2.Sherry Culhane — Direct (Part 1)
501 linesCOURT CLERK: Please raise your right hand.
SHERRY CULHANE, 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.
SHERRY CULHANE: Sherry Culhane, C-u-l-h-a-n-e.
DIRECT EXAMINATION BY ATTORNEY GAHN:
SHERRY CULHANE: I work as a forensic scientist in the Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory in Madison, Wisconsin.
SHERRY CULHANE: Twenty-three years.
SHERRY CULHANE: I work in the DNA section of the Crime Lab, so I'm responsible for examining physical evidence, uh, usually things like clothing, bedding, objects, uh, samples that are taken from an alleged crime scene or an alleged victim, for the presence of biological material. We attempt to identify that biological material, and then, uh, develop a DNA profile from that.
We are also submitted DNA profiles from standard samples from specific individuals, and we also develop DNA profiles from those samples. And we basically compare the two to see if an. individual could or could not be the source of the questioned evidence sample.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, I do. I'm the technical unit leader in the section, which, uh, means that I'm also responsible for additional duties such as training new analysts in -- in our section, I'm responsible for overseeing the quality control program, um, make sure any technical issues that are resolved in this section. I'm responsible for setting up new equipment, new procedures, anything that are brought online, uh, those are all under my responsibility.
MR. GAHN: Ms. Culhane, before I ask you the next question, could you maybe pull the microphone just a little closer to you?
SHERRY CULHANE: Okay.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, it is.
SHERRY CULHANE: Um, since 1996.
SHERRY CULHANE: Uh, conservative answer for myself would be at least five thousand.
MR. GAHN: And what education do you have that qualifies you to, um, work in the area of DNA testing?
SHERRY CULHANE: I have a Bachelor of Science Degree in biology. Um, as I said, we went online in 1994 with DNA testing, and I went through a -- a -- about a year-long training program, um, in the laboratory under the direction of my supervisor.
Uh, the training program consisted of lectures, uh, running many, many samples through the system, um, uh, proficiency tests, competency tests, um, and since that time I've also, uh, attended many schools and workshops specifically related to DNA testing or forensic applications, and also interpretations.
I've also taken a statistics course online and a molecular biology course and advanced chemistry class.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, I do.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, I do.
MR. GAHN: And why is it that you, um, attend meetings and seminars and keep up-to-date with the literature?
SHERRY CULHANE: Uh, meetings and seminars are -- are really good venue to be able to talk to other individuals who are in crime labs, who are doing the same type of testing, individuals who are testing new procedures, new types of equipment. Most of these meetings have representatives from, um, the instruments that we use or the kits that we use, and so these meetings allow us to exchange a lot of information.
Uh, research is being done, um, all of that information we can find in scientific journals that we have access to in the laboratory.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, I have.
SHERRY CULHANE: Ninety-two.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
SHERRY CULHANE: About 32 times.
(Exhibit No. 164 marked for identification.)
MR. GAHN: I'm going to ask Mr. Kratz to hand you what has been marked as Exhibit 164. Just ask you to identify that?
SHERRY CULHANE: This is a copy of my, uh, curriculum vitae. It has all of my qualifications, and all the classes, and, uh, educational, uh, seminars that I've attended.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
MR. GAHN: Okay. Um, what I'd like to do now is take a few moments, and I'd like you to explain to the jurors exactly what DNA, uh, stands for, and what it is, and we've, um, prepared a PowerPoint demonstration that you have seen; correct?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, it will.
MR. GAHN: Um, we put up our first slide, and you can -- Uh, and, also, do you have a, um -- a laser pointer in the event that you may need one?
SHERRY CULHANE: No, I don't.
MR. GAHN: We're going to provide you with that, too, and please feel free to use that if you need to. So could you start with telling the jury, um, what DNA stands for and what it is?
SHERRY CULHANE: DNA stands for deoxyribonucleic acid, um, and, basically, it's the information storage system of the cell. Um, you can see -- Probably easier to see right here, um, this is a very small segment of DNA. It's a 3-D model of the DNA. And it illustrates the fact that DNA is made up of, um, a series of smaller units that are strung together in a specific order. That order is what determines the information and how that information is stored in the DNA.
MR. GAHN: And could you, um, explain to the jurors some of the characteristics about DNA and how it's inherited?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes. The easiest way to think of DNA is to compare it to a blueprint. Um, just like when you build a house, all the information that you need to build a house is contained in the blueprint. All the directions, all the materials, everything you need. DNA is exactly the same, only on a cellular level. So all of the information that your body needs to produce proteins, enzymes, everything to basically function, all that information is contained in your DNA.
Your DNA directs cellular development. And if you'll look at this, um, schematic here, um, the information is stored in specific regions we refer to as genes. DNA directs development of your cells all the way from the beginning of conception all the way through your adult life.
So things like your eye color, hair color, the shape of your face, all of those are characteristics that are determined by your genes.
In a forensic setting, we're more interested in the areas of DNA that are not connected to a functional gene. Um, scientists really don't know what their function is, but they're there and there's a lot of variation within the population. So in the forensic community, we're looking at regions of DNA that don't really do anything, and, um, that's where we're -- we're most interested.
