Murder Trial Star Witness is a Bloodhound?

By Amy Fernandez

Don’t ask me to explain it but Florida seems to generate an inordinate number of sensational crimes. At the moment, down in Tampa, Matthew Terry’s capital murder trial is underway. Accused of stabbing his schoolteacher girlfriend to death in a jealous rage last May, 47-year-old Terry is the kind of guy that makes you appreciate the criminal justice system–AND the stalwart K9s that assist in this effort.

So, Mr. Terry’s trial kicked off this week and you must admire the jurors who took on this grisly task.  In addition to gruesome testimony, they face the delightful job of evaluating autopsy reports and crime scene photos. They didn’t go into this deal expecting otherwise. In that sense, Tuesday’s presentation was a welcome surprise. The centerpiece of the prosecution’s case was the bodycam video evidence of Deputy Brian Pulido and his K9 partner, Champ.

Based on what we’ve seen so far, Mr. Terry is an unsavory character–to put it kindly. He has a criminal history, which includes stabbing a prior girlfriend under similar circumstances. That most likely explained his actions immediately following the discovery of Kay Baker bleeding out on a neighbor’s lawn.

Thus far, prosecutors have not bought into his explanation of why he was hiding in the woods in his underwear that evening. On the other hand, 22 stab wounds generally produces a messy crime scene. And that’s exactly why Hillsborough Deputy Pulido and his Bloodhound partner, Champ, were called in that night.

By the time Pulido and Champ arrived, CSI had collected most of the bloody evidence. They presented him with one blood drop on a leaf. No problem. It was more than enough as Officer Pulido patiently explained during Tuesday’s cross examination.

Naturally, Pulido was grilled about the proficiency of his K9 partner. And two days into this horrifying trial, that grilling turned into a rare treat for this jury. Bodycam footage captured every minute of Champ confidently forging through the dense woods with Pulido in tow.

The defense did their best to raise skepticism about how one blood drop on a leaf could possibly add up to this apprehension. Frankly, it’s great when people try to underestimate dogs. It was almost painful to watch Terry’s lawyers dig themselves into a deeper hole as Officer Pulido calmly explained the history of his partnership with Champ.  Eight months after acquiring his K9 partner they attended a weeklong training session in Tallahassee in order to certify Champ’s ability to trail a specific scent on command. He noted that this particular program is utilized by both military and civilian law enforcement groups nationwide.

Pulido went on to explain his routine for directing Champ to a specific target by presenting him with a scent article–in this case the leaf. After giving him a few minutes to walk around and think it over, he directed Champ to find it. The defense lawyer probably regretted the next question. When asked how many cases Pulido had worked with Champ, he admitted that he couldn’t exactly remember because it was well over 100 deployments.

This amazing video showed Champ reacting to the scent article, immediately heading east along a road, then hesitating and briefly doubling back and circling around before heading about 50-60 yards into the dense woods. The defense seized on that bit of footage as a sign of K9 incompetence. Pulido explained that the suspect may have done exactly that when running through the woods in the dark. Or, the wind may have picked up some of his scent particles and began to disperse them in that direction. Either way, it highlighted Champ’s olfactory capability rather than calling it into question.

Officer Pulido’s testimony hopefully suggests that law enforcement should be investing more resources into K9 technology. After explaining that Champ has been trained to be scent-specific, the courtroom video confirmed that statement beyond doubt.  Pulido pointed out the spot where–while following Champ on his 20 foot lead–he knew they were on the right track because even he could see the bloody trail.

Once they hit the jackpot, exactly as Pulido described during his testimony, Champ’s tail went straight up like an antenna. Pulido emphasized that Champ is not an apprehension dog and he would never send him into a potentially dangerous situation. At that point, no one knew what to expect, and judging by the vicious nature of Kay Baker’s murder things could get worse.

Two other K9 units were on the scene for that part of the job along with air service units equipped with heat-sensitive tracking equipment. They were tracking Champ’s movements and searching for infrared hotspots when they zeroed in on a heat signature. Within another 30 seconds they had their man. Soon after that discovery Champ added one more successful search to his credit.

Matthew Terry has not adequately explained why he was hiding in the woods in his underwear–or how his girlfriend had suffered 22 stab wounds. Maybe it’s just a coincidence but considering his history, maybe it’s not.

We hope this jury reaches the proper decision in this case. In that quest they will be confronted with some really awful stuff. Champ provided one bright spot in that ordeal and added another star to the Bloodhound track record.

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