8.Thomas Fassbender — Direct (Part 1)
440 linesMR. KRATZ: State would call Tom Fassbender to the stand.
THOMAS FASSBENDER, 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.
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Thomas J. Fassbender, F-a-s-s-b-e-n-d-e-r.
DIRECT EXAMINATION BY ATTORNEY KRATZ:
MR. KRATZ: Mr. Fassbender, could you tell us how you're employed, please?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Yes. I'm a special agent with the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigation, DCI.
MR. KRATZ: What are your duties with DCI?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Uh, currently I investigate, uh, crimes, such as homicide, uh, or crimes that are statewide importance in nature, and I'm a part of what we call a General Investigations Bureau.
MR. KRATZ: Could you speak up just a little bit? I'd appreciate it. Were you employed in that capacity on November 5 of 2005?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Yes, I was.
MR. KRATZ: And on November 5 of 2005, uh, were you called to a location which has been come to known as the Avery salvage property?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Yes, sir.
MR. KRATZ: How is it that you got called to that location?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: I was called by my supervisor, who, uh, informed me that the Calumet County Sheriff had asked for DCI's assistance at that location, and it had to do with, uh, an investigation into a missing person, which was Teresa Halbach.
MR. KRATZ: Tell the jury, if you would, please, about what time, um, you got to that location?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: I arrived at, uh, that location, which was the Avery Salvage Yard, just a little after 2 p.m. that afternoon.
MR. KRATZ: Tell the jury, please, what, if anything, you observed upon your arrival at that salvage yard?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: When I arrived at the salvage yard, um -- salvage yard is located at the end of a road named Avery Road, and at the end of that road, uh, there was a -- a law enforcement presence set up there. Kind of like I guess what you would called a command post, and met with, um, members of law enforcement there, uh, to include the sheriff of Calumet County.
Uh, received a -- a real brief, uh, briefing at that time, and, uh, subsequently went down into an area known as the -- the salvage yard where the -- the salvaged vehicles were maintained, and there was another, uh, law enforcement presence down there, uh, so to speak, like a checkpoint, um, and -- and it was from that location that I was shown where a vehicle -- Teresa's vehicle, had been located.
MR. KRATZ: I don't know if you told us, but, uh, who also was there when you got there?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Well, for certain, uh, the Calumet County Sheriff Jerry Pagel was there, and other law enforcement officers, to include officers from, uh, the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department and Calumet County Sheriff's Department.
MR. KRATZ: After your arrival, uh, was there any discussion regarding what role, if any, the Wisconsin Department of Justice would take in the investigation?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Yes. Uh, as I mentioned, Sheriff Pagel had requested DCI's assistance. Um, with that being said, I learned that, um, the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department had requested the Calumet County Sheriff -- Sheriff's Department to take the lead role in the investigation, and, uh, with that, they -- Sheriff Pagel requested DCI's assistance. So, in essence, we were there, uh, to assist in the investigation, and, ultimately, I was asked, uh, to join Investigator Mark Wiegert as a lead investigator in the investigation.
MR. KRATZ: Is it unusual, Agent Fassbender, for DCI to become involved in major crime investigations?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: No, that's not unusual.
MR. KRATZ: After your arrival at the, um, scene, um, were you able to survey, if you will, the, uh -- the property, itself?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: And I've handed you or had handed to you an exhibit. Can you tell us -- I think it's Exhibit No. 15. Tell us what that is, please?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: This is Exhibit 15, and this is an aerial photograph overview of, uh, the Avery Salvage Yard, including residences, um, on or around that property.
MR. KRATZ: I've had Mr. Wiegert hand you a laser pointer. And, actually, we'll be using the large screen to my right, although I'm sure the jurors can see with the smaller screens as well.
Uh, if you'd be so kind as to refer to Exhibit No. 15 and show the -- and describe for the, uh, jurors the major landmarks of the Avery salvage property.
THOMAS FASSBENDER: As I mentioned before, uh, this road right here running north and south is Avery Road. As you come south on Avery Road to this intersection right here, to the west, or to your right if you're going south, is a driveway, essentially, that goes all the way down to two residences. There's a trailer at the end right down here. That is, uh, the residence or the trailer where Steven Avery resided. Uh, there's a, um, unattached garage there also.
The residence just to the east of Steven Avery's residence, uh, is the residence of Barbara Tadych. Uh, at that time it's Barbara Janda. And that, uh, is the residence that, um, Mr. Das -- Dassey, uh, resided in. Brendan Dassey.
Uh, there's an abandoned trailer right there along this driveway. Going back to the intersection at the end of Avery Road, uh, is where the auto salvage business is essentially located, as well as several other -- or two other residences.
Uh, this building right here, this large building, is where the au -- auto salvage office and, uh, workshop was located. There's an impound area right in here that has three buildings associated with it. That's an old office, I believe, and shop area.
And right here's the residence of, uh, Al and Delores Avery, or Mr. and Mrs. Avery, Steven Avery's father.
Uh, if you go -- continue south when you get to this intersection -- And, by the way, this is where that command post would have been set up, that law enforcement presence that I was talking about.
If you continue south, there's another residence located right in this area, which is Chuck Avery's residence, which would be Steven Avery's brother.
And then continuing south, you go down into what was commonly referred to as the, uh, salvage yard, or the pit, and that was, uh, called that, I believe, because it used to be an old quarry, uh, area, similar to the quarries that are located around the salvage yard. So you go down -- uh, descent into this area where all the vehicles are located, uh, into the, uh, salvage yard area.
MR. KRATZ: So that the jury has a, um -- a better understanding of, uh, some of the, um -- the areas, I'm going to show you, first, what has been marked as Exhibit No. 16. Tell us what this is, please?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: That would be the northwest corner of the salvage yard. And I had mentioned, uh, Steve Avery's and Brendan Dassey's residences. Right here is the trailer that Steven Avery resided in and his unattached garage.
Uh, that's that driveway I was talking about coming to that location, and this is the,
uh -- right here I'm pointing at the northwest corner of the entire, um, Avery properties.
Next, or just to the east, of Steven Avery's residence is Brendan Dassey's, uh, residence, or where he resided, his unattached garage, also, which would make up, and then the surrounding, uh, curtilage or yards of both, uh, residences.
MR. KRATZ: One of the other corners of the property I'm now showing you as Exhibit No. 17, tell us what that is, please?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: This would be the southeast corner of the, uh, Avery Salvage Yard. Um, you can see that berms, or possibly see that berms, are built up around these areas. Uh, to the south of that is -- is a --a quarry, a privately owned quarry, Radandt Quarry, and to the east of that is a field -- field area.
Uh, so -- And you can see the salvaged vehicles here, some salvage vehicles lined up along there, a retention pond there, and also a automobile crusher located right there, which is, again, in this photo, which would be the lower right-hand area of the photo.
MR. KRATZ: Now, this particular corner of the salvage property, I think you mentioned when you first
arrived, uh, on the property you had concentrated on this area; is that -- is that a correct statement?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: That's correct.
MR. KRATZ: Can you tell the jury why? What you saw?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: I was sent down to this area, and there was a staging right -- oh, somewhere right in this area, uh, law enforcement vehicles, uh, like I said, what could be considered a checkpoint. Um, beyond that is where I was told that, um, Teresa's RAV 4 vehicle had been found, and I was pointed to an area right there. There's a -- a red vehicle right there that's offset from the other line of vehicles, and the RAV 4 was located right in that area, and in this photograph it is not there. It had been removed already.
