Ted Wafer’s Trial July 31, 2014
Thanks to everyone who followed tweets and reported. A special thanks to Yahtzeebutterfly for her hard work.
The prosecution has rested.
I saw lots of tweets yesterday about Renisha’s alcohol level, but none about the defense getting spanked when inferring that the footprint on the air conditioner was from someone trying to break-into the house. As the witness said, “Then that’s the person he should have shot.”
Maybe I missed those tweets.
WXZY-TV caught excellent excerpts from yesterday’s hearing, including the witness that said he didn’t investigate a break-in because there was no evidence of a break-in.
Posted on 07/31/2014, in Cases, Renisha McBride and tagged prosecution rests, Renisha McBride, Ted Wafer, trial. Bookmark the permalink. 192 Comments.
We Hold These Truths To Be Self-Evident 
Court reconvenes at 9:00 a.m. this morning. Here are 2 Twitter sites reporting the trial proceedings:
LikeLike
Mandi Wright, a photographer for the Detroit Free Press, tweets photos from the courtroom:
LikeLike
Here are Elisha Anderson’s courtroom tweets about what Xena is referencing in her post above:
Exchange between Gurka and defense attorney about a possible muddy footprint on the air conditioning unit at Wafer’s house.
Gurka said he doesn’t know when it was placed there and can’t say it was a footprint. Defense asked if he called somebody from MSP for it.
“I don’t know when that footprint was placed there” Gurka said. “Maybe Mr. Wafer climbed on his air conditioner to look at his gutters.”
Defense: or maybe there was a second person trying to gain entry in the back of the house. Did you ever think of that.
Gurka: “then that’s the person Mr. Wafer should have shot.”
He doesn’t have any info that other people were outside the home, he said.
LikeLike
Reblogged this on The ObamaCrat™.
LikeLike
It’s sad but in no way surprising the depths the defense will go to paint Renisha as the aggressor and Wafer as the victim and now we have speculation after speculation from Dr, Spitz who can tell from a photo Renisha had a concussion and that her hand was swollen and it had to be swollen from beating on Wafers door.Yes the good Dr. knows more than the ME who actually did the exam. I do wonder can he tell me when I’m going to win the lotto.. since he can see past, present and most assuredly future.
LikeLike
Good morning! Hopefully we will see/hear/read a good cross examination of this X-MD this morning… There are several points that the defense has high lighted thru his testimony that while not incorrect are not exactly relevant as they would lead you to believe. The major point is the swelling in the hands, the absolute statement that there was a concussion, and the statement that there is no loss of strength due to intoxication. All of those statements with the exception of the concussion, while true are not totally accurate in application to this case. Let’s see how the pros addresses these issues, or if they do.. IMO these are critical points that might have an impact on the verdict rendered if not addressed… One more point that needs to be discussed with the witness is the bodies response to fear (as he testified to) and the fact that the chemical response to fear by the body is almost exactly the same as its response to anger… This again is a big point that needs to be addressed to counter the statements of the defense that the only reaction that TW had was that of fear, my contention is that he was not in fear but was in fact in a rage filled fit of anger instead when he murdered Ms. McBride…
LikeLike
Great summary of important issues we should be looking at today, crustyolemothman!
Speaking of impairment….they did not take a blood sample from Wafer to see if he had had drinks before going to bed and whether of not that had impaired his reasoning ability and gun use.
LikeLike
While I do agree that blood tests should have been done on the accused, it was not done (I think it might be due to a 4th amendment search problem?), however if I recall correctly it was stated by Gurka that he did not appear impaired in any manner… This leads to a question I would like to have asked of TW if he does indeed take the stand, what prescription drugs has he had prescribed to him over the last several years and what over the counter drugs he takes on a regular basis…
LikeLike
I would like to know that also.
LikeLike
oralandar brand-wms @oralandar_DN
17 hours ago
Spitz continues testimony thursday
Mandi Wright @DetroitMandi
Forensic Pathologist Dr. Werner Spitz
LikeLike
oralandar brand-wms @oralandar_DN
17 hours ago
Spitz continues testimony thursday
LikeLike
judge meeting in chambers with defense attys for theodore wafer and prosecutors before the start of testimony this morning
LikeLike
def attys and pros out of meeting with judge..jurors not in courtroom yet..i see dr. kilak kesha, county med. examiner still around..
will he take stand again after defense’s expert witness, dr. werner spitz, the former wayne co. med. exam?
LikeLike
Good Morning! Thanks YahtzeeB!!
LikeLike
YW, Mindy.
Top of the morning to you! 🙂
LikeLike
judge dana hathaway on bench now
judge taking another case right now. wafer jurors not in court room
LikeLike
Mandi Wright @DetroitMandi
Day 6 in the trial of #TheodoreWafer will be underway shortly.
LikeLike
It might be good to note the missing/unreported $100 bill question is still in play after the ME testified he knew nothing about it. The defense is calling an officer that was on the scene to the stand today, possibly to bring that issue into play in an effort to sling mud hoping to somehow impeach the testimony of Gurka?
LikeLike
Another good live blog to follow for this trial, I split screen with oralander brand because they each seem to offer a little different posting but both accurate….
http://www.freep.com/article/20140731/NEWS02/307310104/renisha-mcbride-wafer-porch-shooting
LikeLike
Thanks, crustyolemothman 🙂
LikeLike
Please post anything good from there ….I have 3 tweet link windows already opened along with the one here.
