1.Michael Cashman — Direct
225 linesP R O C E E D I N G S
COURT CLERK: All rise for the Court and the jury.
(The Court and jury enter the courtroom at 9:09 a.m.)
COURT CLERK: Be seated.
THE COURT: Good morning, jurors.
JUROR: Good morning.
MR. WEINREB: Good morning, your Honor. The United States calls Trooper Mike Cashman.
MICHAEL CASHMAN, duly sworn
COURT CLERK: Have a seat. State your name, spell your last name for the record, keep your voice up and speak into the mic so everyone can hear you.
MICHAEL CASHMAN: My name is Michael Cashman, C-A-S-H-M-A-N.
DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. WEINREB:
MR. WEINREB: Good morning, sir.
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Good morning, sir.
MR. WEINREB: Where do you work?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: I'm a trooper with the Massachusetts State Police.
MR. WEINREB: How long have you been a trooper?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Since 2002.
MR. WEINREB: What are your job responsibilities currently?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: I'm currently assigned to the Middlesex County District Attorney's Homicide Unit.
MR. WEINREB: Do you investigate homicides?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Yes, sir.
MR. WEINREB: And how long have you been doing that?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Since 2012.
MR. WEINREB: How many criminal investigations of any kind have you participated in, would you say?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Hundreds.
MR. WEINREB: How many homicide investigations have you participated in?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Twenty to 25.
MR. WEINREB: Did you participate in the Sean Collier murder investigation?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Yes, sir, I did.
MR. WEINREB: On what date was Officer Collier murdered?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: April 18, 2013.
MR. WEINREB: Did you go to the MIT crime scene that night?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Yes, sir.
MR. WEINREB: And then later that night or early the next morning did you respond to another crime scene?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Yes, sir.
MR. WEINREB: Where was that second crime scene?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Laurel Street in Watertown.
MR. WEINREB: About what time did you get to Laurel Street?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Probably about 11 a.m.
MR. WEINREB: So that would have been on April 19th?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: On Friday the 19th. Yes, sir.
MR. WEINREB: And the crime that had taken place on Laurel Street, that had taken place closer to 1 a.m. or so of April 19th?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Yes, sir.
MR. WEINREB: When you got there on the morning of April 19th, did you focus your attention on a particular piece of evidence?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Yes.
MR. WEINREB: What was that?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: It was a green Honda.
MR. WEINREB: What make?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Civic.
MR. WEINREB: Where was it?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: It was right in the center of Laurel Street.
MR. WEINREB: Just abandoned there?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Yes, sir.
MR. WEINREB: Were you interested in the Honda Civic in particular?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Yes.
MR. WEINREB: Why?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: At the time myself and other investigators assigned to the Collier homicide believed that that car was used as a getaway vehicle from the scene.
MR. WEINREB: And was that based on surveillance video you had seen?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Yes, sir.
MR. WEINREB: Could we have Exhibit 723, please. That's already in evidence.
THE COURT: It is in evidence?
MR. WEINREB: It is.
BY MR. WEINREB:
MR. WEINREB: Just looking at a screenshot of this video, do you recognize it?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Yes, sir.
MR. WEINREB: Did you see it that night?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Yes, I did.
MR. WEINREB: I'm going to skip ahead to a point on the video which is, according to the timestamp, 10:25:45 p.m.
(Pause.)
MR. WEINREB: Okay. Trooper Cashman, these screens in the courtroom don't allow us to skip ahead and I don't want you to have to sit here through the entire video, so let me just ask you: What do you see in this video that you recall?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: It just went off, but in that video it's a view of the courtyard at MIT. On my left side is Sean Collier's cruiser, which is parked on the pedestrian way, and there are individuals that are -- I can see going from the right to the left approaching Officer Collier's cruiser.
MR. WEINREB: And after they get there -- they're there for a bit and then what do they do?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: They flee from the scene, back the same way that they had originally come from, towards Ames Street in Cambridge.
MR. WEINREB: And when they -- when you say "Ames Street," could you just indicate to us on the -- by describing it where Ames Street would be in relation to this --
MICHAEL CASHMAN: As I'm looking at the screen, sir, Ames Street would be to the right. There's an alleyway between those two buildings to the right side of the screen, and that would exit right onto Ames Street in Cambridge.
MR. WEINREB: Okay. And, in fact, there are some tiny figures right at the right side of the screen right now moving. Do you see those?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Yes, sir.
MR. WEINREB: And are they headed out towards Ames Street?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: It appears they are, yes.
