2011.06.07 TRIAL Day Twelve (Morning Session)

[Shyla]

#caseyanthony lawyer writing on easel but jurors don't seem too interested. He's writing specimen #'s. Not very riveting stuff. Technicalby abcashleigh via twitter at 9:55 AM

 

[FaerieB]

This is curious - why is the FBI chemist at odds with what Dr. Vass found.

Because the FBI chemist was testing for chloroform residue on items. Dr. Vass was analyzing the air samples.

 

[megsy]

will the gatorade bottle with the syringe and chloroform come in to play...I am so hoping.

I thought the syringe had less than what's allowed in drinking water? I hope they don't put that in evidence.

 

[MelissaLee]

But as a chemist....he is used to seeing chloroform in a different capacity. JB is doing a good job at muddying the water.

Seeing large amounts of chloroform in decomp vs large amounts of chloroform alone are different contexts.

JA will clean up the mess but I have to give Jb credit for making one.

Thank you.

I believe Dr. Vass said the levels were shockingly high for a human decomposition-type event.

moo

 

[whiteangora]

This is curious - why is the FBI chemist at odds with what Dr. Vass found.

Didn't Dr Vass conduct a different test?

 

[Amster]

JA will clear it up....have patience.

 

[sleutherontheside]

Prime example of why JB wants them to write on his board...so he can mark it up and make it look less convincing. Kind of like visual discrediting.

 

[BigFatMommyDog]

This is curious - why is the FBI chemist at odds with what Dr. Vass found.

apples and oranges methinks

 

[cityslick]

This must be the first time in this trial that the defense is actually scoring points IMO.

 

[repairmom]

Chloroform dissipates over time according to Dr. Vass. Maybe the FBI analysis was done much later?

 

[Liz]

CFNews13Casey

Baez asked if a bathing suit could give those results but It was objected/sustained. #CaseyAnthony -fell
4 minutes ago via Twitter for iPad
.
KBelichWFTV

He says some cleaning products could leave chloroform residue in the same small amounts
4 minutes ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®

.

 

[kathyn2]

Why did JA even put this fbi guy on? He didn't add anything to their case and now JB doing great damage with it and also makes Dr. Vass sound like an idiot.

 

[uklaw]

AND...Anthony's "supposedly" didn't use chlorine in their pool...as per reports

That was my point.

Edit: Although, I think it is uncontroversial between the State and the Defense that the Anthony's did not use chlorine in their pool. That is to say, it is no longer "supposedly" anything.

 

[whiteangora]

The jury is getting sleepy....their eyes are getting heavy. C'mom Baez say something brilliant to wake them up.

 

[mombomb]

Cross Examination of Dr. Michael Rickenbach by JB

Asked about GCMS - gas chromatography mass spectrometer - examination and identification of chemicals. The FBI's are very sensitive. They detect chemicals out of the matrix of water. The GCMS breaks things down into very very small amounts of chemicals.

The second test was flame ionization - very similar to first test, using a different detector system - headspace.

Q-22 - residues of chloroform - chloroform is usually found in a liquid state. What he received was not liquid. The chloroform can be driven off and detected. The Chloroform was found in very small amounts. It has been detected in household cleaning agents and other household items, including detergents and possibly drinking water. He has never analyzed swimming pool water for chloroform.

He doesn't know if a bathing suit thrown in trunk would produce chloroform.

Objection hypothetical - sustained.

No first hand knowledge as to chloroform in soda.

Usually it has been found in cleaning products - may be other items.

Objection - facts not in evidence - overruled.

A chromatogram is a graphic output from an instrument that is a graph of the signal coming from the instrument based on whether a chemical is detected and the time it is taking for the chemical to come off and be separated.

Witness goes to the easel and asked to draw a chromatogram. He drew an example.

When he runs a sample, you don't get a quantitative amount.

Qualitative analysis - trying to detect the substance you are analyzing - not how much.

Quantitative analysis - numeric amount of substance.

You can't tell an exact quantity from the graph, just relative amounts. Only looking at qualitative amount, without a standard, would not be a good way to quantify.

He analyzed the samples in dual mode - twice - one cutting without an internal standard and another with an internal standard and ran them together. This is not how he determined that they were at very, very low amounts.

With every analysis you run a negative (no sample) and positive control. At the end of the analysis, he ran the positive control for chloroform. Based on the amount, the chloroform that came out of the specimen came out less than the amount he knew he put in.

This was not the most chloroform he has seen in 20 years. It was not shockingly high levels.

Q-22 - piece of spare tire cover - found residue of chloroform - significantly lower levels than chloroform positive control

Q-23 - spare tire cover - found residue of chloroform at significantly lower levels of positive control

Q-24 - left side of trunk liner - chemical consistent with chloroform detected. One test detected it at low levels. Second method did not pick it up - hence consistent with.

Q-25 - right side of trunk liner - also consistent with chloroform - one test at low levels, second test did not pick it up.

Q-44 - piece of spare tire cover - residues of chloroform identified at significantly lower levels than the positive control.

Q-45 - piece of spare tire cover - residues of chloroform identified at significantly lower levels than the positive control.

He tested other items, but not sure where they came from. These were in later batches of submissions.

Steering wheel cover of car?

SIDEBAR #4

 

[Sleuth5]

It just hit me as to why JB writes on the notepad. Maybe he is thinking that just like a teacher writes on a blackboard for students to take notes, that maybe the jury copies what he writes onto their notepads, so that when they go to review their notes later, they are reading what JB wants them to read.

Take it from a college professor. He is not a good teacher.

 

[ahoyhoy]

will the gatorade bottle with the syringe and chloroform come in to play...I am so hoping.

THIS is what I have missed....so chloroform WAS found in the gatorade bottle? What about the Crystal Light bottle that was inside the trash...the brown liquid...was that positive for chloroform too?

If so, can they determine if it was homemade? TIA

 

[ami]

Didn't Dr Vass conduct a different test?

Yes.

And this witness is comparing all of the chloroform levels to a positive control of chloroform, that he made up himself. He's not comparing it to other cars, or trunks or carpets or (as far as I know) crime scenes.

 

[Linda7NJ]

Can't for JA to bring it home w/ evaporation concentrations!!!!

 

[Liz]

Next item -significantly lower levels of chloroform residue found. Baez is really punchingnthe "small amounts found" part of his testimony

by cfnews13casey via twitter at 7:59 AM


Sidebar.

by Jeff Cousins/WESH.com at 7:58 AM