6.Joanne Maltese — Direct/Cross
220 linesJUDGE WHEELER: Thank you, sir. You are free to go. The State may call its next witness.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: The State calls JoAnne Maltese.
JUDGE WHEELER: JoAnne Maltese, please.
(Pause. )
JUDGE WHEELER: Good morning. Before you have a seat, we're going to swear you in. Please raise your right hand and respond to the clerk.
whereupon, JOANNE MALTESE was called as a witness, having been first duly sworn, was examined and testified as follows:
JUDGE WHEELER: Thank you. Please have a seat.
DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MS. CAPPLEMAN:
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Please introduce yourself and spell your name.
JOANNE MALTESE: JoAnne Maltese, J-O-A-N-N-E, Maltese, M-A-L-T-E-S-E.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Ms. Maltese, were you ever employed with the Tallahassee Police Department?
JOANNE MALTESE: Yes, I was.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: when was that?
JOANNE MALTESE: From 1991 to 2017.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And did you retire from the Tallahassee Police Department?
JOANNE MALTESE: Yes, I did.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Congratulations. what were your duties when you were working there? And let's specifically refer to 2014.
JOANNE MALTESE: 2014, I was a forensic specialist at the Tallahassee Police Department. My duties were documentation, collection, and preservation of evidence from a crime scene.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And were you trained specifically to do those tasks?
JOANNE MALTESE: Yes, I was.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: what sort of training do you have for those tasks?
JOANNE MALTESE: Over 1,500 hours of specialized crime scene training to include photography, documentation, advanced crime scene from Miami-Dade, several courses referring to documentation, collection, as well as I taught at the Pat Thomas Law Enforcement Academy and at Tallahassee Police Department in crime scene.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And when you arrived at this particular scene on Trescott Drive -- I'm not even sure I mentioned what I was talking about yet -- Trescott Drive, July 18th, 2014, were you asked to process the scene involving a vehicle?
JOANNE MALTESE: Yes, I was.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: I'm going to show you some photographs. I've marked these as 9 through 19. Just take a look through all of them, and let me know when you're done.
Are these all fair and accurate photos of the crime scene that you documented on July 18th, 2014?
JOANNE MALTESE: Yes, they are.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Judge, at this time I would ask to move into evidence State's 11 through 19.
JUDGE WHEELER: Any objection?
MR. DECOSTE: No objection.
JUDGE WHEELER: They will be admitted as State's 11 through 19.
(State's Exhibits 11 through 19 received in evidence.)
MS. CAPPLEMAN: May I publish?
JUDGE WHEELER: You may.
BY MS. CAPPLEMAN:
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. So, Ms. Maltese, I'm showing you -- I'm actually going to start with State's Exhibit 7. Is this the scene as you observed it?
JOANNE MALTESE: Yes, it is.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. And when you arrived at the scene, was the victim still in the vehicle, or had he been removed by EMS?
JOANNE MALTESE: He had been removed.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: when you arrived, were the doors to the vehicle open or closed?
JOANNE MALTESE: Some were opened, and one was ajar.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. So similar to how we are seeing them here in State's 9?
JOANNE MALTESE: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. And was that for the purpose of removing the victim to render medical treatment?
JOANNE MALTESE: I believe so.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: State's Exhibit 10, did you document some items of evidence on the garage floor?
JOANNE MALTESE: Yes, I did.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: what items were those?
JOANNE MALTESE: It was a broken eyeglass frame and a phone and some glass.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: what are we looking at here in State's 11?
JOANNE MALTESE: The rear passenger seat with a child's car seat and some shoes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And the children were not on scene when you were there; is that correct?
JOANNE MALTESE: Correct. They were not on scene.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: State's Exhibit 12, what does this show?
JOANNE MALTESE: A broken eyeglass frame and glass on the floor of the garage.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Publishing State's 13. what does this one show?