MR. WEINREB: Do you know what time the two figures who flee from the car -- do you recall what time they leave the screen and hit Ames Street?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: It's right about 10:26 p.m.
MR. WEINREB: Could we have Exhibit 682, please.
MR. WEINREB: Looking at 682, do you recognize this?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Yes, sir.
MR. WEINREB: What is it?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: That's a diagram of the courtyard that we were just looking at on the video at MIT.
MR. WEINREB: And where is Ames Street on this?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: It's on the right side of the diagram. And it looks like it's marked.
MR. WEINREB: Okay. So can you circle -- using your finger, can you circle the area where somebody exiting the courtyard -- where the two figures exited the courtyard and got to Ames Street?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Well, the last time that you could see them from that video, they exited right there (indicating).
MR. WEINREB: Okay. And then can you just, using your finger, draw a line along Ames Street?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: (Witness complies.)
MR. WEINREB: Okay. Do you see -- you drew a line from north to south along the street, along the right-hand side of the picture. And towards the bottom of it, there's a pointy building that points directly at Ames Street, correct?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Yes, sir.
MR. WEINREB: Can we have Exhibit 1466 for identification just for the witness, please.
MR. WEINREB: Do you recognize this video?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Yes, I do.
MR. WEINREB: Do you recall viewing it in the course of your investigation?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Yes, I do, sir.
MR. WEINREB: What location is pictured in this video?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: That's a section of Ames Street where there's a crosswalk.
MR. WEINREB: And do you see the pointy building in there that you saw on the map?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: It's a little dark on this screen but, yes, I do see it.
THE COURT: Mr. Weinreb, I think this was admitted yesterday.
MR. WEINREB: Ahh, it was. You're correct, your Honor. Thank you.
If we could publish it, that would make things easier.
BY MR. WEINREB:
MR. WEINREB: So can you describe -- so this is not going to be touch sensitive at this point, but we're looking at a street. You said there's a crosswalk. Is that right?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Yes, sir, on Ames Street.
MR. WEINREB: All right. And the pointy building, is that in the center of the photograph towards the top?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Yes.
MR. WEINREB: Turning your attention to the blue numbers that appear at the -- in the control portion of the player that is pictured in this screenshot, or this first frame of the video, can you see what date and time this was taken?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: April 18th, 2013, at 10:26 p.m.
MR. WEINREB: So how does that compare to the time when the two figures are last seen leaving the courtyard?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: It's right at the same time.
MR. WEINREB: At this point I'm going to play the video. I'll just ask you to keep watching until the end.
(Video played.)
MR. WEINREB: We're seeing cars drive from left to right?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Yes, sir. That would be a north direction.
MR. WEINREB: And now we're seeing a car drive from right to left. Did you see that?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Yes, sir.
MR. WEINREB: Okay. Are you familiar with that car?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Yes, I am.
MR. WEINREB: Let's have Exhibit 1458, please.
MR. WEINREB: Is that a -- is that a screenshot of that car on April 18th driving from right to left across the screen?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Yes, sir.
MR. WEINREB: And looking at the blue writing again down in the playing portion, what's the date and time that that car reaches that spot?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Again, it's April 18, 2013, 10:26:56, or almost 10:27 p.m.
MR. WEINREB: So approximately a minute after you last saw the figures leave the courtyard?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Yes, sir.
MR. WEINREB: When you saw that car on the video, is that car familiar to you?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Yes, sir.
MR. WEINREB: Do you recognize it?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Yes, I do.
MR. WEINREB: What does it appear to be?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: It's the Honda Civic.
MR. WEINREB: When you say "the Honda Civic," you mean the one that you found abandoned up on Laurel Street?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Yes, sir.
MR. WEINREB: Did you do anything to confirm that that's, in fact, the Honda Civic?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Yes, sir, I did.
MR. WEINREB: What did you do?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Myself and other investigators had the Honda towed back to the scene. It was in operable condition. And we -- roughly the same time of night to get the lighting correct, we drove the Honda down Ames Street several times to use the same camera of this same angle to get a comparison view to compare side by side.
MR. WEINREB: Can we have Exhibit 1467, please.
MR. WEINREB: Do you recognize this?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Yes, sir, I do.
MR. WEINREB: Looking at the date and time down where the blue writing appears, what date and time was this taken?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: April 25th, 2013, at 9:24 p.m.
MR. WEINREB: So that's exactly a week later?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Yes, sir.
