3.William Tyson — Direct (Part 1)
526 linesCOURT CLERK: Please raise your right hand.
SERGEANT WILLIAM TYSON, called as a witness herein, having been first duly sworn, was examined and testified as follows:
COURT CLERK: Please be seated. Please state your name and spell your last name for the record.
WILLIAM TYSON: William Tyson, T-y-s-o-n.
DIRECT EXAMINATION BY ATTORNEY KRATZ:
MR. KRATZ: Mr. Tyson, how are you employed?
WILLIAM TYSON: I am a sergeant with the patrol staff with the Calumet County Sheriff's Department.
MR. KRATZ: As a sergeant with Calumet County, were you asked to assist in search efforts at what's now called the Avery Salvage Yard?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: How was it that you were called out in this case?
WILLIAM TYSON: It was on November 5th. It was approximately 20 after 1 in the afternoon. I received a telephone call at my residence from the Calumet County Dispatch Center. They informed me that Teresa Halbach's vehicle was located at the Avery property and that my assistance was needed at the property.
MR. KRATZ: I'm sorry, Sergeant Tyson, you said that you were called out at your home. Let me ask you, as a member of the Calumet County Sheriff's Department, had you been made aware, before that date, of Ms Halbach's disappearance?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes, being the patrol sergeant, I do the shift brief things and things like that. I know our department did take a phone call, I believe it was early days of November, where the information was that Corporal Leslie Lemieux had taken a complaint of a missing person, that being Teresa Halbach.
So we were told to look for her, also her vehicle, and the plate number that belonged on her vehicle. Prior to me getting that call on Saturday, the 5th, yes, I was aware of the fact that our agency, as well as other agencies, were looking for her and her vehicle.
MR. KRATZ: Sergeant Tyson, after getting the call at home, where did you proceed to?
WILLIAM TYSON: I responded to the Sheriff's Department. I was standing by at the Sheriff's Department waiting for another deputy that was in route, also, to the Sheriff's Department, to arrive. I waited at the Sheriff's Department until she arrived. Upon her arrival, we did proceed over to the Avery property.
MR. KRATZ: Now, together with being a patrol sergeant, do have any other areas of specialization within the Calumet County Sheriff's Department?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes, back in 1994 I was promoted from a corrections officer to a patrolman; along with that I was sent to an evidence technician school in 1994. So throughout the years of 1994 until March of 2005, I would respond to crime scenes in the county, to process the crime scenes. Those were, you know, some of my responsibilities.
MR. KRATZ: Okay. About what time did you arrive at the Avery salvage property, if you remember?
WILLIAM TYSON: If I recall correctly, I think it was quarter to 3 in the afternoon.
MR. KRATZ: Upon arrival at the Avery salvage property, do you recall what your first duty was?
WILLIAM TYSON: I was met by Investigator Wiegert and Steier. They directed me to go down into the junkyard area and made contact with officers down in that area.
I proceeded down into the junkyard area where I met with several law enforcement officers that were down there. And they were keeping a crime scene log. I did introduce myself and I was talking with them briefly and was instructed to relieve a deputy that was standing by Teresa Halbach's vehicle.
MR. KRATZ: All right. We have heard testimony from several Manitowoc County Sheriff's deputies as to being first on the scene. Do you recall what department, that is, from what agency you were asked to relieve what's now known as the scene security?
WILLIAM TYSON: It was a Manitowoc County sheriff's deputy that was standing by the vehicle when I arrived.
MR. KRATZ: All right. To your knowledge, Deputy Tyson, were you the first Calumet County officer -- I guess, to state it more succinctly, were you the individual who relieved Manitowoc County from scene security responsibilities?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yeah, my understanding is, I was the first Calumet County deputy to take custody of the vehicle.
MR. KRATZ: All right. At some point -- and I don't expect you were involved in this decision, but at some point were you made aware that security for the RAV4 and for that general area of the Avery property was to be either coordinated or taken over by Calumet County?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: I'm going to show you what's been received as Exhibit No. 86. There is a laser pointer in front of you. Could you tell the jurors, if you remember, about what time it was that you took over security of the RAV4, or security of that area of the scene?
WILLIAM TYSON: According to the crime scene log, when I checked in with them, it was 5 minutes to 3, I believe.
MR. KRATZ: Can you show us about where this transition took place and where were you standing that you took over security of this area?
WILLIAM TYSON: On the display over here?
MR. KRATZ: Sure.
WILLIAM TYSON: All right.
MR. KRATZ: Do you need me to zoom in a little?
WILLIAM TYSON: Maybe just a little bit, I'm sorry.
MR. KRATZ: I'm sorry. Let me -- I think -- I think even defense counsel would agree that the lower left hand corner now of this exhibit is what we have now known as the car crusher. There's a pond that's just about in the middle of the exhibit. Does that orient you to the scene?
WILLIAM TYSON: If the car crusher is right down there --
MR. KRATZ: Yes.
WILLIAM TYSON: -- I think that would be going down the hill. And it would be right about in this area over here, I believe, is where I was requested to stand by with the vehicle.
MR. KRATZ: How close to the vehicle were you standing; do you recall?
WILLIAM TYSON: Within a foot or two, just that I was not touching it, brushing up against it, but standing right there.
MR. KRATZ: Now, I'm going to fast forward just a minute and I think you will see why, but later on that day, were you given other responsibilities at that crime scene location?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: Any time between taking over security of the RAV4 and the time that you were relieved to perform other duties, did you see any individuals, any police officers, or any citizens, either tamper with or enter this RAV4?
WILLIAM TYSON: No. Several officers did come close to it, because of the weather conditions; it had gotten really dark, there was a mist in the area. Our concern was, any evidence that could be on the exterior of the vehicle. An agent, later identified as Agent Fassbender, was concerned about that as well. A tarp was located in an attempt to protect it from the elements, from the incoming storm. But extreme care -- and I mean extreme care -- was used to make sure no officer touched it, or even the tarp touched the vehicle.
MR. KRATZ: And that was one of your responsibilities?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: Sergeant Tyson, do you know what a search warrant is?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: And sometime that afternoon, were you a made aware that a search warrant for the Avery property itself, for the vehicles there on, the residences, and the outbuildings, had been obtained by a Manitowoc County judge?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: Were you made aware that the search warrant needed to be executed, that is, that searches had to be performed that day?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: In that regard, Sergeant Tyson, were you asked to assist in any of those searches?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: Who asked you or directed you to assist in those searches?
WILLIAM TYSON: The decisions were being made by Investigator Wiegert from the Sheriff's Department in Calumet and DCI Agent Fassbender. They informed me, after everything was sorted through, and figured out which teams were going to go where, they told me I should go with Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department over to Steven Avery's residence.
MR. KRATZ: Now, Sergeant Tyson, prior to being assigned to this team, this search team, had anybody on the scene asked you or discussed with you your levels of expertise in evidence collection or processing?
WILLIAM TYSON: Investigator Wiegert is fully aware of, I guess, my experience. He just informed me that I would be requested to go with them to execute the search warrant.