MR. KRATZ: The last exhibit, um, I think that I've given you so far, is Exhibit No. 18, and you talked about a command post. I show you Exhibit No. 18, and tell the jury what we're looking at, please?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: This is Avery Road that I'm pointing to right now starting in the, uh, lower right-hand corner on this photograph. And as you reach where the command post was, which was right there, and right here there's some command post vehicles, is the northeast corner of the Avery Salvage Yard. Um, I mentioned some of
the -- the, uh, buildings here. This is the office and shop area to the Avery Salvage Yard. This big, red building is another work --
MR. KRATZ: I can zoom out a little bit. I'm sorry.
THOMAS FASSBENDER: -- work area, I think, associated with the, um, impound area. The old shop and service area, I believe, and then right in here is, uh, Al and Delores' house, and I can't quite see it in here, but, uh, Chuck Avery's house is right in there.
MR. KRATZ: Now, I know that you, uh, at least briefly, talked about a command center or a command post. Um, let me just skip ahead so that the jury knows where we're going. How long was it that law enforcement had control of this 40-acre property?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Well, beginning on -- on, uh, November 5 at approximately 11 a.m., uh, law enforcement offer -- or arrived on that property, uh, in response to a call that Teresa Halbach's vehicle may have been found there, and from that point on, through approximately 11:30 on Saturday, November 12, uh, we maintained a presence and held that property.
MR. KRATZ: So a full week?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: Within the, um, pit area, I guess, the -- what would be to the, um, south and west of the command center, um, you may notice some vehicles. Can you describe those vehicles for us, please? And, by the way, what exhibit is it that you're looking at?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: I'm currently looking at Exhibit 19.
MR. KRATZ: And is what's up on the screen a, uh, depiction of Exhibit 19?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Yes, it is.
MR. KRATZ: Tell us what that is, please?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Basically, we -- uh, we're looking toward the southwest, um, from the, um, north side of the property. And as I mentioned, uh, the salvage area, or the -- the junkyard area, goes down into a pit, so we're standing up on the elevation part, I believe, to the rear of -- and I'm not positive -- but to the rear of, or the south of, uh, the Dassey residence, or, uh, Steve Avery's residence, looking out over the salvage yard, and the -- and the vehicles you see in the picture are, essentially, um, many of the, uh, salvaged vehicles in that pit area.
MR. KRATZ: Through your seven days of, um, contact with that residence, uh, did you come to determine how many junked vehicles were on that property?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Yes. There were approximately 4,000 vehicles on that property or on that salvage yard.
MR. KRATZ: All right. You said that, um -- that this particular property, and -- and I don't expect any of these, uh, out-of-town jurors to know this, but, uh, the entry to this property is on a county road, a Highway 147; is that right?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: A state highway. Highway 147. Yes.
MR. KRATZ: I'm showing you now what's been marked as Exhibit No. 20. Can you tell us what that is, please?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: That's a sign for the Avery Auto Salvage and Towing, and that is located at the, uh, north end of Avery Road where it intersects with, uh, State Highway 147.
MR. KRATZ: Exhibit 20 is really just the business sign that directs patrons into that salvage area; is that right?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: That's correct.
MR. KRATZ: Now, Agent Fassbender, your original, um, contact with that location you said was at the, uh, request of, um, Sheriff Pagel, the sheriff from Calumet County; is that right?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Yes, that's right.
MR. KRATZ: At about what time -- Um, perhaps you answered this, but at about what time did you arrive at that scene?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Shortly after 2 p.m.
MR. KRATZ: And about that time, or shortly thereafter, did you agree to become one of the lead investigators in this case?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: And, again, shortly after 2 p.m., did you and other law enforcement officers become actively involved in securing or applying for what's known as a search warrant?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: Tell the jury what a search warrant is, please?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Essentially, a search warrant is an order, uh, signed by a judge, based on probable cause that directs law enforcement to search a person, object, uh, place, uh, and to seize, uh, property or items of property.
It's based on probable cause that a crime may have been committed. Uh, along with that, uh, the date that it's issued to the date that it's, uh, executed, uh, you have five days to do that, and you have 48 hours to return the search warrant. Basically, that's returning it to the Clerk of Courts, or the Court, with a -- an inventory of what was seized if anything.
MR. KRATZ: The judicial authorization, that is, the, um -- the fact that a judge authorizes you to search, uh, either a place, uh, or buildings, or residences, or even persons, um, did you believe that that was required or necessary before, uh, you folks went any further that day? That is, on the 5th?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: You said that upon your arrival, um, you had observed some items or some property that had been previously discovered by some citizen searchers; is that right?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: That's correct.
MR. KRATZ: Describe that for the jury, please?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: The item was a -- a 1999, uh, RAV 4. It was bluish/green in color, and, um, the citizen searchers had located it on the Avery property, and had contacted law enforcement, uh, reporting that they may have located, uh, Teresa Halbach's vehicle.
MR. KRATZ: I'm going to show you three exhibits. First, uh, Exhibit No. 21, larger picture of that, can you tell us what we're looking at, please?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: That is the, uh, rear of that vehicle I just described, a Toyota RAV 4, 1999, bluish/green in color, and that is the condition that that vehicle, or the rear of the vehicle, the condition of that vehicle, uh, as it was found.
MR. KRATZ: And does that look the same or similar as when you saw it shortly after 2 p.m. on the 5th of November?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: And, by the way, just so this jury is aware, uh, had that vehicle been secured? That is, did law enforcement officers, who arrived on the scene prior to your arrival, make sure that nobody had entered or tampered with that vehicle?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: The vehicle, at least Exhibit No., uh, 23, as we see it -- excuse me, 21, as we see it, appears to be obscured by, um -- at least at the back of it -- by some branches. Uh, could you describe that further? Did it appear to be intentionally concealed in your opinion?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Absolutely. Uh, tree branches, posts, fence posts, boxes, plywood, auto parts.
MR. KRATZ: All right. Let's move on, then, to Exhibit No. 22, the side of the vehicle. Tell us what we're looking at here, please?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: This is the passenger side of that vehicle. Uh, uh, you can see to the -- the rear of the vehicle is that red vehicle I was talking about that the RAV 4 was, uh, positioned next to. Um, as you can see, it's got tinted windows in the back. Uh, there's a vehicle hood leaned up against, uh, the RAV 4.
You can see branches. Even in the, uh, lower right-hand corner is a piece of the, uh, particle board or plywood I was talking about. Uh, and on top of the vehicle you can see that branches, uh, were placed on the top of the vehicle also.
MR. KRATZ: And, finally, I'm going to show you Exhibit No. 23. Tell us what we're looking at here, please?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: That's a photograph of the same vehicle. The RAV 4. Uh, the passenger side front corner facing that direction. Again, uh, it's a good picture to show, uh, the objects. that were used to -- in an attempt to conceal the vehicle. Uh, brush, branches, uh, posts fencing, plywood. There's actually a -- a box on the hood somewhere in there, too. Um, and the -- and the, uh -- toward the rear of the passenger side you can see the vehicle hood, uh, leaning up against the -- the RAV 4.
MR. KRATZ: If you would be so kind as to take the laser pointer, the larger image, show that vehicle hood that we're talking about?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: On the left side of the photograph here, um, that I'm pointing to right now, is that vehicle hood lean -- leaning up against the, uh, passenger rear quarter panel area of the RAV 4.
MR. KRATZ: Do you know what that vehicle hood's made out of?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Metal. Steel.
MR. KRATZ: All right. Have I had other exhibits provided to you? Are there other exhibits that were provided?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Yes.
MR. KRATZ: Could you tell me what they are, please? Twenty-four?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: What's been marked as Exhibit 24 is a, uh -- another photograph of, uh, the 1999 Toyota RAV 4. Uh, it's more at or around dusk. Getting dark out. Again, it still has the, um, debris, um, that was put on and stacked up by the, uh, RAV 4, and, also, there was -- or shows, uh, some individuals in the scene, some law enforcement officers in the scene.
