A Darkness More Than Night - Michael Connelly [81]
“Were those pubic hairs from eight different people?”
“No, the lab tests identified them as coming from the same unknown person.”
“And what did this indicate to you?”
“That the victim likely had sexual relations with someone between the time of her last bathing and her death.”
Langwiser looked down at her notes.
“Was there any other hair evidence collected on the victim or at the scene of the crime, Detective?”
Bosch turned a page in the murder book.
“Yes, a single strand of hair measuring two and one half inches long was found entangled on the clasp of a gold necklace the victim wore around her neck. The clasp was located at the back of the victim’s neck. This, too, was identified during lab analysis as coming from someone other than the victim.”
“Going back for a moment to the pubic hair. Were there any other indications or evidence collected from the body or the crime scene indicating the victim had engaged in sexual relations in the time between bathing and her death?
“No, there wasn’t. No semen was collected from the vagina.”
“Is there a conflict between that and the finding of the pubic hair?”
“No conflict. It was simply an indication that a condom could have been used during the sex act.”
“Okay, moving on, Detective. Fingerprints. You mentioned fingerprints were found in the house. Please tell us about that area of the investigation.”
Bosch turned to the fingerprint report in the binder. “There were a total of sixty-eight exemplars of fingerprints gathered inside the house where the victim was found. The victim and her roommate accounted for fifty-two of these. It was determined that the remaining sixteen were left by a total of seven people.”
“And who were these people?”
Bosch read the list of names from the binder. Through questioning from Langwiser he explained who each person was and how the detectives traced down when and why they had been in the house. They were friends of the roommates as well as family members, a former boyfriend and a prior date. The prosecution team knew that the defense would attempt to go to town on the prints, using them as red herrings to bait the jury away from the facts of the case. So the testimony moved slowly as Bosch tediously explained the location and origin of each fingerprint found and identified in the house. He ended with testimony about a full set of fingerprints found on the headboard of the bed in which the victim was found. He and Langwiser knew that these were the prints that Fowkkes would get the most yardage out of, so Langwiser attempted to minimize the potential damage by having it revealed during her examination of the witness.
“How far from the victim’s body were these prints located?”
Bosch looked at the report in the binder.
“Two point three feet.”
“Exactly where on the headboard?”
“On the outside facing, between the headboard and the wall.”
“Was there a lot of space there?”
“About two inches.”
“How would someone get their fingerprints there?”
Fowkkes objected, saying it was outside Bosch’s realm of expertise to determine how a set of fingerprints got anywhere, but the judge allowed the question.
“Only two ways I can think of,” Bosch answered. “They got there when the bed was not pushed quite up to the wall. Or the person who left the prints had reached their fingers through the opening in the slats of the headboard and left them while holding onto that particular cross board.”
Langwiser introduced a photo taken by a fingerprint technician as an exhibit and it was shown to the jury.
“To accomplish the latter explanation you offered, the person would have to be lying in the bed, would he not?”
“It would seem that way.”
“Face down?”
“Yes.”
Fowkkes stood to object but the judge sustained it before the lawyer uttered a word.
“You are going too far afield with suppositions, Ms. Langwiser. Move on.”
“Yes, Your Honor.”
She referred to her pad for a moment.
“This print on the victim’s bed, didn’t that make you think the person who left it should be considered a prime suspect?”
“Not initially. It is impossible to tell