LikeLike
def attys and pros sidebar w/judge..jurors not in courtroom yet
sidebar over
court in session for wafer case..def atty putting some things on record now..jurors not in ct room
LikeLike
defense admitting some pics..ones of mcbride’s hands and autopsy photos..some of them already admitted
pros: wants to admit an addtl photo of mcbride on wafer porch and 2 addtl close ups of left hand(that was pic shown in ct wednesday)
jury coming in
LikeLike
Dr. spitz back on stand..judge asks him couple of ques first
LikeLike
about alcohol consumption effect on blood clotting ..how long wld it take for blood to clot..he says few min.
LikeLike
I hope he added the words “in a normal person” to that statement, with the weight problem that Mz. McBride had there is a pretty good possibility that her blood might not coagulate quite as fast as he indicated, ie. diabetes is a possibility…
LikeLike
judge asking him mcbride left hand and how blood clots form
def atty cheryl carpenter begin ques of spitz
Mandi Wright @DetroitMandi
Dr. Werner Spitz back on stand
LikeLike
spitz says mcbride’s left hand had laceration on it that cld have been caused by her “pounding on something>” he says not caused by car crash
jurors now seeing pic of mcbride’s right hand which is lying alongside her thigh..cropped photo
WIT now being shown close-up photo of #RenishaMcBride’s left and right hands; PROS has request re exhibits of their own; Judge asks
to approach bench; DEF now referring to photos in front of witness, compare them with what is enlarged on overhead screen.
LikeLike
https://twitter.com/idabeewell
DEF asking about photos; PROS objects, saying that DEF is leading WIT, if he can’t see photos.
DEF asks for PROS to be admonished; says PROS is objecting with long speeches; asks 2 please state objection and not talk
LikeLike
Judge agrees.
DEF sorting through photo exhibits.
Photograph being shown on computer monitor in front of WIT; We cannot see it; possibly #RenishaMcBride’s body on porch;
DEF asking WIT to explain how in photo right hand of #RenishaMcBride is distinguishable from left hand; DEF asking about lacerations
<strongMandi Wright @DetroitMandi
#TheodoreWafer attorney, Cheryl Carpenter, asks Dr. Spitz about photos of #RenishaMcBride hand.
LikeLike
DEF being asked about lacerations on right hand; WIT says he can’t really tell, photo out of focus, dark spot, light
on certain areas; WIT says in his opinion hand looks swollen; says fingers look like sausages; PROS objects, asks if WIT
is an expert in photography. Judge sustains the objection. DEF asks, in WIT’s expert opinion, if swelling to if swelling to #RenishaMcBride’s hands
occurred due to banging on #TedWafer’s doors. WIT concurs.
DEF asks WIT about car crash of #RenishaMcBride and how that incident WOULD NOT have caused swelling of her hands
spitz says swelling on both hands and his opinion is that it did not occur earlier than when mcbride was at wafer’s house
spitz says swelling to mcbride’s hands not caused during car crash caused hands not affected by deployment of air bag
LikeLike
WIT says because air bag being deployed would hit driver in chest/center, not sides, not hands/arms
LikeLike
My own comment here is to have us recall that the cellphone expert said that Renisha received a call that lasted 6 seconds right at the time of the car accident.
Thus, it is possible that she was holding her cellphone to her ear when the air bag deployed. That, in my mind, could have caused injury to her hand as well as being what caused damage to the cellphone.
LikeLike
Depending on where the hands are on the wheel….a hand can hit the windshield.
There is a photo on google images but it is giving me issue to grab it on my device Let´s see if this works, maybe you can paste in in your browser? http://ur.umich.edu/9697/Apr01_97/airbag2.gif
I would like to know how defense plans on overcoming blood being found in her car, and witness testimony to her hand bleeding at acident scene.
LikeLike
Airbags are notorious for causing hand/wrist injuries. In fact they now recommend that you hold your hands at 9 and 3 o’clock position instead of the 10/2 position because of the airbags.
LikeLike
Maybe she fell down in the street, or when she was shot her hand struck something on the way down, or she tripped on the stair, or it did occur in the accident in combination of something else that caused it to start bleeding again. His opinion is not good enough, he didn’t see it happen.
LikeLike
People sometimes throw their arms up or thrust them forward in accidents. I have a friend who suffered broken wrists on both hands caused by airbags during an auto accident.
LikeLike
Two sides…..most people who aren’t impaired will do that, they see it coming, they tense up, protect the face…..remember she was highly intoxicated and most likely didn’t see it coming (the crash).
LikeLike
spitz says he’s been paid $8,000 by defense for about 45-50 hours of work on the case..(about $175 an hour, def atty estimate)..
spitz says “i don’t need the money. I have plenty of money” but he says he enjoys the work. His hourly rate, he says, is $400 an hour
LikeLike
a lot of is time. WIT is 87 years old. Enjoys teaching. Wants to get knowledge out there.
spitz says he went to examine wafer’s home twice during his work on the case.
LikeLike
spitz says he also went to police dept to examine the screen’s door to wafer home and to examine mcbride’s clothes.
