Update, 5:30 pm:  The jury has just finished the second day of deliberations and has not yet reached a verdict.  The judge dismissed them at 5 pm and they will resume tomorrow morning.

Firegeezer has been following this case since FDNY Fire Marshal Douglas Mercereau was killed in his house by foul play and the subsequent arrest of his widow three months later in March of last year (HERE).  We have been tracking the 4-weeks-long trial and as expected the judge handed the case over to the jury for deliberation yesterday.  While we await their verdict, Douglas’ brother James Mercereau has written to us, with the intention of sharing it with our readers, with more information about what was brought out at the trial that the newspaper did not cover.  He also describes vividly the emotions of the prosecutor as she delivered the State’s closing argument last Thursday.  His letter follows:

The Mercereau family is very grateful to the support the FDNY and the team from the Bureau of Fire Investigation. Every day of the trial and the various hearings prior to the start of the trial there has been someone from the fire department by our side. The Fire Marshals that Doug worked with the past few years and the Fire Fighters from Engine 243 and Ladder 168 from Bensonhurst have been incredibly supportive of our family. We have gotten to know many of the guys who have shared the hard benches in the courtroom with us over the past many weeks. There have been more than a few retired guys who had never had the pleasure of knowing our brother who have sat with us and shown their support.

Last Thursday as luck would have it, the summations were heard in the smallest of the court rooms. Unfortunately most of the Fire Fighters and Marshals in the end didn’t get to get a seat. The Court Officers didn’t allow standing. It is regrettable that many guys traveled a long way to get to the courthouse to express their solidarity with our family, the prosecutor and the detectives involved in this investigation. We estimate that more than 75 people tuned up from the FDNY for both sessions with the vast majority turned away. While there was an opportunity to change court rooms it appears the judge made a “fairness” call to avoid any appearance of favoritism.

Douglas Mercereau

The summation on Thursday May 14th by Assistant District Attorney Yolanda Rudich, Chief of the Sex Crimes and Special Victims Bureau was nothing less than an award winning performance. Ms Rudich methodically and clearly wove together the testimony of 50+ witnesses for the prosecution as well as the 3 for the defense along with over 120 exhibits into a convincing case of second degree murder by his wife, Janet Redmond Mercereau.

This has been a case with no direct evidence. Rather it has been a case where one ultimately has to ask who had the means, the time and a motivation for the murder. It was not a professional murder. The murderer did not bring the murder weapon to the scene, it was the weapon provided to the victim by FDNY to use in the course of his duties. It was not the weapon that he actually carried for work. He had authorization to carry an alternate service revolver, in this case it was a Glock 19, 9mm semi-automatic. It was lighter, more compact and easier to conceal under a sports coat or a suit.

The weapon he was murdered with was the city issued weapon, a Smith and Wesson 9mm, semi automatic that had been previously issued to 2 other marshals who had retired or moved on to other duties. This weapon was stored in a secured gun locker in the basement of the Doug’s home, along with two magazines issued by the BFI and the holster. The holster and the additional magazines were found in the locked gun locker. The gun safe key was found in his dresser drawer in his bedroom by the detectives.

The most interesting bit of evidence of a crime scene clean up started with the observation of the Crime Scene Investigator who noticed a fine residue in places on the murder weapon, and small areas of corrosion. Analysis by the crime labs of the NYPD determined the residue was sodium chloride, or table salt.

The detectives then removed all the cleaning materials that could have been used to clean the murder weapon, the crime labs analyzed them to understand which contained salt or would breakdown into salt in the course of use. The Cascade Gel Dishwashing detergent met the criteria. Crime scene photos included a picture of the interior of the dishwasher that was otherwise full except for a space on the top rack where it would fit. Also in the dishwasher was a matching plastic brush and dust pan. Mrs Rudich left the jury with the possibility that these items could have been potentially used in cleaning off the blood from the inside of the trigger guard and surfaces of the gun. An NYPD Criminalist specializing in blood splatter presented very convincing photos of the crime scene that showed splatter in all directions except behind the area blocked by the weapon and murderer. Both would have received a heavy dose of blood to the 4 inch proximity from the bullet entry points.

Only a few wet items were found in the washing machine and dryer. They included a spun dry wet pajama top, brassiere, pajama bottoms and two towels. The night clothes were the defendant’s as determined by size and DNA found by the forensics. There was an artifact of DNA from an employee of the lab on one of the pieces which gave the defense the opportunity to claim the evidence in the case is spoiled. The defense didn’t make a big deal of it because they were saying another night gown which they claim she wore to bed that night was on the floor near the washer to be cleaned. The defense was preoccupied with why the Crime Scene people had not tested it for gun residue. The DA had to show that the city doesn’t actually do gunshot residue on clothing, they ship it out when necessary. It was clear to the investigators that they wouldn’t find residue on it, given what was in the washing machine. The judge then asked the defense why they didn’t send it out for residue testing it they thought it was part of their defense.

The dishwasher cleaning of the gun and subsequent development of rust prompted the prosecutor to introduce an expert witness who is metallurgist with a long career working with the military and corrosion issues on various type of guns. He was able to analyze the areas of corrosion on the murder weapon and testified that the gun had been through the dishwasher based on the type and position of the small areas of rust. He had subjected his samples to scanning electron microscopy and additional tests which found that they had been caused by salt. While the gun is made of stainless steel there are different types stainless steel, some which under certain conditions are more likely to end up with corrosion or rust. Salt is the worst thing you can have on steel was his comment. This professorial witness was convincing when he said the small spots that you see on glass after it comes out of the dishwasher are droplets of water that contain a microscopic amount of salt as it dries on the surface. In this case the “colonies of salt” that were left on the gun were the same colonies of corrosion seen on the gun grip and trigger guard and didn’t dry completely.

It also became clear during the summation when the ADA pointed out to the jury where the gun was placed in the top rack of the dishwasher, the adjacent area was rusted where the plastic coating had worn off after years of use. The gun was sitting next to rust.

The powerful summation hit many points that the defendant told the detectives when they were interviewing her. She presented the contradictory evidence to these multiple statements. She characterized the statements as self serving to throw off the detectives in their investigation. These multiple points were very damaging to her credibility.

The defendant was found to have a bruise or a burn like at the area above the forefinger and thumb. This wound is thought to be the result a slide burn from the spring action of the semi-automatic ejecting the shell. The defendant stated that the burn happened on Thanksgiving at the oven. A security photo taken at the checkout counter of K-Mart the evening before or of the murder shows no wound to the hand and no wedding or engagement rings. The pictures taken at the Precinct House the day Doug was found murdered in his bed show a burn mark and she is wearing her rings. The sad widow who couldn’t fit into the rings for so many months managed to squeeze them on for the role of the widow of the murdered fire marshal. This was presented to the jury at the time of the summation. It was a dramatic final piece of the puzzle answered.

The ADA was met on the street across from the courthouse by about 15 firemen and fire marshals, 10+ NYPD detectives and police and many personnel from the DA’s office who had worked tirelessly on the case as well as about 15 members of our family. She was given a long ovation and hugs from everyone. Yolanda Rudich had presented the case with passion and conviction, and it showed as she asked the jury for a guilty verdict of murder in the second degree.

The jury was charged on Monday. Now we wait for a verdict.

Jim Mercereau