Updated Direct Examination Flashcards

1
Q

Please state your name for the record.

A

Det. Melanie Nichols

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Thank you, Detective. Now, where do you work

A

I am a homicide detective for the Midlands City Police Department

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Have you worked in the police force long?

A

I have prior experience in the Midlands State Highway Patrol and Midlands City Police Department in the Vice and Narcotics unit, as well as the homicide unit where I am today.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Do you recall what happened the night of July 16, starting at about 11 PM?

A

Yes, I was working that night. I responded to an incident call in the Jaywood Building condos at about 11:10 in Downtown Midlands City to investigate a report of a potential homicide

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What happened next?

A

I briefly spoke with the officers on scene, who identified the victim as Kerry Bell Leon, who was found unconscious. I spoke with Kerry once she regained consciousness and pointed out her attacker, Dylan Hendricks. She reported that Hendricks came at her with a gun, which she was able to knock away and after a struggle, she was strangled with an extension cord until she passed out.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Did Kerry have any injuries?

A

Yes, she had a bump above her right eye as well as bruises around her neck.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What can you tell us about the crime scene?

A

It took place in Bell Leon’s condo on the sixth floor of the Jaywood Building

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Would you recognize a model of the condo’s floor plan if I showed it to you?

A

Yes, I would.

Brings in Exhibit 10

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What did you find in the condo?

A

I found broken furniture scattered as well as a key and extension cord on the living room floor.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Would you recognize that key if I showed it to you?

A

Yes

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What can you tell us about this key?

A

I had been informed that the crime involved breaking and entering. So when I found that key, I wanted to see if maybe that was the key the intruder had used. The key opened the front and back doors of the condo, as well as the door at the bottom of the fire escape.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Let’s talk about those doors. When you got to the scene, was there anything out of the ordinary about them?

A

There was clearly no forced entry through any of them. However, I did notice that the door to the utility closet and the back door to the condo were wide open.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Can you locate those on the floor plan for us?

A

Yes. They’re right next to each other and they make a straight path out of the apartment toward the fire escape.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Okay, the fire escape. Where does that lead?

A

To a locked door under a maroon awning

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Did you operate the door yourself?

A

Yes. I walked downstairs to test the key on the door.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

And how did it work?

A

It automatically locked once it closed. After I opened the door, it swung closed and locked tight.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Are you familiar with the area surrounding the crime scene?

A

Yes.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Would you recognize a map of the area if I showed one to you?

A

Yes.

Introduces exhibit 9

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Did you speak to any other witnesses that night?

A

Yes I spoke with a man named ‘Mickey’, Morgan Jones, and Charlie Waters, who all saw Kerry’s assailant outside her building.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Did you learn anything from them about the assailant?

A

Yes. Mickey told me that he was wearing dark gloves, which Jones also saw, and identified as being purple gloves. Waters then told me that he thought he recognized him as Dylan Hendricks.

21
Q

What else did you learn from them?

A

Mickey and Charlie Waters both told me that they saw the attacker throw something away in a nearby dumpster.

22
Q

Did you investigate that dumpster?

A

Yes, and when I searched it, I found a gun.

23
Q

What can you tell us about the gun you found?

A

I found a Baker 9mm revolver

24
Q

Could you point out the dumpster on the map of the area?

A

It’s up against the side of Sparkle and Shade, just around Pearl Alley

25
Q

And what is the significance of that location?

A

It connects to the witnesses’ reports of seeing the attacker dump it on his way toward the food trucks on Ellis Blvd.

26
Q

Did you collect any evidence regarding the timeline of the night?

A

Yes. I performed a public records search under the defendant’s name, and found a citation for his food truck. I also got evidence from an uber driver named Jamie Morrison.

27
Q

You also mentioned a citation from the city. Would you recognize that if I showed it to you?

A

Yes.

Enters exhibit 36

28
Q

What did you learn from the citation?

A

He did not have a permit to operate his food truck on Ellis Street, and received a citation at 10:50pm that night. It also establishes that there was no one in the food truck at the time the ticket was written.

