Expert witness · Tallahassee Police Department

Joanne Maltese

Retired TPD forensic specialist who documented the Trescott Drive crime scene and testified to physical evidence, casing absence, and close-range stippling across all three trials.

Appeared Magbanua Retrial Charlie Adelson Donna Adelson

217 lines · 6 appearances · 2 mentions · 3 trials

About

Maltese is the primary archive source for the physical state of the Trescott Drive crime scene on July 18, 2014, providing chain-of-custody foundation for physical exhibits, the evidentiary basis for the revolver inference, the robbery-exclusion finding, and the close-range discharge observation across all three trial records.

Across Trials

Maltese's role remained structurally identical across all three trials: prosecution crime-scene documentation witness presenting the same core exhibit set and the same foundational observations about casing absence, stippling, and the intact wallet. The clearest cross-trial delta is the cross-examination trajectory. In Trial 1, DeCoste limited his cross to three questions on the hospital stippling photographs, eliciting Maltese's agreement that stippling placement on the forearm was consistent with the victim raising his arm as he was shot — a brief, targeted concession offered without resistance. In Trial 2, Rashbaum extended cross to challenge the scope of the crime-scene tape perimeter and to suggest an innocent explanation for the Bulleit whiskey found in Wendi Adelson's van, framing the ABC Fine Wine receipt as evidence of a party errand; Maltese responded that her role was documentation, not investigation, and that she had no knowledge of any party invitation. By Trial 3, Zelman waived cross-examination entirely, offering no challenge to scene documentation, fingerprint findings, or stippling observation. The evidentiary substance Maltese introduced held constant across trials; the variation lies in how aggressively the defense engaged her record, declining from targeted challenge to partial challenge to no challenge at all.

Trial Record (8)

KM Magbanua Retrial May 18, 2022 – May 27, 2022

Trial Summary

Retired TPD forensic specialist who processed the Prescott Drive crime scene and Tallahassee Memorial Hospital on July 18, 2014, establishing the physical evidence record, the absence of ejected casings consistent with a revolver, and close-range stippling on the victim.

Appearances (2)

Direct

Joanne Maltese - Direct

Day 1 Cross

Joanne Maltese - Cross

Day 1

CA Charlie Adelson Oct 26, 2023 – Nov 6, 2023

Trial Summary

Retired TPD forensic specialist called by the prosecution to establish crime-scene documentation and chain of custody for physical evidence collected at 2116 Trescott Drive and related locations on July 18, 2014.

Appearances (2)

Direct

Joanne Maltese - Direct

Day 1 Cross

Joanne Maltese - Cross

Day 1

Mentioned (2)

Direct

Anthony Clark - Direct

Day 1 Cross

Bill Brannon - Cross Rashbaum cited Maltese's prior testimony that the crime scene tape was five to six houses away, versus Brannon's estimate of three to four

Day 2

DA Donna Adelson Aug 22, 2025 – Sep 4, 2025

Trial Summary

Called as the prosecution's foundational crime-scene forensic witness, retired TPD specialist Maltese documented 2116 Trescott Drive on July 18, 2014, introduced physical evidence through photographs and collected items, and testified to stippling on Dan Markel's forearm consistent with close-range discharge; the defense waived cross-examination without challenge.

Appearances (2)

Direct

Joanne Maltese - Direct

Day 1 Cross

Joanne Maltese - Cross (Waived)

Day 1