Dalila Cirencione — Direct/Cross
174 linesThe witness, DALILA CIRENCIONE, was first duly sworn and testified as follows:
COURT CLERK: Take a seat in the witness stand. State your name again for the record. Spell your last name.
DALILA CIRENCIONE: Dalila Cirencione. C-i-r-e-n-c-i-o-n-e.
DIRECT EXAMINATION
BY MS. GOUDE:
MS. GOUDE: Good afternoon, Agent Cirencione.
DALILA CIRENCIONE: Good afternoon.
MS. GOUDE: Could you tell the jurors where you work?
DALILA CIRENCIONE: I work for the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, or SLED. I'm currently in the Behavioral Science Unit but was formerly in the Crime Scene Unit.
JUDGE NEWMAN: Just a moment. Did you tell me that the mic cannot be turned up more, and it cannot be moved or fixed?
(Break in proceedings.)
DALILA CIRENCIONE: Is that better, sir?
JUDGE NEWMAN: Yes. You may proceed.
MS. GOUDE: Thank you, Your Honor.
MS. GOUDE: What time or what dates were you working in the SLED Crime Scene Unit?
DALILA CIRENCIONE: I was with SLED Crime Scene from 2017 until 2022 in October.
MS. GOUDE: So on June 7th of 2021, you were working with SLED Crime Scene?
DALILA CIRENCIONE: Yes, ma'am, I was.
MS. GOUDE: And did you have an occasion to be involved in the investigation of Alex Murdaugh?
DALILA CIRENCIONE: I did.
MS. GOUDE: And what was your involvement in that investigation?
DALILA CIRENCIONE: On June 8th, I was requested by my lieutenant, Todd Schenk, to respond to the call to the medical center to collect buccal swabs for DNA swabs from two victims.
MS. GOUDE: And can you tell the jurors what is a buccal swab?
DALILA CIRENCIONE: A buccal swab is just a DNA swab. So, it's a sterile Q-tip about this size, kind of like a Q-tip you use for your ear, and you swab the inside of the victim's cheeks for a DNA standard.
MS. GOUDE: Do you just take one swab?
DALILA CIRENCIONE: It comes in a set of two swabs within one container, so two swabs for each victim.
MS. GOUDE: So, you rub the inside of the person's cheek with that swab?
DALILA CIRENCIONE: Yes, ma'am.
MS. GOUDE: And then what do you do with the swabs?
DALILA CIRENCIONE: Then it's placed back inside a sterile container and it's put into a coin envelope where it's sealed, dated, initialed, and the time of the collections is written on the envelope.
MS. GOUDE: And it's sealed and dated and initialed to ensure that it is not tampered with. Would that be correct?
DALILA CIRENCIONE: That is correct.
MS. GOUDE: And if someone else analyzed or manipulates that swab, they should note that on the packaging?
DALILA CIRENCIONE: I'm not sure how it goes after it's out of my control, but I have chained all of that over to Lieutenant Todd Schenk once I went back to the SLED forensic laboratory.
MS. GOUDE: So, where did you turn those buccal swabs in?
DALILA CIRENCIONE: After I left the medical center, I went back to SLED to the forensic laboratory and did a chain of custody with my lieutenant, and it was then in his custody.
MS. GOUDE: And going back, just to be clear, who did you collect buccal swabs from?
DALILA CIRENCIONE: One female victim, Margaret, and one victim, Paul Murdaugh.
MS. GOUDE: Court's indulgence, Your Honor.
(Break in proceedings.)
JUDGE NEWMAN: Ladies and gentlemen, let's stand for a moment.
(Break in proceedings.)
MS. GOUDE: Just a moment.
(Break me proceedings.)
JUDGE NEWMAN: You may proceed.
MS. GOUDE: Thank you, Your Honor.
MS. GOUDE: Agent Cirencione, I am going to show you these evidence baggies from SLED. Can you take a look at that?
DALILA CIRENCIONE: Yes, ma'am.
MS. GOUDE: Do those appear to be the buccal swabs that you collected from Paul and Maggie Murdaugh?
DALILA CIRENCIONE: They are.
MS. GOUDE: And how do you know that?
DALILA CIRENCIONE: Both of these have my initials, the date, and the description on them, and they're sealed with my initials and date.
MS. GOUDE: And looking at those, can you tell if anyone else --
DALILA CIRENCIONE: Yes, ma'am. There's additional lab number, item number, and two other initials on them.
MS. GOUDE: So once you collected those, it would appear that someone from the lab performed analysis on those swabs.
DALILA CIRENCIONE: Yes, ma'am.
MS. GOUDE: Thank you.