DNA's also inherited from your biological parents. You inherit 50 percent from your mother and 50 percent from your father. And you, in return, uh, pass on 50 percent of your DNA to your offspring.
MR. GAHN: How many analysts are there at the Crime Lab in Madison that are performing DNA testing?
SHERRY CULHANE: Currently, we have, uh, about ten. Over the course of years, we've had 10 to 12 people.
MR. GAHN: Since you began doing DNA testing at the Madison Crime Lab, can you estimate approximately how many samples of evidence have been analyzed, uh, for DNA testing?
SHERRY CULHANE: A conservative answer would be at least 60,000 over the course of the years.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, we do.
SHERRY CULHANE: Proficiency testing, um, in our laboratory -- We purchase proficiency tests from an outside private company. Proficiency tests are designed to mimmick forensic samples. So we treat them just like we do a case. They come into the lab from this private company, and we examine them just like we would a case. The proficiency tests are meant to test the laboratory system, as well as the individual analysts.
We, uh, examine these just like we do evidence. We developed DNA profiles from them, and we report those DNA profiles back to the company that we purchased them from.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes. We are an accredited laboratory system. Um, we hold a certificate of accreditation from ASCLD, which stands for American Society of Crime Lab Directors. And it is a group of individuals that come into the laboratory once every five years and audit the laboratory -- um, every section of the laboratory. Uh, they look at all of our procedures. And this, certificate is awarded and -- and re-evaluated once every five years.
SHERRY CULHANE: Well, as I said, it's a -- part of the process of being accredited is to be audited. And what that means is you have a group of probably 10 to 15 people who come into the lab, they look at everything from security, they check, uh, evidence handling procedures, how we take in evidence, how we store the evidence.
Um, and then specific auditors are assigned to different sections at the laboratory. DNA usually has two to three auditors assigned to DNA. They check the physical layout of the laboratory, they check all of our validations of our equipment, all of our quality control. And, in addition to that, they pull, uh, case jackets from probably 10 to 15 different cases from each analyst, and analyze those to make sure that we're following our own protocols, and that we're making the correct interpretations.
It also checks, uh, educational backgrounds of all our analysts to make sure that -- that we are meeting all the requirements that are necessary, that have been put forth by, um, the DAB, which is a -- a group of individuals from the FBI that sets forth standards for these audits.
MR. GAHN: And does your laboratory only perform DNA testing for law enforcement or for the prosecution?
SHERRY CULHANE: Uh, by law, we perform testing for authorized submitters. Authorized submitters would be district attorney's offices, uh, coroner's offices, uh, police agencies. Um, but we do any requests that come through them.
MR. GAHN: Are you familiar with the Innocence Project at the University of Wisconsin Law School in Madison?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, I am.
SHERRY CULHANE: My understanding, it is -- is that it's a group of, um, law students that review post-conviction cases. So they look at cases that have already been decided in court. And they review these cases to see if they're appropriate for a new trial because of new evidence, or new technology that was not available at the time.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
MR. GAHN: And as a result of cases that you've tested, post-conviction cases, have people ever been freed from prison whom --
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
SHERRY CULHANE: That's correct.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
MR. GAHN: Um, I would like to now, uh, go back to the PowerPoint and just ask -- ask you -- to you -- would you describe to the jurors where DNA is found?
SHERRY CULHANE: DNA can be found in all the nucleated cells in your body. Um, for our purposes, most -- If you'll look at the slide here, most of the common types of biological materials we're dealing with are blood, semen, saliva, and hair. But any biological component of your body that has a nucleated cell has the potential for DNA.
In the blood, it would be white blood cells. Semen would be epithelial cells, skin cells, and sperm sells. Saliva would be skin cells. Um, all of these, um, types of biological materials have a complete copy of your DNA. So the -- the important fact to remember, especially with forensics, is that, um, these questioned biological samples that may be found on a victim, alleged victim, or at an alleged crime scene, um, have a particular DNA profile, and that profile is the same as any other, um, nucleated cell in that person's body.
MR. GAHN: Ms. Culhane, before I go any further, I'm going to ask that, um, when you point something out with the laser pointer, could you use the --
SHERRY CULHANE: Sure.
SHERRY CULHANE: Sure.
SHERRY CULHANE: I'm sorry.
MR. GAHN: Thank you, ma'am. So, basically, um, the DNA in one person's body, whatever tissue it comes from, is the same?
SHERRY CULHANE: Correct.
MR. GAHN: And, um, is it possible, uh, to make comparisons of the DNA that you find in a person's body, wherever it comes from, with, perhaps, samples that are found at a crime scene?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, it is.
SHERRY CULHANE: Uh, we can develop the DNA profile from the questioned sample, and we can also develop a DNA profile from the reference sample, or a standard sample, that it's from a known individual, and compare those profiles to see if they are consistent with one another or not.
MR. GAHN: And in order to test these biological fluids, what, um, testing procedure do you follow at the Crime Lab?
SHERRY CULHANE: Currently, the type of technology that we're using is referred to as DNA: STR typing. Um, and this is what most -- as far as I understand, what most crime labs in the country are using, this type of technology for typing.
SHERRY CULHANE: STR typing is a PCR-based system that allows us to specifically amplify or make a whole lot of copies of specific regions of DNA.
