Date With the Devil (31 page)

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Authors: Don Lasseter

BOOK: Date With the Devil
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Wesley said they would proceed. David Mahler interrupted, asking if he could say something. The judge allowed him to speak, and Mahler thanked him aloud for arranging the change of jail cells away from an inmate who had made threats.
 
 
The first witness of the afternoon, Ralph Chung, a youthful-appearing man, told of his profession as an electrical contractor specializing in video equipment for both residences and businesses. He had installed eight security cameras at the home next door to Mahler's Cole Crest house. At the occupant's request in June 2007, Chung had transferred the hard drive's content to a disc and given it to an officer from the LAPD. His testimony lasted only five minutes.
A San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy, Eric Morales, came next. He filled in a few more details about the body discovery, and also spoke no more than five minutes. During his brief testimony, a photograph of David Mahler showed on the big screen, with some printed information below it. Larry Young hastily scribbled notes on a yellow pad.
At two o'clock, LAPD officer Bill Wilson, of the Hollywood Station, took the stand. He told jurors of being dispatched to a house on Cole Crest Drive at four o'clock in the morning. Along with other officers, he had entered the residence, invited in by a tenant named Jeremy Moudy. Wilson had glanced into the garage, illuminating it with his flashlight, and observed what appeared to be bloodstains. He had also noted additional spots on some stairs.
Later he and another officer descended to another level in the house while conducting a “protective sweep.” Wilson said he noticed some movement behind material on an upper shelf inside Jeremy Moudy's closet, and then he discovered David Mahler hiding up there. They took Mahler into custody and placed him in a patrol car.
Wilson stepped down after fifteen minutes.
The next witness would amaze everyone.
C
HAPTER
35
“H
E'S
B
EEN
T
RYING
TO
C
OVER
U
P
THE
C
RIME
”
Detective Wendi Berndt replaced Bill Wilson in the hot seat, and turned out to be one of the most impressive witnesses ever seen by the jurors, spectators, and even lawyers.
Professionally and attractively dressed in a black suit, with a white blouse, minimal makeup and jewelry, she looked as if she had been sent by filmdom's Central Casting.
Answering Bobby Grace's first question, Berndt said, “I'm a police officer for the Los Angeles Police Department. I'm a detective supervisor with the rank of D3, assigned to the Hollywood Homicide Unit.” Her excellent voice and crisp delivery further solidified the image of a star doing an important movie role. Berndt informed jurors that she had been with the LAPD almost twenty-eight years.
On June 1, 2007, she had arrived at the Cole Crest house soon after the discovery of Mahler's hiding place. “My job is to make sure that I have the resources necessary to process the crime scene. In this case, it was a very large residence with multifloors. First I made sure that we thoroughly searched it and collected evidence. I directed specialized people we asked to come assist us. We asked for criminalists because any time we have such an involved crime scene, we need their meticulous skills. They really are most important at that point in the investigation.”
Responding to Grace's inquiries, Berndt said, “We had our photographers come to make pictorial records of evidence collected. In this case, I also requested a cadaver dog to go through the residence to see if any human remains had been concealed in there.” Three teams of detectives, she recalled, had been assigned to search every inch of seven levels.
Grace asked, “When you did your walk-through of the residence, can you give us the highlights of what you observed?”
“When I first arrived, I noticed that you step down a walkway that leads to the front door, and from there I could see two vehicles parked in the garage. One of our officers, Bill Wilson, had seen what turned out to be spots of blood in front of the black Jaguar and more stains on the back of the car. Once you enter into the residence, and go down a few steps into the living room, we could see a blood smear near the bathroom going in almost a semicircle onto the carpet. Down those stairs, which lead to Mahler's bedroom, we saw what appeared to be more blood on the steps.”
As Berndt spoke, Grace used a laser pointer to indicate, on projected color photos, the bloodstains to which the detective referred. Next he advanced the sequence of pictures to one of the garage interior where two Jaguars were parked. Berndt explained exactly where each trace of blood had been collected by criminalists.
Showing another photo, this one of Mahler's bedroom, Grace asked Berndt to explain. She said, “When we stepped into the bedroom, we saw a large spot on the red carpet that looked darker. Closer examination revealed that it was probably blood near the fireplace. We also noticed containers of cleaning fluids on the fireplace mantel and a plastic bag containing more cleaning materials. There was a robe hanging in the hallway, near the bathroom, and we found a bloodstain on it. On the sink in the bathroom, I recall seeing scrubbing sponges with red fibers stuck to them. It was our opinion that Mahler had used them in attempts to clean the carpet.”
More photos showed the bedroom interior and a closet. Berndt said, “We found a holster concealed in a boot inside that closet. Regarding the bloodstains in that room, I was with the criminalist when we lifted the entire carpet to check underneath to see if blood had soaked through. It was apparent that some efforts had been made to eradicate the blood spots. Pulling up the carpet enabled us to see what had been impossible to wipe away with cleaning fluids and sponges.”
Numbered placards could be seen at various spots on the carpet, and Grace asked Berndt to comment on them. “Those are placed by our Scientific Investigation Division people. When they collect evidence, they have to mark it. The numbers correlate with property reports of collected evidence and itemized explanations on police reports.”
After a few more questions and answers in which Berndt identified the various brand names of cleaning products found in the house, Grace turned her over to the defense for cross-examination. Wendi Berndt knew exactly how to respond.
 
