Lindsay Clancy Trial: What Crime Lab Tech Maureen Hartnett Collected From Clancy Herself

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
This is live courtroom coverage of the trial of Lindsay Clancy from the Hidden Killers podcast in True Crime Today.

**SPEAKER_2** (0:08)
Now, back to the courtroom.

**Maureen Hartnett** (0:13)
All right, counsel.

**SPEAKER_1** (0:15)
Thank you. Good morning. Could you please call the jurors your first and last name?

**Maureen Hartnett** (0:21)
Maureen Hartnett.

**SPEAKER_1** (0:22)
And how are you employed? What do you do for work?

**Maureen Hartnett** (0:24)
I'm a Forensic Scientist II in the Criminalistics Unit as well as the Crime Scene Response Unit at the Massachusetts State Police Crime Laboratory.

**SPEAKER_1** (0:32)
And how long have you worked for the crime lab?

**Maureen Hartnett** (0:34)
Approximately a total of 10 years.

**SPEAKER_1** (0:36)
And what are your general responsibilities as a Forensic Scientist II?

**Maureen Hartnett** (0:40)
In the Criminalistics Unit, I examine items of evidence for the possible presence of biological fluids such as blood, semen and saliva. And those items would include clothing, weapons and sexual assault kits among other items.
I also collect and identify trace materials such as hairs and fibers. I perform damage analysis on clothing and collect gunshot residues.

**SPEAKER_1** (1:03)
Do you have to undergo some specific training and education in order to perform those tasks at the crime lab?

**Maureen Hartnett** (1:09)
Yes, I have a Bachelor's Degree in Biology as well as a Master's Degree in Forensic Science. In addition, I received approximately nine months of training in the crime laboratory as well.

**SPEAKER_1** (1:20)
Do you have to take proficiency or competency tests on a regular basis?

**Maureen Hartnett** (1:25)
Yes, so a competency test is taken after each module in the training.
They address certain things like blood identification, semen identification, and after each of those modules, I took a competency test to move on to the next portion of the training. Yearly, I also take multiple proficiency tests in biological fluid identification as well as trace identification and crime scene response.

**SPEAKER_1** (1:49)
I'd like to talk a little bit first about the crime scene response. So you, as a forensic scientist, are a civilian, correct?

**Maureen Hartnett** (1:57)
Yes, that's correct.

**SPEAKER_1** (1:58)
Do you often work in tandem with a trooper from the crime scene services section?

**Maureen Hartnett** (2:02)
Yes, generally I work alongside law enforcement as well as crime scene services when processing a crime scene.

**SPEAKER_1** (2:08)
And when you go to a crime scene to process with the crime scene response unit, what's the goal or what are you looking to do there?

**Maureen Hartnett** (2:15)
My focus generally is on biological evidence, such as blood, semen, saliva, as well as documentation through sketches and diagrams.

**SPEAKER_1** (2:25)
And the trooper from the crime scene services section that is usually there, the law enforcement, are they also documenting the scene as well and reviewing those same areas but through photographs?

**Maureen Hartnett** (2:37)
Yes, well, I can't speak for all of their responsibilities. I do know they take photographs, video, and they also take their own diagrams on occasion.

**SPEAKER_1** (2:47)
Now, in addition to locating biological evidence, do you sometimes perform what's called screening tests at crime scenes?

**Maureen Hartnett** (2:56)
Yes, I do.

**SPEAKER_1** (2:57)
And what are the common screening tests that you can do at a crime scene?

**Maureen Hartnett** (3:00)
I perform screening tests for blood as well as screening tests for semen, depending on the case history and what the forensic relevant evidence is.

**SPEAKER_1** (3:09)
And does that help inform you on what to collect from a crime scene sometimes?

**Maureen Hartnett** (3:13)
Yes, that's correct.

**SPEAKER_1** (3:14)
I'm afraid to say if there's a large pool of blood on a floor, you can't collect that all and take it back to the lab, correct?

**Maureen Hartnett** (3:20)
Yes, that's correct.

**SPEAKER_1** (3:21)
So how do you collect a sampling of it in order to then later process something like a red-brown stain or some sort of biological spot or stain that you observe?

**Maureen Hartnett** (3:32)
Depending on the substrate on which the biological fluid is located, I'll take a swabbing of the item, which is generally something like a Q-tip to swab up the stain or if it's on a soft surface, I could potentially take a cutting to preserve that biological evidence for future testing.

**SPEAKER_1** (3:48)
In some instances, do you actually take the whole object if it's possible?

**Maureen Hartnett** (3:51)
In some instances, yes, that's correct. We would take the whole object depending on what it is.

**SPEAKER_1** (3:56)
I'm going to draw your attention to January 24th of 2023 Do you recall being asked to come out with the Crime Scene Response Unit on that day or that evening?

**Maureen Hartnett** (4:06)