MR. KRATZ: All right. Now, you said that you were teamed up with, or that you joined other officers; do you remember who was in your team?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes, it was Lieutenant Jim Lenk, from the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department; Sergeant Andy Colborn, from the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department; and Detective Dave Remiker, from the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department.
MR. KRATZ: Was there any discussion about what each of your responsibilities were going to be and, I guess, more specifically, was there a discussion about who was in charge of this team?
WILLIAM TYSON: It was told to me that no Manitowoc County deputy should be alone on the property. Investigator Wiegert told me my responsibility would be to go with them into the Steve Avery trailer and to document what they were doing, take notes, and if evidence was seized by them, to take custody of all the evidence at the end of the search warrant.
MR. KRATZ: Do you know why a Calumet County deputy was put in charge of the custody of any physical evidence that might be obtained.
WILLIAM TYSON: It was told to me that Investigator Wiegert would be the lead investigator and that the investigation was turned over to Calumet County versus Manitowoc County.
MR. KRATZ: All right. Going into that scene, that is, going into that first search effort that you did, was that made clear to you?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: And from your knowledge, or were you present, was that made clear to the other members of your team?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yeah, there was no misunderstanding as far as who was taking custody. There was no discussions, no arguments, I should say, from anybody that I was with. It was clear understanding of what was to happen.
MR. KRATZ: All right. Were there other search efforts going on, or were you made aware of other search efforts in this entire location at the same time that you and this team had been developed?
WILLIAM TYSON: My understanding was there was a number of things that were going on at the same time. You know, our team was just designated to go down to Steven's trailer, but there were other officers being assigned different duties as well. What those were, I really don't know. My responsibility was my team and where we were going to be going.
MR. KRATZ: Now, the kind of search that you were asked to perform, were you given direction about that?
WILLIAM TYSON: I guess I wouldn't really say direction; we were to execute the search warrant. And talking with the Manitowoc officers, it was more of a quick, anything in the obvious, let's go through the residence, see if we can find Teresa; anything to do with Teresa, anything at all. But that's kind of how the first search, I would classify it as.
MR. KRATZ: Let me ask you this, Sergeant Tyson, did you have an understanding that either you or other police officers would be reentering this residence?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes, it was commonly known that this was a scene that was going to be held. And, you know, it was 7, I think 7:30 when we went through the front door of Steven's residence and --
(Court reporter couldn't hear.)
WILLIAM TYSON: I guess I'm not sure what was I -- where was I going. I started with we were heading down to the Steve Avery trailer.
MR. KRATZ: Right.
WILLIAM TYSON: Right. It was raining out. It was pouring. We were all drenched. But we got inside the trailer. You know, it was 7:30 in the afternoon. And, you know, the search had started at quarter to 8. And it was a quick search, you know. We were out of there within three hours.
MR. KRATZ: Now, for 16 people that have never probably done a search, or excuse me, search warrant, you just called a three hour search a quick search. Could you explain that to the jury, what -- what's quick about a three hour search?
WILLIAM TYSON: Not knowing a lot of the information that was later learned, you know, we're looking at this whole area. Where is the crime scene? What is -- is there a location exactly on the property.
So when we're going through the house, we're looking for things that are obvious to us, any blood or anything like that. So to say that you can search someone's bedroom within 30 minutes, okay, well, that's a quick search. And you are talking the closet areas; you are talking desk draws; you are talking under the bed. You are talking a whole area.
And if you are looking for things in specific, you know, that would mean, basically, you would have to go through the closet, every article of clothing removed, through the pockets. It's going to take you a whole lot longer than that to say that you thoroughly -- did a thorough search.
MR. KRATZ: Let me ask you then, Sergeant Tyson, have you been involved in thorough searches, searches that you were looking for smaller items of evidence, or trace evidence, or things like that before in your career?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes. Working in the drug unit, you know, execute search warrants, you are looking for a small pipe or something, you have to be very thorough. You have to go into areas where something like that small could be. So it's a very detailed, very thorough search when you are dealing with like drug materials and things like that.
MR. KRATZ: And that first search, that is, the first search that you and Lieutenant Lenk and Sergeant Colborn and Detective Remiker did, would you have considered that a thorough search, one of these thorough searches that you are describing?
WILLIAM TYSON: No. Like I said, half hour to go through a bedroom and be out of that whole residence within two and a half to three hours, that's a quick search.
MR. KRATZ: All right. We're going to go through each of the specific rooms that were searched by you that evening.
MR. KRATZ: Judge, if you would like me to do that I can, otherwise this might be a good time to break.
THE COURT: Sounds like this might be a good time to take our afternoon break, so we will do so. Members of the jury, again, do not discuss the case while you are on your break. We'll resume at 5 minutes to 3.
MR. KRATZ: Thank you.
(Jury not present.)
THE COURT: Counsel, you are going to get some exhibits marked during the break?
MR. KRATZ: Yes, I would like to do that, so it works a little quicker.
THE COURT: If it takes a little longer, it takes a little longer, but I told the clerk you would be doing it.
MR. KRATZ: Thank you.
(Recess taken.)
THE COURT: Mr. Kratz, you may continue with your direct examination.
MR. KRATZ: Thank you, Judge.
DIRECT EXAMINATION CONTD
MR. KRATZ: Sergeant Tyson, you mentioned that you had gone into the Avery trailer to commence a search of that property; did all four team members enter the residence at the same time.
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: Now, you mentioned that you were in charge of both documentation as well as seizure or collection of property; is that a fair representation?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes. After it was collected, it would be turned over to me for transport back to our facility.
MR. KRATZ: Before an item was recovered, were you called to the location where it may have been found.
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes, for example, when they were searching the bedroom, if Sergeant Colborn located something, he would immediately draw my attention, I'm standing right there. So I could see what they were doing. If he found something, I could see that he found it. And I would document the exact time that he found it and, you know, and then it was seized.
MR. KRATZ: What was the first room that you searched?
WILLIAM TYSON: After the photography of the inside of the residence was complete, the decision was made to start in the south bedroom. And that was later identified as Steven Avery's bedroom.
MR. KRATZ: You mentioned after the photography was complete, it sounds like something first happened before the search; is that right?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yeah. Upon entry into the residence, Sergeant Colborn had a 35 mm camera and Detective Remiker had a digital camera. And they just -- once we got in there, they just began photographing each of the rooms. And every room inside the trailer was photographed. After that was finished, then the decision was made to start the search in Steven's bedroom.
MR. KRATZ: Did you accompany them through that search?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: Did you enter the bedroom as well?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: Could you describe this bedroom for us, please.
WILLIAM TYSON: Sure. You walk in through the doorway. Immediately to the right there was a night stand and then the bed. Straight ahead of that, to the left, there was a small bookcase, a desk. There was windows on the back wall. You go along the bed, there was a dresser in the corner and the closets were up against the opposite wall from where the door was.
MR. KRATZ: How large was this bedroom?
WILLIAM TYSON: Rather small bedroom, actually.
