All documents below were obtained via publicly available court records. Because these documents were obtained through publicly available means, there may be redactions or other changes within the document.
Physical Evidence Examination Report (Knife Fibers)- Fiber analysis performed by the DOJ evaluating fibers recovered from the knife that was located at the homicide scene and fibers obtained from the clothing that Kyle Zoellner had been wearing at the time of the incident. The summary given in the report says "The examined fibers recovered from the knife (#628-4) are dissimilar to fibers comprising the clothing of Kyle Zoellner(#'s 561-1, 561-3, and 561-4).". The report goes on to describe the fibers and the findings from various techniques used to examine them.
Physical Evidence Examination Report (Knife Handle DNA)- This is one of the DNA analysis reports from the DOJ. This particular report discusses the DNA mixture obtained from the handle of the knife located at the homicide scene. The DOJ lab used STRmix to calculate likelihood ratios based on different proposed contributor combinations. Some of the data are included in the report. The report concludes that "The mixture was interpreted under the assumption that it is a mixture of DNA from three contributors. The results provide very strong support that David Lawson and Kyle Zoellner are contributors to the mixture." This report also indicates that at the time of this report, the California DOJ had produced at least 11 other reports (a total of 12) on the evidence from this case, including the fiber analysis above.
Collection of various communications - Includes:
- Public Record Requests - Several responses by APD to public records requests including those from various local media agencies asking for a variety of records and one from Elijah Chandler regarding the name of an individual who APD identified as having made a Craigslist post about Chandler
- FBI Polygraph Report Discussion - Communications between APD Detective Todd Dockweiler, APD staff and DA Investigator Wayne Cox in November 2018 discussing interviews conducted by APD and discussion of one or more polygraph reports from the FBI. Gleaton is the only name specifically mentioned in relation to polygraph testing. Wayne Cox requests the report saying "...can you please reach out to the FBI Polygraph Examiner? We desperately need to know "what" Gleaton was deceptive about. The fact that she failed, but we don't know why, does us absolutely no good." It is not clear who else, if anyone, underwent polygraph testing or if Gleaton was, in fact, the only one whose report showed deception.
- APD requests for assistance from the California Department of Justice
- Discussion of the DNA reports - Communications between DA Maggie Fleming and Arcata City Manager Karen Diemer in January 2019 discussing Ms. Lawson's claims about DNA evidence. Fleming seems to disagree with Ms. Lawson's description of the DNA evidence. Diemer tells Fleming that she believes that Ms. Lawson's knowledge of the DNA comes from Tom Parker's misreading of the DNA evidence. Diemer tells Fleming "This was one of the main reasons I knew that Parker had broken his nondisclosure agreement as he was passing basically false information". She also says "But as you might recall - because Charmaine had this "knowledge" and had even made it public, during her first meeting with Interim Chief Ehle, Ehle inadvertently (and I truly believe inadvertently) agreed with her that DNA on the knife had been confirmed as Zoellner's. He was actually referring to the touch DNA analysis we had just gotten back but I don't think either of them understood they were referring to different tests. Nancy and I called you right after this meeting as Charmaine was meeting with you that afternoon."
- An email from APD Chief Brian Ahern in December 2018 notifying the DA's office that Zoellner's car had been impounded after his girlfriend Lila Ortega was arrested for DUI
- An email from the DA's Chief Investigator Wayne Cox indicating that Zoellner was served with a Johnson Letter, indicating that he was the subject of the 2019 Grand Jury Proceedings
NEW 4/1:
Statement of Probable Cause for Zoellner's 2017 Arrest
Summary of Initial Investigation (2017 APD report)
Jason Martinez Interview Summary (2017 APD report) This is the report that contain former APD detective Eric Losey's inaccurate description of Martinez's testimony which was the subject of Zoellner's lawsuit.
Demitrius "Ace" Murphy Interview Summary (2017 APD report)
- This report states that Murphy told investigators that he heard someone say "He got a knife"
- It also states that Murphy "observed a group of people engaged in a physical altercation with "just one guy" and they were trying to get something out of his hand. Murphy stated that he saw someone knock something out of his hand. Murphy initially stated that the item was a knife but, after further questioning, stated could not identify the item as a knife. Notably, at the preliminary hearing, none of the individuals who testified to the events of that altercation testified to attempting to remove an object from someone's hand.
Former Detective Eric Losey Deposition (portions) Notably, Losey claims he notified DA Maggie Fleming before the preliminary hearing that his report identifying Jason Martinez as an eyewitness to the stabbing was incorrect. Maggie Fleming in her deposition (below) testifies that she was not notified before the hearing but was notified during a court recess by Deputy DA Rees who identified the substantial inconsistency after direct examination of Jason Martinez.
DA Maggie Flemming Deposition (portions)
- When asked if she ever learned from Losey that his report regarding Martinez was in error, she replies "no". This contradict's Losey's deposition testimony above.
-When asked how significant the incorrect information that identified Maritez as an eyewitness was to her continuing to prosecution in 2017, Fleming says "It was very significant"
- On continued questioning, Fleming reveals that she learned of the error in Losey's report from Deputy DA Roger Rees who was prosecuting the 2017 case. She states that Rees came to her office during a short break in the preliminary hearing and was "surprised" after Martinez, while testifying on the stand, was unable to identify the individuals he observed or confirm any details. She says that she then said "We've got to listen to the audio". She states that she believes she and unspecified others were to listen to the audio of Losey's interview with Martinez and report back to Deputy DA Rees, who was back in court for the preliminary hearing where he was prosecuting the case.
Fleming Emails In an email from Fleming to a Times Standard editor, Fleming says "We file charges based on police reports. A police report mistakenly identified an eye witness had identified a killer and of course that was significant in our decision to file the case."
More documents from the Zoellner v. City of Arcata case are available here
Coverage of the trial is available here
Verdict information from the trial is available here
The court's reasoning for dismissing the 2017 murder charges can be read here
Annotated transcripts from the preliminary hearing in the 2017 murder case can be read here
Other documents from the 2017 murder case are here