By Justin Schneider
May 16, 2008 12:34 pm
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A forensic expert from the Indiana State Police testified Friday morning in the Jesse Lee Pitts murder trial.
Tyler Sager, who works for the state police lab in Indianapolis, performed analysis of some evidence collected by the Anderson Police Department. The bloody shirt found in Pitts' bedroom, a pair of athletic pants, a pair of sneakers and the jack handle police found in a car belonging to Pitts' girlfriend Barbara Edwards and believe to be the murder weapon, were all submitted for testing.
Sager explained his collection techniques, which include the cutting of clothing where he observed stains and the use of cotton swabs for stains found on other materials. He said his examination process includes a "presumptive" test for blood that can be seen and a "confirmation" test to determine whether the substance is, in fact, blood.
Sager testified that the presence of blood was confirmed on the sweatshirt and the "tool end" of the jack handle.
Pitts, 21, has been charged with murder in the bludgeoning death of 14-year-old Amanda Brinker in September 2007.
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