29
Q

And how did that affect your investigation?

A

Well, the crime was reported at about 11 pm, the same time that the citation was written.

30
Q

What did the Uber driver tell you?

A

The uber driver, Jamie Morrison, contacted me to tell me about the ride they gave Dylan Hendricks the night of the incident.

31
Q

What can you tell us about that ride?

A

Morrison picked Hendricks up from his house at 555 S. Johnson St. at 11:27 PM and then Dropped him off at Chuggies downtown at 11:38 PM

32
Q

Did you do any further investigation into how that fit with the rest of the night?

A

Yes. The following day I performed 3 test drives from Ellis Street to Hendrick’s house, around the same time of night he might have been driving, and found that it took between 11 and 15 minutes to make the drive

33
Q

How did that impact your investigation?

A

Well like I said, the crime was reported at about 11pm, and the uber didn’t arrive until 11:27 pm, so based on my investigation and experience as a detective, it fits well with our theory of the crime (Hendricks had enough time to drive home before being picked up at 11:27 by the uber).

34
Q

Did you perform any searches related to this crime?

A

Yes, that same night at 2 AM, I went to Dylan Hendricks’ home to search for more evidence that might link him to the crime. Sure enough, I found a single damp Souper Soups t-shirt in his washing machine and a pair of disposable purple gloves that appeared to have been washed.

35
Q

Was what you saw in Hendrick’s home significant to your investigation?

A

It was. It was unusual to find a single shirt being washed and the one I found in the defendant’s washer was consistent with the description of the attacker given by eyewitnesses.

36
Q

What about what you found in the food truck?

A

The gloves were also notable. Even though they are disposable gloves, and there was a trash can in the truck, we found them wet in the sink, as though they had been washed.

37
Q

As part of your investigation did you interview the defendant?

A

Yes, I conducted two interviews with the defendant.

38
Q

Now, was Hendricks administer his Miranda rights prior to your interview?

A

Yes, in fact he filled out a waiver form and voluntarily handed his phone in to be investigated.

39
Q

You mentioned that Dylan turned in his phone. What did you find on it?

A

I found a series of suspicious Tender messages between him and Carmen Bell-Leon
Exhibits 23 and 24

40
Q

What can you tell us about exhibit 23?

A

READ THE TEXT MESSAGES
(In exhibit 23, Carmen asks the defendant “when are you going to do the thing we talked about” The two then exchange emojis depicting weapons including a bomb, a gun, and a knife. Carmen ends the conversation by reminding Dylan that “the only thing that matters” is something he represents with a coffin emoji.)

41
Q

And what is going on in exhibit 24?

A

READ THE TEXT MESSAGES
(In this exhibit, we can see Carmen ask the defendant if he has “decided when?” Dylan responds with a nervous, sweating emoji then more than a day later, he says “okay i’ll do it”, then “the kid cant be there.” Carmen reminds him that Bailey will be “@ summer camp most of July.”)

42
Q

In your interviews, what did the defendant tell you about his relationship to the Bell-Leon family?

A

He told me that he had been in a relationship with Carmen since February and that he loves her. They met on the dating app, tender, and to his knowledge they are still together

43
Q

Did the defendant ever mention Carmen asking him to do anything for her?

A

Yes he did. When I asked him about his trip to DeRosa’s firing range, he told me that he went there at Carmen’s request.

44
Q

Was there anything else impotent about that trip to the firing range?

A

Yes. The gun used at the range was a Baker 9mm Revolver, the same kind of gun I found in the dumpster Charlie Waters pointed me to. The receipt was also dated July 15, 2017, just one day before the attempted murder.

45
Q

Okay. I’d like to move on to the very end of your second interview with Dylan. Can you tell us what happened?

A

Yes. Towards the end of the interview, Dylan became extremely defensive about the crime.

46
Q

What were you talking about?

A

I confronted him with something he said to his cellmate

47
Q

How did he react?

A

He said, “I said something like that, but I never told Skyler what I did”

48
Q

What was he referring to?

A

that he made sure tog get Kerry out of the way