If you look at the, uh, photograph here, there are target regions that -- that it -- are interspersed throughout your DNA. These target regions we refer to as STR or genetic markers.
When we develop a DNA profile, we actually look at 15 different target regions of DNA throughout the -- a person's entire DNA. So our profile is developed from 15 different target locations. We do this to the evidence sample as well as the reference sample, and we basically compare the two.
MR. GAHN: So, again, if you were to develop a -- Can you develop a DNA profile from, like, a buccal swab from an individual?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
SHERRY CULHANE: A buccal swab refers to swabbing that we do on the inside of the cheek area. Um, some laboratories at some point have used blood samples as a standard. We currently use buccal swabs, which is swabbing of the inside of the cheek as a standard sample so that we'll know that those cells come from a particular person and we'll be able to assign that particular person, um, a profile.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
MR. GAHN: And if that person were to leave, shall we say, their blood at a crime scene, can you develop a DNA profile from the blood at the crime scene?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, we do.
MR. GAHN: So can you make a determination whether someone may be the source of a biological substance at a crime scene?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
MR. GAHN: And is this DNA technology that you've just talked about used in other fields besides law enforcement and the forensic setting?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
SHERRY CULHANE: Um, the technology -- the PCR technology that this system is based on is used in the medical com -- community quite frequently. It's used for a lot of diagnostic testing, um, it's used to, uh, identify individuals from mass disasters. Uh, I believe most servicemen now, uh, give a DNA sample that is kept on file. So there are lot of other applications. This -- this type of technology is used in many other applications besides forensics.
MR. GAHN: Now, in this case here, um, the case that we're trying today, did you receive items of evidence from law enforcement agencies to perform DNA testing?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, I did.
MR. GAHN: And when law enforcement submits items to the Crime Lab, do you generate some type of case file?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, I do.
MR. GAHN: And could you just explain to the jurors how you'll go about generating your case file?
SHERRY CULHANE: Any time evidence is brought into the laboratory, we have, uh, individuals, referred to as evidence specialists, they take the evidence from the submitter, the police officer, or -- or agency, um, and we have a -- a computerized bar coding system in the laboratory that keeps track of all of this evidence.
So anytime a piece of evidence comes into the lab, we give it a yellow sticker with a bar code on it that, um, is a designation of what the -- the lab number is. So we give it a numerical number.
Also, each item of evidence is also given an item designation. So, for instance, your number of the case, and then you'll have items A, B, C, D, E. So all of that information is, um, given to the items when they come into the laboratory. It's put into our computer system. All of that evidence is put into storage, into our evidence storage, and remains there until the analyst needs it to actually examine the evidence.
All of the documentation, um, that we generate for each case is kept in a case file. So all of our information with chain of custody, who took it in, what happened to it, plugs all of the notes and all of the data that we generate from our -- our analysis is kept in a case jacket. And, um, that's the -- the case file that's generated for each case.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
MR. GAHN: And your file -- your case jacket, will that indicate what items of evidence you received and on what date?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, it will.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
MR. GAHN: I'm going to ask Mr. Kratz, if he would, uh, bring you a number of photographs, which I would like you first just to take a look at, and then I'll have a question for you when you've completed looking at those.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
SHERRY CULHANE: I believe -- I believe they were taken in our laboratory.
SHERRY CULHANE: That's correct.
MR. GAHN: And that was brought to your Crime Laboratory from the, uh, Avery Salvage Yard; is that correct?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
SHERRY CULHANE: He's the, uh -- our -- uh, one of our im -- imaging analysts, and he takes the photographs, uh, when we process vehicles or when we need evidence, uh, photographed.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
MR. GAHN: And as you look at each of those photographs, do they a -- appear to accurately depict, um, Teresa Halbach's RAV 4 as it appeared when you first saw it?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, I do.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
MR. GAHN: -- um, would you, um -- And is it -- The photograph that you have in your hand, is that the same photograph that we have up on the screen?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, it is.
SHERRY CULHANE: This is a photograph that -- it's taken in our, uh, garage at the laboratory, and it is a picture of the, uh -- Teresa Halbach's RAV 4 as it was in our laboratory.
SHERRY CULHANE: Uh, November 7, 2005.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
SHERRY CULHANE: I was asked to, um, process the car for the presence of blood or any biological materials.
SHERRY CULHANE: The first thing we do -- Anytime we're processing evidence, whether it's a -- a vehicle, or a piece of clothing, the first thing we do is a visual examination. And we, basically, just look at the item of evidence to see if there's any obvious stains. Um, we're looking for different biological materials depending on what type of case it is and what circumstances there were.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes. As I was processing the car, um, again, I was just, basically, looking at the interior, and there were numerous obvious stains that were consistent with the appearance of blood stains.
MR. GAHN: And, um, did you perform any type of preliminary tests on these -- what appear to be blood stains in Teresa Halbach's car?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, I did.
SHERRY CULHANE: Preliminary tests in the laboratory are tests that are not specific for a biological material, but it gives us a -- a good idea that what we're looking at is, for instance, blood or semen. These are what we refer to as presumptive tests. Um, they're not confirming for blood, and they're certainly not confirming for human blood, um, but when we get a positive reaction, we know that we're probably looking at a blood -- a blood stain and we need to take it a little further. If we get a negative reaction, then it's not blood and we're not -- we're not going any further with the analysis.