(Break in proceedings.)
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: No objection, Your Honor.
MS. GOUDE: Your Honor, at this time I would offer State's Exhibit 102 (sic) and 202 for identification purposes only as State's Exhibit 202, 201, excuse me, being a buccal swab of Paul Murdaugh and 202 being a buccal swab from Margaret Murdaugh. And, Your Honor, we would actually move to enter these into evidence at this time.
JUDGE NEWMAN: Any objection?
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: No objection.
JUDGE NEWMAN: They are entered into evidence as those exhibit numbers.
MS. GOUDE: Thank you, Your Honor.
(BUCCAL SWAB MARKED AS STATE'S EXHIBIT NUMBER 201 AND WAS RECEIVED INTO EVIDENCE.)
(BUCCAL SWAB MARKED AS STATE'S EXHIBIT NUMBER 202 AND WAS RECEIVED INTO EVIDENCE.)
MS. GOUDE: Agent Cirencione, did you do anything else in regards to this case?
DALILA CIRENCIONE: Yes, ma'am. Once I cleared from the call to medical center collecting the buccal swabs, I was requested by Captain Ryan Neill with the SLED Lowcountry Region to respond to the initial scene of the crime scene and collect a cell phone that was collected by their agents via chain of custody.
MS. GOUDE: And whose cell phone did you collect for Ryan Neill? Do you know?
DALILA CIRENCIONE: I'm not aware of whose cell phone it was. It was an IPhone cell phone with a clear case.
MS. GOUDE: And what did you do with that cell phone when you collected it?
DALILA CIRENCIONE: This cell phone was collected by a chain of custody with Captain Ryan Neill, and then it was placed in a brown paper bag, sealed, and transported back to the SLED forensic laboratory where it was chained over to Lieutenant Todd Schenk.
(CHAIN OF CUSTODY FORMS MARKED AS STATE'S EXHIBIT NUMBERS 203 AND 205 FOR IDENTIFICATION.)
MS. GOUDE: Agent Cirencione, I'm going to show you State's Exhibits 203 and 205.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: No objection to this being marked for identification or the cell phone being marked for identification.
MS. GOUDE: Okay, Agent Cirencione, this is State's Exhibit 204, which is the cell phone, along with a paper bag here. Can you tell that's the paper bag that you collected this cell phone and put that cell phone in that paper bag?
DALILA CIRENCIONE: Yes, ma'am, it is.
MS. GOUDE: And how can you tell that?
DALILA CIRENCIONE: It's got my handwriting on it with my initials and the date and a description of the cell phone.
MS. GOUDE: At this time, the State would offer State's Exhibit 204 into evidence.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Just for identification. We object to it coming into evidence.
JUDGE NEWMAN: It will be marked for identification, those two exhibits.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Well, wait a minute, are those -- that's not the phone. Those are the chain. Is that the phone or is that the chain of evidence?
MS. GOUDE: State's Exhibit 204 is the cell phone.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Marked for identification, Your Honor, we have no objection.
JUDGE NEWMAN: 204 is for identification.
(CELL PHONE MARKED AS STATE'S EXHIBIT NUMBER 204 FOR IDENTIFICATION.)
MS. GOUDE: Agent Cirencione, if you could take a look at State's Exhibits 205 and 203 and tell us what those appear to be.
DALILA CIRENCIONE: Both of these are chains of custody from myself to my lieutenant at the time, and from Captain Ryan Neill to myself, and then from myself to Todd Schenk. They're both for this cell phone as well as the buccal swabs.
MS. GOUDE: But those forms show where you collected or received the buccal swabs and the cell phone. Is that right?
DALILA CIRENCIONE: They're chain of custody, yes, ma'am.
MS. GOUDE: Okay. Thank you.
MS. GOUDE: Nothing further at this time, Your Honor.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: May it please the Court, Your Honor?
JUDGE NEWMAN: Yes.
CROSS-EXAMINATION
BY MR. HARPOOTLIAN:
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Ma'am, what is it you do for SLED? I mean, I understand you receive things, you take buccal swabs and -- but are you just -- you transport things, or do you have another role at SLED?
DALILA CIRENCIONE: I am currently a special agent with the Behavioral Science Unit.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Okay. At this time in June of 2021, what were you doing?
DALILA CIRENCIONE: In June of 2021, I was a agent with the Crime Scene Unit, so I -- with the Crime Scene Unit.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Okay.
DALILA CIRENCIONE: Yes, sir.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: You helped process crime scenes.
DALILA CIRENCIONE: Yes, sir. I respond through the state, I process crime scenes, collect evidence, document evidence, write reports, and so on, and testify in court proceedings.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: And did you do any crime scene processing other than receiving these items in this case?
