Kleist Testimony

KLEIST, for the people - Direct 2072
2 DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. DODD:
3 Q. Sir, your name is Nicholas Kleist, is that
4 correct?
5 A. Yes.
6 Q. Mr. Kleist, can you tell the jury by whom you are
7 employed and in what capacity?
S A. By the Oswego County sheriffs department. I am a
9 criminal investigator.
10 Q. How many years do you have working with the
11 Oswego County sheriffs department approximately?
12 A. Thirteen and a half.
13 Q. How many years do you have as a criminal
14 investigator?
15 A. It will be five in August.
16 Q. Sir, I’m going to ask you some questions about
17 April 3, 1994 and ask: Did you participate in the

0
18 investigation of the abduction of Heidi Allen at the D & W
19 Convenience store?
w
20 A. Yes.
21 Q. Did you go to that location, sir, on April 3,
22 1994?
23 A. Yes.
24 Q. And what was the nature of your participation in
25 that investigation, Investigator Kleist?
WETA D. HAYDEN
Senior Court Reporter
2 A. I was called out as an I.D. person.
3 Q. I’m sorry?
4 A. I was called out as an I.D. person.
5 Q. I.D. stands for what?
6 A. Identification.
7 Q. Were there other --
$ A. Evidence identification.
9 THE COURT: Just a second. We’re talking at
10 the same time. Complete your answer, sir.
11 A. As an evidence technician.
12 Q. Were there other police officers there before you
13 arrived?
14 A. Yes.
15 Q. Sir, can you explain to the ladies and gentlemen
16 of the jury what, if any, steps you took to further the
17 investigation at the scene?

d
18 A. I was called to the scene. I arrived about seven
19 o’clock that evening. The first thing I did, I walked
20 through the scene showing what there was there at the D & W
21 Convenience store. I went through and first photographed
22 everything myself. Took some photographs. I was shown by
23 Investigator Yerdon certain areas around the store. The next
24 thing I did was I tried to raise some prints.
25 Q. Do you have some specialized training as it
WETA D. HAYDEN
2 relates to the raising, if you will, of latent fingerprints?
3 A. Yes.
4 Q. First of all, by background, do you have
5 specialized training as it relates to latent fingerprint
6 gathering and analysis?
7 A. Yes.
8 Q. Can you explain briefly?
9 A. I’ve been to both the FBI and Advanced Latent
10 Examiner School. I am also qualified by the Bureau of
11 Municipal Police.
12 Q. Sir, did you attempt to generate any latent
13 fingerprint lifts at the scene?
14 A. Yes.
15 Q. Tell them what you did, Nick.
16 A. I first tried on the counter, the counter where
17 the cash register was, but I couldn’t raise anything. So I
18 thought maybe it was the dust or something that I was using
19 so I put a control print down, which was my print, and
20 everything was working properly but the counter was clean.
21 There was nothing on there. I went over to the door, the
22 entrance door, and the only thing that was on the entrance
23 door was some smudges. There was nothing that was of any use
24 as far as fingerprints that I could see at the scene.
25 Q. Sir, there is some photographs I want to show
WETA D. HAYDEN
2 you. I’m going to show you one which is received Exhibit 2.
3 I’ll hand that to you, sir. Would you look at that, please.
4 What is Exhibit 2?
5 A. That’s the 0 & W Convenience store.
6 Q. Is that the store that you went to for the
7 purposes of assisting in the investigation?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. And that’s where you conducted that attempt to
10 generate some latent fingerprint lifts, is that correct?
11 A. Yes.
12 Q. Were you able to generate any fingerprints of
13 value from that location?
14 A. None.
15 Q. Sir, do you know if any attempt was made to
16 locate any fingerprints of Heidi Allen, if you know?