MR. GAHN: And the, um -- And once you perform a preliminary test and get a presumptive test, shall we say for blood, then what would you do? What would be the next step?
SHERRY CULHANE: If I got a positive reaction, then I would sample the stain and retain that for further DNA testing. Uh, in this particular case, when I, um, got a positive preliminary test, then I sampled a portion of each one of the stains that I looked at, um, on a cotton swab. I moistened that with some sterile water, and then I, basically, just swabbed the stain and removed it, and that was retained for further DNA testing.
MR. GAHN: Just give me one moment here, Ms. Culhane. Ms. Culhane, Mr. Kratz is going to hand you a number of envelopes, and they -- each one has been marked as an exhibit, and I would like you to look at Exhibit No. 155, and could you identify that for the jurors?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, I can.
SHERRY CULHANE: This is a, um, swab that was taken, uh -- my item designation was A6, and this was a swab that was taken from the RAV 4.
MR. GAHN: And I would like you at this point -- Would you look at Exhibit 142? That would be the photograph. Okay?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
MR. GAHN: And, um, can you show the jurors on, um, this big screen where it is that you collected this item A6?
SHERRY CULHANE: A6 was collected from the, uh, front seat driver's side portion of the -- the vehicle. Um, and it was a -- a stain that I cut out of that area.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
MR. GAHN: I would like you now to look at Exhibit 156, and could you explain to the jurors what that is?
SHERRY CULHANE: This is my item designation A7. Um, this was collected -- These were some, uh, reddish/brown crust material that was collected from this area right here on the floor by the console.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
SHERRY CULHANE: Um, I did my preliminary test, and, eventually, un, developed a DNA profile from that.
MR. GAHN: Now, you state that you give these an item designation number. Explain that a little bit to that? What you mean by your Crime Lab designation number?
SHERRY CULHANE: Okay. The car -- the vehicle, itself, was given the item designation of A. And everything that we subsequently collected from the car, was numbered one through however many samples we took. So this would be referred to as A7. "A" telling me that it came from the vehicle, and A7, uh, telling me exactly where I recovered this item from.
SHERRY CULHANE: This is my item designation A7, and this was a reddish/brown stain that was collected from the right of the ignition area in the vehicle.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
SHERRY CULHANE: I didn't mean to, if I did. I mean A8.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
SHERRY CULHANE: Is Item A8.
SHERRY CULHANE: Uh, that was a reddish/brown stain that was taken right here to the right, uh, of the ignition. You can see it here on the photograph.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
MR. GAHN: And is that -- The photograph you have in your hand, is that the photograph that's up on the large screen now?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, it is.
MR. GAHN: And, again, before you collected this blood stain from the -- by the ignition switch, you performed a preliminary test?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, I did.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
MR. GAHN: And then you -- When you say, collected it, just tell the jurors how did you go about collecting it?
SHERRY CULHANE: I took a -- a cotton swab and moistened that with some sterile water, and then I, basically, just swabbed the area of the stain. That, uh, material is then transferred to the cotton swab, and then when I take that back to my lab bench to, uh, do my testing on it, then I will cut the portion that has the stained area on it and develop a DNA profile from that.
MR. GAHN: I would like you now to look at Exhibit 158? That would be an envelope. And explain what that is?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes. This is my, uh, item designation A9.
SHERRY CULHANE: This was taken from the front passenger seat, and this was a stain that was cut out of that area.
MR. GAHN: And would you correlate that for the jurors, please, with Exhibit 144? That would be a photograph you have in front of you?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes. This is the same photograph that's on the screen here. A9 was taken from this area right here. It was cut out of the front passenger seat.
MR. GAHN: I would like you to look at another envelope, which would be Exhibit 159, and tell and please explain to the jurors what that is and where you collected that?
SHERRY CULHANE: This is my item designation A10, and this was a reddish/brown stain that was recovered from a CD case, which was on the front passenger seat, and it's right here.
MR. GAHN: And, now, finally, would you look at Exhibit 160? That will be a envelope? And would you correlate that with the photograph, Exhibit 145, and tell the jurors where you got that from?
SHERRY CULHANE: This is my item designation Al2, and this was also a reddish/brown stain that was found in this -- uh, on this metal panel here, um, between the backseat and the cargo area of the RAV 4. Uh, it was recovered from this area right here.
MR. GAHN: Now, did you perform DNA testing on each of these swabs and each of these cuttings that you've just described for the jurors?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, I did.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
MR. GAHN: Now, did you awful -- also have a buccal swab from an individual by the name of Steven Avery?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, I did.
SHERRY CULHANE: That is a swabbing of the inside of -- the cells on the inside of your check.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
SHERRY CULHANE: Because in order to compare an evidence sample, or a question sample, to someone, a person, you need a reference sample. You need to know what a particular person's, um, DNA profile is. So we use a reference standard. We know it comes from a particular person and we can develope a profile from that and compare that to the evidence.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
MR. GAHN: And I'm going to show you, on the PowerPoint demonstration, a slide, and ask if your -- does this slide correctly display your findings of your testing of the buccal swab of Steven Avery?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, it does.