MR. KRATZ: Four grown men were in this room; is that right?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: Describe that for the jury, if you can.
WILLIAM TYSON: Well, as we walked in, Detective Remiker and Lieutenant Lenk, they said, well, because it was a small confined area, we're going to start over on the side where the closet sat. We will start going through that stuff.
Sergeant Colborn concentrated his search on the book shelf and the desk on the opposite side of the room. So the bed was in the middle, two on that side, two on this side. I'm standing directly inside the doorway, watching what they were doing.
MR. KRATZ: Were they in constant view of you?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: All right. Let's talk about some of the things that were observed in the bed -- excuse me -- in the bedroom. First exhibit I'm going to ask you to take a look at is Exhibit No. 163. Can you tell us what that is, please.
WILLIAM TYSON: The very first picture here?
MR. KRATZ: Yes.
WILLIAM TYSON: Okay. This would be a view of Steven Avery's bed.
MR. KRATZ: Go ahead.
WILLIAM TYSON: This is a view of Steven Avery's bed and the night stand directly next to the bed.
MR. KRATZ: And just so the -- the record is clear, unless something unusual occurs or is alerted, your Honor, by counsel, so that this witness doesn't have to talk about evidence twice, Mr. Strang has been kind enough to allow the item to be projected at the same time as the witness testifies about it, so I appreciate that very much.
THE COURT: All right. Is that correct, Mr. Strang?
MR. STRANG: Yes, it's actually Mr. Buting.
THE COURT: Mr. Buting.
MR. BUTING: That's correct.
MR. KRATZ: Oh, I'm sorry.
MR. KRATZ: (By Attorney Kratz)~ Sergeant Tyson, the bed in Steven Avery's bedroom, the exhibit that is 163, looks like it has some bedding on it; is that correct?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: And there seems to be something above the bed, can you tell what you that is.
WILLIAM TYSON: Directly above the bed was a gun rack, and it did house two long barreled firearms inside the mounting brackets.
MR. KRATZ: Can you describe those firearms for us, please.
WILLIAM TYSON: They were long guns. They weren't hand guns. They were long guns. I didn't walk up and remove them or physically check them out or anything, but I could see that they were firearms up on the wall.
MR. KRATZ: All right. Did you later come to have either a closer inspection, or to become familiar with those guns?
WILLIAM TYSON: I never personally looked at the firearms after they were collected. They weren't collected that evening with the officers that I was with. There was a different officer, I believe, that collected those firearms.
MR. KRATZ: What were the guns on?
WILLIAM TYSON: The gun rack, they were hanging on the wall.
MR. KRATZ: And Exhibit No. 166, which is actually a little bit of a gap, if you would set 164 and 5 to the side, I would appreciate it; 166 is being projected, can you tell us what that is, please.
WILLIAM TYSON: That was the gun rack that was hanging directly above the bed.
MR. KRATZ: Also going to have Investigator Wiegert help me through this process since there's lots of evidence to show the jury. Investigator Wiegert is going to hand you what's been marked for identification as Exhibit 196; can you show that and tell the jury what that is, please.
WILLIAM TYSON: This is the gun rack that was mounted on the wall directly above the headboard of Steven's bed.
MR. KRATZ: And, again, were those the -- was that the rack in which those two long guns were located?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: And the last photo I want you to look at is Exhibit 167. It's in front of you and now the jury can see that. Can you tell us what 167 is?
WILLIAM TYSON: Looks like it's the same gun rack that's in front of me right now.
MR. KRATZ: Just an evidence photo that is taken here at the sheriff's department?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: Set that over there. Thank you, Investigator.
MR. KRATZ: (By Attorney Kratz)~ In this bedroom, did you notice other pieces of furniture?
WILLIAM TYSON: There was the bookcase; there was the desk; there was a dresser.
MR. KRATZ: Okay. Let's do these one at time. First, the bookcase, and I'm going to do this in two different areas of inquiry. As an evidence technician, were you not only responsible to observe items on the 5th of November, but did you later return to Mr. Avery's residence with the -- with a search warrant to seize this very item.
WILLIAM TYSON: Yeah, I believe that was December 9th.
MR. KRATZ: The first thing I'm going to have you do is look at Exhibit 166, which is on the board -- I'm sorry, 168, which is on the wall here, tell the jury what that is, please.
WILLIAM TYSON: That's the bookcase that was up against the wall as you walked into the bedroom. It was the very first piece of furniture, I believe, on the floor. It was sitting right next to the desk, which was in the corner.
MR. KRATZ: You said that was seized at some time?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: When was that?
WILLIAM TYSON: That particular piece, I believe, was seized on December 9th.
MR. KRATZ: All right. And were you involved in the seizure of it; in other words, did you go to the Avery residence and take possession of this piece of furniture?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes, C.I. Agent Fassbender, myself, and there was, I think, two more agents from the Department of Criminal Investigations. We did go out there on the 9th and did seize that particular piece of evidence.
MR. KRATZ: Now, Sergeant Tyson, there's going to be some testimony, I expect, in the next couple of days about this but, did you have occasion to make observations at Mr. Avery's bedroom of the back panel or the rear of this particular piece of furniture?
MR. BUTING: Objection as to time of these observations, it's unclear.
MR. KRATZ: I can -- I can ask specifically when, Judge.
THE COURT: Very well.
MR. KRATZ: (By Attorney Kratz)~ On the 9th of December, did you have occasion to observe the back panel of this piece of evidence?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes. We got into the bedroom to seize it. I did photograph it prior to seizing it. I did a side view, front view. And the side view, you can see the backing of it was coming out, the nails were protruding from the backing of the cabinet.
MR. KRATZ: You said that you took a photo of that. In fact, Exhibit 169, is that a photo of that back panel?
WILLIAM TYSON: It appears to be that, yes.
MR. KRATZ: If you take your laser pointer, please, and tell the jury what it is that we're looking at.
WILLIAM TYSON: This here would be the backing to the bookcase. And you can see the distance here where it's pulled away from the back of the bookcase.
MR. KRATZ: Now prior to taking this particular photo and prior to making that observation, in fact, did you in any way manipulate this piece of furniture, or pull the panel out, or anything like that?
WILLIAM TYSON: No, we didn't touch the back of it at all, didn't even move it. I just started photographing it prior to collecting it.
MR. KRATZ: I notice in the bedroom that there was a night stand. I'm showing you Exhibit No. 170, does that show a picture of the night stand?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes, it's right there.
MR. KRATZ: And after having been seized, was an evidence photo taken; in other words, at the sheriff's department of that night stand, Exhibit 171?
MR. BUTING: Objection, as to the timing of all this. If he could maybe -- if we're going back and forth with those from November, to December, or later, I think we should identify when these are taken.
THE COURT: I agree.
MR. KRATZ: (By Attorney Kratz)~ Do you know when this photo was taken, No. 171?
WILLIAM TYSON: I don't know the exact date. The person that assisted me with the evidence, his name is Deputy Jeremy Hawkins, he was responsible for all the photography. So I did assist him, but the exact date, I would have to refer back to my report.