MR. KRATZ: All right. In this picture, as well, is the steel, um, vehicle hood, uh, in front of a gentleman I think that the jury will learn is John Ertl. Can you first point to Mr. Ertl from the Crime Lab, and then, again, describe that vehicle hood?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Uh, Mr. Ertl's standing right there in the, uh, coveralls. Uh, he's from Wisconsin State Crime Lab. They had been called to the scene to assist in processing, uh, or seizing evidence, and that the
vehicle hood is -- is to his left and in front of him right there leaning up, again -- against the Toyota RAV 4.
MR. KRATZ: Before we go any further, uh, Agent Fassbender, we've brought into the court, uh, what's been marked as Exhibit No. 26. Can you tell us what that is, please?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Exhibit 26 is that vehicle hood that I've pointed out in the photographs, uh, leaning up against the, uh, rear quarter panel -- passenger rear quarter panel of the RAV 4.
MR. KRATZ: Have you picked up, or with the assistance of others, attempted to manipulate that particular piece of steel?
MR. KRATZ: Uh, in your opinion, um, would that take more than one individual to, uh, at least appropriately, move it from one area to another?
MR. KRATZ: I'm showing you, also, what's been marked as Exhibit No. 25. Tell us what that is, please?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Exhibit 25 is another photograph of, uh, the RAV 4 and its location. Where it was found. This photograph is taken looking, uh, at the rear passenger corner of the vehicle. Clearly, again,
showing, and I'll point out, the vehicle hood, uh, what appears to be a fence post next to the vehicle hood, and branches, uh, concealing the vehicle.
MR. KRATZ: If I can go back just a -- a moment, please, to Exhibit No. 24, uh, we see Mr. Ertl, yourself, couple of other individuals in that -- in that depiction, um, and you mention this was right around dusk; is that right?
MR. KRATZ: What's the significance, if any, of Exhibit No. 24? In other words, what is happening just prior to and just after this photograph was taken? I'm going to ask it a -- a -- different way because that -- I know that that was a bad question. I'm sorry. Uh, was this vehicle, um, completely processed at the scene or was a decision made to remove the vehicle from this location?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: The decision was made in conjunction with, uh, the forensic scientists from the Crime Laboratory that we would move the vehicle from the scene. Um, one, uh -- Some factors that entered into that decision, obviously, was, uh, darkness, uh, coming upon the scene, and inclement weather also having already happened, and, uh, more inclement weather being predicted, so the vehicle was, uh, removed from the scene and -- and transported to the Crime Laboratory in Madison.
MR. KRATZ: Could you tell the jury, please, how the vehicle was removed from the scene?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Well, first, the Crime Lab personnel that were at the scene, uh, processed and examined the items that, uh, were used to conceal the vehicle, um, to determine whether they felt it had any evidentiary value.
Certain items were seized and transported with the vehicle, such as the vehicle hood there. Um, at that time a wrecker service was contacted, as well as a transport service, Rabas, uh -- Rabas, R-a-b-a-s, I believe, came and, uh -- with their wreckers, and they removed the vehicle from its location and brought it out by where we had seen the vehicle crusher. At that location Pethan, uh, Transport was located with an enclosed trailer and the RAV 4 was backed into that enclosed trailer and sealed, and then, um, transported to the Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory in Madison, Wisconsin along with -- or in the accompaniment of the two forensic scientists that were on the scene.
MR. KRATZ: Just prior to the removal of the vehicle, uh, were there any other resources that were called in, uh, to search, uh, at least around that particular RAV 4?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Yes, there was.
MR. KRATZ: Describe that for us, please?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Um, we utilized, uh, Great Lakes Search and Rescue, which is, uh, basically, uh, search dogs, and they came to the scene. And one dog, in particular, was utilized, uh, in that area, that south, uh, east area of the yard, salvage yard, uh, commencing at around the crusher area.
The dog was used to, um, see if it would alert on the crusher. You know, this dog I'm talking about is a dog that would alert. They called them cadaver dogs, and they will alert on, uh, uh, deceased human bodies as well as human blood. And, uh, that dog was utilized to search that area to the south and then along that south line to the -- or past the Toyota RAV 4.
MR. KRATZ: I'm showing you Exhibit No. 27. This is a woman named Julie Cramer and a dog named Brutus. Do you recognize them?
MR. KRATZ: Tell us, who are Julie and Brutus?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: They're members of the Great Lur -- Great Lakes Search and Rescue, and, uh, Julie is the handler of Brutus. Brutus is one of those dogs I just mentioned. And they are the two that searched the area I just talked about.
MR. KRATZ: Now, were you present when the K-9 handler, that is, the human remains handler, Julie Cramer and Brutus searched the area of Teresa Halbach's RAV 4?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Yes, I was.
MR. KRATZ: Describe your observations for the jury, please?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Well, as we were going down that line of cars on the, uh, south berm of that property that I had pointed out, um -- Actually, prior to that, Julie had explained what would happen if Brutus alerted on, uh, an area that may contain human remains or blood, and as they were going down that area or that, uh, line, and when they reached the RAV 4, Brutus clearly, at least to my observations, alerted on that -- that vehicle.
MR. KRATZ: And just so the jury's clear, uh, after Brutus, the human remains dog, alerted on the RAV 4, uh, it was at that time that the Crime Lab removed the vehicle? In other words, that it was secured and removed from that location; is that right?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: The vehicle was -- was in a secured state to begin with and maintained. It was maintained in that state. Um, the Crime Lab arrived just after Brutus alerted on that vehicle, and the vehicle was maintained there for probably another two hours, uh, until we could get the resources at the scene to remove the vehicle. So it was about two hours and then it was removed, yes.
MR. KRATZ: All right. Do you know if the vehicle was locked at the scene?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Yes. It was.
MR. KRATZ: Are there any other exhibits up there that you haven't identified yet?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: No, sir.
MR. KRATZ: I just need to ask that every once in a while. Mr. Fassbender, we're showing you what's been marked for identification as Exhibit No. 28. Could you tell us what that is, please?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: This is a photograph of the southeast portion of the Avery Salvage Yard, and I think, more particularly, depicting the automobile crusher, and I'll use the pointer on the big screen.
Um, I'm pointing at that right now. Large, uh, orange-ish/yellow piece of machinery. Uh, you'll notice right near there is another piece of machinery moving what appears to be a crushed vehicle. Um, that happened when all those crushed vehicles to the south of that crusher were examined and moved to the north side of the crusher.
MR. KRATZ: If you just point to Exhibit 28 again and show us where the crushed vehicles, that is, after the vehicles were put in the crusher, where were they stored or kept, at least temporarily, on the Avery property?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Pointing at the crusher right now, the -- the, uh, orange-ish/yellow piece of machinery, just to the right of that on the photograph, or to the south of that, is where approximately 50-plus crushed vehicles were located.
MR. KRATZ: And if you could show the jury, please, where Teresa Halbach's vehicle was discovered in relation to that car crusher?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Teresa's vehicle would have been up in this area on the south edge of the salvage yard, on the other side of the retention pond, and I'm pointing to an area toward the middle right of the photograph.
MR. KRATZ: Now, do you know about how far that, uh, vehicle was -- that is, Teresa's vehicle -- was from the car crusher?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: It was about 350 feet.
MR. KRATZ: And at least from the intact vehicles, that is, the noncrushed vehicles, was Teresa Halbach's vehicle in a row or in a line of vehicles closest to the car crusher? Does that question make sense?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Uh, Teresa Halbach's vehicle was in a line of vehicles, that it was very near the car crusher and it had access to the car crusher.