 
 
Larry Young asked, “In the exhibit on the screen, you have red dots showing what appears to be like a pathway of blood droppings on those stairs?”
Wendi Berndt answered, “The blood I saw on the stairs went from the living room down to the level where the office is and then down the stairs to Mr. Mahler's bedroom.” Using the laser pointer, she said, “If you go up to the living room, the garage would be around the corner and down a hallway to a door that leads into the garage.”
“Were you able to form an opinion if there had been a body in the bedroom, how it was removed from the house, based on what you saw?”
“It's my opinion that the body was dragged out of the bedroom, feetfirst, up the stairs to the landing where the office is, and then up the stairs to [the] living-room area, up another short flight of stairs into the hallway and the front door. There is a smear near the bathroom, so it appears that the body was apparently in the bathroom area at some point, but I cannot explain why.”
“And is it correct, from all that you've seen, you could form an opinion that there's no way this was a careful, planned event that took place that night?”
Berndt raised her eyebrows, wrinkling her forehead. “I don't think I can make that opinion.”
Undiscouraged, Young asked, “It certainly wasn't a careful, planned removal, was it?”
“Well, again, I don't think I could make that opinion because people make mistakes. And it's good for us, as detectives, when they do make mistakes, but that doesn't mean I would necessarily say that it's planned or unplanned.”
“Does the mere fact that cleaning equipment is in a large house mean any inference can be drawn?”
With a little smile teasing the corners of her mouth, Berndt replied, “Well, yeah, it tells me he's been trying to cover up the crime.”
“Did someone actually cover up the spots in the bedroom?”
“Yes, sir.”
“But there was no attempt to cover up the blood spots on the stairs or in the garage or anything like that, was there?”
“Again, sir, suspects, thank goodness, often miss small details that we, as detectives, find.”
Larry Young, an intelligent and effective lawyer, appeared to be underestimating the witness's ability to debate a point. “But often when they're thinking clearly, they don't miss it, do they?”
“No, I wouldn't say that at all, sir.”
A note of incredulity tinged Young's voice. “You don't?”
“No, I would not say that at all.”
Persistent, Young asked, “If a person was thinking clearly, he wouldn't be more careful, more exact, more precise?”
Berndt held her ground. “You would think, under those conditions, that might be true. But the problem is that people do make mistakes even if they're trying to be very methodical. It's just a fact of life that they make mistakes. When murders occur, mistakes are made trying to cover it up.”
“The sloppiness doesn't mean anything then, in your opinion?”
“I'm not sure I know what you think it should mean, sir, and I apologize for that.”
In the gallery, observers leaned forward so as not to miss a single word of this clinic in how to testify. Young shot back, “Well, I was trying to see if you agree that it would show a lack of a clear mind, a lack of—”
Cutting him off, Berndt continued in her sprightly dissection. “Oh, I think there was a lot of clarity in this, in the fact that the perpetrator was trying to clean up the crime scene after the fact. This shows definitely a consciousness of guilt... .”
“A consciousness of ... ?”
“... in trying to cover up the crime.”
Young's expression indicated a heightened respect for this detective's logic. Still, he needed to keep his theme on track. He countered, “But not in any intelligent manner, though, was it? I mean, the person leaves a blood trail going downstairs, upstairs, into a garage. I call it sloppy, and you just say it's a mistake?”