WIT spent 45-50 hours on case; has been to Wafer’s home, police station to examine #RenishaMcBride’s clothes, and police station to
examine screen doors of #TedWafer. DEF asking about his opinion of autopsy performed by Dr. Kesha.
def atty asks spitz about kesha. spitz says if kesha worked for him he wld have had him take the board
WIT says f1st thing is had he been med examiner @ time of this case he would have insisted Kesha become board certified
LikeLike
WIT spent 45-50 hours on case; has been to Wafer’s home, police station to examine #RenishaMcBride’s clothes, and police station to
examine screen doors of #TedWafer. DEF asking about his opinion of autopsy performed by Dr. Kesha.
WIT says f1st thing is had he been med examiner @ time of this case he would have insisted Kesha become board certified
spitz says he also went to police dept to examine the screen’s door to wafer home and to examine mcbride’s clothes.
def atty asks spitz about kesha. spitz says if kesha worked for him he wld have had him take the board
LikeLike
oralandar_DN
spitz not saying mcbride autopsy incomplete but says “there are some things I wld have done differently.”
idabeewells
WIT NOT saying autopsy was incomplete; but would have done several things differently.
Mandi Wright @DetroitMandi
Dr. Spitz thinks Dr. Kesha should have been board certified in forensic pathology.
LikeLike
spitz says mcbride was shot at close range.about two feet. not much closer than two feet or less, he says. kesha said wed. not close range
spitz says he sees white powder in mcbride’s hair..which is evid. of close range shooting
sidebar with judge after pros objec. to a show and tell by def atty..
LikeLike
back on record
spitz talking now about plastic white cup which contains the shotgun pellets..a(about 26..sometimes a little more) found in mcbride’s brain
spitz says presence of cup in deceased’s body indicates close range but says it can occur also long range.
LikeLike
def atty done ques. spitz
judge declines ques. by jurors during defense presentation of its case..judge says not fair to take the ques now that the pros has rested
jurors out on short break
LikeLike
back on record. jury coming back in
spitz on stand: being cross examined by asst wayne county pros. athina siring as.
siringas asks spitz about his own board certification. he was cert in 1961 and 1965
siringas asks spitz if he has been re-certified but spitz re-cert. not req for him as long as he shows evid of contain ed
spitz says he has to do that every year
siringas shows spitz a 9-pound book he edits..some chapters written by spitz. he authored chapter on injury by gunfire and one on shotgun
LikeLike
LikeLike
siringas asking spitz about his hourly rate. he says he agreed to his total fee of $8,000 reducing his hourly rate for the case
Mandi Wright @DetroitMandi
Asst. Wayne County Prosecutor Athina Siringas shows a copy of Dr. Spitz 9lb. book
LikeLike
siringas asking spitz about duties of medical examiner…
spitz asks if he disgrees with kesha’s conclu on cause of mcbride’s death. he says no
LikeLike
under cross spitz says cause of manner/death of mcbride’s death wld be same whether or not she had concussion and marijuana in her system
LikeLike
under cross spitz says theoretically its better to make conclu on cause of
death thru actual autopsy than inspec. of photos
LikeLike
There it is folks!
LikeLike
He made determinations based of photos. Defense even handed him blurry one on stand. I think the State can impeach this witness.
LikeLike
Yes!!
LikeLike
PROS asks if persons who views a body @autopsy is in a better position to make determinations of that body than a person
who views photos of a body in the rail, with a flash. WIT states in theory yes; in fact no.
WIT says observations can be flawed, just like photographs can be flawed.
Dr. Werner Spitz, under cross examination by Wayne County Asst District Attorney Athina Siringas
LikeLike
PROS asks again about efficacy of photos to actual viewing of body during autopsies.
PROS seeking now to impeach WIT testimony
LikeLike
under cross Spitz says he can render his findings on a deceased person’s death just as well as if he were in autopsy room
spitz says inspection of autopsy photos just as important
LikeLike
spitz being asked what photos of mcbride did he rely on to make his findings
siringas showing spitz pics and asking him what they are ..
he photos are shown on the overheard but it is much too dark to make out as a hand..her left hand. spitz says he sees no injuries to hand
he says difficult to see if there’s bruising or not because of the quality of the photo. pros getting ready to show another photo
LikeLike
more photos being shown to jurors on their monitor. courtroom audience not able to see them..they are autopsy photos of torso/ legs/hands
LikeLike
under cross, spitz says he cannot see beneath the blood on mcbride’s hand
LikeLike
Note:
If you look at the family photo here of Renisha holding a cellphone (the orange picture), you can see that her left hand looks fat. (I would not usually point this out, but it is important because Spitz is trying to say her hand looked swollen….I think she just has a fat hand.)
LikeLike
siringas, while jurors look at autopsy photos of mcbride, asks spitz if the blood on hand cld have been caused by spatter.also on chin/chest
he says it wld be from the blood running off but not from spatter
siringas cross exam spitz on swollen fingers theory
siringas asks spitz what is a normal way a person knocks on a door. spitz illustrates how he knocks
siringas asks spitz for “scientific” explanation for someone getting injured from knocking on door
LikeLike
“siringas asks spitz for “scientific” explanation for someone getting injured from knocking on door”
I would have asked this question too…LOL.
really wish we had photo of hand injury 😦
LikeLike
kesha, siringas says, found nothing “remarkable” ” about renisha mcbride’s hands when they were observed during autopsy
sidebar after pros asks spitz about why he didn’t get photos and info directly from med. examiner office. def atty says they asked..
