Liam's Questions

Question 1

Good afternoon. Will please state your name for the court?

Answer 1

My name is Alex Langsdorf.

Question 2

What is your field of expertise?

Answer 2

I am an accident reconstructionist.

Question 3

How long have you been in the field?

Answer 3

14 years.

Question 4

What is your connection to today’s case?

Answer 4

I am testifying on behalf of the defense team as an expert in the field of accident reconstruction.

Question 5

Do you have any personal connections to the defendant?

Answer 5

No.

Question 6

Have you participated in any cases such as this prior to today?

Answer 6

Yes, I have.

Question 7

How many?

Answer 7

About three dozen.

Question 8

In preparation for this case, who did you interview?

Answer 8

I was able to speak with the defendant, and I reviewed the witness statements.

Question 9

Were you able to view the scenes of Mrs. Bennett’s accident?

Answer 9

Yes, I was able to view photos of the scene.

Question 10

Could you please describe what you saw in these photos?

Answer 10

There were skid marks on the highway where Mrs. Bennett braked and went off the road, but no skid marks that could be attributed to Brock’s vehicle, and no glass or debris that could be consistent with two-car accident.

Question 11

Do these photos, in your expert opinion, create evidence beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant was involved in the victim’s accident?

Answer 11

No, In my professional opinion, this was a one-car accident, with Mrs. Bennett’s car driving off the parkway for some unknown reason.

Question 12

Was there any kind of test done to gauge the defendant’s BAC?

Answer 12

Yes, there was a BAC test performed however the test was performed SIX HOURS after Mrs. Bennett had wrecked her car.

Question 13

What was the result?

Answer 13

The defendant’s BAC was found at .065

Question 14

Does this support the charge of Driving while intoxicated?

Answer 14

In my expert opinion, no. They’re claiming his BAC dropped .01 every 40 minutes, but using that math, at 2 pm that afternoon, he would have been dead from alcohol poisoning. Brock could have easily gone home and had a little to drink, however he was not drunk at the time of Mrs. Bennett’s accident.

Question 15

What did the police find when they first arrived at Mr. Suzik’s house?

Answer 15

They found five empty beer cans in the back of the defendant’s car.

Question 16

What tests were performed on this evidence?

Answer 16

They performed finger tests on these cans at the lab.

Question 17

What were the results of these tests?

Answer 17

The fingerprints were found to match those of the defendant.

Question 18

What conclusion can be drawn from these?

Answer 18

Next to none. You cannot say who emptied these cans, when they were emptied, or the method by which they were emptied. For all we know, they could have been dumped out, not consumed. All this says is that Brock touched the cans at some point.

Question 19

How were the emergency responders alerted to Mrs. Bennett’s accident?

Answer 19

There was a 911 call from an anonymous caller made at 12:10 a.m. on 10/10/14

Question 20

What did the caller report?

Answer 20

The caller reported a hit-and-run accident.

Question 21

Where was the caller when he reported the accident?

Answer 21

He said he was on pine tree parkway by highway 151.

Question 22

Was this the location of Mrs. Bennet’s vehicle?

Answer 22

No it is not. Mrs. Bennett’s vehicle was discovered after about an hour in an embankment near highway 131, which is four mile away!

Question 23

Did the caller give a description of the car, according to the report from the caller?

Answer 23

He said it was a dark gray 4-door sedan, possibly a toyota camry, with license plate beginning with PBK.

Question 24

And could you please describe the defendant’s car as in the description?

Answer 24

The color and license plate match however Brock’s car is a Honda.

Question 25

In your experience, should these three license plate letters be considered reliable?

Answer 25

Not in the slightest. PBK are the three most commonly misread license plate letters in the country, add in the factors of the conditions- a moving vehicle, late-night low-light conditions and a little dirt, PBK can easily turn into FRX.

Question 26

Would you please give your opinion as to whether these facts reported by the anonymous caller place Mr. Suzik at the scene of Mrs. Bennet’s accident?

Answer 26

Absolutely not. The police are going on a tip from a caller who refused to give his name, but miraculously has perfect information of a car, driver, and license plate, but who reported the accident FOUR MILES from where Mrs. Bennett was found.

Question 27

What does the lab test performed on the paint sample taken from Mrs. Bennett’s car show?

Answer 27

The test came back as consistent to the paint on M. Suzik’s car, but as well as 836 OTHER CARS just in the St. Louis Metro Area. and the crime lab couldn’t even say it to be a match, just “consistent.”

Question 28

Does this establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the paint cans from Mr. Suzik’s car?

Answer 28

No. the color is one of the most popular in the country at the moment, has been used on 40,000 cars in the past 7 years, and has a chemical composition that Honda uses on every Accord and Civic produced.

Question 29

Addressing the photo taken from Mr.Suzik’s phone, in your expert opinion, does this photo show beyond reasonable doubt that the damage caused to his car was a direct result of the accident?

Answer 29

No. The photo was taken on a cell phone, for starters. There is nothing clear about this picture. The level of detail is extremely poor, and this type of photo is way too easy to distort to be taken seriously.

Question 30

Does the Wrightville Police Department have a policy for how police lineups should be conducted?

Answer 30

Yes, they do.

Question 31

Does it say who should be conducted?

Answer 31

Yes. The procedure says that an independent administrator should be used for police line ups, meaning an officer who doesn’t know he suspect.

Question 32

Was this procedure followed in this case?

Answer 32

No, it was not. Detective Morgan was the one who arrested the defendant, and therefore shouldn’t have been allowed to administer the lineup.

Question 33

Does the policy state how many individuals resembling the suspect must be used?

Answer 33

Yes it does, it sates that at least five individuals should be used.

Question 34

Was this procedure followed in the case?

Answer 34

No. Detective Morgan only used four.

Question 35

Could you please give us an overall opinion on the administration of the police lineup?

Answer 35

In my expert opinion, this lineup was very rushed and sloppy. Detective Morgan had not followed Wrightville protocol for administration, and this lineup should not be considered admissible.