SPOKANE, Wash. — Testimony continued on day two in the trial of Richard Aguirre. Aguirre is accused of killing a woman in Spokane in 1986.
During Thursday's court hearing, the defense worked to poke holes in some of the evidence found at the scene where Ruby Doss's body was found.
Aguirre is accused of killing Ruby Doss near the old Playfair Track on Jan. 30, 1986. Court began with testimony from detective James Lundgren.
Lundgren was a detective for Spokane’s Major Crimes Unit the year Doss was killed. During the investigation, Lundgren interviewed Robert Lee, who police say was a pimp and knew Doss at that time. On Wednesday in court, the defense said Lee had motive to kill Doss. Thursday, however, the defense focused part of it’s questioning on footprints found at the scene.
Prosecutors say they’re Aguirre’s but the defense questioned if they could belong to somebody else.
“Robert Lee’s foot size was never measured, was it?" Defense Attorney Karen Lindholdt asked during the trial.
Lundgren answered, "No."
The second witness to take the stand was Carrie Christen, a retired member of the Spokane County Sheriff's Forensic Unit. She photographed the crime scene, and said in court Thursday she provided measurements on the footprints. Christen testified that because the footprints she photographed were on uneven ground and at different angles, it was difficult to take accurate and precise measurements.
“You’re not going to get an exact size because of the way the ruler is," Christen said.
Christen was shown five images of footprints with rulers next to them. She testified that because the images are distorted, the footprints cannot be accurately measured by the ruler in the picture.
Prosecutors are seeking a guilty verdict for either first or second-degree murder.
Court will resume session again on Tuesday at 9 a.m.
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