MR. KRATZ: I think, Judge, this is the only item that wasn't seized on that day, from what I see after that. Let me just see if there's going to be an objection to this one.
MR. KRATZ: (By Attorney Kratz)~ Sergeant Tyson, do you know when the night stand -- when this piece of furniture was seized?
WILLIAM TYSON: I believe that was after the search warrant on March 1st or 2nd.
MR. KRATZ: Of 2006?
WILLIAM TYSON: Correct.
MR. KRATZ: This bedroom of Steven Avery --
MR. BUTING: Counsel, could we just -- the prior photograph, could we, please, just get a date as to when that was taken. You showed the night stand in the room.
MR. KRATZ: Sure.
MR. KRATZ: (By Attorney Kratz)~ The night stand in the room, did that look the same or similar as it did on the 5th of November? The prior picture, that would be Exhibit No. 170?
MR. BUTING: Can you put that up?
MR. KRATZ: If I could, I would. There you go.
MR. KRATZ: (By Attorney Kratz)~ That's Exhibit 170, does that look the same or similar as it did when you first searched it on the 5th of November?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes, it's in the same location, looks about the same.
MR. KRATZ: All right. Mr. Avery's bedroom carpeted, or have a rug, or hardwood floors, or what kind of flooring was that?
WILLIAM TYSON: It was carpeted.
MR. KRATZ: I'm going to show you Exhibit No. 172, ask you to take a look at the carpeting. Does that look the same or similar as the carpeting did on November 5th?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: Sergeant Tyson, Exhibit 172, do you know when that picture was taken?
WILLIAM TYSON: That picture would have had to have been taken after December 9th, because the bookcase is not there. So that would have had to have been March 1st.
MR. KRATZ: And as far as law enforcement involvement, that was, as far as you were concerned, December 9th, you folks were there; is that right?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: And March 1st, were you also the individual that was in charge of the evidence collection and technician responsibility inside of Mr. Avery's trailer?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: So it's your understanding that this photo, that is 172, was taken on March 1st?
WILLIAM TYSON: I said it would have to be after December 9th, so, yeah, next time we were there was, I believe, March 1st.
MR. KRATZ: And the question, at least for this photo is, did the carpet look the same on November 5th and December 9th and March 1st?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yeah, looks to be the same carpeting that was in the room in November of 2005 as it was March of 2006.
MR. KRATZ: While searching Mr. Avery's bedroom, were there any items of restraint that were found?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes. Sergeant Colborn located leg shackles and handcuffs.
MR. KRATZ: Did -- Were those items seized?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: Let me first show you what's been marked as Exhibit No. 204. Tell the jury what that is, please.
WILLIAM TYSON: Appears to be the handcuffs that would have been seized by Sergeant Colborn on November 5th, 2005.
MR. KRATZ: Did you see where these items were seized from?
WILLIAM TYSON: If I recall correctly, Sergeant Colborn found them in the bookcase in Steven's bedroom.
MR. KRATZ: All right. You said that there was another item of restraint that was found as well?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes, leg irons.
MR. KRATZ: Let me show you what's been marked for identification as Exhibit No. 203; tell the jury what that is, please.
WILLIAM TYSON: That would be the leg irons that were also found by Sergeant Colborn. And I believe they were found in the same location as the handcuffs, in this bookcase in his bedroom.
MR. KRATZ: All right. Sergeant Tyson, after their seizure, and so that we don't have to bring these items into court, do you know if photographs were taken, that is, evidence photographs were taken of these two items?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: I show you Exhibit No. 173, ask if you recognize that photograph.
WILLIAM TYSON: It would be an evidence photograph. I know that because of the white paper in the background. All the evidence that we took care of at the sheriff's department we used freezer paper and that would be consistent with what I see.
MR. KRATZ: Of the handcuffs?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: And 174, what is that?
WILLIAM TYSON: That would be the leg irons.
MR. KRATZ: Anything else seized that first evening from Mr. Avery's bedroom, as far as you recall?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: Well, let -- let me just -- let me just specifically ask about -- about something called identifiers. This is more of a search term and please bear with my clumsy question. But are efforts made to identify whether or not a certain person lives in a particular residence when you search it?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes. When we search residences, you have to show that a person lives in that residence. So we look for any piece of mail that would have the person's name, along with their mailing address; could be a magazine, could be a phone bill, could be any kind of correspondence you get through the mail with your address on it.
MR. KRATZ: Investigator Wiegert is going to hand you what's been marked Exhibit No. 200, I need you to tell the jury what Exhibit 200 is, please.
WILLIAM TYSON: It's a University of Wisconsin Law School envelope addressed to Steven Avery at 12390 Avery Road, Two Rivers, Wisconsin.
MR. KRATZ: Was that the residence that you were searching on the 5th of November?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. BUTING: I'm sorry, what's the number, exhibit number?
MARK WIEGERT: The exhibit number is 200.
MR. KRATZ: Oh, 200?
MR. BUTING: Is that just an envelope?
WILLIAM TYSON: That would be the correct address for Steven, 12932, or something like that. So that envelope right there, I think would have the Avery -- maybe his mother and father's address on it, but it was found inside the trailer.
MR. KRATZ: All right. But it had Steven's name on it and found inside the trailer?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: After searching the bedroom, what was the next room that the four of you searched?
WILLIAM TYSON: The bathroom.
MR. KRATZ: And could you tell the jury what, if anything, was found in the bathroom?
WILLIAM TYSON: Sure. There was a blood -- possible bloodstain on the linoleum floor that Sergeant Colborn had located. Just back up a little bit here, because as they were working in Steven's bedroom, Lieutenant Lenk and Detective Remiker were finishing up with what they had to do. Sergeant Colborn was finding all the stuff that we have just seen.
Lieutenant Lenk told me he was going to leave the bedroom and go into the bathroom, just to see what was in the bathroom. So I repositioned myself into the hallway. I could see Detective Remiker and Sergeant Colborn; I could also see Investigator Lenk in the bathroom.
MR. KRATZ: As the individual documenting what was now a transition from one room to the other, you were in a position to see both; is that right?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: The bathroom, can you tell us where it is located, compared to the bedroom.
WILLIAM TYSON: The very next room. If you were to walk out of the bedroom, go out in the hallway a couple feet, if that, and it's right there.
MR. KRATZ: The hallway that you positioned yourself in, would you be able to see both rooms?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: Tell me what, if anything, was found in the bathroom?
WILLIAM TYSON: The possible blood spot on the linoleum floor, as I said, was found by Sergeant Colborn. He photographed it and it was collected with a swab.
MR. KRATZ: Collected with a swab, well, let's talk about that a little bit. As an evidence tech, what does collection of something like a blood spot entail?
WILLIAM TYSON: Because it's dried, and it's on the floor, what you do is you can use distilled water and use a sterile swab, which is evidence material that we get. You know, they are sealed, you open them up, take the distilled water, you drop two to three drops on the cotton applicator at the end of the swab. And then you take that swab and you go into the blood stain itself and you are able to pick up the bloodstain by just dampening the end of the sterile swab.
