Photos can be found at link or @ WCPO
On the stand first today in the Pike Co. Murder trial is a blood stain pattern analyst.
Jonathyn Priest: There's a lot of blood from a continuing source. There are what is primarily described as motion stains. We have both wipes and swipes. "Those are the predominant stains that we see.”
Defense shows him photos, but they are not putting them up on screens for jurors to see. So, it's hard to follow along.
The judge ruled in favor of the press last month, allowing us to record evidence. Since then, the defense has not been using the TV screens placed in the courtroom to accommodate a case of this magnitude.
Priest: In Chris, Sr.'s house, the people killed appear they've been dragged by the feet. First body I believe was dragged into the room was Gary followed by Chris.
He is looking at a photo of a death scene. He says someone has covered up the bodies with a comforter. He said you see that a lot at these scenes.
Priest is now discussing the crime scene at Dana Rhoden's home. Three individuals died here. He said the gunshot wounds were primarily to their heads and faces.
Priest: Dana had been moved some. I have two photos. One, appears with a comforter over the body, and the second one is with the comforter removed.
Priest: During bleeding, it had to be in a different position than what we see in the photograph. Then, it was moved from that position after blood stain got on the pillow and was put on her face.
Priest is talking about the third home now where Frankie Rhoden and Hannah Gilley died. Priest: Female had gunshot wound to the eye. The male had a gunshot wound just below the eye.
Now, he's looking at pictures of crime scene four. This is where Kenneth Rhoden's body was located. He says this is a photo of Kenneth Rhoden in bed. It shows a gunshot wound to the right eye and associated blood stains.
Defense asked if there are any similarities between where he was shot and where others were shot. Priest says to a degree, below the eye.
Defense asked what his opinion is of the amount of offenders at the scene. Priest: A single individual could have been capable of doing what we've seen.
Priest: The biggest thing was the lack of multiple sole impressions, footprints, overlaying each other, movement in multiple directions. Another one was you have a narrow pathway where things are not disturbed. Which tells me it's limited individuals going through that area.
Priest: The crime scene photos seem to support a single individual going through this location. This is the first time defense has asked him show jurors the pictures he's describing. This is the view they receive. There are screens behind him put in place for jurors.
This is the 54th witness jurors have heard from. The defense was allowed to call him out of turn because he had to fly from out of town.
Priest recalls Jake's testimony where he told jurors he saw a gun flash inside the camper as he was outside while his father killed Kenneth Rhoden. Priest says, in his experience, you wouldn't see a gun flash from outside as Jake described.
Priest test fired a glock... just after sundown... to see if we could see a flash. Then, he continued test firing as the sun got lower to see if he could notice a flash.
At 10:30 at night, we could see a flash when fired. Still, from behind a truck as Jake described, with gunshot from inside a camper, behind blinds, and a light on inside the camper, the flash would have been muted. "I wouldn't think you are going to see one.”
Tracking how much this trial costs you, Ohio taxpayers. From Dec. 2019-Sept. 2022 the total is more than $3.3 million.
there are 27 pages of expenditures.
correction: 26 pages so far
also, the clerk told me this does not include BCI, and prosecutors Andrew Wilson and Rob Junk. They get paid a salary from the county and state. This does include Canepa.
It appears this combines all four cases... Angela, Billy, George, Jake
Prosecutor Andrew Wilson now cross-examining the blood stain analyst. He is pointing out that based on auditory exclusion, it's pretty unreliable to count on a person to recall accurately the number of shots they took. He is also telling the jury what tunnel vision is.
Priest: Tunnel vision is where you're in a stressful situation to where you pay most attention to that very small focal length area, and you're creating a tunnel vision of what you're looking at. things around you disappear. You still see other things, you just can't recall it.
Priest: time distortion is when you lose your sense of how quickly or slowly something is moving. "It feels like forever because of the pain that is associated with it." Time can speed up or slow down.
Priest agrees that it doesn't mean someone is lying. A lot of time it is linked to these distortions.
He said these photos are of a trajectory analysis of this case. He agrees with BCI's analysis of the trajectory of where Chris Rhoden, Sr. could have been shot with a gun close to the ground.
Priest: Chris Sr. injuries support that he was shot with a high powered rifle.
Priest: Chris Sr. had splinters in his head called stippling. Chris's head would have had to of been in proximity to a piece of wood that was splintered. When he got those, it is Priest's opinion that he's on the porch when that happens.
Priest says this could have caused the stippling which is contrary to his findings report. his findings also said two of these wall bullets holes could have been irregular because they passed through a person or object. Prosecutor said what about a silencer? He said could be.
Priest agrees there's no blood splatter on the wall there.
He agrees these bullets went inside the house/screen door, fired from outside the home, causing splintering inside.
He is saying the 762 was fired outside. I can tell you that evidence is consist with him being outside. Prosecutor: You can also tell us evidence is consistent with him being inside. Priest: in the realm of possibilities, yes.
Prosecution: You knew that there were two different sized left shoes of the same brand in that scene but you didn’t put anything in your report about it. One of the things you were asked to do is determine how many people were in that scene.
Priest: I didn’t ignore it Prosecution: You consciously disregarded that and came up with the opinion that one person could have done that. Priest: I wasn’t there to look at the shoe prints. I was looking at the blood stains and what the blood stains were reporting
Prosecutor Wilson trying to poke holes in theory that Jake would not have seen the gun flash inside Kenneth Rhoden's camper. Wilson says had you of done the experiment inside a building, you would have been better able to tell us if someone could have seen it, and Priest agreed.
He agrees offenders cover up victims to depersonalize them or hide them. He agrees that offenders also collect trophies or mementos to relive it or because they just want the object.
Wilson is now showing jurors a photo of Kenneth Rhoden's face injuries. Then he puts this George IV facebook post up on a screen.
Wilson is implying that wolf eye is a way of bragging about Kenneth's injuries.
Now, Priest is looing at two guns with grim reaper graphic on the grip.
He said he's known he was going to testify in this case for 10 days. He submitted the draft report. He didn't have back and forth with the attorneys. He never walked through the scenes or viewed evidence in person.
He said he was given evidence in the case in Jan. 2022 and prepared his report in June of this year.
Defense on re-direct now.
Attorney Richard Nash: If a body is dragged, does that tell you how many people were there? Priest: One person can drag a body. If it's carried, you'd need more than one person at a scene. Chris Rhoden, Sr. scene suggests a drag motion.
Nash: You didn't see a right shoe at all in that scene. Priest: correct.
Nash: When you talk mementos, you had no indication that a beretta was used in the crimes. That grim reaper gun is a Beretta.
break until 1:30