MR. KRATZ: All right. Let's talk about the crusher, itself, Exhibit No. 29. Tell us what that is, please?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: That's a photograph of the car crusher that we just saw, which is located in that southeast, uh, corner of the Avery Salvage Yard. To the, uh, left of the car crusher, which I'm pointing out right now, to the left of that car crusher, or the north, is, um, the crushed cars. Originally, they were to the south, but when we examined each and every car, crushed car, they were then placed, uh, in this area to the north of the car crusher.
MR. KRATZ: Before we move forward, tell the jury why it was that you examined and looked in, in those first two days of the search, why you examined every one of those crushed cars?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: We were looking for Teresa.
MR. KRATZ: And at that point, at least on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, uh, you hadn't found her body yet; is that correct?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: That's correct.
MR. KRATZ: Before we move too far, I'm showing you Exhibit 32. Might give us a better perspective. Can you tell us what that is, please?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Again, 32 is a -- an aerial photograph, uh, showing the southeast corner of the, um, Avery Salvage Yard. Uh, and on the screen there's a big box in the lower right-hand corner that's titled, "vehicle crusher". That's where the vehicle crusher was located. And then approximately 350, 60 feet to the southwest is a smaller box, where I'm pointing right now, that has a title "RAV 4 location", and that's where Teresa's vehicle was located.
MR. KRATZ: Can you point to that line of cars? You talked about a line of cars that looked like it was close to or waiting to be crushed? Is that a fair characterization?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Along the left side of the photograph, I'm pointing to a line of cars, which is basically the south edge of the Avery Salvage Yard, and that is right there, and Teresa's vehicle was located in amongst that line of cars.
MR. KRATZ: You said after the crusher crushed the cars, they were in a -- a crushed state. Um, I'm going to show you what's been marked as Exhibit No. 30. Tell us what that is, please?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: That is that, uh, crushed state that, uh, you just mentioned. Often, uh, the way my understanding -- and I'm not an expert on this -- when they crush the cars, uh, they would place more than one vehicle in that crusher. They crushed three, four vehicles at a time and make somewhat of a sandwich of, uh, several vehicles. So what you're looking at there is, uh, several vehicles crushed into one, um, item, essentially.
MR. KRATZ: All right. I'm going to ask you a bit of a hypothetical, and if you don't feel that you can comment or express an opinion about this, um, then please tell us that, but if Teresa Halbach's vehicle would have ended up in the middle of one of these sandwiches, uh, would it have been easily identified or located?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Well, it would have been very difficult to locate.
MR. KRATZ: I showed you a couple of other aerial photographs, and I want to show you Exhibit No. 33 before going too far. It's going to give the jury a little better understanding or overview of the area. Can you tell us what we're looking at, please?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: This is an aerial photograph from more of a distance. Uh, right in the center of the photograph, essentially, is the Avery Salvage Yard that we've been talking about and showing previously.
Uh, to the left side of the photograph, or the upper left corner, is a highway. That's Highway 147. And then Avery Road right here, uh, on the left side of the photograph, and going toward the right, or toward the south, that's Avery Road, and into the auto salvage yard.
To the south, or the lower side portion of the au -- salvage yard, is a quarry, gravel pit quarry, uh, owned by Radandt. To the south of the Avery Salvage Yard that I'm pointing to right now, or to the right of the Avery Salvage Yard, is also a quarry owned by Radandt.
To the east of the salvage yard is open field. To the northeast of the salvage yard is another quarry owned by Michels, and to the north of the Avery Salvage Yard, again, is -- is, uh, open field and farm field.
MR. KRATZ: If I may, Your Honor, I am about to shift topics into more specific searches. I'm going to suggest this might be a good time for our afternoon break.
THE COURT: Okay. Uh, we'll take a 15-minute break, ladies and gentlemen. Uh, just so the jury knows, today we'll go until 5:00. Usually, it's 4:30. There's some give and take in that depending upon where the lawyers are with the various witnesses. All right.
(Jurors out at 2:37 p.m.)
THE COURT: Mr. Fremgen, do you still want to be heard on that objection?
MR. FREMGEN: Judge, my -- my objection was simply --
THE COURT: Why -- why don't you get to the microphone, please. Thank you.
MR. FREMGEN: On, uh, No. 13, my objection was simply -- I -- I -- I don't have an objection with it being used as a demonstrative aid. I just don't think it should be received as evidence since there was something similar to, purchased later with, uh, the detective or the agent afterwards to find something that looked like the jeans. I -- No problem with the State's use of it as a demonstrative aid. But, again, I just don't think it should be received as evidence in this case.
THE COURT: Well, my understanding is it's principally being used to link up the rivets from, uh -- from what was found to -- what was known to be owned by the -- by the victim; is that correct?
MR. KRATZ: There's been no claim that those are Teresa Halbach's jeans.
THE COURT: All right.
MR. KRATZ: In fact, just the opposite. They're demonstrative, Judge.
THE COURT: Uh, uh, for that limited purpose, it's going to be admitted. All right.
(Recess had at 2:40 p.m.)
(Reconvened at 3:04 p.m.)
THE COURT: Mr. Kratz, you may proceed.
MR. KRATZ: Thank you.
MR. KRATZ: (By Attorney Kratz) Agent Fassbender, let's move on, then, to responsibilities on the 5th of November. You had mentioned earlier that a search warrant was obtained and you had spoken, at least to this jury, about the, um, processing, recovery, and seizure of the SUV. Could you describe for the jurors, please, um, what was the search plan, uh, later? That is, that first day on the 5th of November?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Essentially, what happened after we got the search warrant is we did an initial search, which sometimes
it's described as a, uh, protective sweep. Law enforcement, when they execute a search warrant, will do a sweep of the area or buildings that they are going to search to see if there's any people, or dangers to, uh, law enforcement or anyone else at that time.
In this instance, we did do that. We sent out teams to do protective sweeps and to do an initial search immediately, uh, to see if we could find Teresa. Hopefully, find her alive.
So we had that initial search that was followed up with dog teams. Primary purpose of the dogs was to go through the salvage yard and through the rows of vehicles to see if they alerted on anything, but the dogs were also utilized, uh, in, uh, many of the residences and -- and buildings to see if they would alert there.
After those searches were done, um, we go back to the command post, and we debrief, and, uh, a search -- or evidence search team was put together. Uh, due to resources and personnel, we had one evidence search team that we utilized, uh, that evening, and that search team started to -- out by searching, uh, Steven Avery's trailer that evening.
MR. KRATZ: I'm showing you what's been marked as Exhibit No. 34. Tell us what we're looking at, please?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: That is a photograph of Steven Avery's trailer, and to the left of the trailer is his unattached garage.
MR. KRATZ: In the foreground, and to the right, uh, do you see a burn barrel?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Yes, I do. There's a burn barrel, uh, with some yellow, um, police tape around it.
MR. KRATZ: We're going to hear from, uh, Special Agent Heimerl, I think it's tomorrow, but, uh, sometime on Tues -- excuse me, on, um, Monday, the 7th, were you aware that that search or -- excuse me, that that, uh, burn barrel was recovered, uh, processed, and found some electronic equipment inside?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Yes, it was, on Monday, the 7th. November 7.
MR. KRATZ: Tell us what, uh, Exhibit No. 35 is, please?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: It's another photograph of the front of Steven Avery's residence, trailer, and then, uh, Steven Avery's unattached garage. You can see the LP tank in the background between the garage and trailer, and a, uh, pickup truck in front of the garage.
MR. KRATZ: Now, this, uh, trailer of Mr. Avery had, uh, two entrance doors. Is that your understanding?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: That -- Two primary entrance doors, yes. There was also a, uh, patio door in the back.
