Finally, it came to footage showing a man with his hands cuffed behind his back being placed in a patrol car. A deputy closed the door and slapped the roof twice. The car drove off and came directly by the camera. As it was going by I froze the image.

The screen showed a grainy shot of the patrol car. The light of the camera illuminated the man sitting in the backseat as well as the roof of the car.

“Mr. Muniz, what’s the designation on the roof of that car?”

“Again it’s four-A or four-alpha.”

“And the man being transported, where is he sitting?”

“In the rear right passenger seat.”

“Is he handcuffed?”

“Well, he was when they put him in the car. I shot it.”

“His hands were cuffed behind his back, correct?”

“Correct.”

“Now, is he in the same position and seat in the patrol car that Mr. Elliot was in when you videotaped him about eight hours later?”

“Yes, he is. Exact same position.”

“Thank you, Mr. Muniz. No further questions.”

Golantz passed on cross-examination. There was nothing about the direct that could be attacked and the video didn’t lie. Muniz stepped down. I told the judge I wanted to leave the video screen in place for my next witness and I called Deputy Todd Stallworth to the stand.

Stallworth looked angrier as he came into the courtroom. This was good. He also looked beat and his uniform looked like it had wilted on his body. One of the sleeves of his shirt had a black scuff mark on it, presumably from some struggle during the night.

I quickly established Stallworth’s identity and that he was driving the alpha car in the Malibu district during the first shift on the day of the murders in the Elliot house. Before I could ask another question, Golantz once more objected and asked for another sidebar. When we got there, he raised his hands palms up in a What’s this? gesture. His style was getting old with me.

“Judge, I object to this witness. The defense hid him on the witness list among the many deputies who were on the scene and have no bearing on the case.”

Once again I had the witness list ready. This time I slapped it down in front of the judge with frustration, then ran my finger down the column of names until I reached Todd Stallworth. It was there in the middle of a list of five other deputies, all of whom had been on the scene at the Elliot house.

“Judge, if I was hiding Stallworth, I was hiding him in plain sight. He’s clearly listed there under law enforcement personnel. The explanation is the same as before. It says he’ll testify about his activities on May 2. That’s all I put down because I never talked to him. I’m hearing what he has to say for the first time right now.”