17 A. At the scene?
b
18 Q. Yes, sir.
19 A. No, I don’t know.
20 Q. At some subsequent time or later time, do you
21 know if any attempt was made by the Oswego County sheriffs
22 department to obtain any fingerprints from Heidi Allen?
23 A. Yes. At a later time, yes.
24 Q. Who did that?
25 A. I did.
WETA D. HAYDEN
2 Q. Were you able to obtain a set of fingerprints for
3 Heidi Allen?
4 A. Yes.
5 Q. Where did you obtain them from?
6 A. Her notebooks that were in her vehicle at the
7 time.
8 Q. And the vehicle that you’re referring to is
9 located in that photograph?
10 A. Yes. Yes.
11 Q. Did you search that vehicle?
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. And you obtained what you believed to be
14 fingerprints from Heidi Allen, is that correct?
15 A. Yes.
16 Q. Now, I’m going to ask you some questions about
17 April 9, 1994 and ask: Did you have the occasion to
18 participate in some manner of an investigation involving a
19 van on April 9, 1994?
20 A. Yes.
21 Q. And up on the witness podium there are a number
22 of photographs. Would you take them, sir. Just pick them up
23 in your hands. Would you look at those received exhibits,
24 sir?
25 A. [Indicating]
WETA D. HAYDEN
2 Q. Have you looked at those?
3 A. Yes.
4 Q. Do you recognize the van that’s depicted in the
5 exhibits?
6 A. Yes.
7 Q. Did you participate in some manner or
8 investigation relative to the van which is depicted in those
9 exhibits?
10 A. Yes.
11 Q. Can you explain to the jury when and where,
12 Investigator?
13 A. Okay. It was on April 9th. It was a Saturday.
14 10:47 p.m. I believe the time was. I, along with
15 Investigator Dennis Cooper of the New York State Police and
16 other investigators, obtained a permission to search form
17 from Richard Thibodeau and we performed a search of the
18 vehicle at that time.
19 Q. Now, sir, how many days was that permission to
20 search form signed after the abduction of Heidi Allen on
21 4/3/1994?
22 A. It was 4/9. So probably six days.
23 Q. Would you explain to the ladies and gentlemen of
24 the jury what you did, sir?
25 A. The first thing we did was photograph the van
WETA D. HAYDEN
2 both inside and out. The next thing we did was to turn all
3 the lights of f -- it was done inside the garage over at the
4 older building across the street. Turned all the lights off
5 and what we did is we took out a UV, ultraviolet, light and
6 what we did was go through the whole inside of the van first.
7 That way anything that fluoresced under the tW light we took
8 and we collected. After we did that, we went —- we vacuumed
9 the entire van for any type of particles that were inside.
10 After the van was vacuumed, the next thing we did was try to
11 develop any latent prints that were on the vehicle.
12 Q. Sir, why were you vacuuming the van? Why?
13 A. Any trace evidence, anything that could be
14 transferred from the victim onto the van or from the van onto
15 the victim at a later date.

