William Kornegay — Direct
80 linesMS. CAPPLEMAN: State calls William Kornegay.
JUDGE HANKINSON: Come on up here, please. Raise your right hand.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Please introduce yourself and spell your last name.
WILLIAM KORNEGAY: My name is William Kornegay, K-O-R-N-E-G-A-Y, and I'm a forensic specialist with the City of Tallahassee.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: How long have you been with TPD?
WILLIAM KORNEGAY: Approximately 24 years.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And have you always been a forensic specialist?
WILLIAM KORNEGAY: With the city, correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: What are your duties as a forensic specialist?
WILLIAM KORNEGAY: Document crime scenes, collect evidence, preserve evidence, and process evidence.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Did you assist Joanne Maltese in the collection of evidence in reference to a scene on Trescott Drive on July 18th, 2014?
WILLIAM KORNEGAY: Yes, ma'am.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And what time did you arrive at the crime scene?
WILLIAM KORNEGAY: 12 o'clock.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: What was the status of the forensic examination at the time that you arrived?
WILLIAM KORNEGAY: It had already been in progress when I arrived, and I believe it was pretty much — well, it's gone through its process, and I was at the tail end of it.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay. What role did you have at the scene as far as processing items or collecting?
WILLIAM KORNEGAY: At that scene, I assisted Ms. Maltese with processing a vehicle that was in the garage for latent prints, and then basically doing an eye search on the scene for other evidence.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. Did you locate any fingerprints?
WILLIAM KORNEGAY: No, ma'am.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. Did you — you put the cart a little bit before the horse on this, but did you swab the doorknobs for potential DNA?
WILLIAM KORNEGAY: No, ma'am.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Was Joanne Maltese responsible for doing that?
WILLIAM KORNEGAY: She was the primary, yes, ma'am.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Did you note whether or not the doors were locked to the residence?
WILLIAM KORNEGAY: I don't believe I noted.
WILLIAM KORNEGAY: At that particular time, I didn't have any involvement with the residence inside.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: You did not go inside?
WILLIAM KORNEGAY: I believe there might have been an open door in the garage, but I don't remember anything that was processed inside the house.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. By the time you arrived at the crime scene, the door to the garage was open, meaning access to the house?
WILLIAM KORNEGAY: I believe it was.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay. Did you look for casings at the crime scene?
WILLIAM KORNEGAY: I did.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And was part of your job to look around the yard area, the driveway area, for the presence of casings?
WILLIAM KORNEGAY: Correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Also in the garage?
WILLIAM KORNEGAY: I looked as much as I could within the scene, yes, ma'am.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. Did you find any?
WILLIAM KORNEGAY: No, ma'am.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Are you familiar with firearms?
WILLIAM KORNEGAY: I am.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: What are the possible explanations, assuming a firearm was fired, for why there would not be the presence of casings?
WILLIAM KORNEGAY: Could be — it could be a revolver. It could be a semi-automatic that could malfunction.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. Why would a revolver not produce a casing?
WILLIAM KORNEGAY: They would have to be manually ejected from the weapon.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. So when a revolver is fired, the casing does not eject?
WILLIAM KORNEGAY: Not automatically.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay. And a semi-automatic does eject a casing?
WILLIAM KORNEGAY: Correct, if it functions correctly.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. And a third scenario that you didn't suggest is somebody could have picked them up.
WILLIAM KORNEGAY: That's the third one, yes, ma'am.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. Did you attend the autopsy in this case?
WILLIAM KORNEGAY: Yes, ma'am, I did.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Did you collect any items of evidence from the autopsy?
WILLIAM KORNEGAY: I did.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: I'm going to show you what I've marked as the
WILLIAM KORNEGAY: Packaging is our packaging, the handwriting my handwriting, and the seal that's on the envelope packaging is my seal with my initials and three digits.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And do the items appear to be in the same or substantially the same condition as when you encountered them at the autopsy?
WILLIAM KORNEGAY: Yes, ma'am.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: What are these items?
WILLIAM KORNEGAY: They are, my understanding, projectiles from a handgun.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay. And from where were these items collected?
WILLIAM KORNEGAY: These were actually received from Dr. Clark, who removed them from the victim.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: From the victim's body?
WILLIAM KORNEGAY: Yes, ma'am.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: At this time I'd ask to move into evidence 167 and 168.
JUDGE HANKINSON: Any objections?
MR. ZANGENEH: None from Mr. Garcia.
MR. DECOSTE: No objection.
JUDGE HANKINSON: It will be admitted to evidence.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: 167 and 168.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: One moment, please.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: No further questions.
JUDGE HANKINSON: Cross?
MR. ZANGENEH: None from Mr. Garcia.
MR. DECOSTE: No cross, Your Honor.
JUDGE HANKINSON: All right. Any further questions at this point?
JUDGE HANKINSON: All right. If not, you can step down. Do we need to keep him further?
MS. CAPPLEMAN: No, sir.
JUDGE HANKINSON: All right, you're excused. Thank you for being here. Please go about your business.