SHERRY CULHANE: Earlier, when I was talking about the STR markers, or genetic markers, and I told you that, uh, the PCR process amplifies or makes a lot of copies of 15 different markers, these series of numbers and letters on this side are actually, um, designations of where those markers are found throughout the DNA. So it -- it tells me a specific location of this marker. Where it's found.
These numbers on this side reflect the size of that target region of DNA that we're amplifying at that particular location. So, in other words, at this location, D-3, Steven -- the sample from Steven Avery had two fragments of DNA, size 16 and size 18. And the entire DNA profile -- This is what we use, these numbers and fragment sizes, that's what we use to actually compare to the evidence sample.
MR. GAHN: And the example you just gave, where Mr. Avery was a 16, comma, 18 at D-3, are there other possible numbers at that location that one could be?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
SHERRY CULHANE: Um, at that particular location, I believe it starts at around 11, up to, maybe, in the 20's. So there are numerous fragment sizes at that particular, uh, location.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes. And at each different location, there are many choices, several choices, of fragment sizes at each one of those markers.
MR. GAHN: Now, did you compare this profile that you obtained from Steven Avery's buccal swab with the DNA profiles that you developed from the blood stains in Teresa Halbach's RAV 4?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, I did.
MR. GAHN: And I'm going to put up another slide now and ask, uh, does this slide accurately show your findings?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, it does.
MR. GAHN: Now, in this slide we just did, um, we put up for A10 -- I'm sorry, A8, A10, and A12. And, again, A8 was a blood stain found where?
SHERRY CULHANE: By the ignition.
SHERRY CULHANE: On the CD, uh, case.
SHERRY CULHANE: Was found on the metal panel between the rear seat and the cargo area.
MR. GAHN: And the DNA profile that you developed from each of those blood stains, please explain to the jurors how that profile compared to Steven Avery?
SHERRY CULHANE: You can see by the numbers that it's -- it's consistent all the way throughout. So at each one of these markers -- Um, the evidence sample was a 16, 18. Steven Avery was a 16, 18.
At this marker, THO-1, um, the evidence sample was 9.3. Steven Avery was 9.3. So he's con -- These evidence samples are consistent with his profile throughout all the 15 markers.
MR. GAHN: And is there any way in your testing process you can tell whether it's a male or a female who leaves a, uh, biological substance?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, it is.
MR. GAHN: And how do you do that? The last marker that we used is referred to as amelogenin. And it's a gender marker. Um, if you are a female, you're only going to have an "X" chromosome. If you are a male, you're going to have an "XY" chromosome.
So you can see that both the evidence sample and Steven Avery both have an XY, so that tells me that's DNA from a male.
MR. GAHN: Now, you also developed a DNA profile from the other blood stains that you found in the passenger compartment; correct?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
MR. GAHN: Okay. And did you develop similar profiles with Steven Avery as you did with Al10, 8 and 12?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, I did.
MR. GAHN: Okay. Do you have an opinion to a reasonable degree of scientific certainty whether Steven Avery was the source of, uh, those blood stains that you found in the passenger compartment of Teresa Halbach's RAV 4?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, I do.
SHERRY CULHANE: Uh, it is my opinion that Steven Avery is the source of the evidence samples that -- as they're illustrated right here.
MR. GAHN: Now, I'm going to ask Mr. Kratz to bring you up, and -- what has previously been marked as Exhibit 94 -- and, um, this has been described as a -- a swab which was taken from the release lever of the hood latch of Teresa Halbach's RAV 4. And did you receive that as evidence?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, I did.
SHERRY CULHANE: Um, again, this is an example of, uh, our be -- our system that -- our computer tracking system. This is a label with the lab number on it, and the item designation is ID. That's our item designation with a bar code that keeps track of that. These are my initials, and when I received it, and, um, a seal across the back with my initials when the evidence was opened.
MR. GAHN: And did you, um -- When you received that swab of the hood latch, what did you do with that?
SHERRY CULHANE: Uh, in this particular case, um, I did a visual exam of it. Uh, there was no visible staining that was consistent with blood or anything. And so I, uh, took the swab, I cut a portion of the swab, and simply began my extraction for DNA.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
MR. GAHN: And were you able to develop a DNA profile from the swab of the hood latch of Teresa Halbach's RAV 4?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, I did.
MR. GAHN: And I'm going to ask if the slide that we have put up before the jury, whether this correctly displays your findings for the DNA profile from the hood latch?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, it does.
SHERRY CULHANE: Again, these are the -- all the 15 different genetic markers, or STR markers, the locations throughout the DNA, and these are the size of the fragments that were developed from the evidence sample.
So in this case, they were fragments that were developed from Item ID, which was the hood latch.
MR. GAHN: And did you compare that DNA profile with the DNA profile that you developed from the buccal swab of Steven Avery?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, I did.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, it does. And, again, you can see that, um, the profile that was developed from the hood latch is, uh, consistent all the way throughout the markers with Steve Avery's sample.
MR. GAHN: And do you have an opinion to a reasonable degree of scientific certainty whether Steven Avery is the source of the DNA which was found on the hood latch of Teresa Halbach's RAV 4?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, I do.
SHERRY CULHANE: Uh, that Steven Avery is the source of the DNA that I developed from the swab of the hood latch.
