Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Testimony Continues In Trial Of Joe Dansby; Juror Dropped (cont)

Kisselburg and Hillery went to Beirne where Lewis sometimes rode his four-wheeler. Before they could begin searching, though, they received a call to return to Hillery's home.

Meadows was in the yard waiting when they arrived. He had the gun rack, gloves and wrist wrap he found at what was later determined to be crime scene 1.

While there, deputy Wally Hulan drove up, Kisselburg said, and got in Hillery's car. All four went back to the area to see what they could find.

There was only the four of them at the first scene originally, he testified. They began searching the area, with Hillery finding the shorts, panties.

Kisselburg said he found the stump the truck had apparently struck, along with the sunglasses and checkbook. However, he couldn't tell the court if Hillery picked up any .22 shells or not because he didn't see him do it. He said Hillery told about doing this later.

The checkbook and sunglasses were given to Hillery, who called the NCSO and told the dispatcher to start calling hospitals.

Kisselburg said he left, but returned several times during the day to the first scene. The most part of the afternoon, he said, was spent with him driving around the region, checking side roads.

His search ended when the bodies were found. At the time, he was at Morris Church, with the services just ending.

Kisselburg told the court he heard Barham on the radio giving the name of the road, but he didn't know where it was. Morman did and told his deputy to follow him.

His duties upon arriving, Kisselburg said, were to prevent traffic from coming into the area. He did not go to the scene.

But, he did allow official traffic to enter the area so it could be searched. The Nevada County Rescue Unit, he said, was called to bring lights in for the search.

The questioning then turned to the Oct. 19, 1993, search of Dansby's yard.

Kisselburg said he, Morman and Sorrells went to Dansby's home after lunch that day in the sheriff's car.

He told of knocking and getting no response and hearing someone knock on the back door after yelling he was getting no answer.

Morman, he said, came around from the back of the house with four spent .22 casings and gave them to him. Kisselburg said he put the casings in a 35mm film case and put the case in his shirt pocket.

But, he said, he never looked at the shells closely and once they were turned over to Ursery he never saw them again.

Bramblett cross examined Kisselburg, telling the court he didn't remember seeing Hillery pick up any casings at the first scene, and couldn't say where the casings Hillery had were found.

He described Dansby's home as being a "Jim Walter's" style frame house.

Again saying he wasn't involved in searching for the casings found there, Kisselburg said once they were given to him and put into the canister, it was not immediately sealed, he just put the lid on it.

He testified as to finding Dansby and taking him to Dr. Mike Young's office to have blood drawn.

Ursery and Duvall were at the doctor's office when they arrived, but Kisselburg said he did not see the blood drawn.

He also said he didn't see Joe Dansby or Betty Dansby give handwriting samples at the NCSO later. Nor could he tell the court when Dansby's blood was taken to the crime lab.

Kathy Tosch Hipp and Linda Gleason Delacruz were called by the prosecution to tell the last time they had seen Lewis and Clark alive.

Both told the court they had been in an area known as Five Way Market at an old iron bridge near the Clark County Line.

Hipp said she saw Lewis' truck around 8:30 p.m. on May 16, 1992, with Clark in it. She was able to identify them because Lewis' window was down and she could see inside it.

Delacruz told the court she knew it was Lewis and Clark because they "hollered down and we hollered back." She said she knew Lewis because they worked out at the fitness center together and came to the E-Z Mart where she worked.

Because of an ankle injury suffered while riding an ATV, Delacruz told the court she had to be taken to the Nevada County Hospital for treatment.

Denise Smiley said the last time she saw the couple was around 9 p.m. on May 16, 1992. She was coming into Prescott at the time, entering the curve on Highway 24 by the Red-E-Mart.

Though it was dark, she recognized Lewis' truck and the lights from her vehicle illuminated the cab and its occupants.

Joe's son, Jackie Dansby, was next up. He informed the court he was living with his grandmother, Mazie Dansby, Joe's mom, when Lewis and Clark were murderedrd

He talked of growing up in the Upchurch community, but said he didn't always live with his parents. Instead, he said, he lived with other relatives, primarily his grandmother and an aunt.

He also said he went to school through the 11th grade, finishing his educational stint at Gurdon.

When the Marlin .22 rifle was bought he was living with his grandmother in Whelen Springs, about eight miles from Gurdon.

He recalled being at home one weekend with his father seeing the rifle in a Wal-Mart sales circular. He said his father said he'd like to have a gun like it.

"I got home from school one day and it was there," he said of how the rifle appeared in the home. "It was there until two or three weeks before the murders."

The younger Dansby said the rifle Morman showed him was identical to the one in their home. He was able to identify it by a scratch he'd made on the stock while hunting.

But, when Rodgers questioned him, the younger Dansby continually said his father never told his mother to buy the gun, but would like to have one like it.

He also said they were living in Whelen at the time and not the Upchurch area.

The court was told Dansby's father did purchase another .22 rifle later, but it was for Joe Jr. Jackie Dansby was unable to identify the make of this rifle.

He did say, though, he personally owned a .243 caliber rifle his dad bought for him.

While he saw the other .22 rifle after Lewis and Clark were killed, he said he never saw the Marlin until Morman showed it to him, asking him to identify it.

Jackie Dansby said he had never seen his father go walking in the woods at night, with or without a weapon.

The night of the murders, he said, he was living with his grandmother in Prescott. He said Melissa Charles, Eric Jefferson and Maybelle Charles were at the house that night, with him being there all night long.

He recalled talking to his younger brother, Joey, and being told about the Marlin being stolen. "I asked my dad, and he said `yes,' it had been stolen.

According to his testimony, he (Jackie) told Morman several times the rifle had been stolen before the murders, even though it was never reported as such.

He did say his father began reading the Bible after the two were killed, something he had not been known to do be