I’,
16 Q. Now, you testified that you took photographs of
17 the interior of the van, is that correct?
18 A. Yes.
19 Q. Would you recognize photographs of the interior
20 of that van?
21 A. Yes.
22 MR. DODD: Judge, if I may have one moment,
23 sir?
24 THE COURT: You may.
25 MR. DODD: Judge, if I can have certain
WETA D. HAYDEN
2 exhibits marked at this time?
3 THE COURT: All right.
4 [People’s Exhibits No. 29 through 38 were
5 marked for identification]
6 Q. Investigator Kleist, I’m now going to ask you
7 some questions about the van and the interior of the van as
8 you saw it on that particular day. You testified that you
9 took photographs of the van, is that correct?
10 A. Yes.
11 Q. Would you recognize those photographs, sir?
12 A. I believe so.
13 Q. I’m going to walk up to you and hand you the
14 exhibits that have just been marked. They are not received
15 in evidence. I’m going to start by handing you Exhibit
16 No. 29. Would you look at that, please?
17 A. Yes.
a
18 Q. Do you recognize what that is?
19 A. Yes.
20 Q. Keep your voice up.
21 A. Yes.
22 Q. What is that?
23 A. That’s the interior of the van, a picture taken
24 from the rear of the van, doors open, towards the front.
25 Q. I’m going to hand you that which is marked as
WETA D. HAYDEN
2 Exhibit No. 30. Would you look at that, please. What is
3 that?
4 A. It’s a picture of the interior of the van on the
5 left side, driver’s side, looking from the rear.
6 Q. I’m going to hand you that which is marked as
7 Exhibit No. 31. What is that, please?
8 A. The interior of the van again, another picture,
9 the entire inside of the van looking from the back again.
10 Q. Exhibit No. 32, please.
11 A. That’s the interior of the van, driver’s side,
12 looking from the rear.
13 Q. Exhibit No. --
14 MR. FAHEY: I didn’t hear the last part of
15 that.
16 THE COURT: Driver’s side looking from the
17 rear.
d
18 Q. Rear of the van, is that correct?
19 A. Rear of the van, correct.
21 A. Once again, it’s a picture of the van looking
22 from the rear again, a little bit more towards the
23 passenger’s side.
25 A. 34?
WETA D. I{AYDEN
2 Q. I’m sorry. 34.
3 A. The interior of the van again looking from the
4 rear towards the front.
5 Q. These particular photographs that you have just
6 reviewed and identified, Exhibits 29 through 34, those are
7 photographs that depict a view from the rear of the van with
8 the rear van doors open, is that correct?
9 A. Yes, that’s correct.
10 Q. I’m going to now ask you to take a look at
11 Exhibit 35, please. What is that?
12 A. That’s looking from the passenger’s side of the
13 van with the door open looking into the van.
14 MR. FAHEY: I couldn’t hear the last part of
15 that.
16 THE COURT: Go ahead.
17 A. With the van -- the side van door open. Okay?
18 That would be the passenger’s side of the van looking
19 straight in through it into the side -- into the van. Excuse
20 me.
21 Q. Exhibit No. 36, please. What is that?
22 A. Same type picture looking in but only this time I
23 was in closer. You can’t see the outside of the van.
24 Q. And Exhibit No. 36 that you just identified is a
25 view from the sliding passenger’s side of the van, is that
WETA D. HAYDEN
KLEIST, for the people — Direct 2082
2 correct?
3 A. Yes, it is.
4 Q. But an interior view, is that correct?
5 A. That’s an interior view.
6 Q. That depicts what form of object or item in
7 there, sir? What I’m pointing to here.
B A. Oh. It’s like a couch type area, a raised seat.
9 Q. Asking you to now take a look at Exhibit No. 37,
10 please. What is that?
11 A. Okay. That’s a picture of the van looking from
12 the passenger’s side with the passenger door open and also
13 the sliding door open.
14 Q. And lastly, Exhibit No. 38. What is that,
15 please?
16 A. Basically the sante type -- sante picture looking
17 with the passenger door open and the sliding door open on the
18 passenger’s side.
19 Q. Now, these photographs that you have identified,
20 sir —- you looked at the interior of that van before you
21 gathered certain items, is that correct?
22 A. Yes.
23 Q. Do all these photographs fairly and accurately
24 depict how that van looked on April 9, 1994 at the hour that
25 these photographs were taken?
WETA D. HAYDEN
2 A. Yes.
3 Q. Sir, you testified that certain vacuum sweepings
4 were done, is that correct?
5 A. Yes.
6 Q. And were certain materials gathered as a result
7 of the vacuum sweepings inside of the van?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. Were there other items that were gathered from
10 inside of the van besides the vacuum sweepings?
11 A. There were three latent prints. Other than that,
12 no.
13 Q. Where were the three latent fingerprints obtained
14 from, if you know?
15 A. On the sliding glass -- the gliding door on the
16 glass. That would be on the passenger’s side.
17 Q. Sir, did you make some analysis of those three
18 latent fingerprint lifts that you got on the sliding glass
19 door?
20 A. I did, yes.
21 Q. What were you looking for, sir?
22 A. I was looking for either suspect.
23 Q. And did you do an analysis of those fingerprints
24 against other fingerprints that you had, sir?
25 A. Yes, I did. I looked at them against the
WETA D. HAYDEN
2 suspect’s fingerprints and also I looked at them against what
3 I developed from Heidi Allen’s fingerprints.
4 Q. What if anything did that comparison disclose or
5 reveal?
6 A. They didn’t match. There was no identification.
7 Q. Now, what if anything was done with the vacuum
B sweepings that you obtained on April 9, 1994?
9 A. Everything was sent to the FBI lab.
10 Q. For what purpose?
11 A. To see if anything was transferred from there,
12 any of the trace evidence. Okay? They could take -- and
13 what we did was we took clippings and all that from the rugs
14 that were in the interior of the van to see if anything
15 matched up with any fibers taken from her sweatshirt or
16 whatever.
17 Q. Was there some request made for a comparison of