DALILA CIRENCIONE: No, sir, I did no
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Okay. So, what happened to --
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Where is that cell phone?
JUDGE NEWMAN: All exhibits once they have been marked for identification will remain with the court reporters.
(Break in proceedings.)
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: So -- and I -- you received this cell phone. They didn't tell you it was Maggie Murdaugh's phone, did they?
DALILA CIRENCIONE: No, sir.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: But you received this cell phone on the morning of what? When?
DALILA CIRENCIONE: It was June 8th.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: June 8th, the morning after the murders.
DALILA CIRENCIONE: Yes, sir, it was June 8th of 2021.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: And where was the agent that gave this to you? Where did he meet you?
DALILA CIRENCIONE: The initial crime scene.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Okay. At the house or by the dog pens? Where?
DALILA CIRENCIONE: In the yard near the kennels.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Okay.
DALILA CIRENCIONE: Yes, sir.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Okay, and when you received it, was it on or off?
DALILA CIRENCIONE: I don't recall.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Okay. Are you aware that cell phones can continue to receive information or erase memory after they're -- I mean, at any point, but specifically when you're trying to preserve evidence, do you know whether to turn it off or leave it on? Anybody instruct you on that?
DALILA CIRENCIONE: I'm not an expert with the cell phones, so I'm not sure, sir.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Okay. Secondly, do you know what a Faraday Bag is?
DALILA CIRENCIONE: No, sir.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Okay. A Faraday Bag, for your edification, is something you put an electronic device in so that no one can access it. It can't receive new data --
MS. GOUDE: Objection, Your Honor. Is there a question?
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: There is. I'm getting to it.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: And it can't erase data. Did you know that?
DALILA CIRENCIONE: No, sir.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: You're in the crime scene -- have you ever recovered phones before?
DALILA CIRENCIONE: Yes. We recover cell phones, but they're typically collected directly by computer crimes or the regional agents.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Okay. So in this instance, though, they were not done the normal way is what you're saying, the usual way they gave it to you?
DALILA CIRENCIONE: This way it was just directly transferred to myself so I could bring it back to the SLED lab.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: And no one cautioned you about putting it in a Faraday Bag or not turning it off.
DALILA CIRENCIONE: Not that day, no, sir.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: So, would that have been -- and who gave it to you, Agent?
DALILA CIRENCIONE: Captain Ryan Neill with SLED Lowcountry.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Okay, and he just handed it you and you put it in a brown paper bag, correct?
DALILA CIRENCIONE: Yes, sir.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: And you don't know whether it was on or off.
DALILA CIRENCIONE: I don't recall.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: And there's a pass code in this bag with it. Do you know where that came from?
DALILA CIRENCIONE: I wrote the pass code that I was given on the brown paper bag.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Okay, and then it -- somebody else wrote it on this piece of paper?
DALILA CIRENCIONE: I did not write it on that piece of paper.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Okay. Just to be clear, you were not asked to handle this cell phone any different than if you'd been given a can of pork and beans to put into evidence, right? Is that right?
DALILA CIRENCIONE: It depends if the pork and beans were evidence, but, you know.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Well, assume there was a can of pork and beans and it's a piece of evidence and they want you to transport it. Did they give you any special instructions about the cell phone as opposed to a can of pork and beans?
DALILA CIRENCIONE: No, sir. The cell phone was collected using gloves and directly placed into the brown paper bag, sealed, initialed, dated, and a description was written, and it was transported straight to the forensic lab for processing.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: And you don't know whether it was open -- whether it had been shut down or still on.
DALILA CIRENCIONE: Not to my knowledge, no, sir.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Can I put this back in the paper bag so I don't drop it again?
DALILA CIRENCIONE: Sure.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Beg the Court's indulgence one moment.
(Break in proceedings.)
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Thank you, ma'am.
JUDGE NEWMAN: Redirect?
MS. GOUDE: Nothing further, Your Honor.
JUDGE NEWMAN: Thank you. You may step down.
DALILA CIRENCIONE: Thank you, sir.
(The witness exited the stand.)
JUDGE NEWMAN: You may call your next witness.
MS. GOUDE: May we approach, Your Honor?
JUDGE NEWMAN: Do you have another witness available at this time?
MS. GOUDE: Yes, Your Honor.
JUDGE NEWMAN: All right.
MS. GOUDE: We do have a witness that is fairly lengthy, but we're happy to get started, Your Honor.
JUDGE NEWMAN: Call your next witness.
MS. GOUDE: Melinda Worley.