Page 152 of One of Us Is Guilty

‘When I first attended the crime scene, I noticed an odor. Ithought it might have been a chemical or solvent used by forensics, but I now believe I was smelling relatively fresh paint. There was a framed print in the victim’s apartment, which didn’t match the decoration. When I attended on a subsequent occasion with the defense’s forensic expert, I noticed this picture was stuck to the wall not only with a hook, but it was stuck to the paint work. This meant the picture had been placed there before the paint dried. I witnessed our forensics expert use a chemical and a black light to scan the wall for traces of blood beneath the paint. We found blood-spatter traces, scraped away the paintwork and those traces of blood were analyzed for DNA.’

‘What were the findings?’

‘The blood DNA was a scientific match for the victim, Molly Green.’

‘Miss Bloch, why, in your experience as an expert homicide investigator, would the murderer paint over blood spatter on the wall and then hang up a picture? The jury have already seen a pool of the victim’s blood on the floor of her apartment.’

Bloch nodded, took a breath and said, ‘This was the question which bothered me. I returned with the defense’s forensic expert yesterday and we again scanned the wall with the luminol and black light to look for further blood traces beneath the paint. We found none. However, having witnessed the method of operation of the execution team at the Hamptons property, and seeing that their van also contained numerous cans and buckets of paint and painting materials, we scanned the wall with a metal detector.’

I paused for a second, watched the jury, made sure they were following. Then continued.

‘And what did you find?’

‘The metal detector sounded an alarm for metal in two locations on the wall. We then began to dig at those locations. One we found was to do with internal wiring, the second exploratory hole revealed a .22 caliber slug buried in the wall.’

Bloch took an evidence bag from her jacket, held it up. Inside was a small, misshapen item that looked to be about the same size as a large cashew nut.

‘This is what we found. This slug had been covered up with fresh plaster, and then hastily dried and painted over. To make sure it was covered up, they hung a picture too in case the plaster and paint left the wall uneven.’

‘What was the caliber of the weapon used to kill the man shown in the video?’

‘The exact same as this one, .22 caliber.’

‘Was this slug further analyzed?’

‘Yes, the report has been served on the prosecution and the court this morning. The forensic analysis shows traces of blood, and of organic matter, most likely skin or brain matter, on the slug. The DNA analysis confirms, to a recognized scientific standard, that the blood and organic material is from the victim, Molly Green.’

‘For the benefit of the jury, what does this mean to you as an expert investigator?’

‘It means the victim was shot in the head, and the round exited the victim’s skull and became buried in the wall. The killers then removed the victim’s head, methodically, and identically to the method shown in the video, and took steps to hide the method of murder by repairing the wall. This murder was carried out by the team shown in the video. While they could move freely in and out of the building with painting and decorating materials, it would have been too risky to move the victim’s body, even wrapped in cloth or rubber. I discovered there was a road crew carrying out overnight repairs just outside the front entrance to the building. The killers would have been seen taking the body away. It is likely they removed the victim’s head from the building in a large paint bucket, as you’ve seen in the video.’

‘But, Miss Bloch, isn’t this just a theory? The prosecution could argue that the victim was shot by the defendant. What evidence isthere that this team of executioners were anywhere near the victim’s apartment on the night of the murder?’ I asked.

Bloch leaned into the mic, said, ‘The New York Department of Finance proves that this execution team were there on the night of the murder.’

‘How is that possible?’ I asked.

‘The New York state license plate on the killers’ vehicle is clearly shown on the video. I carried out a search on the vehicle plate, and there is a record of a parking fine being issued to that vehicle on the night of the murder by the PVB, the Parking Violations Bureau, who are part of the Department of Finance. The vehicle was illegally parked on the street outside the victim’s apartment on the night of the murder. The times of the parking fine confirm the vehicle was present after the defendant was shown on security camera exiting the rear of the building. There are no security cameras covering the front of the building, but the fine was never disputed. And it was never paid.’

‘Thank you, Miss Bloch.’

I turned away from her, checked the crowd in the gallery, looking for one face. SAC Bill Kennedy sat in the back, ready to choose his moment.

Riley stood up slowly.

He looked at the jury. They were done. It didn’t matter what he said, or what questions he asked. There was no coming back from this.

‘Your Honor, in light of this new evidence, the People request that all charges in the indictment against the defendant are withdrawn, without prejudice to further prosecution.’

‘This is highly irregular, Mr. Riley,’ said Judge Tanner. ‘Surely you have an objection to some of this new evidence?’

‘No, Your Honor. And if this evidence was put before the grand jury at the outset of this case they never would have indicted the defendant.’

Tanner tapped her pen on the judge’s bench, gave Riley a look that I’d become accustomed to and said, ‘This is unacceptable, Mr. Riley. As you’ve asked for this in open court, I have no choice but to report both counsel to the New York Bar and I will be recommending disciplinary charges. The indictment has been withdrawn. The jury is discharged.’

She stood, and was about to turn away when she saw the man in the dark suit striding down the center aisle of the court. He took a badge from his jacket and showed it to the bailiff as he walked past the defense tables and then made his way around the judge’s bench and up the stairs.

‘SAC, William Kennedy, FBI. Elizabeth Tanner you are under arrest on federal charges of perverting the course of justice and corruption in public office.’