MR. KRATZ: Was that done once or more than once in the trailer?
WILLIAM TYSON: There were several swabs that we took inside the trailer.
MR. KRATZ: By the way, Sergeant Tyson, does that process, that is, the collection of blood or other fluids, does that take some training or experience on an evidence tech's part?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes. You have to know certain things. For example, if you have got the distilled water applicator, it cannot touch the cotton swab. You cannot make contact with it. If so, the swab is no good, your bottle of distilled, throw it in the garbage. It's useless at that point. So you have to have a little bit of training and know exactly what you are doing to avoid possibly tainting the swab.
MR. KRATZ: All right. After searching the bathroom, where did you folks go?
WILLIAM TYSON: The bathroom was being searched by Lieutenant Lenk and the bedroom was being completed by Sergeant Colborn and Detective Remiker. I had noticed some spots on the door directly behind me, which was an interior/exterior door to go out of the residence. So I drew the attention to Detective Remiker and Sergeant Colborn, Investigator Lenk, to that area. And they did concentrate their efforts, then, photographing the door. And swabs were taken of some of the stains that were on that door as well.
MR. KRATZ: What did you do then?
WILLIAM TYSON: After that was done, the search then continued and they entered the bedroom, which was the only other bedroom in the residence. And that would be located between the living room and the bathroom.
MR. KRATZ: That would be called the -- what bedroom did you call that?
WILLIAM TYSON: We referred to it as the spare bedroom. It was used more for -- wasn't being slept in, I guess you could say, more of a storage room, but there was a bed in the room.
MR. KRATZ: All right. After that room was searched and processed, what room was next?
WILLIAM TYSON: Then it was the living room.
MR. KRATZ: Were there any items, prominent items of furniture in the living room?
WILLIAM TYSON: You got your couch and then there was a computer desk in the room.
MR. KRATZ: I'm going to direct your attention to Exhibit No. 175, can you tell us what that is, please.
WILLIAM TYSON: That's the computer desk area in the living room.
MR. KRATZ: Now, there's a lot to look at in Exhibit 175, can you just generally orient us to what we are looking at, please, using the laser pointer.
WILLIAM TYSON: Sure. He's got his television, box on top of there, and here you got your computer, printer.
MR. KRATZ: Speak up a little bit.
WILLIAM TYSON: I'm sorry. You have got the television right here. Then you got your computer monitor, printer. Okay. I think the tower was down underneath it on the floor.
MR. KRATZ: All right. I'm going to hand you what's been marked for identification as Exhibit No. 198; show that to the jury and tell them what that is.
WILLIAM TYSON: That's a pocket size notebook. Detective Remiker had located this item, was in one of the drawers inside the desk. He had pulled it out, opened it up to the second page and this is what he saw.
MR. KRATZ: This has already been introduced as Exhibit 148, let me just get to that. Tell us what that reads.
WILLIAM TYSON: It's 920-737-4731.
MR. KRATZ: And that's in what color ink, if you know?
WILLIAM TYSON: Green.
MR. KRATZ: And black ink, is there something else written on there?
WILLIAM TYSON: Right below that, in black ink, are the words, back to patio door.
MR. KRATZ: Did you become aware of whose phone number that was?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes. Detective Remiker stated he immediately recognized that number to be the cell number for Teresa Halbach. After he told me that, I said, yeah, that does look familiar. It is, that is the number.
MR. KRATZ: And then a photograph of that having been taken at the sheriff's department, that's Exhibit No. 176, I believe; can you tell us what that is, please.
WILLIAM TYSON: That's exactly what you saw. That's an evidence photo taken at the sheriff's department.
MR. KRATZ: I'm going to hand you now what's been -- Well, we might as well get these two out of the way, Exhibit 197 and 199. Tell the jury what those are, please.
WILLIAM TYSON: Two pocket notebooks.
MR. KRATZ: Also seized from the computer desk area?
WILLIAM TYSON: I believe that would be correct.
MR. KRATZ: Sergeant Tyson --
MR. BUTING: Wait, slow down, can you identify that?
MR. KRATZ: I'm sorry.
MR. KRATZ: (By Attorney Kratz)~ They are two different colors, which color is 199?
WILLIAM TYSON: The red one would be 199, the green one being 197.
MR. KRATZ: All right. Thank you, very much. I will have Investigator Wiegert hand you what's been marked as Exhibit 194; can you tell us what that is, please.
WILLIAM TYSON: That's a for sale sign that was found by Detective Remiker in the desk that was located in the living room.
MR. KRATZ: Can you show us the for sale sign. Is there something written on the back?
WILLIAM TYSON: On the back there is an address of 3302 Zander Road. And directly underneath it, once again, shows telephone number 920-737-4731, which Detective Remiker once again said, that's Teresa Halbach's number.
MR. KRATZ: Exhibit 149, which I'm showing now, is already part of the case and has been admitted into evidence. I'm now showing you what's Exhibit 177; what is that?
WILLIAM TYSON: Looks like a scene photograph taken by either Colborn or Remiker. And, obviously, I think it was pulled out a little bit so you can see what it was, but I think it was in further. I think it was just pulled out and photographed it, to show that it was found there.
MR. KRATZ: And Exhibit 178, is that a picture of what we saw was the front of the for sale sign?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: And 179, would be the back; is that right?
WILLIAM TYSON: That's correct.
MR. KRATZ: Once again, 737-4731 was Teresa Halbach's telephone number; is that right?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: Now, without going into any details at all, was it readily apparent to you what the address 3302 Zander Road was?
MR. KRATZ: Sergeant, I'm now going to hand you what's been marked for identification as Exhibit 202, ask if you can tell us what that is, please.
WILLIAM TYSON: It's an Auto Trader Magazine.
MR. KRATZ: Where was that found?
WILLIAM TYSON: Detective Remiker located this on top of the computer desk in the living room.
MR. KRATZ: Is it opened to a particular page?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes, page 114.
MR. KRATZ: And does that have any significance or does it just happened to be open to that page?
WILLIAM TYSON: I guess I'm not exactly sure what the significance is.
MR. KRATZ: That's fine. The -- Exhibit No. 150, this is already in evidence, is this how that particular Auto Trader looked on the computer desk?
WILLIAM TYSON: I believe that's -- yeah, that's the scene photograph.
MR. KRATZ: And Exhibit 180 -- By the way was there more than one Auto Trader Magazine on that desk?
WILLIAM TYSON: I believe there were a couple.
MR. KRATZ: All right. Is Exhibit 180 one of those pictures?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: And, finally, Exhibit 181, we talked about some scene -- or excuse me, evidence photos; is that 181?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes, that would be an evidence photo.
MR. KRATZ: And I'll have Investigator Wiegert hand you Exhibit No. 201, tell us what this was and where was it found, please.
WILLIAM TYSON: Number 201 is a bill of sale for Auto Trader Magazine. I believe this was found by Detective Remiker and this was also either on or in the computer desk. I'm not exactly sure.