MR. KRATZ: Or the front or what would be to the front of the trailer entrance doors, are those depicted in Exhibit No. 36?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Yes, they are.
MR. KRATZ: And is that being depicted on the large screen as well?
MR. KRATZ: You had mentioned the back of the trailer, um, had a sliding door, or an entry, uh, location. Exhibit No. 37, does that show that part of the trailer as well?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Yes, it does.
MR. KRATZ: Now, Agent Fassbender, the, um, search of the residence, itself, uh, how was that performed and who was that performed by? In other words, how were teams developed to do the searching, uh, during this, um, process?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: When we're searching, uh, for evidence, uh, on Saturday evening, a, uh, team was put together, and this team may be a little different than the initial search teams, because, uh, they're searching for evidence, and if they find evidence, uh, we want them to be able to process, collect, uh, prepare for transport of that evidence.
So when we put that particular team together, we're looking for officers that have been trained and have experience in evidence processing and collection, and that's how that team ultimately got put together.
MR. KRATZ: You talked about a search of the, um, and a sweep of the trailer and the garage. I'm showing you Exhibit 38. What is that?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: That's, again, a -- a viewpoint of Steven Avery's trailer in the background, his unattached garage in the foreground with, uh, his black truck, and we would be facing west taking that picture.
MR. KRATZ: Just so the jury can see, I'm going to zoom in a little bit closer, um, there's a -- a dog, uh, to the left of the, um, exhibit. Do you see that?
MR. KRATZ: Were you aware of that dog and were you aware of the demeanor of that dog?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Yes, I was.
MR. KRATZ: Describe that for the jury, please?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: The -- The occasions I had to be around that dog, that dog appeared to be very ag-- aggressive. Pulling on its chain, leaping against the chain, barking and snarling. I -- I kept my distance.
MR. KRATZ: Were you made aware -- and -- and I think we've heard, um, or will hear some more about this, but did that dog prevent a search area of the back of Steven Avery's garage at least for a couple of days of your processing?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Yes, it certainly did when we had the dogs there, because the dogs didn't -- weren't going to go near that dog because of the aggressive nature, and as well as, uh, searchers going through that area, steering clear of that area.
MR. KRATZ: What is Exhibit No. 39?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Thirty-nine is a photograph of the front of Steven Avery's unattached garage with his pickup truck parked in front of that.
MR. KRATZ: And, again, this garage was not only swept on the 5th but was later, uh, searched on Sunday, the 6th; is that correct?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: That's correct.
MR. KRATZ: Were you familiar, uh, Agent Fassbender, with the van that Teresa Halbach took photos of on the 31st?
MR. KRATZ: I'm showing you what's been marked as Exhibit No. 40 so that we can talk about that just, uh, briefly. Tell us what we're looking at, please?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: That is the van, maroon van. I believe a Plymouth Voyager that, uh, Barb Tadych had for sale that Steven had arranged for Teresa to come out and take a photograph of.
MR. KRATZ: And that vehicle is what would be directly in front of, or, perhaps, better stated, between the Avery and the Janda, slash, Dassey residence; is that correct?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: That's correct.
MR. KRATZ: In fact, as we look at Exhibit No. 41, gets a better perception or perspective, at least, as far as Barb's trailer; is that right?
MR. KRATZ: The red trailer that we had talked about, were you able to determine who that trailer had belonged to?
MR. KRATZ: Who is that?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Who lived there or who it was owned by?
MR. KRATZ: Who lived there?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Uh, Steven Avery.
MR. KRATZ: All right. And so the jury can, uh, see photos of him, Exhibit 43, is that a picture of his driver's license photograph?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Yes, it is.
MR. KRATZ: And, I'm sorry, that was 42. And Exhibit No. 43, on the 9th, after he was booked in this case, is that a picture of his booking photo?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Yes, it is.
MR. KRATZ: On Steven Avery's property, uh, that is, uh, to the rear of his garage area, uh, were you aware of any tires, uh, that were located that, uh, you determined were later used to fuel, uh, a large fire behind Steven's garage?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Yes, there was a, uh, pile of tires.
MR. KRATZ: I'm showing you Exhibit No. 31. Is that a photograph of those tires?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Yes. And that was located on the southwest corner of, um, the yard, um, associated with the residence that Steven lived in.
MR. KRATZ: Agent Fassbender, the, um, search -- that is, the week-long search -- of the property, um, items were located. That -- that's fair, isn't it?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: That's fair.
MR. KRATZ: Were you aware of Teresa Halbach's license plates being found that week?
MR. KRATZ: Do you remember where those were found?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Yes, I do.
MR. KRATZ: Tell us where that was, please?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: That was on Tuesday, um, November 8, and they were found in a salvaged vehicle that was located along the driveway, just to the south of the driveway, going down to Mr. Dassey, Mr. Avery's residences along a fence line there.
MR. KRATZ: Tell us who those, uh, plates were located by?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Uh, they were located by William Brandes, who was a volunteer firefighter, who had been teamed up in search teams with law enforcement officers, uh, looking for evidentiary items such as those license plates.
MR. KRATZ: Let me show you Exhibit No. 44, ask us if you can -- tell us what that is, please?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: That's a photograph, uh, of the vehicle -- station wagon there, that the license plates were found in.
MR. KRATZ: The license plates, themselves, were they photographed inside of this vehicle?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Uh, yes, they were.
MR. KRATZ: Who were they photographed by?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Uh, Trooper Cindy Paine.
MR. KRATZ: So Wisconsin State Trooper?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Uh, Wisconsin State Patrol Trooper, yes.
MR. KRATZ: Exhibit No. 45, tell us what that is, please?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: That's the photograph of the license plates placed inside that vehicle, uh, taken by Trooper Paine. Um,
the plates had been removed because they were folded in on themselves. They had to be unfolded to determine what the number of the license was, and then they were just placed back in there and a photograph was taken.
MR. KRATZ: All right. And, finally, Exhibit No. 46, tell us what this depicts, please?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Forty-six is basically a relation in ship picture. Uh, on the left side of the photograph shows Steven Avery's residence. Next to that, to the right, is the Janda/Dassey residence, and, then, a little further to the right, or to the west, is an arrow pointing at the vehicle that the license plates were found in.
MR. KRATZ: So if you're looking at this particular access road, could you show us, uh, how you would walk or drive down this road to get towards the -- either the Avery residence or the Dassey residence?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Well, on the picture to the right here, that is the -- or to the top of the picture -- is the driveway or access road going down to, uh, the Janda/Dassey residence and Steven Avery residence. If you keep going to the right, which would be to the east, you would run into Avery Road and the entrance to the salvage yard, and then Avery road to the north out to State Highway 147.
MR. KRATZ: I've handed you what's been marked as Exhibit No. 47. Could you tell us what that is, please?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: That's a photograph of the front, or the north side of, um, Mr. Dassey's residence.
MR. KRATZ: And can you tell us what's in front of -- of that, um, residence?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Right in front of that residence, where I'm pointing right now, about in the middle of the photograph is a golf cart.
MR. KRATZ: I'm also going to show you Exhibit No. 51. Tell us what 51 is, please?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: That photograph depicts that same golf cart. It's blue in color with a white seat on it.
MR. KRATZ: Agent Fassbender, have you ever had occasion to be inside of that residence?
MR. KRATZ: I'm going to direct your attention, and I know I'm skipping ahead just -- just briefly, but on the lst of March, um, we heard, at least in our opening remarks, about a statement that was given you by the defendant, Brendan Dassey? You and Investigator Wiegert? Is that correct?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Correct.
MR. KRATZ: Later, on the 1st of March, were you given permission and, in fact, did you enter the residence of Barb Janda and Brendan Dassey?
MR. KRATZ: And in the Janda and Dassey residence, uh, did you find any, uh, items, specifically, in the bedroom of Barb Janda?
