Witness & Evidence Disputes Drag Out Murder Trial

SAN ANGELO, TX – Thursday morning, Judge Ben Woodward's Court was filled with extensive cross examination executed by Defense Attorney Jessica Skinner in the Stephano Culbreath murder case. She questioned Detective Jeremy Cannady at length. Also, reoccurring objections and disagreements in regards to the evidence presented before the jury was also a major theme in the day's session.

Skinner proceeded to dissect every piece of evidence collected by San Angelo Police detectives. For example, she asked whether the blood drops present at the murder scene of David Titus were ever tested, to which the detective replied they were not. She also questioned the measurements taken of the Suburban in relation to the paint transfer that is alleged to have come from Titus’s BMX bike. Based on the report that Skinner used as a reference, she asked how the detectives knew the back tire was flat due to a blow out if they had never actually taken the tube out of the wheel, while noting that there appeared to be no dents or damage to the actual bike.

As the detective continued to answer the Defense’s numerous questions, the procedure of how the bike's measurements were taken also became a major point. According to the Defense, the detectives had measured the paint transfer mark after it had been photographed and then removed to be sent to the lab for testing. The diameter of the bike itself had only been measured approximately a month or two ago, and not when the incident occurred in July of 2015.

Moving off the subject of the bike, Skinner began to question the other suspects the police had initially questioned and how they were handled during interviews. According to the reports, the Mathis sisters both had significant others living in their home at the time of the incident. Loretta Mathis testified previously stating that she had seen both the victim and defendant that night as well as heard a gunshot. She also asked the detective if the police had ever interviewed Mark Arredondo, whose cell phone had been found on the victim’s body, along with another cell phone and an mp3 player.

After being excused, the State asked a moment of the court to discuss their next witness outside of the presence of the jury. D.A Palmer was ready to call Mr. Mitchell. The Defense, however, strongly objected to this witness, saying he had only come out to testify after the trial had begun and that they were not permitted enough time to conduct an investigation of their own or have the ability to verify the witness's statement.

According to Skinner, the D.A’s office had informed her only yesterday of the new witness, and the statement that could be presented by him could, in fact, contradict the statements given by Sergeant Callum previously. During his testimony, the sergeant testified that he had relied on sources to attempt to locate Culbreath in the area.

Mitchell maintained that he had given Culbreath a ride in his vehicle the morning after the murder, and stated that Culbreath and Titus knew each other. He testified before Judge Woodward that he had seen drug deals take place between Titus, Culbreath, and his cousin, William Hollis, around MLK Park. He also testified that he had decided to come forward after “it kept popping up that he was the one who gave [Culbreath] a ride.” Mitchell added that his cousin implied he had been involved in the incident and he didn’t “want to get in trouble.”

Judge Woodward did not make any ruling on whether he would allow Mitchell’s testimony during the morning session, and the attorneys once again moved on to the issue of evidence that would be presented. Skinner kept objecting to the State only showing specific clips of jail calls from Culbreath, which she said were not representative of the entire conversation and aimed to damage her client’s character by the comments he made. She also argued that allowing certain parts of clips could be especially prejudicial to her client when he mentioned the possession charge he currently faces on the call. Judge Woodward overruled two of the Defense's objections, but agreed that on one of the clips more time was needed to give the jury context of what was being said.

The trial has currently been adjourned until Monday morning where the both parties continue to make their case. The trial had originally not been scheduled to last this long, but a large number of witnesses and a constant disagreement over evidence has prolonged the trial.

A Brief Look at Wednesday's Testimony

On Wednesday morning, Laura Baker, a forensic scientist with the Texas DPS Crime Lab in Lubbock, took the stand. She presented before the jury a list of items that had been submitted to the lab for any DNA or trace evidence. Items such as swabs from Culbreath's Suburban, swabs of the hand prints on the hood of the vehicle and swabs taken from Culbreath and other individuals were among the pieces of evidence tested; a blood panel from Titus was also included for comparison.

As D.A Palmer questioned Baker on her findings, she kept informing the jury that none of the items had contained any blood or DNA evidence, except for a shirt that had been collected from the Defendant. On the shirt, the lab was able to identify two DNA profiles in the stain they had found. One of course belonged to Culbreath, and the other to an unknown individual; the victim’s DNA, or the DNA that was collected from other possible suspects, did not match the one found in the stain. There seemed to be a lack of DNA on the evidence tested that placed Culbreath or the Suburban in direct contact with Titus.

The Defense council asked Baker if her lab had been the only one to examine evidence. Baker said to the best of her knowledge the DPS Crime Lab in Austin had also tested evidence in this case. After this, the witness was excused and permitted to go back home.

After Baker's testimony, the jury was dismissed. The Judge acknowledge that several of the jurors would be attending Ash Wednesday services, so he allowed them to take a longer lunch. Once they were excused, the State and Defense attorneys continued to present their case before the judge regarding the admittance of items such as jail calls and a video interview.

The State had presented the court with several clips that only featured parts of the conversation they felt relevant to the case. The Defense argued that several additions or edits needed to be made before presenting to the jury in order to avoid any prejudicial evidence from being admitted.

Skinner asked the judge to allow several seconds before some of the shorter clips in order to provide an accurate context of the conversation, as well as removing any references to the possession charge the Defendant is currently facing. She argued those conversations spoke more to her client’s character than to the murder charge he faces, and she felt it was more prejudicial than probative. 

During the afternoon session, Judge Woodward continued the discussion with the attorneys regarding the same issues while out of the presence of the jury.

Skinner upheld the objection to some portions of the newly edited video; however, she said she would prefer to have the full video played instead of the edited version. She said the State is “taking a leap of faith” in connecting the methamphetamine that Culbreath had in his possession, and saying that he makes a large income involving illegal drugs. 

Woodward chose "not to rule on this" issue at that time.

Thus, the next witness to take the stand was Loretta Mathis, who spoke to detectives on scene the day of Titus’s murder.

She declared to the jury that she is a paranoid schizophrenic, but is capable to give testimony on the events.

Mathis said she heard a loud “pow” noise while sitting outside her house on West 12th and Irving in the early morning of July 25. She began to investigate in the back yard that had a fence running along West 12th and Irving. She said she saw a man sitting on the curb with a bicycle. He then got up and “took-off” towards West 13th and MLK Dr.  

Mathis said 10 minutes later she heard another noise similar to what was heard earlier. She then recalled seeing a maroon Suburban coming from around the corner on to Irving St. She was told by a neighbor that a man was lying in the middle of the road on West 13th. Mathis said she then went to investigate what had happened and identified it was the same man she had seen earlier.

Skinner asked Mathis if she recalled speaking to a detective at 7:50 a.m. that same day. She replied, "Yes."

Skinner then inquired if Mathis recalled telling the officer in the statement that she heard the first shot at 4:55 a.m. and the second one at 4:58 a.m. This was a different time frame than what she told the jury.

Mathis said she didn’t remember talking to a detective that early, and said she spoke to four detectives that entire day.

Skinner then recalled Mathis’s statement to the officer saying, “Look for the man in the blue-stripe shirt.”

However, the witness couldn’t recall saying those words. At this point, Skinner asked if the audio from her interview could be played for the jury.

Overall, there were discrepancies in the witness's statements. This continues to be an issue in this murder trial.