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Steven Avery & Brendan Dassey— Case Archive
Steven Averytrial-daytrial-dayNorman A. GahnJerome F. ButingMarc LeBeaudirectcrossDay 16 - March 5, 2007Marc LeBeau testified about EDTA testing of RAV4 bloodstain swabs and Avery’s stored blood. The court admitted his expert opinion and denied the defense request for sequential independent testing.
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Day 16 - March 5, 2007

EDTA Testimony, Admissibility Ruling, and Independent Testing Motion

Judge Patrick L. Willis
4Proceedings
2Pages
1Witnesses
1,999Lines
Day 16 of 27
Appearing:
Norman A. Gahn Jerome F. Buting Marc LeBeau

Marc LeBeau testified about EDTA testing of RAV4 bloodstain swabs and Avery’s stored blood. The court admitted his expert opinion and denied the defense request for sequential independent testing.

Full day summary

FBI chemist Marc LeBeau described his laboratory’s EDTA testing of three bloodstain swabs reported collected from Teresa Halbach’s RAV4. He testified that the swabs showed no detectable EDTA, while blood from Steven Avery’s purple-topped tube tested positive. In his opinion, the tested stains did not come from that tube. On cross-examination, LeBeau said the written protocol was developed for this case and reviewed within the FBI, and that the case evidence was not tested blind. He agreed that a nondetection could not establish an absolute absence of EDTA, but maintained that the amount expected from the tube was not found. After argument about the method and the scope of his opinion, the court admitted LeBeau’s expert testimony. It also admitted the day’s marked exhibits without objection, denied reconsideration of the admissibility ruling, and denied the defense motion for sequential independent testing. The court said a separate ruling on public funding was unnecessary.

1. Marc LeBeau — Direct/Cross

FBI chemist Marc LeBeau testified that three RAV4 bloodstain swabs showed no detectable EDTA, while Avery’s stored blood tested positive. On cross-examination, he defended the testing but agreed that nondetection does not prove EDTA was absent.

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Procedural
EDTA motion hearing opening and agenda
6 lines
Direct
Marc LeBeau — Direct Marc LeBeau Norman A. Gahn
311 lines

Marc LeBeau testified that FBI testing found EDTA in Steven Avery's purple-topped blood tube but not in three bloodstain swabs from Teresa Halbach's RAV4. He opined that the tested stains did not come from that tube.

Cross
Marc LeBeau — Cross Marc LeBeau Jerome F. Buting
1624 lines

Buting challenged the FBI's case-specific EDTA test, including its blind-testing practices, detection limits, and stability assumptions. LeBeau defended the method but agreed that nondetection does not establish an absolute absence of EDTA.

Highlights

Marc LeBeau — Directtestimony highlightLeBeau identified three RAV4 swabs reported collected near the ignition, from a door-panel area, and from a CD case. He testified that the tube of Avery's blood tested positive for EDTA, while the three swabs did not.Marc LeBeau — Directtestimony highlightLeBeau gave his opinion that the tested RAV4 bloodstains did not come from Avery's blood tube.Marc LeBeau — Direct“My opinion is that the bloodstains did not come from that tube of blood.”— Marc LeBeauStates LeBeau's ultimate opinion about the source of the tested bloodstains.Marc LeBeau — Crosstestimony highlightLeBeau testified that the protocol was developed in response to this case, with validation work completed before February 14 and the protocol issued February 15. He said the written protocol had no outside-FBI peer review.Marc LeBeau — CrossadmissionLeBeau distinguished a blind, ten-swab competency test from the case-evidence testing, which was not blind. He identified Dr. Jason Brewer as the person who performed the case tests.Marc LeBeau — CrossadmissionLeBeau agreed that the tests could not establish an absolute absence of EDTA in the RAV4 stains, only the absence of EDTA detectable by this method; he maintained that the expected amount from Avery's blood tube was not present.Marc LeBeau — Cross“No, sir, this was not validated as a quantitative procedure. So it was simply qualitative, was it there or was it not there.”— Marc LeBeauLeBeau stated the limit of the EDTA procedure's validated purpose.

2. Post-Testimony EDTA Motion Proceedings

The court admitted Dr. LeBeau's EDTA opinions on Day 16 and denied the defense's requests for reconsideration and sequential independent testing.

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Procedural
Post-testimony EDTA motion proceedings
58 lines

The court allowed Dr. LeBeau's EDTA opinions, admitted the day's exhibits, and denied the defense requests for reconsideration and sequential independent testing.

Highlights

Post-testimony EDTA motion proceedingsrulingThe court granted the State's motion to admit Dr. LeBeau's expert testimony and clarified that he could offer his opinion that the blood on the swabs did not come from the blood in the tube.Post-testimony EDTA motion proceedingsrulingAfter reviewing the testing timeline and the requested delay, the court denied the defense motion for sequential independent testing and funding. It said its ruling made a separate decision on public funding unnecessary.
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