LikeLike
spitz says he didnt get xrays from wayne co. med. exam. on mcbride’s hands
LikeLike
Again as I noted above:
If you look at the family photo here of Renisha holding a cellphone (the orange picture), you can see that her left hand looks fat. (I would not usually point this out, but it is important because Spitz is trying to say her hand looked swollen….I think she just has a fat hand.)
LikeLike
spitz: the hands do look swollen..they were pudgy. the shooting did not make the fingers swell.
LikeLike
In the family photos, I agree, she did have pudgy fingers. TY for posting.
LikeLike
siringas asking spitz about his remarks about lack of blood found in mcbride’s car..
she shows him photo of blood smudges in car
LikeLike
Mandi Wright @DetroitMandi
Siringas shows Dr. Spitz photos of blood found in interior of #RenishaMcBride car.
LikeLike
siringas asking spitz more about the car accident and the injuries she suffered to her head..
siringas now cross exam. spitz on his testimony about toxicology report on mcbride’s autopsy report
LikeLike
PROS asking about marijuana and alcohol in #RenishaMcBride’s system; WIT says she had both active and inactive elements of marijuana in her
WIT being shown the reporting levels in toxicology report he did from #RenishaMcBride’s autopsy report. WIT views report on screen
No questions asked re report; court adjourned
for lunch for one hour.
LikeLike
One of the curious things about this retired ME’s testimony is that it really did not change the fact that the cause of death was from a gun shot wound to the head. The pronouncement that the wounds (aka swelling) to the hands was caused by the beating on TW’s door could be a problem, especially with her intoxicated state and the possibility she fell and broke her fall just before climbing upon the porch. The distance of the shot only indicates that TW was actually closer to the screen when he fired the shot gun. Last but not least, it is easy to say “I” would have done this or “I” would have done that when one looks at any situation that is not cut and dry, and nothing in this case has been cut and dry….
LikeLike
I agree with your assessment entirely.
I suppose 8gs is worth paying an expert to say her hand was injured on the door when you face M2. He had to have someone refute the States evidence. His case banks on him feeling he was under seige. (when i read that back to myself, that sounds crazy, but it´s the sad truth)
At this point I am aching to know what is going through the Jurors minds! They had a question….. I wish those tweeting would tweet more about how the jury is reacting to some testimony. Do they seem interested, taking notes?…those sorts of things
LikeLike
“Spitz said that as a forensic pathologist, anything he says for the purpose of indicating to him his opinions, is scientific. It may not always sound scientific because forensic pathologist take into consideration not only the autopsy and the wounds, but the entire circumstance.”
I hope the pros proceed to make it clear that the circumstance in this case is actually subjective based only on the words of TW…. I think if the pros respond to this correctly that statement will damage the defense wittiness credibility…
LikeLike
I think that the prosecution is doing a great job at impeaching (rendering it no good) Dr. Spitz’s conclusions and the manner in which he reached them.
LikeLike
ha!
LikeLike
Oh, I love you Mindy! You like my silly humor. 🙂
LikeLike
Court adjourned for lunch for one hour.
LikeLike
Court will reconvene at 1:15 p.m.
LikeLike
just waking up and arriving to the party — thanks yahtzee for the record. (also — i find it easier to look at my home page and see the tweets of the journalists i am temporarily following instead of having several twitter windows opened. just thought i’d pass that on if it helps.)
so, the good duckter has to retract some important statements. i shall call him duckter because he is a quack, quack, quack, quack. 😉
LikeLike
Faux,
Do you mean that I can divide my home page into four panels and watch 3 tweet windows + have Xena’s page open in the fourth panel?
LikeLike
no, just look at your home page and the tweets of all these people will be there in one place. it helps if you do not follow a lot of people, which i do not. after this trial, i will be unfollowing these folks. once you have all of their stuff in one place (your twitter home page) if you want to look at say a long string of tweets from just one of them you click on their names and it will take you to their page, which is what you are looking at now.
obviously if you are following 300 people plus kim kardashian, this won’t work so well. i have 60 people that i follow regularly and it is not interfering with the trial coverage. xena’s page would have to be in a different tab of course, but all the twitter stuff can be in just one other tab.
LikeLike
Thanks, faux! 🙂
LikeLike
fauxmccoy, good morning… now if I could just figure out a way to auto update the posts here and eliminate the use of my f5 button… Of course, I’m cheating by opening more than one screen and sizing to fit my screens… allows me to keep two twitter feeds open at once and also this blog and Leatherman’s as well. but still have to refresh to keep comments semi current here and there…
LikeLike
i used to have to do something similar. when there is video now, i can stream it to the TV using chromecast which means one less window to be open. with this trial, i have found, sadly, that neither twitter nor the blogs i follow are beyond my ability to keep up with simultaneously. that is i read twitter for 10-15 minutes then come check the blogs and realize i have not missed much.
LikeLike
The two twitter feed that I follow are not too difficult due to only one of them allowing live comments other than the reporters. The other I have open for amusement because of the supporters of TW and their ridiculous claims in his support when they don’t even know what his claims are as yet, but only the claims made by his attorney.. The more I watch the defense attorney the more convinced that Don West has had a sex change done and is now wearing a skirt… Ok, bad joke, or is it? 😉
LikeLike
sorry, could not reply to your joke below… yes, ‘dawna’ west it is!