MR. KRATZ: I'm going to show you Exhibit No. 182, is that a photo of that bill of sale on the desk?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: Exhibit 151, already in evidence, does that look like one of those evidence photos, again?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: Sergeant Tyson, about what time of night was it that this is getting to be; in other words, when you got through the bedroom and the bathroom, and through the living room, about what time were those rooms all completed?
WILLIAM TYSON: It was approaching the 10:00 hour at night.
MR. KRATZ: Investigator Wiegert is now going to hand you what's been marked as Exhibit No. 195; and ask you to identify that, if you can.
WILLIAM TYSON: It's a bleach bottle.
MR. KRATZ: And have you seen that before?
WILLIAM TYSON: Looks like possibly the one that was in the bathroom up on a shelf.
MR. KRATZ: Whose bathroom and whose shelf?
WILLIAM TYSON: I'm sorry, Steve Avery's bathroom, on a shelf.
MR. KRATZ: All right. We'll talk about evidence photos again so we don't have to lug these things into the courtroom. I'm showing you what's been marked as Exhibit 183. Tell us what that is, please.
WILLIAM TYSON: It's a evidence photo of the bleach bottle.
MR. KRATZ: What's Exhibit No. 184?
WILLIAM TYSON: The carpet cleaner.
MR. KRATZ: Have you seen that before?
WILLIAM TYSON: I did. I believe this was in that spare bedroom in Steven's residence.
MR. KRATZ: And after being seized, was a photo taken of that at the sheriff's department?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes, that would be an evidence photo right here.
MR. KRATZ: 184; is that right?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: Just to complete the next six pictures, although we talked about them, these photos were a little bit out of order. We talked about some blood spots in the bathroom. I just want to show the jury some pictures of those, tell them about Exhibit 185, please.
WILLIAM TYSON: Exhibit 185 appeared to be the linoleum floor in the bathroom. And see a dried stain on the floor, right there.
MR. KRATZ: Was that one of those spots that was swabbed or collected from what you talked about?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yeah, I believe Detective Remiker did swab that stain.
MR. KRATZ: We'll hear from him later in this case, but you were present when all that processing was going on?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: What's Exhibit 186?
WILLIAM TYSON: 186 looks like it's a close up of the same stain.
MR. KRATZ: All right. And 187?
WILLIAM TYSON: Looks like there's some stains on the -- if that's the door? I'm not exactly sure. Looks like some stains on a dark colored surface.
MR. KRATZ: I tell you what I'll do, I will save that for Detective Remiker. Does that sound like a good idea?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yeah.
MR. KRATZ: All right. And you talked about those identifiers before. I show you Exhibit 188, tell us what that is, please.
WILLIAM TYSON: This would be the letter that was inside of the envelope that you saw, which wears the identifiers from the University of Wisconsin Law School, addressed to Steven Avery.
MR. KRATZ: Exhibit 189?
WILLIAM TYSON: Also an envelope showing the address of Mr. Avery, but being 12930.
MR. KRATZ: Does that look like it's taken at the scene?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: Now, looks like somebody is wearing gloves in that scene, maybe describe that for the jury. What's that for?
WILLIAM TYSON: All of us that were inside the residence, before you even make entry, you put gloves on your hands as to try not to leave any of your stuff behind, is what it's called. You don't want to be touching things with, you know, your bare hands. So you wear gloves to make sure you are not tainting the scene.
MR. KRATZ: And, finally, we have been talking about evidence photos, Exhibit No. 190, what is that?
WILLIAM TYSON: This would be the envelope from the University of Wisconsin Madison Law School, addressed to Steven Avery.
MR. KRATZ: All right. Now, at any time during the search, at least when you entered the search sometime -- about what time was it that you entered, I'm sorry?
WILLIAM TYSON: We entered his residence, it was 7:30 p.m.
MR. KRATZ: And from 7:30 p.m. until you left the residence -- What time did you leave?
WILLIAM TYSON: We left at 10:05 p.m.
MR. KRATZ: Any time between 7:30 and 10:05, did either you, Detective Remiker, Lieutenant Lenk, or Sergeant Colborn ever leave that residence?
MR. KRATZ: At any time during the search of the residence on the 5th of November, did Lieutenant Lenk, Sergeant Colborn, or Detective Remiker, ever take any items of property from that location?
WILLIAM TYSON: No, they may have assisted carrying the stuff out at the end of the evening to place it in Detective Remiker's squad; I was with them. So they may have assisted carrying stuff out, putting it in the backseat, but it was with me. And they did give me a ride back up to the Command Post and I personally unloaded all the objects and put them in my squad car.
MR. KRATZ: What the record hasn't reflected and what the jury hasn't seen, each one of these evidence items were in a sealed bag; is that right?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes. Lieutenant Lenk had -- was in charge of putting everything inside the bags, so they were secured, each individual piece. Those items were then taken out to the squad and turned over to me to be taken to the sheriff's department.
MR. KRATZ: All right. Sergeant Tyson, I'm going to direct your attention -- this is a little bit out of order, but since it's next on my photo list, that's where I'm going. On April 3rd of 2006, were you asked to make contact with Teresa Halbach's RAV4 vehicle?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: Can you tell the jury the purpose of that contact, please.
WILLIAM TYSON: Sure. Investigator Wiegert and Agent Fassbender requested that Deputy Hawkins and myself go out to where Teresa's vehicle was. They wished for us to do DNA swabs of the driver's door, the passenger door. They wanted a swab done of the hood latch to the vehicle, as well as the battery cables under the hood.
MR. KRATZ: All right. And DNA swabs, what exactly is that; what are you talking about?
WILLIAM TYSON: Pretty much the same as swabbing for blood, only you can't see anything. You are looking for any type of DNA, be it skin cells, or any kind of sweat, you know, anything that's DNA.
So what we're doing is kind of the same procedure. We're taking distilled water, dropping it on the end of the cotton swabs. And you just swab the area to hopefully pick up DNA, if it's there.
MR. KRATZ: Okay. We're going to hear from the analyst that is on the other side of that process, but did you, in fact, do that on the 3rd of April?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: We're going to have Investigator Wiegert have marked, actually, a package. I'm not going to have it opened, but we'll have the package marked.
(Exhibit No. 205 marked for identification.)
MR. KRATZ: What's the number?
MARK WIEGERT: 205.
MR. KRATZ: (By Attorney Kratz)~ He's going to hand you Exhibit No. 205, can you tell us what that is, please.
WILLIAM TYSON: Number 205 is the actual swab containing possible DNA evidence that was taken from the hood latch of Teresa Halbach's vehicle on April 3rd.
MR. KRATZ: Can you tell us where a hood latch is, especially on a RAV4?
WILLIAM TYSON: It's right underneath the hood itself. You pop the hood latch thing inside and you have to undo it.
MR. KRATZ: Pop the hood latch thing inside, that sounds like a law enforcement term. What are talking about?