JOANNE MALTESE: This is actually one of the glasses -- the glass pieces from the opticals -- from the eyeglass that was on the driver's passenger floorboard.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: So there was plenty of broken glass both inside and outside the vehicle?
JOANNE MALTESE: Yes, and there was broken glass as well.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. And the only glass that appeared to be broken, was that the driver's side window?
JOANNE MALTESE: Yes, the driver's window.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: State's Exhibit 14, where was this item removed from?
JOANNE MALTESE: This was removed from the glove box of the vehicle.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. This appeared to be undisturbed?
JOANNE MALTESE: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. So nobody went through the glove box, from what you could tell?
JOANNE MALTESE: Correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: State's Exhibit 15, is this a fair and accurate photo of the contents of the wallet?
JOANNE MALTESE: Yes, it is.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And did the identification in the wallet indicate whose wallet that was?
JOANNE MALTESE: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And whose wallet was it?
JOANNE MALTESE: Mr. Markel. Daniel Markel.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. State's Exhibit 16, did you take this photo?
JOANNE MALTESE: Yes, I did.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: what does this show?
JOANNE MALTESE: This is the hole that was in the driver's window.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. Consistent with a bullet hole?
JOANNE MALTESE: Yes, it is.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: State's Exhibit 17. Is this just a photo of that same hole from the other side?
JOANNE MALTESE: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: As part of your duties there on that scene, did you collect any samples for the purpose of testing for DNA?
JOANNE MALTESE: Yes, I did.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: what sort of samples did you collect for that purpose?
JOANNE MALTESE: I collected samples from all of the interior and exterior door handles of the vehicle as well as the door handle that goes from the garage into the house.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. And is the purpose of that to see if there is any DNA foreign to Dan Markel that might give us a hint as to who did this?
JOANNE MALTESE: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And when you say you "collected samples," could you describe that process for the jurors?
JOANNE MALTESE: Yes. The process for collecting touch DNA is you will use a sterile swab and put a drop of sterile water on it and then rub the swab on the surface to collect any DNA that might be there.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. And those swabs would be tested by you for the presence of DNA or by someone else?
JOANNE MALTESE: No, they would be sent off to a lab.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. Judge, at this time I would ask the Court to read the stipulation regarding the DNA evidence.
JUDGE WHEELER: All right. I'm going to read to you an instruction in regards to stipulations and then a stipulation that the parties have reached.
when parties agree that certain facts are true, that is called a stipulation of fact. You must accept stipulated facts as having been proven. However, the significance of these facts, as with all facts, is for you to decide.
In this case, the stipulated fact that you must accept as true is: Ms. Kerri RoSana, a crime laboratory analyst in the biology section at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, conducted DNA testing in this case and reported the following results.
The swabs collected from crime scene by JoAnne Maltese were tested for the presence of DNA. Ms. Rosana analyzed the swabs and opined that due to the limited nature of the DNA results obtained from the swabs, the data was not interpretable, meaning that there was not enough information present to make an identification.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Thank you, Your Honor.
BY MS. CAPPLEMAN:
MS. CAPPLEMAN: what about fingerprint evidence? Did you make any effort to locate any fingerprint evidence on this scene?
JOANNE MALTESE: Yes. I processed the entire outside of the vehicle.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: with what results?
JOANNE MALTESE: There was one partial fingerprint lifted from the exterior rear passenger doorframe -- so the frame around the rear passenger door -- but it was determined to be not of +value for comparison purposes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: So similar to the DNA, not enough material there -- or evidence there to make a determination?
JOANNE MALTESE: Correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And what about casings? Could you explain to the jury what a casing is?
JOANNE MALTESE: In a bullet, you have the casing and the projectile. The projectile is what comes out of the end of the gun, and the casing is what's left behind. It's either left in the gun if it's a revolver or expelled if it's some other type of gun.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. And were there any casings present on this crime scene?
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Could that be consistent with the weapon being a revolver, as you just explained?
JOANNE MALTESE: Yes, it could.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Because in a revolver, where do the casings end up?
