web1_image2-1-.jpeg

Allied Services honors employees at Miracle Maker luncheon

web1_Flags.jpg

Volunteers replace flags on veterans’ graves

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; In the final day of testimony in the trial of Preston Bonnett, expert witnesses for the defense asserted there was no way to definitively say what caused a 2017 house fire that led to the deaths of three children.</p><p>Bonnett, 28, has been on trial for the past week for charges stemming from a Laflin house fire in October 2017 that took the lives of Erik Dupree, 16, Devon Major, 12, and Ezekial Major, 7. Bonnett is facing one count each of homicide and arson for each child.</p><p>After prosecutors rested their case on Monday, it was time for the defense to present its case. Bonnett himself invoked his constitutional right not to testify, meaning the defense only offered testimony from two expert witnesses, one in the field of fire investigations and the other in electrical engineering.</p><p>Michael Daily was the defense&#8217;s fire investigator expert, and he said there simply was no way to definitively say what caused the fire.</p><p>Daily&#8217;s testimony stood at odds with the testimony of the prosecution&#8217;s fire experts, Special Agent Seth Graybill of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Pennsylvania State Police Fire Marshal Karri Dodson.</p><p>While Graybill and Dodson both ruled out other potential sources of the fire &#8212; including a garbage bag with cigarette butts in it or the baseboard heater that was the subject of much of Friday&#8217;s testimony &#8212; Daily told jurors these elements could not be ruled out.</p><p>However, Daily was blocked from testifying much about these items under objections from prosecutors, as he did not analyze them in his official report. As an expert witness, Daily was bound to only testify specifically about what was in his report.</p><p>Daily, who completed his investigation nearly a year after the fire and after many of the items he commented on had been removed, said that the cause of the fire could ultimately not be determined.</p><p>&#8220;With the evidence I examined, I would&#8217;ve called this an undetermined fire,&#8221; Daily told defense attorney Bernard Brown.</p><p>During his questioning of Daily, Brown attempted to point out marijuana pipes found in the home or a cooking incident as a cause of the fire, but Daily said the evidence does not suggest either of these scenarios are plausible.</p><p>Frank Ferrese, the defense&#8217;s expert in electrical engineering, also took issue with the prosecution&#8217;s electrical expert, Christopher Graham, who said he believes the electrical issues of the baseboard heater were caused by the fire and not the other way around.</p><p>Ferrese, much like Daily, said the evidence as to what caused the arcing seen in the heater is more inconclusive. He attempted to testify about potential wiring issues he noticed in the heater, but he too failed to mention these things in his report, and was therefore blocked from testifying about them.</p><p>Ultimately, Ferrese, during cross examination by Assistant District Attorney Thomas Hogans, said the cause for the arcing cannot be determined.</p><p>After Ferrese&#8217;s testimony, the defense rested their case. Proceedings begin Tuesday morning with closing arguments from both teams, and the jury is expected to get the case by early afternoon.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/web1_Bonnett-2c-Preston.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Bonnett </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/web1_Bonnett-2c-Preston.jpg</photo0><caption0>Bonnett </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Patrick Kernan</p><p>pkernan@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Patrick Kernan at 570-991-6386 or on Twitter @PatKernan</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Defense experts: No way to definitively say what caused fatal Laflin fire