Bitter Remains by Diane Fanning

Author:Diane Fanning
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2015-11-03T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

THE next witness was Fort Bend Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigator Kim Oreskovich. She wore a brown uniform and tie and wire-rim glasses with brown stems and pulled her long curly light brown hair back in a ponytail.

She presented a series of graphic photographs of the body parts’ recovery. Out of respect for the victim and her family and friends, these were not displayed on the large screen but on a smaller one that was pointed directly at the jury. Oreskovich stood next to it and described the pictures to the jury as she recounted the story of recovering the first body parts from Oyster Creek. At the end of that grisly recital, court was adjourned for the day.

Oreskovich returned to the stand to resume her testimony on the fifth day of the trial, Thursday, September 5, 2013, wearing her hair pulled back from her face but hanging loose and free below her shoulders. In this session, she introduced a massive amount of evidence that she had gathered at the crime scene in Texas, including the DNA swabs and the two coolers that likely once carried the remains of Laura Ackerson. The larger cooler looked grimy because of the layer of fingerprint powder spread on the exterior in a vain attempt to locate fingerprints.

She was followed on the witness stand by Detective Brad Wichard from the robbery/homicide unit of the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office. He had a big, bushy mustache with lots of grayish hair receding at his temples and put on reading glasses whenever he needed to look at writing on the exhibits.

Wichard presented diagrams of the property and a layout of where the evidence had been recovered. He described his role in the search of the Berry home and the surrounding area, and the materials he discovered there including the Motel 6 receipt in the name of Amanda Smith of New York City, a shotgun from the spare room, a jar and a green towel found in the barn, a suitcase belonging to Amanda pulled out of a trash pile, and the video of Amanda driving Shelton’s truck and dumping the muriatic acid boxes at the end of the cul-de-sac on Skinner Lane.

He also submitted samples of dirt taken from the hog pen, some from the dark spot and others from other locations around the pen that he had collected and turned in for analysis. On cross-examination, he told the jury that he had noticed the dark spot in the animal containment area on July 26.

Next in the box was Houston Police Department dive team member Brian Davis, looking very pale and quite nervous during his testimony. He explained to the jury the obstacles he faced during the dive in Oyster Creek: poor visibility, rampant lily pads, overhanging weeds and the hot Texas sun. He entered photographs of the water search into evidence.

Dr. Ricky Carlyle, a Kinston dentist that Laura Ackerson visited, provided patient notes including all missing, canceled and attended appointments. He also provided a

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