JOANNE MALTESE: Its casings would stay in the round chamber where the bullets were initially placed. They stay in the gun.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. And what about projectiles? You talk about the part of the bullet that is expelled out to the target. Were there any projectiles found at the scene?
JOANNE MALTESE: No, there was not.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: we talked about the condition of the car. I want to show you State's Exhibit 128 -- strike 128.
All right. I'm going to show you State's 121, 120. This is 119, 122, 125 -- we'll get to that later, but let's go ahead and identify 125 and 126 also. This one is 124. All right. So let's forget about 125 and 126. Are 119 -- and I didn't show you 123 yet. Let's look at that one.
Are 119 through 124 -- that was a mess; so let me repeat it -- 119 through 124 all items that you collected from this crime scene?
JOANNE MALTESE: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And do they all appear to be in the same or substantially the same condition as when you collected them?
JOANNE MALTESE: Yes, they are.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Judge, I would ask to move those items into evidence at this time, 119 through 124.
JUDGE WHEELER: Any objection to 119 to 124?
MR. DECOSTE: No, Your Honor.
JUDGE WHEELER: Thank you. They will be admitted.
(State's Exhibits 119 through 124 received in evidence.)
MS. CAPPLEMAN: May I publish, Your Honor?
JUDGE WHEELER: Yes.
BY MS. CAPPLEMAN:
MS. CAPPLEMAN: So what is 120?
JOANNE MALTESE: It is a broken eyeglass frame.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. And I don't know if we can see this well, but is the condition of the frame consistent with the bullet having actually gone through the eyeglass frame?
JOANNE MALTESE: It was damaged by something.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And State's 120, is this the lens that you -- we looked at a photograph of earlier?
JOANNE MALTESE: Correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: This one is 119. would this be the other half of that eyeglass frame?
JOANNE MALTESE: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: 122, what is this item?
JOANNE MALTESE: It is a piece of eyeglass optical -- actual glass from an eyeglass.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: where was this item located? I'll show you the exhibit again.
JOANNE MALTESE: The driver's front seat; so it was on the driver's front seat.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. And 123, is this the wallet that we saw photographs of?
JOANNE MALTESE: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And 124 -- what is 124?
JOANNE MALTESE: 124 is the actual glass collected from the driver's door.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: How were you able to collect this piece of broken glass?
JOANNE MALTESE: I used clear tape and put strips of tape on the glass both inside and outside so it would remain intact as I took it out.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. As part of your duties, did you also photograph wendi Adelson's vehicle?
JOANNE MALTESE: Yes, I did.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: where did you go to do that?
JOANNE MALTESE: Roughly after 3:00 p.m. the same day at the Tallahassee Police Department.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. I'm approaching with State's Exhibits 18 through 21. Take a moment and look through those.
Do you recognize those exhibits?
JOANNE MALTESE: Yes, I do.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Are those fair and accurate photographs of wendi Adelson's vehicle as it appeared that day?
JOANNE MALTESE: Yes, it is.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. Judge, at this time I'd ask to introduce State's Exhibits 18 through 21.
JUDGE WHEELER: Any objection?
MR. DECOSTE: No objection.
JUDGE WHEELER: They will be admitted as 18 through 21.
(State's Exhibits 18 through 21 received in evidence.)
MS. CAPPLEMAN: May I publish?
JUDGE WHEELER: You may.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: I'm publishing 18. I'm publishing 19. I'm publishing State's Exhibit 20.
BY MS. CAPPLEMAN:
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Ms. Maltese, was this bottle of Bulleit Bourbon found in Ms. Adelson's vehicle when you photographed the vehicle?
JOANNE MALTESE: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And the receipt for the bourbon, was that present in the vehicle as well?
JOANNE MALTESE: Yes, it was.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. And I'll show you State's Exhibit 21. Can you tell from the receipt when the date and time was that this bourbon was purchased?