MR. GAHN: And I would like you now to see Exhibit 131, which has been previously identified as, um, the Toyota key, which was found in the trailer of Steven Avery. I'm sorry, if Mr. Wiegert could locate that for you. And that has been previously marked as Exhibit 131, and, uh, can you identify that for the jurors?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, I can. Uh, this is a Toyota key, um, that I swabbed and recovered DNA from. The key was found -- This is a photograph of the key and it was found to fit the Toyota, uh, RAV 4.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, I did.
SHERRY CULHANE: Uh, when I put the key in and -- it turned completely over, but the engine, uh, did not actually start. Uh, but it did turn it over and it opened the doors of the vehicle.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, I did.
MR. GAHN: And could you explain for the jurors what you did with that key when you first received it?
SHERRY CULHANE: Uh, when I first received it, um, I simply took the key, I did a visual examination. Uh, there was nothing -- There were no visible stains that I could see. So I took a swab and I swabbed the edges of the key, this portion of the key, and both sides of the -- of the key. Um, the swab, itself, after I did that swabbing, was not discolored, so there was no indi -- no visual indication that there was any blood or anything, uh, that I could see on the key. Um, and then I took that swab, and I, um, um did a DNA extraction and developed a profile from that.
MR. GAHN: And I'm going to ask you to inform the jurors whether this slide adequately or correctly displays your findings of your testing of the Toyota key?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, it does.
MR. GAHN: And the DNA profile that you developed from the Toyota key, did you compare that to the DNA profile of Steven Avery?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, I did.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, it does.
SHERRY CULHANE: Again, this is, uh, the profile from the evidence sample, which is a swabbing of the Toyota key. And it's consistent throughout with the DNA profile developed from, uh, the buccal swab of Steven Avery.
MR. GAHN: Do you have an opinion to a reasonable degree of scientific certainty whether Steven Avery is the source of the DNA that was found on the swabbing of the Toyota key?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
SHERRY CULHANE: Um, my opinion is that he is the source of the swabbing -- uh, the DNA from the swabbing of the key.
MR. GAHN: Ms. Culhane, I would like to now, um, shift back to the processing of the RAV 4, and you found other blood stains in that RAV 4; isn't that correct?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, I did.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
MR. GAHN: There was also another item that was in the passenger compartment, and that was a Wild Cherry Pepsi can; is that correct?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
MR. GAHN: And I'd like to go back to, um -- And can you point out for the jurors where you found this Wild Cherry Pepsi can?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes. I recovered it from the console area where the opening is to put a can or something. Um, and there was -- the soda can was right here, and that's where I recovered it from.
MR. GAHN: And I'm going to ask Mr. Kratz to bring you up Exhibit 161, and ask if you recognize that exhibit?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, I do. This is the Pepsi can that I recovered from the RAV 4. Um, again, it has, uh, our laboratory, um, item designation and lab number on it, and my item designation was Al4.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, it does.
SHERRY CULHANE: At the time when I found, um, the can, I was, um, trying to -- I -- I, basically -- There was nothing visible on the can. There was no stains or anything like that. So I was trying to determine who may have drank out of the can. So I swabbed the opening where -- if you were drinking, where your mouth would touch, and that's -- that's what was the swabbing and that's what I processed for DNA.
MR. GAHN: I'm going to ask Mr. Kratz to hand you some additional photographs. I'd like you to take and look at those first. Those are Exhibits 146, 147, 4 -- 148, 149, I believe; is that correct?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, they are.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
MR. GAHN: And I'm also going to ask, um, you to identify a few other exhibits. I'm going to ask Mr. Kratz to hand you four additional envelopes. What I'd like you to do is to look at the first, um, envelope. I believe it is, um, 151?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
SHERRY CULHANE: Um, this is a -- a sample that was recovered by me from the vehicle. Um, and it was my item designation Al.
MR. GAHN: And would you please look at Exhibit 146? It's a photograph. And, uh, is that photograph being shown on the big screen now?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, it is.
MR. GAHN: And your item designation, Al, can you show the jurors, uh -- First of all, that was a blood stain that you located?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
SHERRY CULHANE: Okay. This was -- It was a -- a fairly large stain right here in this area up against this wheel well.
MR. GAHN: I'm going to, uh, ask you to look, um, at another photograph, which is Exhibit 147? Which is a close-up of that area. And, again, could you just point out to the jurors where you took your DNA sample from?
SHERRY CULHANE: Right in here.
SHERRY CULHANE: You can see the stain here.
MR. GAHN: And could you just describe for the jurors the size of that stain and how it appeared to you?
SHERRY CULHANE: Um, it was a fairly large stain. I don't know the exact measurements, but maybe six inches long or so. Um, and it was a fairly substantial stain, so I only collected a small portion of -- the portion that I would need for my examination.
MR. GAHN: I would now ask you to look at, please, Exhibit 152, and can you describe that for the jurors? What that is?
SHERRY CULHANE: This is also a -- a reddish/brown stain that I recovered from the vehicle. Um, it's my item designation A2.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
SHERRY CULHANE: Right here along this plastic, um, threshold here into the -- This is the cargo area of the RAV 4. So right along this plastic piece right here.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
MR. GAHN: I would ask that you now look at Exhibit 153, an envelope? And, uh, at least inform the jurors what that is?