Cool and confident, Berndt pressed her own theme. “I'd say that people make mistakes when they commit murders. And they don't always see the minute details that we, as detectives, later see. It could be lighting. It could be the color of the carpet. It could be the hurriedness of somebody's movements that they fail to give attention to. So there are a lot of reasons why a suspect wouldn't see what we see.”
Circumventing the issue, Young said, “You've classified it in your mind as a murder. But you understand that's for the jury to decide, don't you?”
“Well, sir, I classified it in my own mind. Yes, sir. In my mind, this is a murder, sir.”
“Did you investigate the circumstances of the shooting?”
“I investigated the crime scene and the available evidence about the incident.”
“Well—the shooting, how did the incident happen?”
“If you are trying to see if I was an eyewitness ... no, I was not an eyewitness. I was a supervisor who overviewed the investigation. In that overview, I was aware of a lot of witness's statements. I was aware of what the criminalists found. I was aware of what the coroner found. And that's what I base my personal opinion on.”
“Without talking to anyone who was there?”
“Well, again, sir, there were witnesses at the location who were interviewed by my detectives. And I'm very familiar with their statements.”
Young wanted specifics. “Did Mr. Donnie Van Develde explain what happened?”
Bobby Grace had listened with fascination to the testimony that turned into a debate, and skipped several opportunities to object. But he finally protested. “Your Honor, I'm going to object on the grounds of hearsay.”
“Sustained.”
Young quickly shifted gears. “Was there any attempt by your officers to prevent other people from entering the scene?” Perhaps he hoped to imply that evidence had been contaminated by outsiders.
Berndt was ready for this too. “When the officers went there and cleared the location, they secured it until we got a search warrant and returned to conduct the search.”
“Was there any yellow crime scene tape put around there, blocking off sections of the house?”
“The crime scene photos would probably show that. If you mean sections inside the house, the answer is no, because it was secured from the outside.”
“Did the officers go into an office that was in the location?”
“I wasn't there when the initial searchers went through the residence to clear it. And so I'm not sure where the officers went when they did clear the location prior to securing it.” At last, Larry Young had exploited a tiny chink in this remarkable detective's armor.
“Are you aware of whether any drugs were found in the bedroom?”
Berndt had an immediate, unequivocal answer. “In our search after it was secured, there were no drugs found in the residence.”
Hoping to exploit any possible oversights in the search, Young asked, “Was there any attempt to prevent personal belongings and electronic equipment from being stolen out of the residence?”
Bobby Grace thought this went too far afield and objected on the grounds of relevance. Judge Wesley sustained it.
Larry Young stepped over to the defense table, picked up some papers, returned, and said with a new air of confidence, “Did you say there was no evidence of drugs in the residence?”
“That's correct.”
“Would it refresh your memory if I showed you a property report from the Los Angeles Police Department of the house on Cole Crest Drive purporting to show—”
Judge Wesley interceded. “Don't tell us what it purports to show. If you are going to refresh her memory, show her the document.”
Berndt studied the paper and started to say, “Sir, this is a search warrant of a different—”
Judge Wesley quickly stopped her too. “If that doesn't refresh your memory, just give it back to him and tell him it did not refresh your memory.”
Sounding feisty, Berndt retorted, “It does refresh my memory, but he's incorrect.”
“All right, then,” Wesley patiently advised, “that's fine. Let him ask the question.”
Now alarmed, Young said, “If I got the wrong report, tell me why this is wrong.”

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