SAMANTHA TOSCH

SAMANTHA TOSCH (REBUTTAL)

Thursday, September 8, 2011

DIRECT of SAMANTHA TOSCH

Samantha Tosch is a criminalist with the Los Angeles City Crime Lab.  Her duties include detecting and identifying biological fluids such as blood, semen, and saliva.  [Defense stipulates that Ms. Tosch qualifies as an expert witness.]  Ms. Tosch is not qualified to testify on DNA or speak on DNA, just screening analysis.  Ms. Tosch then visually examines the item.  IF she believes there to be a particular fluid then she will attempt to confirm and identify it. 

[The Defense submitted a stipulation earlier in trial that D’s DNA is on PM’s pants.]

Ms. Tosch screened PM’s pants.  Ms. Tosch received the pants from the Property Division.  She first noted how the package was sealed.  She noticed stains on the pants and performed an Alternate Light Source Test.  Using a light source with a particular wavelength, semen on the given item will fluoresce.  Semen fluoresced on PM’s pants.  Ms. Tosch then took a swab to take the biological material to see if there would be a color change when chemical are added.  The Chemical Test tested positive for semen.  Ms. Tosch also took a cutting off the location and it tested positive for spermatozoa (sperm).   Ms. Tosch indicates that she recognizes PM’s pants (Prosecution Exhibit #3) by her initials on the tag on the pants and the date (October, 2009?).  Upon the initial screening, normally Ms. Tosch will make notations and then conduct the Chemical Test.  She will make notations with markings on the item. 

There are marking from the front left leg (knee) to the bottom.  Ms. Tosch marks with white dots when she is looking at the item under the Alternate Light Source.  When she something fluoresce, this gives an indication to look further as there may possibly be semen.  She cuts the front left leg (knee) to identify the sperm.  The marking near the zipper area are two separate locations where she saw it fluoresce: behind and futher in against the zipper.  These are two distinct not connected areas.  Not smudge but may possibly be.  Ms. Tosch made a cutting on the upper area.  Ms. Tosch did the cut. The area on the front right leg and cutting tested positive for spermatozoa.

CROSS-EX of SAMANTHA TOSCH

PM’s pants are packaged.  The Property Division received the brown box with sealed LAPD Red Evidence tape.  It was labeled with a unique LAPD #015(0?)1437.  When Ms. Tosch opened the box, she found three brown bags.  PM’s pants (Prosecution Exhibit #3) were in one.  This bag was not sealed.  It was not a LAPD evidence bag.  The LAPD put it in a locker and then somehow it came to Ms. Tosch.  Ms. Tosch doesn’t know what happened to the pants when they travel.  The bag was unsealed.  The pants were scrunched up in there.  The bag was a small lunch bag.  Ms. Tosch doesn’t know whether or not the two stains were due to smearing as pants were scrunched in the bad or if they are one stain.  The pants were crumped up so semen on one part could end up on another.  Ms. Tosch agrees with Defense that this is not only possible but likely.  It is likely that transferring may have occurred: the spot could have transferred over the pants. 

Ms. Tosch didn’t document how the pants were crammed in the bad.  When Ms. Tosch saw the pants today at trial, she didn’t even recognize them aside from the tag and her initial.  Ms. Tosch couldn’t remember the pants.  Ms. Tosch doesn’t remember how crumped up they were.

Ms. Tosch can’t tell us whether the two areas that fluoresced are separate locations or a smearing.  Ms. Tosch does not know how the pants were treated from Oxnard Police Department to Los Angeles Police Department to the many stops it made before arriving at the LA Crime Lab’s Property Division.  Ms. Tosch did not note if the area where sperm dropped if they were elongated.  Ms. Tosch only notes fluorescence.  Ms. Tosch can’t tell if sperm is dropped on pants or rubbed back and forth.

RE-DIRECT of SAMANTHA TOSCH

Semen dries the older it gets.  Ms. Tosch can’t speak to the rate it dries.  Ms. Tosch has seen semen in different stages: whote (freshly donated) and deposits.  Ms. Tosch has never watched semen process stages.  It is “common sense” to DA Carrillo that semen dries from liquid to flake(?).  It is more likely to transfer when it is wet than dry.  Ms. Tosch doesn’t know if these pants were crumpled, rolled, or folded.  Ms. Tosch just observed those two areas of fluorescence.

RE-CROSS of SAMANTHA TOSCH

Ms. Tosch doesn’t know when the pants were packaged after the semen was deposited.