SHERRY CULHANE: This is also, um, a reddish/brown stain that was recovered by myself from the, uh, cargo area of the RAV 4, and my item designation was A3.
SHERRY CULHANE: That was on the, um, door. The actual door that you open of the cargo area. Right here.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes. This is the same photograph that's on the screen there and my sample was taken from this area right here.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, I did.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
MR. GAHN: Now, I'd like to go back to, um, the previous slide, and I'd like to talk about, um, Exhibit 153, now. I'm sorry. Would you look at -- If -- Would -- would -- would -- This is Exhibit 148? Is the photograph; correct? And I'm looking for -- And Exhibit 154?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes. Um, A4 is also a reddish/brown stain that I took from the rear cargo area. And Exhibit 148 is a photograph, um, and I took it from the metal -- this metal piece right here along the -- the opening, um, in the -- this area. Approximately this area here.
MR. GAHN: And did you perform DNA testing on each of these four swabs that you took from the rear cargo area of the RAV 4?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, I did.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, I did.
MR. GAHN: Your Honor, I had, uh, spoken with Mr. Fremgen previously, and he has agreed that he will stipulate that in the year 2002, a pap smear was taken from Teresa Halbach at the Bellin Hospital in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and that that pap smear was retrieved by law enforcement officers and taken to the Crime Lab to use as a standard.
THE COURT: Is that correct?
MR. FREMGEN: Yes, Judge.
THE COURT: All right.
SHERRY CULHANE: A pap smear is a medical test where, uh, cells from the cervical area of a woman are collected and those are used to make, uh, medical diagnostics.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes. Any nucleated cell from a particular person can be used as a standard. We normally use buccal cells because it's easy to collect and convenient. In this case, that wasn't, uh, available. So the, uh, pap smear -- the cells from the pap smear were perfectly fine.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, I did.
MR. GAHN: And I'm going to ask you to look at this slide, and, uh, does this correctly display the DNA profile that you obtained from the pap smear of Teresa Halbach?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, it does.
SHERRY CULHANE: Um, again, these are the 15 markers that we're looking at. You can see this is a little different from the last profiles because this is from a female. So there's only an X chromosome and not an XY. And, also, um, the types are quite different. Some of the types are the same, but if you take the entire profile in its entirety, um, it's quite different from the, uh, profiles that we just looked at.
MR. GAHN: And did you compare this profile from the pap smear of Teresa Halbach with the DNA profiles that you developed from the rear cargo area? Namely, the blood stains in Al, A2, A3, A4, as well as the DNA profile from the Pepsi can?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
MR. GAHN: And I'm going to ask you to inform the jurors whether this slide correctly displays the DNA profile that you developed from those items?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, it does.
MR. GAHN: And did you compare the DNA profile from the blood stains in the rear cargo area of Teresa Halbach's car, and from the Pepsi can, with the pap smear of Teresa Halbach?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, I did.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes. And, again, you can see that the profile from the questioned evidence here, and the profile from Teresa Halbach, is consistent throughout all the 15 markers.
MR. GAHN: And do you have an opinion to a reasonable degree of scientific certainty whether Teresa Halbach is the source of the DNA from those blood stains in the rear of -- the cargo area of the RAV 4?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, I do.
SHERRY CULHANE: Uh, my opinion is that the profiles from the evidence samples, um, are consistent with Teresa Halbach and that she is the source of that DNA.
MR. GAHN: And -- and, also, do you have an opinion whether she's the source of the DNA that you found on your swabbing of the Wild Cherry Pepsi can?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, she is.
MR. GAHN: I'm going to put a -- a slide up now. Um, and I'm also going to be asking Mr. Kratz to bring you a photograph for you to identify. And what is the exhibit number on that?
SHERRY CULHANE: One-fifty.
SHERRY CULHANE: This is a photograph of a -- a bone fragment with some, um, burned, charred tissue attached to it.
MR. GAHN: And, once again, Your Honor, um, I had spoken with Mr. Fremgen earlier, and, um, we do have this as a piece of charred remains that was found in the burn pit. Um, these charred remains are with the Calumet County Sheriff's Department, and Mr. Fremgen stated that we did not have to produce this item here in court today, and that the photograph would be fine for identification.
THE COURT: Mr. Fremgen, is that correct?
MR. FREMGEN: That's correct.
THE COURT: All right.
MR. GAHN: (By Attorney Gahn) And, again, would you describe what this item -- Did you receive this item in the Crime Lab? From the Crime Lab?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, I did.
SHERRY CULHANE: Um, this is a -- a bone fragment here with a piece of, um, charred tissue attached to it. When I sampled this, I took a portion of -- of the tissue that was, uh, least -- appeared to be least burned, uh, towards the bone and that's what I used for my examination.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, I did.
SHERRY CULHANE: Item BZ.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, I did.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, I was.
MR. GAHN: And I'm going to put a slide up and ask you to explain, uh -- Firstly, does this accurately display the findings of your DNA testing on these charred remains?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, it does.
SHERRY CULHANE: Um, you can see that I tested for each of the 15 markers that I've been talking about. But I did not get results, um, from all 15. The markers with numbers by them are the ones that I got results for. So there were seven markers that I actually got a type from. Um, and, again, I got a -- a gender marker telling me that it was from a female.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
SHERRY CULHANE: No, it's not.