MR. WEINREB: At roughly the same time?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: It's not the same time but it's the same lighting.
MR. WEINREB: Is this the -- a portion of the video that was taken by the camera on that date when you reenacted the Honda driving by?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Yes, sir.
MR. WEINREB: I'm going to play it now.
THE COURT: This hasn't been offered yet. If you're playing it just for the witness, that's fine.
(Video played.)
MR. WEINREB: Is this a fair and accurate --
MR. WEINREB: I thought it was, your Honor.
COURT CLERK: I have it in.
MS. PELLEGRINI: I think it's in.
THE COURT: Correct. You're right. Correct. It was in yesterday, so I'll now expose it to the jury as well.
MR. WEINREB: So I'm going to play that again. Actually, before I do, your Honor, can we have the screenshot from the first video, 1458? If that hadn't been offered, I offer it now.
THE COURT: It was not offered before.
MR. WEINREB: Then I offer it now and ask that it be published to the jury.
MR. WATKINS: No objection.
THE COURT: All right.
(Government Exhibit No. 1458 received into evidence.)
MR. WEINREB: Can we bring that up now, 1458? All right.
So this time for the jury.
BY MR. WEINREB:
MR. WEINREB: This was taken on the night of April 18th at -- the screenshot, you said, was approximately one minute after the two figures are seen leaving the courtyard?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Yes, sir, that's correct.
MR. WEINREB: And you said that that was the Honda Civic -- or it appeared to you to be the Honda Civic that was abandoned on Laurel Street?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: That's correct.
MR. WEINREB: Now let's take a look at the reenactment video, 1467, please.
(Video played.)
MR. WEINREB: Can we have 1459 just for the witness.
(Video played.)
MR. WEINREB: Looking at the caption, do you recognize this?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Yes, sir. Yes, I do.
MR. WEINREB: What is it?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: It's a still shot from that same angle on April 25th, the reenactment.
MR. WEINREB: And is that a fair and accurate picture -- snapshot from the video?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Yes, it is.
MR. WEINREB: I offer 1459 and ask that it be published.
MR. WATKINS: No objection.
THE COURT: Okay.
(Government Exhibit No. 1459 received into evidence.)
MR. WEINREB: And, Mr. Bruemmer, if you could put the two screenshots side by side, 1458 and 1459.
MR. WEINREB: Comparing those two images, does it appear to you that the car that drove away from the scene on the night of April 18th at approximately 10:27 p.m. was the Honda Civic that was abandoned on Laurel Street later that night?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Yes, sir, it does appear to me to be the same vehicle.
MR. WEINREB: Your Honor, if we could have Mr. Lyness capture this, we'll offer it.
COURT CLERK: Give me one second.
(Pause.)
BY MR. WEINREB:
MR. WEINREB: One last thing, Trooper Cashman. After the defendant's arrest, did you obtain a search warrant for a blood sample?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Yes, I did.
MR. WEINREB: Could we have 1591 just for the witness?
MR. WEINREB: Do you recognize this?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Yes, I do.
MR. WEINREB: What is it?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Those are three vials, or three tubes, of blood that I obtained pursuant to the search warrant that I received from Beth Israel Hospital.
MR. WEINREB: All right. Is that a fair and accurate photograph?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Yes, sir, it is.
MR. WEINREB: Could we have 1592, please.
Your Honor, I'm transposing the last two digits, so that that was 1519, and now we're looking at 1520.
MR. WEINREB: What's that?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Those are my initials and my State Police ID number, 2962, and the date.
MR. WEINREB: Is that something you put on an evidence bag when it's sealed?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Yes, sir.
MR. WEINREB: And 1521, please.
MR. WEINREB: What's that a picture of?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: That's a photograph of the bag that I received directly from the lab at Beth Israel.
MR. WEINREB: 1520 and 1521, are they also fair and accurate photographs of what's depicted?
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Yes, sir.
MR. WEINREB: Your Honor, we'd offer those at this time but there's no need to publish them yet.
THE COURT: All right.
MR. WATKINS: May I just have a moment?
(Discussion off the record.)
MR. WATKINS: No objection.
THE COURT: Okay.
(Exhibit Nos. 1591, 1520 and 1521 received into evidence.)
MR. WEINREB: Thank you, Trooper Cashman. No further questions.
THE COURT: Thank you, Trooper. You may step down.
MICHAEL CASHMAN: Thank you, your Honor.
MR. WATKINS: No questions.
(The witness is excused.)
MR. WEINREB: The United States calls Anthony Grassi.