MR. KRATZ: I'm going to first show you what's been marked Exhibit No. 49. It's shown on the large screen. Tell us what we're looking at, please?
MR. FREMGEN: Judge, could I have a sidebar, please?
THE COURT: Sure.
(Discussion off the record.)
MR. KRATZ: (By Attorney Kratz) Exhibit No. 49, and what are we looking at?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: That is the bedroom of, um, Barb Tadych, um, in her residence, and showing some closet space or storage space there, and on, um, the handles of some of those, um, closets or storage space we found -- located, uh, some -- what you would call leg irons and handcuffs.
MR. KRATZ: I'm going to show you what has been marked as Exhibit 48. These are closeups. Do you recognize Exhibit 48?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Yes, I do. It's a pair of the handcuffs that were, uh, taken out of, um, that bedroom.
MR. KRATZ: And Exhibit No. 50. Tell us what that is?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: That's a pair of what we'd call leg irons, also taken out of that bedroom.
MR. KRATZ: Now, also on the lst, did Mr. Dassey identify for you any clothing items? Specifically, items that he had worn on the 31st of October?
MR. KRATZ: I show you Exhibit No. 52. Tell us what that is, please?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: That's a jacket that we located in Mr. Dassey's residence. Um, I believe it had the name of Friar Tuck on it or Friar Tuck's, something like that.
MR. KRATZ: And what did he tell you about this jacket?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: That he believed that, uh, was a jacket that he had worn, uh, the night of October 31, 2005.
MR. KRATZ: Exhibit 53. Tell us what that is, please?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: That's a pair of, uh, tennis shoes or sneakers, also taken out of, uh, Mr. Dassey's residence, and, again, it -- they fit the description of sneakers he said he was wearing that evening.
MR. KRATZ: And, finally, Exhibit No. 54. Tell us what that is, please?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: It's a pair of blue jeans that, uh, Mr. Dassey, himself, um, located, or took me to in his residence, um, indicating that those are the pants that he wore that evening.
MR. KRATZ: On the photograph, uh, appears to depict some stains on them. Do you see that? And can you show us that on -- on the screen?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Yes. Um, white stains on the lower right-hand pocket area of the blue jeans, and also on the upper, uh, left-hand pocket area of the blue jeans there's some white staining.
MR. KRATZ: Some stains around the, uh, bottom portions or around the knees as well?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Yes. Spots and stains that are white.
MR. KRATZ: Now, we'll get into the statements of Mr. Dassey, uh, much more detail later this week, but did Mr. Dassey describe for you what those stains were?
MR. KRATZ: What did he tell you?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: He said they were bleach stains.
MR. KRATZ: Did he say how those bleach stains got on his jeans?
MR. KRATZ: How?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: He said that he got them on when he was helping clean up the garage floor in Steven Avery's garage, and that -- because they use -- utilized some bleach to clean that area.
MR. KRATZ: Now, the jeans, themselves, uh, has Mr. Wiegert provided you with, uh -- with those?
MR. KRATZ: What is that exhibit number?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Exhibit 58.
MR. KRATZ: Tell us what Exhibit 58 is, please?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Exhibit 58 is the pair of jeans that, uh, Brendan Dassey, um, took us to in his residence on February 27, 2006 and consented to us taking them.
MR. KRATZ: And do those jeans still appear, as you see them today here in the courtroom, to have bleach stains on them?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Yes, they do.
MR. KRATZ: What are those exhibits, Mr. Wiegert, 59 and 60?
MR. KRATZ: (By Attorney Kratz) We're going to show you Exhibits 59 and 60. Tell us what those are, please?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Two sets of, um, handcuffs.
MR. KRATZ: Do you know where those were retrieved from or where you retrieved them from?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: One set of the handcuffs was retrieved from Mr. Dassey and, uh, Mrs. Tadych's residence, and I believe another set was, um, seized from Steven Avery's residence.
MR. KRATZ: Exhibit No. 61 and 62 are being handed to you now. What are those?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Uh, two -- two sets of, um, fur lined leg irons.
MR. KRATZ: Where were those seized from?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: I know we took two sets of leg irons out of Mr. Dassey and Mrs. Tadych's residence, and we also took one set of leg irons out of Steven Avery's residence.
MR. KRATZ: All right. Agent Fassbender, this has been, uh, agreed to by the, uh -- by the defense, but, um, were you able to retrace the steps of Teresa Halbach? That is, uh, where she had been prior to arriving at Mr., uh, Avery's property on the 31st of October, and approximately when? Do you recall?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Yes, we were able to retrace. And I didn't understand or hear the rest of the question.
MR. KRATZ: If you were able to tell us, first of all, the two residences that afternoon, the afternoon of the 31st, that Ms. Halbach had been?
MR. KRATZ: Who is that?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Uh, Steven Schmitz residence and a JoEllen Zipperer residence.
MR. KRATZ: And at the JoEllen Zipperer residence, um, did law enforcement officials receive from Mrs. Zipperer, specifically, that packet of, uh, information, the AutoTrader information, given to her by Ms. Halbach?
MR. KRATZ: I show you what's been marked as Exhibit 55. Tell us what that is, please?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: That's an AutoTrader bill of sale and Auto -- a current AutoTrader Magazine, and a, uh, "For Sale" sign.
MR. KRATZ: Is it your understanding that after a transaction was completed between Ms., uh, Halbach and whatever customer for AutoTrader, that she would give them a bill of sale as well as the most current magazine?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Yes. Same thing happened with Mr. Schmitz.
MR. KRATZ: All right. And the defense has also been kind enough to stipulate, which means agree, to some business records. I'm showing you Exhibit 56. Ask if you can tell us what those business records are, please?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Exhibit 6 -- 56 is a copy of Cingular, um, toll records, billing, uh, for, uh, the cell phone of Teresa Halbach.
MR. KRATZ: Okay. And are 57 the cell phone records for Cellcom? That is, for Mr. Avery's cell phone on the 31st of October?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: I believe so, but let me confirm. Yes.
MR. KRATZ: And, Judge, although, uh, this is, perhaps, the first time this week that this kind of statement, uh, will be made, but, uh, I would ask that, uh, uh, defense counsel, um, agree, and indicate to the Court, their acceptance and approval that the, uh, business records, in this case of Cingular and Cellcom, be admitted without the necessity of calling a custodian of the records and without objection of the defense.
THE COURT: Mr. Fremgen?
MR. FREMGEN: I believe we've stipulated to that already.
THE COURT: That's part of the stipulation. All right.
MR. KRATZ: Thank you.
MR. KRATZ: (By Attorney Kratz) Agent Fassbender, the balance of the week, that is, after the 5th of
November, could you describe for the jury, please, the, um, uh, search efforts of this property? I don't mean, specifically, what days and what was searched, but, uh, just give the jury, if you will, since they're not going to hear day by day, um, what was searched for, uh, in the Avery property and the surrounding, uh, property as well?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: As I said before, there's approximately 15 buildings on the property. All the buildings were searched by search teams. Um, also on the property, each and every, uh, uh, vehicle of the approximate four sev -- four thousand vehicles were searched.
Uh, additional personnel were brought in to assist in those searches, to include, uh, Wisconsin State Patrol. Uh, on two separate days 60-plus troopers were brought in just for search efforts.
Um, anywhere from 45 to 60, uh, volunteer firefighters were brought in on, uh, two or three days.
Uh, law enforcement personnel from several counties were brought in, or asked to come in and help. Several police departments were asked to come in and help.
Citizen searches were done in, uh, adjacent properties, not on the Avery Salvage Yard.