LikeLike
Seeking more info. about Spitz´s testimony I was forced to read Wafer defender @trialfile feed. I just ignore the personal commenting on the case. But they provided more testimony than the other´s that I find interesting for the impeachment Spitz
>When asked by State how blood was present in car, Spitz testified that it was a nose/nasal injury. (how he provided that opinion IDK)
>Spitz testified the crack in the winshield was from Renisha´s forehead. (how he determined this as well IDK)
LikeLike
Thanks!
Please continue to add important tweets from there for us as you see fit.
LikeLike
Will do.
LikeLike
some lunch time listening in honor of an excellent cross exam of likely the best witness the defense will produce by assistant DA Athina Siringa 🙂
LikeLike
Hahaha.
LikeLike
court back in session..jurors not in yet
no court tomorrow
LikeLike
siringas cross exam spitz about his conclus. that mcbride shot at about 2 feet and white powder and “other manifestations” on her hair
WIT says presence of “filler,” “buffer,” white powder from shotgun blast and “cup” that holds ammo, on #RenishaMcBride’s face, hair.
LikeLike
WIT says his determination it was close range was because of that, and that gunshot residue present in wound; pellets
bunched, almost “ball like” in wound which caused edges of skin to tear
PROS directing WIT to his own textbook, section on close range gunshot wounds, reads underlined section i could not phtgrph
LikeLike
Mandi Wright @DetroitMandi
Siringas reads from Dr. Spitz book.
LikeLike
WIT says he did not reconstruct #RenishaMcBride’s wound to determine the size of it; PROS reading from WIT’s book re size of wounds to
determine close range shooting
PROS shows WIT text she wants to read; WIT says its not applicable because text refers to bullets, he says he is referring
spitz says close range GSW wld involve pellets entering the wound and causing frayed edges of skin
siringas asks spitz if close range GSW wld result in stippling of skin.
spitz tells pros that her ref from his book not applicable because it has to do with bullets and not shot guns “comparing apples/oranges”
LikeLike
Strange that it is not applicable when it is clearly headed “close range shot gun wounds”… Hmmm
LikeLike
it’s entirely likely that he cannot even read that part or any part of it, crusty.
LikeLike
” spitz tells pros that her ref from his book not applicable because it has to do with bullets and not shot guns “comparing apples/oranges”
It CLEARLY says “Close Range Shotgun Wounds” “The discharge of Shotgun”
LikeLike
pros asking spitz at what distance does gun powder leave residue on skin
spitz says it varies..
PROS shows WIT text she wants to read; WIT says its not applicable because text refers to bullets, he says he is referring
to shotgun pellets; PROS asking at what distance is gunpowder deposited on the skin; what is the distance you would stop
seeing gunpowder residue; WIT says two feet or less
LikeLike
Mandi Wright @DetroitMandi
Siringas reads more from Dr. Spitz book he is saying big dif bet. hnd gn vs shotgun.
LikeLike
PROS asks if there is anywhere in his textbook that WIT has stated that the presence of “filler” indicates
a close range shot; WIT says he does not know where it is in book; PROS says it is not in here; WIT says in order 2 check
LikeLike
siringas going to ques. spitz on chapter of his book on effect of alcohol consumption
under cross spitz says person w/BCA (blood al. level) that McBride had during time of accident cld walk around aimlessly.. fall asleep
spitz adds that it really varies per person
.3 or above pass out? WIT concurs. WIT testified previously that #RenishaMcBride was “coming down” from levels at time of her death.
#RenishaMcBride’s blood level at the time of her death was .218
LikeLike
(Go ask Alice)
LikeLike
spitz under cross says..”mr. wafer more able to speak about her state of mind” because he was last person to see mcbride alive
spitz says no chapter in his book discussing fear..re-direct by def atty on why no chapter on fear in his book
LikeLike
pros objects to line of questioning by def atty saying it’s getting into the stream of ques about psych. and physiological aspects of fear
LikeLike
pros object..it’s overruled..
def atty asks spitz if he can speak about how the body reacts to fear. he’s looking at autopsy photos of mcbride
jurors looking at the photos of mcbride’s body supine position, face up ..lying close to the door of wafer’s front door.
WIT begins 2 answer about being a physician, etc., and PROS objects to line of questioning by DEF saying it’s delving into
questions about psychological aspects of fear #RenishaMcBride
PROS objected, overruled by Judge. PROS ends questioning;
DEF now redirects
LikeLike
spitz says the location of the body also led him to his conclusion.
under re-direct spitz says mcbride had no blood spatter on her
def atty asking about person’s demeanor with high BCA, marijuana..
this whole case is a case about alcohol, says spitz.
LikeLike
spitz, under re-direct, says a drunk person still has some strength and no inhibitions so the strength is increased
def atty about mcbride and whether she was wearing seat belt..
LikeLike
def atty asks spitz, who is 87 yr/old, why he might be having probs seeing in courtroom. he says the lighting bad but saw reports/pics fine
LikeLike
def atty asking spitz if he is a defense witness, a pros, witness. spitz says “no i’m a witness.”
DEF asks about demeanor of a person with high blood alcohol content, marijuana in system
LikeLike
(Go ask Alice)
LikeLike
DEF asks WIT why he might not be able to see things well in courtroom; WIT says bad lighting; says he is able to
see reports/photos in his office/lab well due to magnifying glass, etc.
DEF asks WIT if he is a DEF witness or a PROS witness. WIT says “no i’m a witness.”
on break before next def witness
LikeLike
LikeLike
yahtzee, that is the image shown to the witness…. hope that helps..
LikeLike
Great! Thanks!
