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Steven Avery & Brendan Dassey— Case Archive
Steven Averytrial-daytrial-dayKenneth R. KratzJerome F. ButingKevin HeimerlDaniel KucharskiGary SteierdirectcrossredirectrecrossDay 9 - February 22, 2007Kucharski testified about the November garage search and a bedroom key he did not see until Lenk pointed it out. The court retained a juror after questioning her about a prior case involving Remiker. Steier and Heimerl described the March garage search and two bullet fragments.
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Day 9 - February 22, 2007

Kucharski’s Search Testimony, Juror Challenge, and March Garage Evidence

Judge Patrick L. Willis
10Proceedings
4Pages
3Witnesses
1,966Lines
Day 9 of 27
Appearing:
Kenneth R. Kratz Jerome F. Buting Kevin Heimerl Daniel Kucharski Gary Steier

Kucharski testified about the November garage search and a bedroom key he did not see until Lenk pointed it out. The court retained a juror after questioning her about a prior case involving Remiker. Steier and Heimerl described the March garage search and two bullet fragments.

Full day summary

Kucharski described the November 6 garage search as general rather than thorough. He said no bullet or fragment was found then and attributed the difference between his written count of ten .22 casings and eleven counted in the exhibit to a miscount. About the November 8 bedroom search, he said Lenk pointed out a key on the floor that he had not seen. He acknowledged that someone could have placed it while he was occupied without his noticing; the court struck his speculation about who could have had the key. After questioning a seated juror about a prior civil case involving Detective Remiker, the court found her credible and denied a defense motion to strike her for cause. Steier identified who collected the two bullet fragments found during the March garage search and placed Lenk near the evidence tape, not inside the garage. Heimerl described visually sorting burn-area debris and locating the fragments, one in a garage-floor crack and another beneath an air compressor. On cross-examination, he agreed the garage had changed since November and said his measurements located evidence as found in March, not where it had been in November. He said he saw no high-velocity blood spatter and knew of no blood-spatter finding on garage items by March 2, while noting that he might not know later laboratory results.

1. Daniel Kucharski — Direct/Cross (Part 2)

Daniel Kucharski described the garage and bedroom searches, then faced questions about the discovered key, shell-casing counts, and the limits of his observations.

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Procedural
Session Opening and Appearances
5 lines
Direct
Daniel Kucharski — Continued Direct Examination Daniel Kucharski Kenneth R. Kratz
373 lines

Kucharski described the limited garage search, collected evidence, and discovery of the bedroom key; the court struck a speculative answer and admitted exhibits with two exceptions.

Cross
Daniel Kucharski — Cross Daniel Kucharski Jerome F. Buting
722 lines

Buting tested Kucharski's account of the bedroom key, the initial garage search, swab documentation, and a ten-versus-eleven shell-casing count.

Highlights

Daniel Kucharski — Continued Direct Examinationtestimony highlightKucharski described Lenk pointing out a key on the bedroom floor when he returned to the room; Kucharski said he had not seen it earlier and photographed and bagged it.Daniel Kucharski — Cross“My feet were actually pointing directly towards the key. It was sitting there and the nightstand would have been to my left hand, the key would have been directly in front of me.”— Daniel KucharskiKucharski's own description sharpened the question of why he had not noticed the key.Daniel Kucharski — CrossadmissionKucharski said the November 6 garage search found no bullet or bullet fragment; he said he would have collected a bullet had he seen one.Daniel Kucharski — CrossimpeachmentConfronted with his earlier testimony and written count of ten .22 casings, Kucharski said eleven were counted in the exhibit and that he had miscounted.Daniel Kucharski — Cross“In my report, I put that we took 10 shell casings from the garage. On the evidence sheet, I put 10 shell casings from the garage. When I reviewed the photos there were 11. I miscounted.”— Daniel KucharskiDirectly addresses the conflict between the written count and the count discussed at trial.

2. Seated Juror’s Prior Trial Involving Detective Remiker

A juror’s prior service in a civil case involving Detective Remiker prompted questioning. The court denied the defense motion to remove her for cause and set limits on camera coverage.

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Procedural
Seated Juror’s Prior Trial Involving Detective Remiker
92 lines

The court questioned a juror about a prior civil trial involving Detective Remiker, denied a defense motion to strike her, and limited audiovisual coverage.

Highlights

Seated Juror’s Prior Trial Involving Detective RemikerrulingAfter renewed argument, the court found the juror credible and denied the defense motion to strike her for cause.

3. Gary Steier — Direct/Cross

Gary Steier testified about the garage search, two bullet fragments, and Manitowoc officers’ presence during the search.

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Direct
Gary Steier — Direct Gary Steier Kenneth R. Kratz
103 lines

Steier described collection and custody of two garage bullet fragments, distinguished Lenk's presence at the perimeter from entry into the garage, and the court admitted the exhibits.

Cross
Gary Steier — Cross Gary Steier Jerome F. Buting
84 lines

Buting tested Manitowoc's return to the March search, Lenk's presence in search logs, and the limits of Steier's knowledge and vigilance.

Highlights

Gary Steier — Directtestimony highlightSteier distinguished the two garage fragments: Agent Heimerl located both; Steier collected the March 1 fragment, while Detective Remiker collected the March 2 fragment.

4. Kevin Heimerl — Direct/Cross/Redirect/Recross

Kevin Heimerl described burn-area debris and two bullets found during the March garage search. Cross-examination addressed changes to the garage since November, the limits of the March measurements, and his blood-spatter observations.

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Direct
Kevin Heimerl — Direct Kevin Heimerl Kenneth R. Kratz
298 lines

Heimerl described burn-pit debris sorting, a marked clothing rivet, and his discovery of two bullets during the March garage search.

Cross
Kevin Heimerl — Cross Kevin Heimerl Jerome F. Buting
250 lines

Buting tested what the March garage search could establish about November conditions, along with Heimerl's observations of bullets, burned debris, and blood spatter.

Redirect
Kevin Heimerl — Redirect Kevin Heimerl Kenneth R. Kratz
13 lines

Heimerl said the garage was padlocked between search days but could not identify which day the padlock photograph showed.

Recross
Kevin Heimerl — Recross Kevin Heimerl Jerome F. Buting
26 lines

Heimerl said he understood Avery was jailed during the period in question and could not have entered the garage; the court then admitted four exhibits.

Highlights

Kevin Heimerl — Directtestimony highlightHeimerl explained how investigators visually sorted burn-pit debris without sifting screens and described metal objects found among the material, including clothing rivets.Kevin Heimerl — Directtestimony highlightHeimerl described spotting a flattened bullet in a garage-floor crack; he said its location was measured and Steier collected or packaged it.Kevin Heimerl — Directtestimony highlightHeimerl described finding a second, nearly intact-looking bullet beneath an air compressor and the steps taken to photograph and package it.Kevin Heimerl — CrossadmissionHeimerl agreed that the March measurements located evidence as found then, not where the items had been in November; he specifically dated the bullet-location measurement to March 2.Kevin Heimerl — Cross“Correct. The measurements that we took were of the location of the bullet on March 2nd.”— Kevin HeimerlPlaces the bullet measurement at the March search rather than the November condition of the garage.
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