10.Bobbie Dohrwardt — Direct/Cross (Recall)
100 linesDIRECT EXAMINATION BY ATTORNEY KRATZ:
MR. KRATZ: Ms Dohrwardt, the exhibit that is now being shown, Exhibit No. 361, you see a column that's called Icell, do you see that?
BOBBIE DOHRWARDT: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: Do you know what that column represents?
BOBBIE DOHRWARDT: I don't know for a fact, but by cell and the numbers, I would interpret that to be cell site numbers.
MR. KRATZ: All right. So the jury --
MR. BUTING: Objection, your Honor, if she doesn't know, she doesn't know.
THE COURT: Mr. Kratz.
MR. KRATZ: I can ask her what cell site numbers are and how she believes that column relates to that, Judge. I would be happy to do that, or I can call somebody from the Department of Justice. We can do it either way.
THE COURT: Well, you may ask additional foundation questions if you believe it will help.
MR. KRATZ: I do.
MR. KRATZ: (By Attorney Kratz)~ Ms Dohrwardt, what are cell sites?
BOBBIE DOHRWARDT: Those would be towers and sectors of towers. Ours are numbered, one tower could have up to six different numbers.
MR. KRATZ: On a cellular telephone is used, how does that cellular telephone communicate with a cell tower?
BOBBIE DOHRWARDT: By registration.
MR. KRATZ: Does that happen --
BOBBIE DOHRWARDT: There are certain events that cause registration.
MR. KRATZ: Why don't you explain that for us, if you can.
BOBBIE DOHRWARDT: When a phone is powered on, it creates registration; when it makes or receives a call, it will show registration; sends or receives a message, it will show registration. And when it's powered down, physically powered down, that would be the last registration and it would show at that time that it was physically powered off.
MR. KRATZ: And what can physically power off a telephone or a cellphone?
BOBBIE DOHRWARDT: For where I'm talking, it would be holding the power button.
MR. KRATZ: Okay. If a cellular phone is no longer operable, that is, if a cellular telephone is somehow destroyed, will it show that it is somehow off, or powered down, or will it continue to bounce off of or hit off of a cell tower?
BOBBIE DOHRWARDT: No, it will no longer have a registration.
MR. KRATZ: And if a cellphone no longer has a registration, that's two questions. First of all, can you still send a call, like a voice mail message, to that particular cellphone?
BOBBIE DOHRWARDT: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: Physically, however, if it is no longer in service, if it's destroyed, as an example; could you physically answer or communicate with that cellphone?
MR. KRATZ: And do you know or do you have an opinion as to how that may be reflected in cell records, specifically in record No. 361?
BOBBIE DOHRWARDT: I believe that the numbers in the Icell column do represent cell site numbers, that represent the cell site for each of those calls. And that at a point there is no longer any communication with the phone for the subsequent calls.
MR. KRATZ: Mr. Fallon can move that a little bit to the left.
MR. KRATZ: Are you able --
MR. KRATZ: To the left, Mr. Fallon, there you go, and up a little bit. The other way Mr. Fallon. If I could see the cell site, there we go.
MR. KRATZ: (By Attorney Kratz)~ Are you able, now looking at Exhibit 361, to see at which time is the last telephone call regarding this particular phone, Ms Halbach's phone, that actually was hitting or using a cell tower?
BOBBIE DOHRWARDT: That would be the 2:41 p.m. call.
MR. KRATZ: After 2:41 p.m., on the 31st of October, has Ms Halbach's phone ever again, as this exhibit shows you, receive or send a phone message?
MR. KRATZ: So the 4:35 call, specifically, do you see that on there?
BOBBIE DOHRWARDT: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: Says 13 seconds; is that right?
BOBBIE DOHRWARDT: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: But do you see a cell tower that's associated with that?
MR. KRATZ: What does that tell you?
BOBBIE DOHRWARDT: That tells me that that duration was spent in voice mail.
MR. KRATZ: That it wasn't -- Does it tell you whether or not it was physically answered?
BOBBIE DOHRWARDT: It could not have been. There's no cell site communicating with the phone for that call.
MR. KRATZ: So if a cell call doesn't physically ever bounce off a tower, it can't physically ever be answered; is that what you are saying?
BOBBIE DOHRWARDT: Correct.
MR. KRATZ: And is that the 4:35 call that is shown in Exhibit No. 361?
BOBBIE DOHRWARDT: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: And, in fact, every call thereafter, that phone never bounces off a cell site, does it?