LikeLike
I really appreciate all of you analyzing the proceedings that we are getting from the reporters’ tweets.
Thank you SO MUCH! 🙂
LikeLike
Good Afternoon everyone!
I was catching up on comments and noticed that Yahtzee mentioned not seeing her comments after posting. I found several that went to moderation. There are times when Word Press will burp when several comments are posted with links within seconds of each other, or otherwise. It’s kinda unpredictable at times.
Anyway, I’m here and trying to resolve the issue that Flash continues to crash, but I’ll keep an eye on the Admin side for comments going into moderation.
LikeLike
Xena, those of mine that went into moderation, went in because I had too many links in them.
LikeLike
Thanks Yahtzee. I suspected it had something to do with links. There’s still a problem on my end — I’m receiving duplicate email notifications of everything connected with Word Press, including new post notifications of other blogs.
LikeLike
It would seem to me that Dr. Spitz has invited TW to testify in his own defense with this statement:
“Spitz said Wafer is the person who is best able to speak about McrBride’s state of mind because he was the last person to see her alive.
“He can describe best how she looked,” Spitz said.”
LikeLike
🙂 I know….I laughed to myself at the time.
LikeLike
i thought the same 🙂 oh happy days!
LikeLike
oralandar brand-wms @oralandar_DN 1m
this whole case is a case about alcohol, says spitz.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – –
nope, the shotgun had nothing to do with it. nice try, duckter!
LikeLike
Great minds….
Is he saying TW KNEW Renisha was drunk?
LikeLike
fauxmccoy, I started to comment about that statement, but it was so absurd that I just could not do it… I guess in his opinion Mz. McBride committed suicide by getting drunk/high and then having an auto accident and finally by some act of God stumbled up upon TW’s porch and inviting him to shoot her in the head with what he though was an unloaded shot gun accidently while defending himself from a home invasion… Yes that should pretty well sum it up, Not guilty, everyone now go home…. NOT!!!!
LikeLike
dr. spitz obtained his medical license in the days when doctors were considered gods. he sounds as if he still believes it himself.
mind you, i am very grateful for the gifted docs who have twice saved me from an early demise, but newer generations of docs, for the most part, realize that they are gifted, but do not have the same ego issues as older generations.
LikeLike
fauxmccoy, one could also not help but to wonder if his mind set is still in the “Jim Crow” days of this nation…
LikeLike
it is anyone’s guess, really.
i know that my dad was a brilliant CPA who gave up his license at 70. my mom was a briilliant RN who gave up her license at 76, although she had not been performing hands on care for at least 20 years.
i tend to respect folks more when they know that their age can become a detriment to their work. i obviously have no issues with continuing to perform professionally into the 70s, but 87 seems a bit old and out of touch to be doing what this guy is doing.
LikeLike
Faux. I agree. For some professionals over 70, like Spitz, their greatest accomplishment is having mentored someone else who can take over their shoes, so to speak. Science is something that changes, transforms, learns more, and depends more and more on certain tools to investigate.
LikeLike
thanks xena — my mom clearly kept up the necessary CE credits, but at 76 felt she could no longer. for my dad, keeping abreast of every single change to IRS code is a daunting task and he let his license go a bit earlier, because he knew his memory was fading from it’s former glory.
my point, and i think you get it, is it is the wise person who knows when their age works against them be it with driving or professional ambitions. i do love and value my relationships with folks much older than i — it is the chance to soak up whatever wisdom they choose to impart. unlike many of my friends, i decided at a young age to pay attention to old farts because i could learn a lot from them. (oh, i did just get my AARP app in the mail, so consider myself a neophyte in the old farts club, but still learning from my elders.)
LikeLike
Faux, if you just got your AARP, you are young.
I remember the days of ledgers and pegboard accounting methods, and when Lotus 1-2-3 was first introduced in the days of DOS. Left-handed people could operate the calculator with their right-hand while writing with their left hand. I remember having a competition once with a left-handed accountant to see which of us could balance a column faster. LOL!
LikeLike
trust me, i did a whole lot of manual bookkeeping for the man on his trusty old olivetti from the mid 70s onward. it was the best paying job in town, for me.. he never did computerize. i know the old days 🙂 in fact, i prefer them to things such as quickbooks etc. they claim that ‘anyone can do it’ and that is just the problem. anyone can, regardless of knowledge of real accounting or bookkeeping. i’ve seen a whole lot of garbage come out of programs like that.
LikeLike
Faux,
Oh yeah. We can relate. Quickbooks and TurboTax have gotten many people into trouble.
LikeLike
court back in session: looks like defense firearms expert here to testify
LikeLike
Mandi Wright @DetroitMandi
David Balash, former Det. Lt. With MSP called to stand by #TheodoreWafer attorney.
LikeLike
david balash, a firearms expert..crime scene invst. retired MSP lt. det. on stand now
LikeLike
balash retired in 1992 but still does expert work..he’s also a crime scene deconstructionist
also expert on blood spatter. has test. as expert witness 400 times
idabeewells
Back in court. DEF calls firearms expert and crime scene investigator David Balash of the MSP
LikeLike
balash not being qualified as blood spatter expert…per prosecution
pros asking balash about standards/accreditation for his expertise such as crime scene reconstruction
def atty objecting says pros “getting a little bit testy”
assistant wayne county prosecutor pat muscat doing questioning..