0
lB certain items that were submitted to the FBI lab measured
19 against certain control specimens?
20 A. Yes. There was a hairbrush that was taken. I
21 didn’t take that but it was sent down --
22 C. Who did?
23 A. I’m not sure who took that.
24 Q. Whose hairbrush?
25 A. Heidi Allen’s hairbrush.
WETA D. HAYDEN

Kleist Testimony

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KLEIST, for the people - Direct 2072

2 DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. DODD:

3 Q. Sir, your name is Nicholas Kleist, is that

7 employed and in what capacity?

S A. By the Oswego County sheriffs department. I am a

10 Q. How many years do you have working with the

11 Oswego County sheriffs department approximately?

12 A. Thirteen and a half.

13 Q. How many years do you have as a criminal

15 A. It will be five in August.

16 Q. Sir, I’m going to ask you some questions about

17 April 3, 1994 and ask: Did you participate in the

18 investigation of the abduction of Heidi Allen at the D & W

21 Q. Did you go to that location, sir, on April 3,

24 Q. And what was the nature of your participation in

25 that investigation, Investigator Kleist?

2 A. I was called out as an I.D. person.

4 A. I was called out as an I.D. person.

5 Q. I.D. stands for what?

7 Q. Were there other --

9 THE COURT: Just a second. We’re talking at

10 the same time. Complete your answer, sir.

12 Q. Were there other police officers there before you

15 Q. Sir, can you explain to the ladies and gentlemen

16 of the jury what, if any, steps you took to further the

17 investigation at the scene?

19 o’clock that evening. The first thing I did, I walked

21 Convenience store. I went through and first photographed

22 everything myself. Took some photographs. I was shown by

23 Investigator Yerdon certain areas around the store. The next

24 thing I did was I tried to raise some prints.

25 Q. Do you have some specialized training as it

2 relates to the raising, if you will, of latent fingerprints?

4 Q. First of all, by background, do you have

5 specialized training as it relates to latent fingerprint

6 gathering and analysis?

8 Q. Can you explain briefly?

9 A. I’ve been to both the FBI and Advanced Latent

10 Examiner School. I am also qualified by the Bureau of

12 Q. Sir, did you attempt to generate any latent

13 fingerprint lifts at the scene?

15 Q. Tell them what you did, Nick.

16 A. I first tried on the counter, the counter where

17 the cash register was, but I couldn’t raise anything. So I

18 thought maybe it was the dust or something that I was using

19 so I put a control print down, which was my print, and

20 everything was working properly but the counter was clean.

21 There was nothing on there. I went over to the door, the

24 as far as fingerprints that I could see at the scene.

25 Q. Sir, there is some photographs I want to show

2 you. I’m going to show you one which is received Exhibit 2.

5 A. That’s the 0 & W Convenience store.

6 Q. Is that the store that you went to for the

7 purposes of assisting in the investigation?

9 Q. And that’s where you conducted that attempt to

10 generate some latent fingerprint lifts, is that correct?

12 Q. Were you able to generate any fingerprints of

13 value from that location?

15 Q. Sir, do you know if any attempt was made to

16 locate any fingerprints of Heidi Allen, if you know?

19 A. No, I don’t know.

20 Q. At some subsequent time or later time, do you

21 know if any attempt was made by the Oswego County sheriffs