The hearing before Judge John J. Nazzaro is focusing on evidence that Lapointe’s lawyers argue was previously overlooked, including the length of time that Martin’s apartment was burning until the first firefighter came through the front door, a pair of gloves found at the crime scene that contained the DNA of someone other than Richard, and a pubic hair that did not come from Lapointe. More details can be found in my post “Who really killed Mrs. Bernice Martin?”
The gloves, Richard’s lawyers and supports suspect, belonged to the person who attacked and killed Martin, the grandmother of Richard’s wife at the time, on March 8, 1987. Jody Hynds, a forensic scientist hired by Lapointe’s team, testified that DNA taken from the gloves was not a match for eiher Lapointe or Martin.
John D. DeHaan, a criminalist and fire investigator from California, testified that the fire in Martin’s apartment burned for no longer than 60 minutes. He based that conclusion on burn patterns, damage to the couch in Martin’s apartment that was set on fire and a firefighter’s description of the heat and smoke he encountered when he opened the door to Martin’s apartment. The couch burned for about 10 minutes, DeHaan testified, then went out because there was not enough oxygen in the apartment. Had there been enough air to feed the fire, “it would have been a very big fire,” he testified. The length of time the fire burned is a key piece of evidence for Richard’s team because it could provide him with an alibi. Read more here.