LikeLike
PROS wants to voir dire the WIT on his expertise; Judge allows it
DEF offering WIT as expert in firearms, crime scene reconstruction and blood spatter.
PROS says WIT is NOT a blood spatter expert; Assistant Wayne County Pat Muscat conducting the void dire.
PROS asking WIT about standards/accreditation, most recent training for his expertise; PROS states WIT is not accredited
to do firearms, blood spatter or crime scene invest; WIT agrees, affirms. PROS defers to Judge; sidebar called; DEF tenders
LikeLike
def atty ques balash about crime scene invest. procedures following long ques. by muscat about balash’s expertise/accredit.
balash says he went to wafer home, dearborn heights p.d. as part of inves on case. he says he examined wafer shotgun/screen in door
balash test fired wafer’s shotgun
LikeLike
balash says mcbride shot close range. at much less than two feet away
wafer’s shotgun brought into court again for balash testimony.
LikeLike
If I remember correctly Carpenter wanted ME notes the other day because his testimony conflicted with Gurka on the range of the shot…but her own experts are conflicting each other as well on range of shot….hmmm.
LikeLike
DEF WIT David Balash handling #TedWafer’s 12-gauge Mossburg shotgun
WIT says he went to #TedWafer’s home, examined door, test fired #Wafer’s gun, conducted tests, concludes that #RenishaMcBride
was shot at close range, much less than two feet away.
LikeLike
the first “target” that was done at the dearborn heights police gun range being shown to jurors.
LikeLike
the first “target” that was done at the dearborn heights police gun range being shown to jurors.
balash says he conducted the ballistics test at a foot, six inches which showed a lot of damage to the “target”
now balash shows “target” for ballistics test at two feet which shows “substantial hole” which resulted in a lot of stippling
LikeLike
Mandi Wright @DetroitMandi
Balash measures his target where he shot test from #TheodoreWafer shotgun.
LikeLike
balash says the presence of wadding, the shot wad cup recovered from mcbride’s body indicated close range GSW
WIT says he is relying on autopsy photos to make his determination that gunshot was from two feet away or less
LikeLike
balash testifies that the gaping hole in mcbride’s face (3.5-4 inches by 7 inches) was not caused by shot itself but by force of the shot
LikeLike
idabeewells
WIT holding a photo of #RenishaMcBride’s feet @ the door of #TedWafer’s house; WIT says in his
opinion, #RenishaMcBride fell where she was shot at; “if you stood her upright,” she’d be where she was shot at, in so many words
LikeLike
balash about to demon. how wafer was holding his shotgun toward screen that nov. 2 morning
LikeLike
balash says wafer is left handed. balash holding a long metal object at 60 inches. the shotgun not being used
LikeLike
I will put this here is won´t be where injuries are discussed:
@TheTrialFile
Balash goes on to state that the person standing on the porch was at least 5 1/2 inches lower than the person in house
LikeLike
he said he used the height of mcbride (about 64 inches) and wafer’s height.
idabeewells
DEF asks WIT to demonstrate, in his expert opinion, how #TedWafer was holding shotgun when #RenishaMcBride was shot
Wafer is six feet one inch tall, #RenishaMcBride, five feet four inches tall.
Mandi Wright @DetroitMandi
Balash steps off stand to demonstrate how he thinks #TheodoreWafer was holding gun. #RenishaMcBride
LikeLike
says screen not in its place and hole in the screen at 53 inches
LikeLike
balash says if screen had been intact wafer wld have had to hold the shotgun above his head and at a downward angle in order to shootmcbride
LikeLike
#RenishaMcBride was wearing some boots on the morning of Nov 2; she was also standing on the porch/stoop, which is approx
4-5 inches lower than the floor of both the screen and front doors on Wafer’s house.
#TedWafer is also left-handed; WIT also gives his opinion that the screen insert was also down in the screen door.
DEF asks WIT to demonstr how #TedWafer would’ve shot #RenishaMcBride if the screen insert was in place in doorhttps://twitter.com/idabeewells/status/494927279337000960/photo/1
LikeLike
LikeLike
WIT believes muzzle of shotgun either touching the screen or only a few inches from it when shot was fired.
LikeLike
Mandi Wright @DetroitMandi
Balash expert opinion that #TheodoreWafer screen was out and this was his position when he shot
LikeLike
Mandi Wright @DetroitMandi
Balash steps off stand to demonstrate how he thinks #TheodoreWafer was holding gun. #RenishaMcBride
LikeLike
balash says force of shotgun wld not have been able to knock screen out cause of the frame that holds screen door in place.
balash says he also did trigger pull test on wafer’s shotgun
LikeLike
Mandi Wright @DetroitMandi
Balash addresses trigger pull test, shows #NRA weight he used to test #TheodoreWafer gun. #RenishaMcBride pic.twitter.com/JiPD8ztZvj
LikeLike
balash says wafer’s gun has standard trigger pull. he puts it at 5 pounds and 7 ounces
LikeLike
WIT used both a NRA scale for test (left) and a digital scale (right) to test Wafer’s gun
LikeLike
WIT says Wafer’s gun has a trigger pull of 5 lbs, 7 ounces; DEF asks if gravity is a factor; WIT says gravity is
#RenishaMcBride
LikeLike
Spitz paid about $8,000 by the defense to be a witness. I don’t know — watching the video, Spitz appears head strong, but not credible.
LikeLike
Thanks for posting this, Xena!