WILLIAM TYSON: You have to go inside the vehicle to release the hood latch so you can get in to manipulate the actual hood latch lever to get the hood open.
MR. KRATZ: I'm going to show you Exhibit No. 191; tell us what we're looking at here.
WILLIAM TYSON: Looks like the front of Teresa Halbach's vehicle.
MR. KRATZ: And 192 is a close up of something; what is that?
WILLIAM TYSON: The hood latch.
MR. KRATZ: And using your laser pointer, can you tell the jury what you did on April 3rd with exhibit -- or what's depicted on Exhibit 192.
WILLIAM TYSON: Sure. This area right here would be the releasing mechanism for the hood latch. So what I had done is took my swab, placed some distilled water on it, and I swabbed the front and back of this piece right here.
MR. KRATZ: Now, to get at that particular release lever or that latch, how do you do that?
WILLIAM TYSON: You had to go into the vehicle, pull the release. And once the hood goes up a little bit, you are able to get in there and make the hood go up.
MR. KRATZ: To get in where?
WILLIAM TYSON: To that area.
MR. KRATZ: Do you have to reach inside of something?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes, you have to go in between the hood and the frame to release the lever and make the hood go up.
MR. KRATZ: What time did you finish your search of Mr. Avery's trailer?
WILLIAM TYSON: On November 5th?
MR. KRATZ: Yes, I'm sorry?
WILLIAM TYSON: 10:05 p.m.
MR. KRATZ: And after 10:05 p.m., then, were you given any further responsibilities at the Avery salvage property?
WILLIAM TYSON: After I cleared, we went back to the command center. I off loaded all the evidence that was seized out of Steven's trailer, secured it into my squad car, made contact with Agent Fassbender and Investigator Wiegert, and told to transport it back to the sheriff's department and to be back at the scene the next morning for further instructions.
MR. KRATZ: Kind of a long day?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: The next day, that is, Sunday, the 6th of November, Sergeant Tyson, did you return to that scene?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: And what were your duties on the 6th of November?
WILLIAM TYSON: On the 6th of November, I made contact with Investigator Wiegert and Agent Fassbender. My responsibilities on the 6th, I was teamed up with Detective Sergeant Brian Swetlik, Detective Jeff Tech, and Patrol Officer Rob Block from the city of Manitowoc Police Department. Our duties that day were to search a trailer that had not been searched yet. They didn't believe anybody lived in it, it was more for housing vehicle -- vehicle parts and things like that, so.
MR. KRATZ: I'm sorry to interrupt you, Sergeant, but these three city of Manitowoc officers, did they have any specialized training that you knew?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes. Rob Block was a patrol officer with the city of Manitowoc. He was an evidence technician and Jeff Tech was a detective and Brian Swetlik was also a sergeant detective.
MR. KRATZ: By the way, I don't think we mentioned this, but do lieutenant Lenk, Sergeant Colborn and Detective Remiker have any specialized training that you know of?
WILLIAM TYSON: Detective Remiker I know for sure did; he had all the evidence supplies consistent with being an evidence technician.
MR. KRATZ: And the others, we'll wait till they testify to their qualifications; is that right?
WILLIAM TYSON: (No verbal response.)
MR. KRATZ: Okay. On the 6th, then, matched up with these other evidence techs, what were you asked to search on the 6th?
WILLIAM TYSON: Was the trailer that was situated between Barb Janda's residence and Steven's parents' residence. We did go into that trailer. It was relatively quick because there was nothing of evidentiary value that we could see inside the trailer.
We were then requested to concentrate our efforts in the fenced in areas of the Avery property; check the outbuildings, there were I think three different buildings; look for any possible evidence in those outbuildings. And, then, the final thing was -- to do was to execute the search warrant in Delores and Al Avery, their residence.
MR. KRATZ: Did you do anything else on the 6th?
WILLIAM TYSON: I believe it was the outbuildings and the search warrant at Steven's mother and father's residence.
MR. KRATZ: And although we hear about a lot of people doing a lot of things in a lot of different places, is there anything that you can note for the jury that had any substantial evidentiary value found in any of those searches?
WILLIAM TYSON: There was nothing -- nothing that was found to be of evidentiary value.
MR. BUTING: Objection as to the form of the question, is he talking about searches that he was involved in?
MR. KRATZ: Yes, just him, sorry.
MR. BUTING: Okay.
MR. KRATZ: (By Attorney Kratz)~ And we're not going to waste any more time on the 6th, let's move to the 7th, ask what your responsibilities were that day?
WILLIAM TYSON: The morning of the 7th, I was paired back up again with Sergeant Colborn and Lieutenant Lenk. We were originally assigned, first thing was to go down to a maroon colored van, which was parked outside of Barb Janda's residence.
I was informed that that van was the van that Teresa Halbach had come onto the property to photograph. What was requested of us was to take a look inside the van to see if we could find anything of evidentiary value inside the van or outside the van.
We did search the van, found nothing of evidentiary value. I did collect a belt and that was seized as possible evidence. And so, the van itself didn't provide nothing of evidentiary value.
MR. KRATZ: Before we leave that topic, I'm going to show you a photograph, already been admitted, Exhibit No. 59. Tell us what we're looking at here, please.
WILLIAM TYSON: Here we have got Steven's trailer, the garage. Here is the van that I was just talking about. And Barb Janda's residence, this would be her driveway right here.
MR. KRATZ: We talked about searching a van with Lieutenant Lenk, does Exhibit No. 59 document that exact activity, or don't you know?
WILLIAM TYSON: I'm sorry, what was the question.
MR. KRATZ: You talked about searching this van with Lieutenant Lenk, does Exhibit 59 document that?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes, this shows the van, shows the door being open; there's me and there's Mr. Lenk.
MR. KRATZ: All right. What were your next duties on the 7th?
WILLIAM TYSON: After we were finished with that, it was my understanding, although I didn't see it, apparently the fire departments had been called out to the scene. They were going through the junkyard, I think the day before, using their equipment to pry open all the trunks on all the vehicles in the junkyard.
So on the morning of the 7th, our responsibility was to find any remaining vehicles that did not have the trunk popped by the fire department. And if we located those vehicles, our responsibility was to open the trunk areas of all those vehicles.
MR. KRATZ: Who did you do that with?
WILLIAM TYSON: Lieutenant Lenk and Sergeant Colborn.
MR. KRATZ: Did you do all those things?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes. We found numerous vehicles that were not taken care of, so we did use crowbars, wherever necessary, to get them trunk lids open.
MR. KRATZ: Did you find anything in any of those vehicles?
MR. KRATZ: By the way, the three of you didn't plant any blood while you were doing that, did you?
MR. KRATZ: All right. What else did the three of you do that day?
WILLIAM TYSON: I'm trying to think. After, I think we did all the trunks, we were then requested to go through the houses and collect firearms from any of the houses that still had firearms in them. So we started -- I think I was told that Steven's firearms were collected already, so we started at Barb Janda's residence and we just started collecting all the firearms that were inside the residence.
MR. KRATZ: Do you know about how long that project took?
