Suppressed Photos

The biggest challenge for the Placer DA when he tried to build a criminal case against Paul Kovacich was that the only physical evidence found by the CalDOJ field investigation team pointed to forced entry, and a stranger abduction of Janet. Criminalist Lou Maucieri's findings of a broken window in the back of the house, and bent window screens on the second floor were the most critical evidence in the case:

Below:  Backyard of 244 Forest Court. Photo taken during later 2003 remodel. Broken window was located under the deck area.

• Criminalist Lou Maucieri had been “briefed” by APD Boon and PCSO Smith in a meeting prior to the Forest Court search, and the officers were present on the scene directing Maucieri and his forensic team. 

• Because Paul Kovacich was the named suspect, and the broken window and bent screens pointed to forced entry by a stranger, Maucieri ignored the evidence manual he wrote, and did not collect the glass, window frame, or screens. The photos taken by CalDOJ forensic photographer Norm Evans, and his supervisor, Tom Corcoran, were the only documentation of the exact location and properties of the damage.

• The DA’s office turned over several photo discs to the defense the were represented as being all of the photos of the original crime scene investigation by CalDOJ forensic teams on September 14, 1982.

• The discs contained all of the photos of the search of the Kovacich cabin—inside and outside. However, the only photos provided from Forest Court documented the vehicle searches in the driveway and garage area. APD Jerry Johnson had custody of all of the CalDOJ field investigation photos from both locations, and prepared the exhibits.

Above:  Photos of Cisco Grove Cabin, September 14, 1982

Above & Below:  Photos of Forest Court Residence Garage & Vehicles, September 14, 1982

• The photos of the broken window and bent window screens were missing, and there were no photos of the interior of the home, including the items collected into evidence, and areas tested for blood on the scene. 

• Even though at least two CalDOJ photographers, including a supervisor, worked with Lou Maucieri documenting the search inside and outside the home, only the driveway photos were found on the “JJ” (Jerry Johnson) evidence discs. 

• It was not credible to claim that some of the negatives and prints from the roll of 35 mm film were “lost,” while others were not, especially since the missing ones pointed directly to a stranger kidnapping. It is not possible that Maucieri’s team collected items from the home into evidence without first photographing their location and condition at the scene. The photos were taken. 

• Defense counsel made a specific request to have the missing photos turned over, but DDA Gazzaniga told him that the photos never existed:

• Brady, the US Constitution, CA law, and the Rules of Professional Conduct all require the DA to turn over evidence that could help the defense, and it must be done prior to trial. 

• The photos of the broken window were the most important evidence in the case, and the defense never saw them. 

• The photos were key to proving the defense’s case—what really happened to Janet:

-A stranger pried the left sliding portion of the large dining room window at the bottom corner—cracking it in the process;

-That stranger gained entry to the home while it was empty—likely the day before Janet’s abduction, and unlocked an easy entry point like one of the sliding glass doors. He then exited through that door into the yard, and replaced the window screen to hide the damage;

-The stranger had access to the yard because Fuzz was no longer there, and Adolf either knew him, was afraid of him due to the use of repellant, or had come to trust him through food treats;

-The stranger returned to the home later that night, and let Adolph out of the yard when he saw Paul drive away from the home just after 9:00 pm;

-The stranger expected that Paul was working the night shift at the jail, and would not be returning until morning, but he had to abandon his plans when Paul returned with KFC, and put Adolph back in the yard;

-The stranger returned the next morning, and he watched and waited until Paul left the home, and then immediately and silently entered through  the unlocked sliding glass door. He locked the deadbolt on the front door to delay anyone trying to enter, and then walked upstairs into the master bedroom, and confronted Janet with a weapon at the doorway to the master bath. Janet was trapped in that room, with no window, phone, or escape. 

-The stranger then told Janet that he “just needed money” and ordered her to get her purse;

-He told her that the amount she had was not enough, and she would need to come with him to get more. He walked Janet downstairs, into the garage, and out the back door (leaving both doors unlocked);

-The stranger walked Janet through the backyard into the adjacent wooded area on the Sisters of Mercy property to his car parked in a nearby undeveloped area, and drove off.

•The broken window was the only physical evidence that proved that the stranger existed, and was present at the Kovacich house. Without the photos, the defense had no way to place anyone other than Paul at the home—which is exactly why Jerry Johnson did not put them on the evidence disc, and why DDA Gazzaniga said that the photos were never taken. Her statement was not true, and that was conclusively proven by Lou Maucieri's testimony at trial:

• The photos were not just evidence that pointed to a stranger, they pointed to an offender with a very specific MO. Hiding the photos prior to trial also robbed the defense of the opportunity to investigate exactly who might have kidnapped and killed Janet. There was an unidentified man who had committed identical kidnappings and murders in the area from 1976-1993, and he used a very unique method to gain entry through windows. The missing photos could have been matched to those crime scenes, and defense investigators could have looked for a possible common suspect.

• There is no doubt that Jerry Johnson had the missing photos in his custody, and had personally viewed them. At grand jury, Johnson testified that he had personal knowledge of the Forest Court interior in 1982, and that it had not changed except for the bathroom sinks and kitchen cabinets. 

• Johnson also testified that the first time he was in the house was in 2004—so the only way he could have testified to those facts from his personal knowledge was to have viewed the now “missing” 1982 CalDOJ interior crime scene photos—the same photos that Lou Maucieri testified were taken at his direction, but the jury did not see.

Testimony of Jerry Johnson, August 29, 2006—Examination by prosecutor Gong:

The only  way Johnson could have had a personal “recollection” of the location of anything within the home in 1982 was by viewing the original crime scene photos. 

•The broken window and bent screens were not the only evidence that pointed directly to a stranger abduction in the Kovacich home.

•By early 2006, the Placer DA knew that Fuzz had suffered no broken bones or soft tissue prior to his death, but had been fed a (possibly poisoned) pork spare rib with 72 hours of his death—and a similar cut animal bone had been found by workers on the Sisters of Mercy property near the Kovacich back yard. 

•The neighbors had reported that Adolph had been let out of the yard the night before Janet disappeared, right after Paul left the home to pick up KFC. 

•Someone clearly wanted access to the Kovacich yard without the presence of the trained K-9s.

• When Janet disappeared, she had not yet put on her wedding rings and watch, but did take her purse. That should have directed police towards a stranger kidnapping using a robbery ruse. This also directly matched the MO of the same offender who used the window entry trick.

• If Janet had left the house on her way to the school meeting  she would have put on her jewelry before going downstairs. So, it’s likely that Janet was confronted by a stranger in the master bedroom/bath area. The circumstances and details were an exact match to the kidnapping/homicide of Cinthia Wanner in 1991—also on a cul-de-sac off Auburn-Folsom Road, on a weekday morning, and immediately after she was left alone in the house.