LikeLike
Is he stating he shot her because he was in fear for is life, claiming self-defense or that he didn’t mean to shoot her, it was an accident?
I can’t get past the point that someone in fear for their life would take an unloaded gun open a door, to confront three people who he thinks is breaking into his house and could be armed.
If he stating it was an accident, he didn’t know the gun was loaded, how can he claim self defense. It sounds as if he wasn’t in fear for his life, he didn’t intend on shooting her, he didn’t know he had a loaded gun. I don’t consider that self defense, he caused the death.
I am not clear to what his claiming, and so far have not heard anything that would render a not guilty verdict.
LikeLike
@butterflydreamer who says
he has claimed both and therein lies the problem. if he gets on the stand, which he basically must for an acquittal, he will be asked every prosecutor’s wet dream of a question “so were you lying then or are you lying now?”
as the defense is going, i don’t know how they can conclude without calling wafer and it would be the biggest mistake they would make.
LikeLike
Patrick Muscat, an assistant Wayne County prosecutor, is questioning Balash on his accreditation. Balash said he is not accredited to do crime scene reconstruction.
by Gina Damron 1:41 PM
LikeLike
uh oh — supposed defense expert was not qualified to analyze blood spatter and now admits he has no current credentials. this is interesting to say the least.
LikeLike
He also is not accredited to do crime scene reconstruction.
LikeLike
heh — they picked a real winner here, eh?
LikeLike
Even better then the last guy…dun dun dun.
LikeLike
at this rate, wafer is going to have to take the stand.
LikeLike
I was going to say that!
LikeLike
😀
LikeLike
Coming down here for fresh air after my last post. *tears*
LikeLike
**HUGS** do you want me to take over for a bit?
LikeLike
Oh yes! Would you, faux! (I just returned here to read your offer)
My last post was this:
WIT says Wafer’s gun has a trigger pull of 5 lbs, 7 ounces; DEF asks if gravity is a factor; WIT says gravity is
#RenishaMcBride
LikeLike
i did, sweetie, without waiting for an answer. i thought you could use some help. my style is different, but should be clear enough. we double posted somethings. ask me any time you are here, please.
court is now adjourned
LikeLike
Thank you SO MUCH!
LikeLike
😦
LikeLike
ignore the time stamp in my posts, they are in chron order, i am altering it from the reverse chron order of twitter feed
oralandar brand-wms @oralandar_DN 34s
balash says wafer is left handed. balash holding a long metal object at 60 inches. the shotgun not being used
dabwellsinstitute @idabeewells 3m
WIT
holding a photo of #RenishaMcBride’s feet @ the door of #TedWafer’s house; WIT says in his
idabwellsinstitute @idabeewells 1m
opinion, #RenishaMcBride fell where she was shot at; “if you stood her upright,” she’d be where she was shot at, in so many words
oralandar brand-wms @oralandar_DN · 18s
balash about to demon. how wafer was holding his shotgun toward screen that nov. 2 morning
LikeLike
Mandi Wright @DetroitMandi 55s
FYI Balash is using golf club to use to demo #TheodoreWafer gun. #RenishaMcBride
idabwellsinstitute @idabeewells 1m
DEF asks WIT to demonstr how #TedWafer would’ve shot #RenishaMcBride if the screen insert was in place in door pic.twitter.com/v6cOprb3Uw

oralandar brand-wms @oralandar_DN 1m
balash says if screen had been intact wafer wld have had to hold the shotgun above his head and at a downward angle in order to shootmcbride
idabwellsinstitute @idabeewells 2m
#TedWafer is also left-handed; WIT also gives his opinion that the screen insert was also down in the screen door.
Mandi Wright @DetroitMandi 2m
Balash expert opinion that #TheodoreWafer screen was out and this was his position when he shot #RenishaMcBride pic.twitter.com/yBDz3vPvnF

idabwellsinstitute @idabeewells 2m
4-5 inches lower than the floor of both the screen and front doors on Wafer’s house.
idabwellsinstitute @idabeewells 3m
#RenishaMcBride was wearing some boots on the morning of Nov 2; she was also standing on the porch/stoop, which is approx
oralandar brand-wms @oralandar_DN 3m
says screen not in its place and hole in the screen at 53 inches
idabwellsinstitute @idabeewells 2m
WIT is using a golf club in place of #TedWafer’s shotgun. Wafer is six feet one inch tall, #RenishaMcBride, five feet four inches tall.
Mandi Wright @DetroitMandi 2m
Balash steps off stand to demonstrate how he thinks #TheodoreWafer was holding gun. #RenishaMcBride pic.twitter.com/ItrgJGMRkM
idabwellsinstitute @idabeewells 2m
DEF asks WIT to demonstrate, in his expert opinion, how #TedWafer was holding shotgun when #RenishaMcBride was shot pic.twitter.com/Xn8zkBtCW3
oralandar brand-wms @oralandar_DN 5m
he said he used the height of mcbride (about 64 inches) and wafer’s height.
LikeLike
Xena, You might want to start a new post, this one is getting so long that it takes quite a while to refresh? Perhaps at the next break?
LikeLike
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT
A new thread is now open to continue reporting and discussing today’s trial. It was requested by mothman because this one has gotten long and is taking longer to refresh.
Please continue at:
LikeLike
To Renisha’s parents and loved ones,
May you get some comforting rest this weekend. Thinking of you and sending prayers your way.
LikeLike