BOBBIE DOHRWARDT: Correct. There's no registration.
MR. KRATZ: That's all I have got, Judge. Thank you.
THE COURT: Mr. Buting.
MR. BUTING: Just a couple of points of clarification. Sorry, I'm an idiot on this stuff, bear with me.
CROSS-EXAMINATION BY ATTORNEY BUTING:
MR. BUTING: You said that when the phone is powered down, there is no registration, right?
BOBBIE DOHRWARDT: There is an event that shows --
MR. BUTING: Okay.
BOBBIE DOHRWARDT: -- that it's physically powered down. And that we would see in the switch.
MR. BUTING: But you can't tell that from these records?
MR. BUTING: Okay. And if someone calls you when your phone is powered down, it goes into -- their phone still pings off some sort of tower, right?
BOBBIE DOHRWARDT: Who's theirs?
MR. BUTING: The calling party.
BOBBIE DOHRWARDT: The calling party calling a powered down phone?
MR. BUTING: Sure.
BOBBIE DOHRWARDT: Yes.
MR. BUTING: It still goes to a tower?
BOBBIE DOHRWARDT: The calling phone, yes.
MR. BUTING: And then that tower, what, searches for the other -- for the receiving phone? If it doesn't find it, it goes to voice mail, is that how it works?
BOBBIE DOHRWARDT: It depends on whether you're same carrier or not same carrier, that you are calling.
MR. BUTING: So, here it was a phone call from your carrier that goes to a tower trying to reach a phone that's not answering it, or not picking it up, will it go to that voice -- to that other carrier's voice mail, or how does that work?
BOBBIE DOHRWARDT: The other carrier switch would have conditions or triggers that, certain conditions are met, send the call to voice mail, such as no answer after 25 seconds.
MR. BUTING: Okay.
BOBBIE DOHRWARDT: It knows the phone is powered off and then it would send it immediately to voice mail, not --
MR. BUTING: Okay.
BOBBIE DOHRWARDT: -- 13 seconds typically.
MR. BUTING: Okay. So this -- your best estimate is this probably went to voice mail?
BOBBIE DOHRWARDT: Right.
MR. BUTING: As did the other ones after that?
BOBBIE DOHRWARDT: Right.
MR. BUTING: And the only way then to retrieve those messages if -- let's say if the phone was destroyed, somebody would have to be calling in on a land line and using and accessing that through a password?
BOBBIE DOHRWARDT: Right. From any other phone, you can access voice mail.
MR. BUTING: With a password?
BOBBIE DOHRWARDT: With a password?
MR. BUTING: All right. Thank you.
THE COURT: Anything else?
MR. KRATZ: No, Judge. I didn't know if -- if those four exhibits have been received. I believe they have, but if not, I would offer them at this time.
THE COURT: Any objection at this time?
MR. BUTING: Yes, we can talk about -- We do have an objection to summary exhibits, but I think we can probably work that out with counsel, during a break.
THE COURT: All right. I'm going to excuse the witness at this time. And members of the jury, I'm going to excuse you for the day as well. Remember not to discuss the case among yourselves or with anyone else. And make sure not to watch any news media accounts of the case. We will see you tomorrow morning at the normal time.
(Jury not present.)
THE COURT: You may be seated. We're still on the record here. Counsel, with 360 and 362, are you referring to the phone numbers that the defense may want to add to the exhibits, or something else?
MR. STRANG: What we would like to do is, I think talk to the State about modifying the exhibits. They may well agree. Just, you know, to include the information that -- that we want on and have elicited.
There's no reason the jury would have to know that the exhibit has been modified. The jury hasn't seen 360 or 362. Assuming we can reach an agreement with the State, as I expect we will, then we would not have an objection to the admission of 360 or 362 and the jury can see them at that point.
THE COURT: All right. Well, let's make sure to take that up first thing tomorrow morning. I would like to meet briefly with counsel in chambers before you leave today.
MR. KRATZ: Just, Judge, if I can just complete the record. 360 and 362 were both shown by Mr. Buting, to the jury. I promised the Court I wouldn't show them until we made any changes that there was going to be. I suspect none of them are going to pick up on that. And I don't have any objection to Mr. Buting and Mr. Strang and I trying to refine those exhibits. And if the Court has no objection and Madam Clerk doesn't as well and we can come to some agreement, we'll simply substitute those exhibits.
MR. STRANG: I stand corrected, Mr. Buting says he did briefly swipe them past, but we'll see what we can work out.
THE COURT: All right.
(Proceedings concluded.)