Defense Alleges Glove, Knit Hat Were Planted
SANTA MONICA, Nov. 1 (Noon) -- Admitting that some of the police work in the double murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman was "careless," retired Det. Tom Lange faced a withering attack on the witness stand in the O.J. Simpson civil trial. Through an often hostile cross-examination, defense attorney Robert Baker made new allegations that the glove and knit hat at the Bundy crime scene could have been planted.
At the end of the morning session, Baker wrapped up his cross-examination. Lange is expected to continuing testifying on re-direct and re-cross examination. His former partner Det. Philip Vannatter, is set to take the stand later today. Now retired, Vannatter was co-lead investigator on the murder investigation.
The new allegations of evidence planting have come in despite being expressly prohibited by Judge Hiroshi Fujisaki during pretrial motions. The plaintiffs have vehemently objected to this line of questioning. However, Fujisaki has refused to sustain the objections. Baker asked Lange very specific questions about the placement of the knit cap and brown leather glove -- trying to show that they could not have fallen naturally during the course of a struggle. The glove was found slightly under some foliage, and the knit cap was partially under the bar of a fence. Lange testified that it was impossible to know how the items ended up where they were, but maybe the cap was kicked under the fence during the struggle.
The defense spent much of the morning putting the police on trial, pointing out a number of incidents of sloppiness during the investigation. Baker mocked Lange for keeping a pendant collected from the crime scene in his desk drawer for 10 weeks before booking it into evidence. Lange also came under fire for taking home overnight a pair of O.J. Simpson's tennis shoes, and for not wearing protective covering over his shoes at the crime scene. This covering, known as a "bootie," is used to prevent the contamination of evidence.
"I've never worn booties at any crime scene, and I've never heard of any detective doing that," Lange replied.
Replied Baker: "Why? Is it too unmacho?"
Lange's police paperwork continued to be an issue, as it again contradicted his testimony. After describing a set of keys in his Thursday testimony, which Lange said were found in Simpson's black leather bag after the Bronco chase, Baker pointed out that the keys were not listed in the police department's property inventory of items in the bag. The plaintiffs are relying on the keys, purportedly to Nicole's property, to show Simpson could have entered the back gate and committed the murders. Lange was also forced to explain why he testified that he saw blood drops on the back gate to the Bundy property on June 13, but in his report made on July 3--the day the drops were actually collected by the LAPD--Lange noted that "additional blood drops" were collected.
Find out about Court TV's coverage of the civil trial, and take a look at the witness lists provided by both sides.
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