Dassey Trial Notes 16 April, 2007

Today, the jury was seated. The jury instructions were read. This included the admonition to use only facts and not emotion. The jury will base its verdict only on evidence and law. The verdict will be based only on facts introduced at trial. The jury members must rely on their memory when deliberating, although they are allowed to take notes.

Judge Jerome Fox also said that reasonable doubt is not an excuse to avoid a guilty verdict.

Brendan Dassey is charged with three criminal offenses

Count 1 – Party to a crime first degree homicide
Count 2 – PTC Mutilating a Corpse
Count 3 – PTC 1st Deg Sexual Assault-Use/Dangerous Weapon

Steven Avery was also charge with these offenses, but the charges were dropped before the end of his trial.

Special Prosecutor Ken Kratz opened with statements that this was the largest and most intensive search and investigation in Wisconsin history. Several hundred police officers were involved in the search effort.

He gave some background. Kratz spoke of the rife in plain view in Steven Avery’s bedroom. He spoke of a vicious German Shepherd guarding the burn pit area and thus preventing investigators from making a timely inspection.

He gave a time line for the questioning of Dassey. Kratz claimed that in a February 2006 interview that Dassey said he saw Steve Avery at the fire and saw body parts.

During this presentation, Kratz mixed time lines so it appeared that evidence gathered in November 2005 was a result of the confession.

He also stated that the DNA found on the hood latch of the Halbach SUV was a result of the confession. The fluid from the hood latch was sweat from Steven Avery.

This DNA caused a flap at the trial of Avery. Buccal swabs were returned to Manitowoc County from the State Crime Lab in November, 2005. The sample taken from the hood latch was received by the crime lab in April 2006. The RAV was in the custody of Calumet County when the samples were collected.

Investigators were aware that the hood had been opened since the battery cable was found to be disconnected while this vehicle was at the state crime lab. So, a question will be why wasn’t the hood latch checked before the Toyota was returned to Calumet County.

The prosecution will have two items of evidence to base the truth of the confession. These are the hood latch DNA and the magic bullet. Both items were collected after the confession.

Kratz stated that confessing to a crime is an unnatural act. This is a myth that many believe. The reality is that a great many crimes are solved via confession.

Mark Fremgen gave opening statements for the defense.

He emphasized the lack of evidence corroborating the confession. He also asked the jury to carefully watch the progression of the confession. Statements from Brendan Dassey were not consistent and at times do not even seem to be related to the conversation. When watching the tapes of the confessions, they should observe the behavior of the interrogators.

Fremgen emphasized that they will hear much evidence that is about Steven Avery. The jury should not try to reconcile the two cases.

I would like to add that in confessions, it is important to consider the quantity and quality of control questions. These are questions that are phrased to elicit wrong answers and questions that are based on common community belief. If the confessor consistently corrects the interrogator and does so correctly, that enhances the value of the confession. If the confessor is repeating common community beliefs that can diminish the value of the confession. There is good science to help obtain valid confessions.

It is important to remember that the jury does not have the benefit of sitting through the Avery trial. Nor, is it allowed to do independent research.

The first two witnesses were Teresa Halbach’s mother and sister. Her mother testified that Teresa owned items of the same make and model as those found in the Avery burn barrel. Her sister Katie, testified that Teresa owned a pair of Daisy Fuentes branded jeans.

Wisconsin Special Agent Tom Fassbender testified that a Rambler car hood was propped against the Halbach vehicle when it was discovered. He claimed the hood was to conceal the vehicle and had to carried by two people. Kratz also wants us to believe that the vehicle was waiting to be crushed.

If one looks at photographs of the Halbach vehicle when it was found though, the items meant to conceal actually made the vehicle more obvious.

Various restraints were presented to Fassbender. He identified handcuffs and leg irons found in the Janda/Dassey trailer. One set of leg irons had a pink fur like lining on the cuffs.

Kratz jumped around in his questioning in relation to the crime line. That is he did not proceed in a linear fashion but juxtaposed incidents from separated times in his questioning. He also appeared to intermix stipulated items with contested items.

Fassbender testified that he went to Fox Hills Resort in Mishicot on the evening of 27 February 2006 to interview Brendan Dassey. Fassbender heard about bleach stains and this was his reason for interviewing Dassey.

This testimony is contrary to testimony by lead Investigator Mark Wiegert on 4 May, 2006. Wiegert then testified that Dassey relatives informed him that Dassey had told about body parts in a fire.

Defense Attorney Ray Edelstein cross examined Fassbender. Fassbender admitted that he did not know whether Manitowoc County or Calumet County had custody of the Halbach vehicle when he arrived at the Avery Salvage Yard.

Edelstein established that the car hood had not been weighed and Fassbender could move the hood by himself. No attempt was made to find original location of the hood. Fassbender also agreed that the Halbach Toyota was not ready for crushing nor were any of the vehicles in the immediate vicinity.

There was no evidence of Brendan found on the hood. Ne evidence of Brendan Dassey was found on the restraints. The restraints were located in the bedroom of Brendan’s mother.

Fassbender admitted with a little prodding that investigators had paid for the stay by Brendan and his mother at the Fox Hills Resort. Fassbender stopped at the resort at 10:30 P.M. on February 27 and questioned Brendan.

Brendan first said the stain that he helped clean in the Avery garage was reddish. Fassbender asked whether it could be blood. Brendan agreed. Fassbender asked if the stain was blood, Brendan said it was. Fassbender then agreed with the defense that when he would state a possibility, Brendan would affirm that in his next statement.