Um, Winnebago County, for example, brought their dive teams in, and, uh, they were utilized in ponds. They were located in adjacent properties, quarries. Some ponds were pumped out, uh, to look through those, uh, for either Teresa or evidentiary items.
MR. KRATZ: The next area of inquiry I have, uh -- I'm sorry. The next area I have for you, Agent Fassbender, are the creation of, um, computer-generated images on and around this property. First of all, are you familiar with how these images were created?
MR. KRATZ: And could you start by generally describing for the, uh, jury, uh, what these images are and what they're meant to depict?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: These images were prepared by Tim Austin of the Wisconsin State Patrol, who was asked to come right -- to the scene right away on November 5. Uh, he uses what's called a "total station, uh, measuring" or "forensic mapping" uh, piece of equipment. And with that, he's able to, uh, map or measure a scene, uh, to scale, uh, so you have accurate measurements of, uh, any particular scene. In this case, a -- a large scene or a crime scene.
Um, they are meant to depict, uh, measurements of items at the scene, uh, relationships of items at the scene and -- and the measurements between them.
Uh, he's also able to depict those or produce sketches in two dimensional as well as, uh, models in three dimensional, adding height -- a height to that, uh, sketch or that model, and he's also able to, uh, render, um -- the word escapes me now -- render, um, animation scenes -- that's what I'm thinking of -- of that same scene or certain areas of that scene. And an animation would be a -- a virtual tour or walk-through a certain area on that scene.
MR. KRATZ: Since the jury, uh, would not be and will not be in this case, visiting this scene, and since these images show angles or depictions that the naked eye cannot, do you believe that these images will assist the jury in understanding relationships? That is, between relationships of, uh, evidence that was not only seized but also relationships of evidence, uh, to fixed points within the property?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Yes. Definitely.
MR. KRATZ: All right. Let's show the jury -- By the way, do you know about how many measurements were taken by Mr. Austin?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Over 4,100 measurements both manually and electronically.
MR. KRATZ: You talked about them being, um, accurate. Do you know just how accurate these are?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Well, I -- I think the greatest distance measurement he had was 1,200 feet, and at that distance the maximum amount of error would be less than one-half inch.
MR. KRATZ: Exhibit No. 63. We're going to go through these very quickly. Can you tell us what we're looking at, please?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Sixty-three is a three-dimensional, uh, depiction of the Janda/Dassey residence and the Steven Avery residence in the northwest corner of the Avery properties.
MR. KRATZ: And if you could just take your laser pointer, just show the jury, uh, what we're talking about here?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Again, the, um, Janda/Dassey residence, unattached garage to it, the Steven Avery residence and
unattached garage, and the surrounding yards, and that right there is the, uh, van that was for sale.
MR. KRATZ: Okay. Exhibit No. 64?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Um, again, 3-D rendition of essentially the same section of land but from a different angle coming from the north, and the, uh, Janda/Dassey residence, garage, Steven Avery residence, garage, the vehicle that was for sale.
MR. KRATZ: Once again, these are views that are unattainable by the human eye; is that correct?
MR. KRATZ: Exhibit No. 65, please?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: It's a 3-D rendition of, uh, the Janda/Dassey residence from the front, uh, looking south, and the unattached garage, and the golf cart is right there.
MR. KRATZ: These are not photographs, these are actual computer-generated images; is that correct?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Correct.
MR. KRATZ: Exhibit No. 66?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Another view of the Janda/Dassey residence and garage from the back yard looking north now, from the south looking north, um, four burn barrels in the back of the, um, residence area.
MR. KRATZ: Exhibit 67?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Uh, another depiction of Steve Avery's residence, Steven Avery's garage, the van that was for sale, and then to the right side of the picture you can see Steven Avery's burn barrel depicted.
MR. KRATZ: Sixty-eight?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: A, uh, more close-up version of the depiction of Steven Avery's residence, the front of the residence, the deck, the, uh, entrance door to the north, and then the rear entrance door to the south.
MR. KRATZ: Exhibit 70?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Uh, another 3-D rendition of the rear area, or to the south, of Steven Avery's garage. Steven Avery's garage right there, Steven Avery's residence right there, and then a, uh, mound, built up mound, of dirt and stone, and also a dug out portion of that mound to the south of the mound, which is what we called the burn area, doghouse, and the dog chain.
MR. KRATZ: I'm sorry, Agent Fassbender, I misspoke. This was Exhibit 69; is that correct?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Exhibit 69, that's correct.
MR. KRATZ: I'm sorry. And this also shows the burned out van or vehicle seat in it; isn't that right?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Correct. Right to the right of the darkened area, which is the burn area, uh, just outside of that and on the edge of the elevated dirt area is that burned, uh, car seat.
MR. KRATZ: All right. Now we're moving to Exhibit No. 70. What is this?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: A different angle depicting the, uh -- the mound and the burn area. The, uh, car seat, Steven Avery's garage, Steven Avery's house.
MR. KRATZ: Exhibit 71?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: 3-D, uh, rendition of, uh, the Janda/Dassey residence. You would be looking from above and to the east, looking west. The vehicle that was for sale, I believe it was a Plymouth. Uh, the garage, Steven Avery's house, and the burn area behind the garage. Steven Avery's garage.
MR. KRATZ: Now, Trooper Austin was also able to do interior scene modeling. In other words, uh, um, rip off the roof, if you will, of buildings and show you, uh, a birdseye view of the inside of -- of, uh, buildings; is that correct?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: That's correct.
MR. KRATZ: I show you Exhibit No. 72. Tell us what we're looking at here, please?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: This is where, uh, Trooper Austin made the roof, uh, disappear on Steven Avery's residence, looking straight down, or almost straight down, into the residence to depict what the inside of the residence, uh, looked like or had in it.
MR. KRATZ: These included all of the rooms of the trailer?
MR. KRATZ: And even to the exterior, both exterior main doors, as well as the, uh, sliding glass door towards the back; is that right?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: That's -- That's correct.
MR. KRATZ: Now, some closeups, uh, as to some of those rooms. Uh, one of the bedroom closeups, which includes some firearms, that's Exhibit 73. Tell us what we're looking at?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: This bedroom is the bedroom located to the rear of Steven Avery's residence, or to the far south. This was Steven Avery's bedroom. Um, and the firearms, um, mentioned are in a gun rack on the wall, or the northern wall, of that bedroom.
MR. KRATZ: So that the jury understands these, um, depictions, even the interior depictions, were taken by detailed measurements by Trooper Austin as well; is that right?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: That's correct.
MR. KRATZ: A different view of that bedroom would be Exhibit No. 74. Tell us what we're looking at, please?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Same bedroom. Steven Avery's bedroom. Just a different angle. Here you can see a desk in the corner with a chair, and, uh, uh, a bookcase, album holder, is how it's been described, along that, uh, east wall of the bedroom.
MR. KRATZ: And later this week we're going to hear about how close Steven Avery's bedroom door is to the exit door. That is, the door that goes towards the garage. But could you just show us that with your laser pointer?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Steven Avery's -- Entrance to his bedroom right here, the rear exit door/entrance door to his trailer right there. Just a couple steps.
MR. KRATZ: Mr. Tyson, a deputy with the Sheriff's, uh, Department, tomorrow, will talk about bleach being found. But can you tell us what Exhibit No. 75 is?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Exhibit 75 depicts the bathroom in Steven Avery's trailer, which is located right next to, or to the north, of his bedroom. In that bathroom area there's a, uh, laundry area right up in here where this box is, and a shelf. There was empty beach -- bleach bottle seized off of that shelf.
MR. KRATZ: The last two images, then, uh, include, uh, garage images. This is Exhibit No., um, 76. Can you tell us what that is, please?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: This is Steven Avery's garage with, um, the roof, uh, disappearing and allowing us to see the inside of the garage. I might add that this is more of a cleaned up version of the inside of that garage. Lot of the clutter -- There was much more clutter. A lot of the clutter is -- is not in there.
