that Mrs. Allen
	11	was injured and killed?
	12 	A	Possibly it would have been if that book was opened
	13	on the shelf or not. There may have been something
	14	holding the book open on that particular page. It could
	15	have got in there that way.
	16	Q	Supposing there were, just for this line of
	17	questioning, supposing there were numerous books that were
	18	opened and there was blood spattered on them. Would you
	19	agree with me, sir, that in all probability those books
	20	were down on the floor at the time that Mrs. Allen
	21	received those blows?
	22	A	Could be.
	23	Q	Well, but I'm saying probably. Would you not agree
	24	with probably?
	25	A	All right. Probably.

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	1	Q	Let me hand you, sir, one of your crime scene
	2	photographs, which has been marked as photograph number
	3	34.
	4	A	That's not my photograph.
	5	Q	Well, I'm sorry. A crime scene photograph. I didn't
	6	mean yours personally but I meant in this investigation.
	7	Have you see those?
	8	A	No, I have not. I've seen -- well, I think I've seen
	9	some of them. I don't remember if I went through all of
	10	them or not. You're talking about these?
	11	Q	Yes.
	12	A	I don't think I've seen all of them.
	13	Q	You've not seen the crime scene photographs?
	14	A	Not these. I've seen mine and I've seen parts of
	15	these.
	16	Q	Well, are you familiar with that photograph?
	17	A	I'm familiar with that scene. I'll say it like that.
	18	Q	Would you hold that up and show that to the ladies
	19	and gentlemen of the jury, what you're talking about. And
	20	it appears that there are books that are down, does it
	21	not?
	22	A	Yes, it does.
	23	Q	And these photographs are in evidence. You were here
	24	when Mr. Franchini put those in evidence?
	25	A	That's correct.

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	1	Q	And these were taken and are suppose to be
	2	representative of what was found at the scene, is that
	3	correct?
	4	A	That's correct.
	5	Q	And what I have reference to, sir, is when point to
	6	these books that are down here is that there's blood
	7	spattered on them and the ones that are opened. That's
	8	what we're talking about.
	9	A	Okay.
	10	Q	You understand my line of questioning?
	11	A	Yes, sir.
	12	Q	Okay. Thank you.
	13	A	Thank you.
	14	Q	Now, you seized certain types of evidence there in
	15	the house, correct?
	16	A	Correct.
	17	Q	All right. And you took some glass out of the patio
	18	door?
	19	A	Detective Pottroff did.
	20	Q	You were there with him?
	21	A	Yes, sir.
	22	Q	And did -- that was taped, was it not?
	23	A	That's correct.
	24	Q	And can you tell me which side the tape was put on?
	25	A	The tape was on the inside of the door or the inside

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250
	1	of the glass.
	2	Q	Did you use any type of a light yourself, powerful
	3	light, to conduct any search inside the house, sir?
	4	A	No, sir. Not inside the house.
	5	Q	Did you yourself use any kind of magnifying mechanism
	6	to conduct a search inside the house, sir?
	7	A	No, sir, I did not.
	8	Q	Now, you stated that you came in contact with the
	9	clothes of Steve Allen, correct?
	10	A	Yes, sir.
	11	Q	You had no contact with the hammer, am I to
	12	understand that?
	13	A	No, I did not ever handle the hammer.
	14	Q	That was -- Mr. Otte was the one that retrieved the
	15	hammer, is that correct?
	16	A	That's correct.
	17	Q	Now, you said that you could not have searched the
	18	house or the attic. Was that your -- was that my
	19	understanding of what you said?	
	20	A	That's correct.
	21	Q	You could not have searched it had Steve not
	22	voluntarily given you a consent to search, isn't that
	23	correct?
	24	A	Either with a consent to search or a search warrant.
	25	Q	And he did give you a voluntary consent, isn't that

