5.Michael Kornely — Direct/Cross/Redirect
81 linesCOURT CLERK: Please raise your right hand.
MICHAEL KORNELY, 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.
MICHAEL KORNELY: It's, um, Michael, or Mike, Kornely, K-o-r-n-e-l-y.
DIRECT EXAMINATION BY ATTORNEY FREMGEN:
MR. FREMGEN: Mike, what do you do for a living?
MICHAEL KORNELY: Uh, I work as a sales manager for a company out of Milwaukee, and I also do some yard work as an extra job.
MR. FREMGEN: And do you generally live in the Manitowoc/Two Rivers area?
MICHAEL KORNELY: Yes, I live in Francis Creek.
MR. FREMGEN: Are you familiar with, uh, Brendan Dassey?
MICHAEL KORNELY: Yes.
MR. FREMGEN: And how do you know Brendan?
MICHAEL KORNELY: Um, Brendan is, uh -- Blaine, he works for me currently, and, uh, Blaine's brother, and Brendan worked for me for a period of time.
MR. FREMGEN: And how -- how long have you known Brendan?
MICHAEL KORNELY: About three-and-a-half years.
MR. FREMGEN: Would you be able to -- Well, for instance, hypothetically, you would have called him on the phone, would you be able to recognize his voice?
MICHAEL KORNELY: Yes.
MR. FREMGEN: Now, do you know -- do you recall where you were on October 31, 2005?
MICHAEL KORNELY: I was in Birmingham, Alabama.
MR. FREMGEN: On that -- at -- on that night, or at some point in -- on October 31, 2005, did you contact the Dassey residence?
MICHAEL KORNELY: Yes, I did.
MR. FREMGEN: By that I mean did you call them?
MICHAEL KORNELY: Yes. I -- I called to talk to -- to Blaine to see if he was going to come to work on the following weekend, because he hadn't worked, uh, with me the weeks before -- the two weeks before. Um, said that he was putting on a roof on one of his uncle's cottages up north and it was working with Steven.
MR. FREMGEN: And do you recall what time it was that you called?
MICHAEL KORNELY: It was around 6:00. I think it probably was about -- between quarter to six and maybe ten to six. I think it was before six.
MR. FREMGEN: Did you speak with Blaine?
MICHAEL KORNELY: No. I, uh, spoke with Brendan and asked him if Blaine was there, and, uh, he said, no, that he went trick or treating. And I kind of was taken aback. I said, well, he can't be trick or treating, he's 17. And then he told me that he had taken his friend, Jason, uh, two brothers, and they went trick or treating together.
MR. FREMGEN: How long did the conversation between you and Brendan take place?
MICHAEL KORNELY: Somewhere around probably five minutes.
MR. FREMGEN: And do you recognize that voice on the other line as Brendan?
MICHAEL KORNELY: Oh, yes. Yes.
MR. FREMGEN: I have nothing else for this witness.
THE COURT: Cross.
CROSS-EXAMINATION BY ATTORNEY GAHN:
MICHAEL KORNELY: Good morning.
MICHAEL KORNELY: I got there on, uh, Monday, and I was there until Thursday.
MR. GAHN: And, um, did you call from -- I'm sorry. Were you staying, like, at a hotel or something?
MICHAEL KORNELY: Yes. I was staying at the Sheraton. The Marriott Court Yard.
MICHAEL KORNELY: I don't exactly remember that. I'm quite sure it was my cell phone.
MR. GAHN: And at anytime since, uh, the day that you made that call, did anyone ask you to check your cell phone records for the exact time of that call?
MICHAEL KORNELY: Yes, I think, um, Brendan's first attorney asked me if I had a record for it.
MICHAEL KORNELY: I -- I didn't find that telephone call on my Sprint record, which means I could have made it through the hotel operator. Sometimes my phone goes dead at the end of the day. And I could have made it through the hotel. I -- I honestly wish I could recall. I just can't.
MR. GAHN: Do you recall, um, on November 7 of 2005, which would have been shortly after, um -- what, seven days after October 31?
MICHAEL KORNELY: Um-hmm.
MICHAEL KORNELY: Yes.
MR. GAHN: And do you recall telling those agents that you thought the call may have been around 5:30?
MICHAEL KORNELY: You know, I -- I -- I don't remember that. That is possible. I thought it was 5:30, but I got back to the hotel, and I made the call, and it could have been between 5:30 and 6:00.
MR. GAHN: And for that fact, could have been between 5:15 and 6:15? I -- I'm just asking you, sir.
MICHAEL KORNELY: Yes, it could have been, because my day usually ends sometimes around there, and by the time I get back to the hotel it might be after five.
MR. GAHN: So you -- sometime after -- You know it was sometime after five, though, is that fair to say?
MICHAEL KORNELY: Yes. Um, I -- I thought Brendan told me that he left about 5:10 or something, so I would have already missed Blaine then. So, you know, because Blaine wasn't there for me to talk to him.
MICHAEL KORNELY: Um, yeah, it's possible.
MICHAEL KORNELY: It is possible.
THE COURT: Any redirect?
REDIRECT EXAMINATION BY ATTORNEY FREMGEN:
MR. FREMGEN: I just have one question in follow-up to, um -- Mr. Gahn asked you about meeting with law enforcement as to that time frame when you made that phone call; correct? You had --
MICHAEL KORNELY: Yes.
MR. FREMGEN: Remember that --
MICHAEL KORNELY: Yes.
MR. FREMGEN: -- conversation? And you said -- Or the question was asked of you, do you recall telling them it was 5:30? And you said, maybe?
MICHAEL KORNELY: Yeah. It seemed closer to six because, you know, I would end my day probably around five. I -- I -- I wish I could recall and I don't. But I thought it was closer to six, because what Brendan had said to me is, well, Blaine had already left by about ten after five or so, and so this seemed like, you know, it was a while, like he was gone almost an hour already.
MR. FREMGEN: So it was sometime after Blaine had left as far as you recall from the conversation?
MICHAEL KORNELY: Yes.
MR. FREMGEN: And do you recall telling law enforcement it was 5:30 or 5:45? That that was the time frame you gave to them originally?
MICHAEL KORNELY: It's possible I could have told them that. I -- I could be off like that.
MR. FREMGEN: Okay. Thank you, very much.
THE COURT: Any recross?
THE COURT: You may step down.
MICHAEL KORNELY: Thank you.
MR. FREMGEN: That's the last witness for today that we have available.
THE COURT: All right. Then we will adjourn until Monday morning at 8:30. Ladies and gentlemen, once again, don't talk about this amongst yourselves or anything about this case, or to anyone else. Thank you. Have a nice weekend. We'll see you Monday.
(Court stands adjourned at 11:44 a.m.)