JOANNE MALTESE: It was purchased from ABC Liquors 7-18 of 2014 at 12:49 p.m.; so just after noon.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. Thank you. Ms. Maltese, were you also called upon to go to the Tallahassee Memorial Hospital?
JOANNE MALTESE: Yes, I was.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: what were you asked to do at the hospital?
JOANNE MALTESE: Document and collect.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Document and collect what?
JOANNE MALTESE: Document clothing from Mr. Markel and also photograph injuries.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. Did you photograph Mr. Markel?
JOANNE MALTESE: I photographed some injuries; yes, I did.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And was he pronounced deceased at this time?
JOANNE MALTESE: I do not believe he was deceased at the time.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: I'm going to show you what I've marked as State's Exhibits 22 through 26 -- I'm sorry -- 22 through 24; so 22, 23, and 24. Do you recognize these exhibits?
JOANNE MALTESE: Yes, I do.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Are they fair and accurate photos of -- or copies of photos you took in reference to this case?
JOANNE MALTESE: Yes, they are.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Do they fairly and actually capture the injuries to Dan Markel that you observed at that time?
JOANNE MALTESE: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Judge, at this time I'd ask to move into evidence 22 through 24.
MR. DECOSTE: No objection.
JUDGE WHEELER: All right. No objection.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: May I publish?
JUDGE WHEELER: Yes. They will be admitted.
(State's Exhibits 22 through 24 received in evidence.)
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And for everyone watching, these are going to be gruesome photos.
BY MS. CAPPLEMAN:
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. State's 22, is this how Mr. Markel appeared when you went to see him in the hospital?
JOANNE MALTESE: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And what was the date and time that this photo was taken? Approximately is fine.
JOANNE MALTESE: I arrived at the hospital at 12:20 p.m.; so just after noon, same day. So this would have been taken probably within 15 minutes after arriving.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And what does State's Exhibit 23 show?
JOANNE MALTESE: There is a dark mark on his forearm -- on the outer side of his forearm which I believe to be stippling.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: what is “stippling"?
JOANNE MALTESE: Stippling is going to be a mark on your skin when you're in close contact to a gun going off. And what it will do is the gunshot residue or the gunpowder will stain or tattoo your skin.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And State's Exhibit 24, is that just a close-up of the stippling you observed?
JOANNE MALTESE: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: No further questions, Your Honor.
JUDGE WHEELER: Cross-examination?
MR. DECOSTE: Yes, briefly, Your Honor. tI'11 do without the podium.
CROSS- EXAMINATION BY MR. DECOSTE:
MR. DECOSTE: Good morning. How are you?
JOANNE MALTESE: Good.
MR. DECOSTE: I'm going to reference you back to State's 23 and 24. I'll start out with 23. And correct me if I'm wrong; 24 is just focusing in on what you're referring to as stippling?
JOANNE MALTESE: Yes.
MR. DECOSTE: Knowing what you know about the scene, about the car, the positioning of Professor Markel, would this be consistent with him raising his arm when he was getting shot?
JOANNE MALTESE: Yes.
MR. DECOSTE: Nothing further. Thank you. Good seeing you.
JUDGE WHEELER: All right. Any redirect?
MS. CAPPLEMAN: No, Your Honor.
JUDGE WHEELER: We can excuse the witness?
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Yes, sir.
JUDGE WHEELER: Thank you, ma'am. You are free to go.
All right. Ms. Cappleman, considering the timing of your next witness, is this a good time to break?
MS. CAPPLEMAN: My preference would be to do one more, but I will, of course, yield to whatever you wish.
JUDGE WHEELER: All right. It won't be any longer than 15, 20 minutes? 30 minutes at the most?
MS. CAPPLEMAN: 30, yes.
JUDGE WHEELER: All right. we will do one more witness then, if your witness is ready and available at this point.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Yes, sir.
JUDGE WHEELER: All right. Ma'am, you are excused. Thank you.
JOANNE MALTESE: Thank you.