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251
	1	correct?
	2	A	That's correct.
	3	Q	Could you give me, sir, a list of those particular
	4	items, since you're the chief investigating officer in
	5	this case on behalf of the local area, of those particular
	6	items which law enforcement considers the murder weapon?
	7	A	Can you restate your' question, please?
	8	Q	Give me a list, sir, since you're the chief
	9	investigating officer, of those items which you consider
	10	the murder weapon.
	11	A	Mr. Otte --
	12			MR. CORGAN: Judge, we'd object to the form
	13	of the question.
	14			THE COURT: Do you understand the question?
	15			THE WITNESS: Yes, sir.
	16			THE COURT: You may answer.
	17	A	Mr. Otte has the evidence list on that since the
	18	murder weapon is what he took out of the attic.
	19	Q	(By Mr. Carlson) Am I to understand that there's
	20	only one item that you consider the murder weapon?
	21	A	Yes, there is.
	22	Q	And that particular item would be the hammer, is that
	23	correct?
	24	A	That's correct.
	25	Q	And if I am to assume for a minute that the hammer is

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	1	not the murder weapon then law enforcement has no items in
	2	their possession, nor do they have any items which they're
	3	holding, which they consider the murder weapon, correct?
	4	A	That's correct.
	5	Q	Thank you, sir.
	6			MR. CARLSON: That's all we have.
	7			THE COURT:· Any redirect?
	8	-------------------------------------------------------------
	9			REDIRECT EXAMINATION
	10	BY MR. CORGAN:
	11	Q	Mr. Mason, in regard to those books that were down,
	12	do you know how they got down?
	13	A	No, sir, I do not.
	14	Q	Could have gotten down through a struggle?
	15	A	That's correct.
	16	Q	They could have gotten down someone making it appear
	17	to be a struggle?
	18	A	That's correct.
	19	Q	You just can't tell us how they got down.
	20	A	That's correct.
	21	Q	Now, were you involved in actually processing the
	22	house?
	23	A	No, I was not.
	24	Q	Who was responsible for that?
	25	A	Agent Franchini and Steve Gardella.

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	1	Q	I believe you said that you didn't use any type of
	2	light in regard to looking around the inside of the house
	3	and processing that, is that correct?
	4	A	That's correct.
	5	Q	Did you use a light to do anything in regard to
	6	looking at the scene in any manner?
	7	A	I used a flashlight out on the patio which is outside
	8	the residence on the east side of the house to check for
	9	footprints or anything that would look like somebody came
	10	out the back door and run across the patio out into the
	11	yard.
	12	Q	And why did you do that?
	13	A	Looking to see if we had somebody that had come out
	14	the patio from the den and ran out across the yard.
	15			MR. CORGAN: I believe that's all.
	16			MR. CARLSON: That's all we have at this
	17	point, Your Honor.
	18			THE COURT: Step down. Recess for lunch.
	19	Recess until 1:30. Recess until 1:30. Don't discuss the
	20	case.
	21			(THE NOON RECESS WAS HAD. AFTER WHICH THE
	22			FOLLOWING PROCEEDINGS WERE HAD IN OPEN
	23			COURT:)
	24			THE COURT: All right. The jury's back
	25	present. Call your next witness for the state.

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	1			MR. CORGAN: Your Honor, the state, at this
	2	time, would call as its next witness Mr. Jim Otte. Your
	3	Honor, before we do that, could we tell the jury about the
	4	additional exhibits and explain to them what we've done in
	5	that regard.
	6			THE COURT: If you want to just make that
	7	offer.
	8			MR. CORGAN: At this time, Judge, we would
	9	offer what's been marked as State's Exhibit No. 51. This
	10	would be a photocopy of the transparency crime scene with
	11	the numbers testified to by Mr. Franchini copies to that.
	12	We would make that offer at this time.
	13			MR. CARLSON: We have no objection.
	14			THE COURT: 51 allowed.
	15			MR. CORGAN: We'd also offer State's
	16	Exhibit No. 52. That would be a copy of the evidence list
	17	that Mr. Franchini testified to of the numbers of the
	18	items corresponding to the numbers on State's Exhibit No.
	19	51.
	20			MR. CARLSON: No objection.
	21			THE COURT: State 52 allowed.
	22	-----------------------------------------------------------
	23				JAMES OTTE
	24	having been first duly sworn to tell the truth, the whole
	25	truth, and nothing but the truth, testified as follows:

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lh1998-99, 2000