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Terrance Black murder trial: Day Three

By Bill Conrad, bconrad@starlocalnews.com

Published: Wednesday, August 22, 2012 5:58 PM CDT

For live updates throughout the trial, follow @Bill_PlanoStar on Twitter.

Original entry

The trial has been delayed while Judge John Roach speaks with the defense team. No word on what it is about, but Terrance Black walked into the courtroom holding his neck and in obvious pain. He sat down gingerly in his chair and then held his head in his hands while his attorneys met with Judge John Roach in private.

Update 10 a.m.

An hour and a half into the day, the trial has still not begun. Someone was seen leaving the second floor of the courthouse on a stretcher with a security escort, but it has not been confirmed it was Terrance Black. An ambulance was also seen driving to the rear of the courthouse, but once again, no word if it is connected to the Black trial.

Update 11:30 a.m.

Testimony has resumed in the Terrance Black trial after a three-hour delay. Judge John Roach apologized to the jury but gave no reason for the delay.

First witness is Dale Patton, a criminalist with Plano PD.

Update 1:30 p.m.

Currently on the stand is criminologist John McClure, the day shift supervisor for the Plano PD crime lab. He has testified that the prints found on the front door to the Gleneagles building that housed Susan Loper's Pilates studio could not be matched to either Loper or Terrance Black. He also said it was impossible to determine when a fingerprint was left.

Update 2:15 p.m.

John McClure is still on the stand, with his testimony focused almost solely on blood evidence. He said after seeing the blood in the car, it was clear someone was seriously injured.

"I would characterize it as a significant amount of blood for an individual who had suffered some sort of wound that required emergency room care," McClure said.

While the photos of the inside of Susan Loper's Toyota RAV 4 are new to the trial, the information McClure is going over has been previously presented. There have been no new developments.

Update 3:05 p.m.

No major updates at the Terrance Black trial. Criminologist John McClure is still on the stand, testifying about pieces of evidence and photos that have already been discussed previously in the trial.

Update 3:20 p.m.

John McClure tells the jury that Jayson Hayes, Susan Loper's boyfriend at the time she was killed, voluntarily submitted his fingerprints to detectives. One of his prints was found on a privacy screen in the Pilates studio, McClure said.

No prints from Black were found at the scene of in the car, but McClure said that is not necessarily uncommon.

"It is a fallacy that we leave fingerprints wherever we go," McClure said. "That is not true. ... What we see on television and in the movies is that the fingerprints are out there and we just have to find them. That is not true in real life."

McClure also said that in September 2011, nine spent 9 mm casings were found in the field where Loper's body was dumped. The field had been plowed since the discovery of the body and the casings were lying on top of the soil. These casings were not the same brand as the ones found at Gleneagles. In addition, two unfired 9 mm rounds were found near where the body was discovered during a search in June 2011.

Update 4 p.m.

The defense is now cross examining John McClure, who has been on the stand for several hours. Lots of discussion about fingerprints and fingerprint identification systems, but no new developments in the past 40 minutes.

Update 5:15 p.m.

Not much new came from the four-plus hours John McClure spent on the stand. He did confirm Jayson Hayes' fingerprints were not compared to those found at the crime scene or in the RAV 4 until Sept. 29, 2011. Terrance Black's fingerprints were compared on May 4, 2011.

Once McClure wrapped up, Robbie Jacobson from the North Texas Tollway Authority took the stand to testify about Toll Tag data. He went over the same timeline discussed by detectives yesterday, with Loper's car traveling from Gleneagles, up to Lebanon Road in Frisco and then back south into Plano early on April 19, 2011.

In a tension-filled trial, prosecutor Justin Johnson did elicit some laughs from the jury when he asked Jacobson if it was unlikely Jayson Hayes could have been driving two vehicles at the same time.

Update 5:27 p.m.

Testimony on Day three concluded with Detective Scott Epperson back on the stand. With Epperson on the stand, a number of items of evidence were entered into the record including Terrance Black's drivers license, cell phone and two lap tops. For the second time in two days, the defense reserved its right to cross examine Epperson until a later time.

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