SHERRY CULHANE: Uh, this sample was -- obviously been compromised and, um, exposed to heat. Uh, there are a lot of things that will, uh, work to break down or degrade DNA, and heat is one of them. Um, and, basically, what it does is just chews up the DNA.
So on the markers that have larger fragments, uh, you're not going to get any results in most cases. These are -- The D5, D13, D7, D3, those are all smaller markers, so the fragments are smaller, and so you have a better chance of getting, uh, results from those particular markers.
MR. GAHN: Now, the prior charts that we looked at, where you showed the profile of Teresa Halbach and the DNA profiles you developed from the blood in the rear cargo area of the RAV 4, those are what you would call complete or full profiles; correct?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
SHERRY CULHANE: That's correct.
MR. GAHN: Now, for the complete profiles, I asked you a question whether Teresa Halbach was the source of, um, the blood in the rear cargo area of the RAV 4; correct?
SHERRY CULHANE: Correct.
SHERRY CULHANE: Correct.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, I did.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes. And, again, all of the markers that I did get results for are -- are consistent with the types of Teresa.
SHERRY CULHANE: When we -- Anytime we develop a DNA profile, we do a statistic analysis. And the purpose of that is for us to det -- determine how common or how rare the entire profile is in the general population. So we have statistic numbers that reflect how common or how rare each one of these types is, each -- at each one of these markers is, within the population.
In order to get a -- a composite number that reflects the entire profile, we multiply these numbers together and that tells us how common or how rare the entire profile is in the population.
As a matter of laboratory policy, anything -- any profile that is rarer than three times the world's population, which would be six trillion, we, um, refer to that as a source attribution, so we're able to say, any profile that's rarer than that is consistent, and that person is the source of that profile.
Now, because this was a partial profile, the numbers are not that high. Um, and that's why I could not attribute it to Teresa.
SHERRY CULHANE: Correct.
MR. GAHN: Okay. However, were you able to, uh, generate a statistic to tell how rare or how common this profile would be in the general population?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, I was.
SHERRY CULHANE: Um, one person in one billion in the Caucasian population. One person in two billion in the African American population, and, also, in the Southeastern Hispanic population. And one person in three billion in the Southwestern Hispanic population.
SHERRY CULHANE: Uh, when we -- When we calculate these statistics, we use a database of individuals that's maintained by the FBI, and it's the same database that's used in most crime labs throughout the country. And each one of those DNA types is assigned a specific frequency. It tells you how -- how often that occurs in the population.
So, in the first one, one person in one billion, I would expect to find that partial profile from the evidence sample. I would expect to find that if -- one time in one billion instances in the Caucasian population.
SHERRY CULHANE: Correct.
SHERRY CULHANE: I don't think so.
MR. GAHN: In any event, Teresa -- the charred remains that were found in the burn pit, um, those, uh, matched Teresa Halbach at a -- a number of genetic locations?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
SHERRY CULHANE: Correct.
SHERRY CULHANE: Correct.
MR. GAHN: And I'm going to ask you now to look at one more exhibit -- uh, two more exhibits -- and that would be, um, Exhibit -- what has previously been marked as Exhibit 113, and described as a bullet fragment that was found in the garage of Steven Avery. And can you identify that exhibit for us, please?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes. Uh, this is a bull -- bullet fragment that I examined. Um, it's my item designation FL.
SHERRY CULHANE: This was a very small bullet fragment. Um, I was interested in -- in trying to determine if I could, uh, find any DNA on the bullet fragment. I visually looked at it. There were no visual stains like blood or anything that I could see.
So I took the bullet fragment, itself, put it into a test tube, and washed the surface of it with, um, the reagents that we use to extract DNA. So, basically, I was trying to wash off all the DNA that was actually on the surface of the bullet fragment. And I took that washing, and that's what I did -- uh, that's what I processed for DNA.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes.
MR. GAHN: And does this slide correctly display the DNA profile that you developed from Item FL, the bullet, which was found in Steven Avery's garage?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, it does.
MR. GAHN: And did you compare that DNA profile to the profile of Teresa Halbach that you developed from her pap smear?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, I did.
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, it does.
MR. GAHN: And, um, do you have an opinion to a reasonable degree of scientific certainty whether Teresa Halbach is the source of the DNA that was found on the bullet, Item FL?
SHERRY CULHANE: Yes, I do.
SHERRY CULHANE: That the profile from the bullet fragment, FL, was consistent with Teresa and, um, she is the source of the DNA that was recovered from the bullet fragment.
MR. GAHN: At this time I would like to move into evidence Exhibits 141 through 161? Is that correct? I believe?
THE COURT: Yes. Her CV is in -- Her CV is in at -- at 164.
THE COURT: Counsel, any objections?
MR. FREMGEN: No.
THE COURT: All right. Those exhibits are received.
THE COURT: Uh, let's take a break. We'll take a 15-minute break at this time, ladies and gentlemen. We'll be back in 15 minutes.
(Recess had at 10:33 a.m.)
(Reconvened at 11:01 a.m.)
THE COURT: Mr. Fremgen, cross?
MR. FREMGEN: Thank you, Judge.