PLATTSMOUTH, Neb. — Douglas County CSI employee C.L. Retelsdorf looks up to his boss and friend, David Kofoed. Respects him. Considers the head of the CSI unit an outstanding field investigator.
On Wednesday, Retelsdorf steered clear of eye contact with Kofoed, testifying as a key prosecution witness in the state felony evidence-tampering trial against his mentor in Cass County District Court.
During some questions from special prosecutor Clarence Mock, Retelsdorf’s cheeks puffed out. Several of the answers that followed did not paint his CSI director in a favorable light.
Kofoed, who is on paid administrative leave from the unit, has denied planting or manufacturing evidence. He and his lawyer blame possible cross-contamination of crime lab equipment as the most likely explanation of how April 2006 murder victim Wayne Stock’s blood turned up during Kofoed’s follow-up search of a car that had been declared clean.
An earlier, more thorough search by the CSI unit had yielded no evidence, and the car was found eventually to have had no involvement in the crime.
Retelsdorf, in testimony Wednesday, recalled the day Kofoed discovered the evidence:
On April 27, 2006, Retelsdorf got an assignment from Kofoed. He was to drive to the Sheriff’s Office impound lot and photograph the back seat of a car the unit already had searched. He was to look for gunshot residue or signs a shotgun had been tossed in the back seat.
Retelsdorf, a forensic scientist with a master’s degree, brought only his camera. Minutes later, Kofoed arrived and went to the driver’s side of the car. Retelsdorf stood toward the rear of the car, on its passenger side.
The prosecutor asked whether Retelsdorf saw Kofoed carrying any equipment? Cotton swabs? A high-intensity flashlight, as Kofoed claimed to have used? Any bags or butcher paper to process evidence? Any chemical bottles or presumptive blood-testing kits with filter papers?
“Did you see anything that suggested Mr. Kofoed (was) engaged in the processing of evidence?” Mock asked.
“Nothing I can remember,” Retelsdorf testified.
Minutes later, Kofoed ducked beneath the driver’s side dashboard. He claimed to have produced a piece of filter showing a reaction for the presence of blood. The stain he showed Retelsdorf was later found to contain Wayne Stock’s DNA.
Kofoed’s find was the only piece of physical evidence — of more than 420 items examined — that linked the killings to two Nebraska cousins who were later proved to be wrongly jailed.
Retelsdorf backpedaled on cross-examination by Kofoed’s lawyer, agreeing that he could not say for certain that Kofoed hadn’t had the chemical test kit set up at Kofoed’s CSI van, parked a few feet away.
“Are you telling this court Mr. Kofoed did not swipe this? Are you telling this court Mr. Kofoed had a filter paper tucked in his back pocket and magically pulled it out?” defense attorney Steve Lefler asked.
Retelsdorf answered both questions with “No.”
Retelsdorf also said cross-contamination of blood evidence was a logical explanation, though he could recall no other similar occurrences from his nine years on the job.
Contact the writer:
444-1056, john.ferak@owh.com
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