COURT HOUSE – Photographic evidence of three apartments at Sandman Towers in Wildwood and a mop found next to the bloodied body of Wallace Savitz, were the focus of defense questioning on the third day of testimony in the murder trial of Gerald Daniels here, along with newly discovered information that the assistant medical examiner in the case had her license suspended in 1997.
Assistant Deputy Public Defender Mary Pfeifle cross-examined the prosecution’s witness, Det. William Henfey of the county prosecutor’s office, regarding a series of photos which depicted scenes at Sandman Towers on or around June 16, 2004, when Savitz’s body was found, with 157 stab wounds, lying in the entrance to his living room.
Daniels, 39, who is mentally disabled, is charged with murder and related charges in the slaying of Savitz, 81. Daniels was also a resident at Sandman Towers at the time.
The photos focused on three apartments in the building: Room 103, Room 203, and Room 606. Room 103 is the residence of James Reilly, Jr., son of the victim’s late wife, whom police questioned early in the investigation; Room 203 was defendant Daniels’ apartment and Room 606, Savitz’s residence.
A tackle box photo showed a number of knives in Reilly’s apartment, one described by Henfy as a bait knife, others with blades ranging from 2.5 to almost 4 inches long. One of the knives had a push button that opened the blade.
“This kind of knife with a push button, is that push button knife legal?” Pfeifle asked.
“I don’t believe so, ma’am,” Henfey responded.
In Daniels’ room, Room 203, Henfey testified the floors “appeared to be clean” and that a screen that had been missing from the room was not found – not in the room, nor in the grass below the window. The room smelled of bleach, Henfey said, when police arrived.
Pfeifle asked whether the kitchen drain, the bathroom drain or the shower drain traps were inspected for evidence in Room 203. Henfey said they were not, and when asked the same of Room 103, Henfey answered again that they were not.
“Did you or anyone else think to look in that shower drain trap?” asked Pfeifle.
“No. It didn’t come up,” Henfey answered.
A mop found in Room 203 was found with a bucket of water, Henfey testified, but neither the mop nor the bucket of water was tested as evidence.
The crime scene photos were shown to the jury of Room 606, Savitz’s apartment, which included a mop found by the victim’s bloodied body. The mop itself was brought out and shown to the jury, with a closeup photo on an overhead projector showing blood and a single hair, on its handle.
Late Wednesday afternoon, after the jury was dismissed for the day, Dr. Chase Blanchard, Chief Medical Examiner for the Burlington County Medical Examiner’s Office, was summoned to testify at a hearing on newly discovered information that her medical examiner’s license had been suspended in 1997. Although Assistant Prosecutor Robert Johnson argued the suspension was irrelevant as she had been qualified as a medical examiner in New Jersey for the past 10 years, defense requested the court allow the information to be used on cross examination when Blanchard testifies. Blanchard was a joint assistant medical examiner in Cape May and Cumberland Counties in 2004, and issued the medical examiner’s report in Savitz’s death. Her suspension was due to “street drug” use, she said; she received drug treatment, was reinstated by Pennsylvania in 1999 with full privileges and has been clean and sober for the past 11 years. She has performed 1,000 autopsies, she said.
Superior Court Judge Raymond Batten questioned Blanchard and Prosecutor Johnson why the information did not come out sooner.
“Why call Mr. Johnson two days ago?” he asked Blanchard.
Blanchard said she attempted to reach Johnson six months ago and left messages but never got in touch.
He requested briefs from the attorneys “as soon as possible.”
“Every witness is not the medical examiner,” said Judge Batten, alluding to the critical nature of her testimony.
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