Christopher Donahue testified for the prosecution about Laurel Street bullet damage and identified the Tsarnaev brothers' fingerprints on ammunition and weapons evidence. He explained that prints could not establish when an object was touched and, on cross-examination, did not confirm that the magazine bearing Tamerlan's prints had been inside the Ruger pistol.
Law enforcementMassachusetts State Police
Christopher Donahue
Massachusetts State Police crime scene investigator based at the Maynard laboratory.
Appeared2015 Federal Trial
111 lines·2 proceedings·1 mention
About
Christopher Donahue testified for the prosecution on Day 38 about bullet damage at 40 Laurel Street and fingerprints on ammunition and weapons evidence. A Massachusetts State Police crime-scene examiner, he authenticated photographs of the home's exterior and second-floor apartment. Twelve photographs of the home and four ammunition-box photographs were admitted without objection. He had not analyzed the photographed bullet, was unsure of its caliber, and declined to attribute it to a Ruger.
Donahue identified Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's left middle fingerprint on the outer ammunition box and his right index fingerprint on a pellet/air-gun trigger. He identified Tamerlan Tsarnaev's left palm and left middle finger prints on a Ruger magazine. He could not determine when the prints were deposited and explained that an absent fingerprint did not mean someone had never touched an object. Over a defense speculation objection, the court allowed him to confirm that a print might not be left or might later be rubbed off.
On cross-examination, Donahue distinguished the brothers' fingerprint findings and qualified his knowledge of the magazine's placement. He did not accept the premise that it had been inside the Ruger pistol. It was separated when he received it, although it came with the Ruger, and he described its earlier placement inside the firearm only as possible.
Trial Record (2)
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