MR. KRATZ: And, finally, Exhibit No. 77. Tell us what that is, please?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Steven Avery's garage. Different angle. The roof has been removed. The garage door is open, or removed, and, um, again, the clutter not included, but it is accurate, uh, rendition of the inside of that garage.
MR. KRATZ: Now, Evidence Tents No. 9 and 23, do you know what those depict?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Yes. Evidence Tent No. 9 toward the front of the garage depicts where a bullet fragment, a .22 caliber bullet fragment, was located in the crack in the cement of the, uh -- the floor of the garage. And then back here, the other evidence tent, uh, is where -- 23-A is where a bullet fragment was also discovered, uh, underneath a air compression in the back -- air compressor in the back of that garage.
MR. KRATZ: These were searches on March 1 and 2 after Mr. Dassey's statement? Is that your understanding?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: That's correct.
MR. KRATZ: Agent Fassbender, you talked about an animation, or that it was possible to, um, depict, or have Trooper Austin depict, through animation, uh, what it is that, uh, he had, um, shown in a 3-D version. Have you been able to, um, view that animation?
MR. KRATZ: I show that to the jury at this time. Oop. I'm sorry. That's the wrong animation. If you'd be so kind as this plays, uh, Agent Fassbender, since the jury will not get a virtual tour, or will not get a tour, of the property, um, explain for the jury, if you will, what they are observing?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Well, this would be, essentially, the aerial view of Steven Avery's garage and residence. You're looking west to the east, and just at the bottom of the screen would be the roof to the Janda, uh, Dassey residence.
And we're moving toward the north and reducing altitude, coming around the front of the Janda/Dassey residence and showing the front of Steven Avery's trailer. To the right you can see the van, where it was parked, uh, the van that was for sale.
MR. KRATZ: Use your laser pointer if you feel it's necessary.
THOMAS FASSBENDER: The van right there. Continuing, and he -- he points out the van. The front of Steven Avery's trailer. To left is the garage.
Now, we're approaching Steven Avery's trailer coming from the east headed west. You can see a wraparound deck. There's also a pool in the back. And that's the main entrance door coming up over Steven Avery's trailer to the top and looking down upon his residence.
The roof is gone, and now we're looking into the living room of Steven Avery's trailer. In the corner there's a computer desk, TV, spare bedroom, bathroom, and Steven Avery's bedroom. And that would be working, uh, north to south in his trailer. Again, just different angles of Steven Avery's bedroom.
Again, from an elevation looking down, Steven Avery's garage, and, again, the interior of the garage. There's a Suzuki Samurai parked in there, and a snowmobile also placed in the garage.
Coming around to the rear, or to the south, of, uh, Steven Avery's garage is that mound, built up mound, of dirt and stone I talked about. The doghouse, the chain, and the dog, and this dug out portion of that mound area, which was the burn area, steel belts right there, the car seat, burned out car seat, and a tire, which were all located at the scene.
Just pulling away from that, toward the, uh, southeast, more of a distance view of Steve's garage and residence. We would be, essentially, in the backyard of the, um, Janda/Dassey residence right now. The four burn barrels I talked about earlier, and the Janda/Dassey residence. Or the Tadych, now, residence.
Associated with that residence were these four burn barrels. You can see the relationship between Steven Avery's property and Mr. Dassey's property.
Front, or the north, of Steven Avery's -- to the north of Steven Avery's trailer and garage. In the forefront of the, uh, rendition here is Steven Avery's burn barrel. Again, the relationship between all three items, the garage, the residence, and the burn barrel.
MR. KRATZ: Again, those -- that was an animation, uh, created from those still photographs by Mr. Austin? Is that your understanding?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: That's correct.
(Exhibit No. 78 marked for identification.)
MR. KRATZ: The last, uh --
MR. KRATZ: By the way, Judge, I should have the record reflect that the, uh, animation that has just been shown, uh, I am having marked as -- at least for identification -- as Exhibit No. 78.
THE COURT: Okay.
MR. KRATZ: Um, we'll be tendering that as well.
MR. KRATZ: (By Attorney Kratz) The last, uh, area of inquiry I have for you, um, Agent Fassbender, uh, is a statement from Mr. Dassey. Uh, although we're not going to be discussing the, uh, March 1 or earlier statements in November, um, I understand that you, individually, that is, you alone, spoke to Mr. Dassey on February 27; is that right?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Myself and another DCI agent, uh, spoke with him, uh, his mother, and his brother, who also present at that time.
MR. KRATZ: Where did that take place?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: At the, uh, resort motel in Mishicot, uh, later in
the evening. I think it was, uh, after 10:00 p.m.
MR. KRATZ: All right. On the 27th of February -- By the way, this was 2006; is that right?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: That's correct.
MR. KRATZ: This was before the March 1 admissions were obtained from Mr. Dassey; is that right?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: It was on the evening of February 27.
MR. KRATZ: Would you agree that this was characterized as a witness interview?
MR. KRATZ: And at that time was the topic of any bleach or bleach stains brought up?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Yes, it was.
MR. KRATZ: Describe for the jury how that came up, please?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: Well, I received information about Mr. Dassey having some bleach stains on some jeans, and that being a result of, uh, cleaning Steven Avery's garage floor. Acting on that information, I went to the motel where Mr. Dassey's mother and his brother were located, and I inquired about that, and Mr. Dassey advised that, uh, yes, he had some jeans that he was wearing that evening, October 31, 2005, uh, when he was assisting Steve Avery in cleaning up a garage -- Steve Avery's garage floor, because it had some stains on it.
Uh, when asked what he thought he was cleaning up, uh, and the color of those stains, he described them initially as dark red, uh, but he believed, um, that they were oil stains, uh, from some vehicles or such.
Uh, upon further speaking with him, uh, he described the stains as red in color, because the rags or the cloths they were using to clean up the stains appeared red on the cloths.
When asked what he used to clean up the stains, he advised that they initially tried gasoline. Um, that worked a little, and then they used paint thinner, uh, and that may have worked a little more he thought, and, then, ultimately, they used bleach on the garage floor, uh, to finish the cleanup.
He said that the rags they used to clean up the substance Steven threw in the, uh, fire that was going, um, behind -- in a burn area behind Steven Avery's garage.
And, again, when asked, um, about what he thought the substance was, if he thought it could have been blood, and he said, yeah, he thought it could have been blood, and said, when asked what do you think to this date, which would have been February 27, he believed it to be blood.
MR. KRATZ: And so the jury understands, and I know that later in the week we'll hear of this, but that Mar -- that, uh, February 27 statement, then, caused you and Investigator Wiegert to re-interview Mr. Dassey two days later on the lst of March; is that correct?
THOMAS FASSBENDER: That was one of the things.
MR. KRATZ: At this time, Judge, I will move the admission of Exhibits 15 through 78, and have no further questions of this witness at this time. Thank you.
THE COURT: Any objection, Counsel?
MR. FREMGEN: I think just as to 78, there might be a second item on that that hasn't been -- just that first overview that we saw?
MR. KRATZ: There is a second, uh, animation, Judge, and if that is played, uh, that will, uh, be identified and, uh, described through our anthropologist, Dr. Eisenberg, later this week. But I'm not offering it at this time.
THE COURT: You -- You're offering the part of 78 that we've seen, which is the virtual tour?
MR. KRATZ: Just the scene model, yes, Judge.
MR. FREMGEN: With that, no objection.
THE COURT: All right. They're received. They'll be received then. Cross?
MR. EDELSTEIN: Thank you, Your Honor.