WILLIAM TYSON: There were quite a few firearms. It took a long time to document all the different firearms inside the bedroom area.
MR. KRATZ: In whose residences did you go to collect the firearms?
WILLIAM TYSON: We were in Barb Janda's residence pretty much the whole day.
MR. KRATZ: All right. Were you asked, on the 7th, to perform any duties with Mr. Avery's computer?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yeah, I believe it was the morning hours, Investigator Wiegert telephoned me and asked me to make entry into Steven Avery's residence. He told me that he did need the serial numbers, make and model off of the computer that was sitting on the computer desk in the living room.
Sergeant Colborn, myself, and Lieutenant Lenk did make entry and we were in there for all of about 3 or 4 minutes, I believe. I telephoned Investigator Wiegert with the information he needed and we immediately left the residence.
MR. KRATZ: Lieutenant Lenk and Colborn -- I'm sorry, did you say that they were both with you?
WILLIAM TYSON: I believe all three of us were together.
MR. KRATZ: Did they leave your location at all at that time?
MR. KRATZ: And then you left?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes, went back to, I believe, Barb Janda's to finish with the firearms.
MR. KRATZ: I'm going to hurry just a little bit with you Sergeant Tyson so that we can get through, at least your direct testimony for the day. Let me just move forward to the 8th of November, that would be on Tuesday, were you on site at all that day?
WILLIAM TYSON: I didn't go out to the scene on the morning hours of the 8th. My responsibilities were at the Calumet County Sheriff's Department, taking care of all the evidence that had been collected over the course of the past two days. Forms had to be filled out, property tags assigned, that evidence to be secured for the evidence custodian, so he could move them to his location and free up some of the lockers that I was currently taking up with all the stuff that I had downstairs. So that was a lot of my day.
I did clear from there and did respond back out to, I think the Avery property, just to see if I was needed in some other capacity. I think there were some officers that were collecting burn barrels. I know I probably assisted with picking up one or two, helping them get them on trailers and things like that. But that was the extent of my involvement on the 8th.
MR. KRATZ: All right. Are you familiar with something called a buccal swab?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: What is that?
WILLIAM TYSON: It's a swab that's taken by a medical professional. And how it's taken is, it's a long cotton applicator and it's put inside the person's cheek and rubbed back and forth collecting skin cells, I believe, off of the inside of that person's mouth.
MR. KRATZ: Do you know what a buccal swab is used for?
WILLIAM TYSON: DNA identification.
MR. KRATZ: Do you know what an exemplar is, a DNA exemplar?
WILLIAM TYSON: Probably a known DNA substance.
MR. KRATZ: All right. On the Wednesday, the 9th of November, were you asked to assist medical professionals in obtaining what are called DNA exemplars, or known DNA samples, from Steven Avery and some other Avery family members?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: Did you do that on that day?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: Now, were you just asked, and were there search warrants just for Steven Avery's DNA, or were there others that were involved as well?
WILLIAM TYSON: There were others. In the morning of the 9th, I think Agent Fassbender and Investigator Wiegert, they told me that they needed me to go up to the Aurora Medical Clinic in Two Rivers. They explained that there were search warrants for Steven Avery, Bobby Dassey, Chuck Avery, Earl Avery, Delores Avery, Barb Janda.
They said each would be transported to the Aurora Clinic in Two Rivers and then my responsibility would be to photograph any injuries that they may have had and to collect all buccal swabs taken by the registered nurse.
MR. KRATZ: Did you do that?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: Regarding Steven Avery, the defendant, do you see him seated in the courtroom here today?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: Were you present, Sergeant Tyson, when a physical examination was performed of Steven Avery on the 9th of November?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: And were you able to observe any injuries, specifically any injuries to Mr. Avery's right hand?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: I'm going to show you what's been marked for identification as Exhibit No. 193, tell us what that is, please.
WILLIAM TYSON: We were measuring the cut here to his finger, right there. That's just a close up.
MR. KRATZ: Was this photo taken by you; is that right?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: Who was assisting you in that process?
WILLIAM TYSON: Fay Fritsch, she would be the registered nurse at Aurora Medical Clinic; and the Medical Director Dr. Laura Vogel-Schwartz, was also present in the room, and I think the two investigators assigned to Mr. Avery were also present.
MR. KRATZ: I'm sure we'll hear from Ms Fritsch, but do you recall where this cut, that is, that we're seeing on Exhibit 193, was located?
WILLIAM TYSON: Looks like it's his middle finger.
MR. KRATZ: Okay. We see it here in the photos, but was it visible to you to the naked eye?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: Sergeant Tyson, the next day, that is, on the 10th of November, do you recall if you had any responsibilities in this investigation?
WILLIAM TYSON: On the 10th, I believe I responded out to the Avery property. State patrol, I think, had hundreds of state patrol officers canvassing the quarries and the surrounding area. I was sent out when they found something, down in the quarry areas, just to see if I could identify what it was. Nothing of evidentiary value was found.
MR. KRATZ: All right. On the 12th, then, that would be Saturday, were you asked to perform one final responsibility at that location?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yeah. Sheriff Jerry Pagel instructed me to grab a camcorner -- camcorder and to go through every single residence on the property to show the condition of which we were leaving the property before we released the scene back to the family.
MR. KRATZ: Did you do that?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes, I was with corrections officer Larry Schroeder at that time.
MR. KRATZ: Very briefly, Sergeant Tyson, we talked about the 9th of December and the execution of a search warrant where you seized a bookcase; did you also return to the Avery property on March 1st and 2nd of 2006?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: Did you participate in the execution of yet another search warrant at the Avery residence, that is, his trailer?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: During March 1st and 2nd who was in charge of the evidence documentation and seizure inside of Mr. Avery's trailer?
WILLIAM TYSON: We had Investigator Wendy Baldwin taking notes and Patrolman Rick Reimer was an evidence technician in our department, him and myself were doing most of the searching. She was documenting all evidence that was recovered by Deputy Reimer and taken out to the secured trailer, which was parked in the driveway.
MR. KRATZ: All right. My last area of inquiry, Sergeant Tyson, has to do with human remains or other kinds of materials; were you asked to participate, not only with other law enforcement officers, but with a forensic anthropologist in sifting and sorting some ashes and remains?
WILLIAM TYSON: Yes. On December 20th of 2005, I did go down to the Wisconsin Crime Lab with Investigator Dedering to assist numerous Department Of Correction -- or Department of Criminal Investigation agents there. Deputy Reimer was there and we sorted through contents of burn barrels. And I think later in April, the following year, I think we had -- April 11th, I believe it was, I did assist at the sheriff's department and the Wisconsin Crime Lab was at our facility. We had stations out in the garage behind our department and we had gone through a lot of materials, burnt.
MR. KRATZ: Sergeant Tyson, on November 5th of 2005, and in fact, that entire week that you worked specifically with Lieutenant Lenk and Sergeant Colborn, did you witness anything, from either one of those law enforcement professionals, that in any way questioned either their reliability or their ability to perform their law enforcement duties on that scene?