Samantha Harer: Illinois State Police Walk Back Blood Stain Findings

CHANNAHON, IL —Illinois State Police Sgt. Cary Morin, whose blood stain analysis report in the death of off-duty 911 dispatcher Samantha Harer helped clear Crest Hill Police Officer Phil Flores of criminal wrongdoing, later testified one of his top supervisors made him revise his conclusions.

"I had conversations with Lieutenant (Rebecca) Hooks, and I was told that a corrected report would need to be issued and a quality issue report would be generated based off this case," Morin testified on July 7, 2021, in the federal wrongful death lawsuit filed by Samantha Harer's parents, Kevin and Heather.

"And what is a quality issue report?" asked New York attorney Jennifer Bonjean, who represents the Harers.

"So it's a report generated any time there is an issue with either a investigation or something related to an investigation," Morin testified. "We have a whole quality assurance program for that division. So if there is something identified, that can be corrected, a quality issue report would be generated, like in this case."

"And this is where your superiors find issue with the quality of your report, right?" Bonjean inquired.

"Yes," Morin agreed.

"And then they report that in a written report, and I presume that they review it with you. Is that right?"

"Yes."

"Okay. So and in this case there was a quality issue report that was generated by Lieutenant Rebecca Hooks, right?"

"Yes."

At present, the Illinois State Police website lists Hooks as the third highest ranking official in the Office of the Director, Brendan Kelly. Hooks is now a lieutenant colonel and the chief of staff for the Illinois State Police. Hooks has a bachelor's from Eastern Illinois University and she obtained her certified crime scene investigator and certified bloodstain pattern analyst certifications through the International Association of Identification.

Now that Bonjean has re-filed Harer's wrongful death lawsuit in Will County, Joliet Patch continues to reexamine key aspects of the 2018 police investigation that treated Harer's death as a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Sgt. Morin's work on the case contributed to that conclusion. No criminal charges resulted for Flores, who was a Crest Hill Police Officer at the time of Harer's gunshot death.

Morin Never Investigated A Naked Suicide Involving A Gun

Harer's lawyer asked Sgt. Morin, who performed the blood-stain analysis inside Harer's bedroom on Feb. 13, 2018, whether he had investigated any suicides at the Illinois State Police.

"We had numerous types: hangings, self-inflicted gunshots, jumping from buildings and bridges, jumping in front of vehicles," Morin testified.

"During that time, how often did you investigate a self-inflicted gunshot wound suicide?" Bonjean inquired.

"Usually, I think I'd say, at least a couple a year."

"And, specifically, how often did you discover a victim with a self-inflicted gunshot wound who was naked?"

"That would be pretty rare if that was it. That would be infrequent for us."

"Can you think of one time that that happened?"

"None that I can recall."

"Is it your understanding that Samantha Harer was found naked in her apartment with a gunshot wound?"

"Yes."

Only Samantha Harer Was In Her Bedroom, Morin Puts In Report

When he arrived at Channahon's Police Department for a briefing hours after Harer's death, Morin learned her boyfriend, Flores, was a Crest Hill police officer.

"Did you learn that it was suspected that this was a self-inflicted gunshot wound?" Bonjean wondered.

"Yes. I mean, obviously, based off of the statement that was provided by Flores," Morin testified.

Morin arrived at Harer's apartment at 3:05 p.m. and departed at 6:41 p.m.

"Detective (Andrew) McClellan ever tell you prior to you going to the scene or at the scene that two neighbors, whose apartment was adjacent to Ms. Harer's apartment, had heard banging and a woman's voice saying, 'Let me go,' shortly before Ms. Harer was purportedly shot?"

"No. I did not have all of that information," Morin answered the Harer's lawyer.

Morin was asked to explain why his original blood stain analysis report concluded that only Harer was present inside her bedroom at the time of the shooting.

Hooks, now the lieutenant colonel of the Illinois State Police, later made Morin remove that conclusion from his report on Harer's death.

"First of all, I'd like to know why you originally included this statement in your report and then why you filed a corrected report and removed it?" Bonjean asked.

Sgt. Morin Agrees His Conclusions Could Not Be Substantiated

"The original was my opinion based off my observations," Morin answered.

"And there were conclusions or opinions that were made that were not substantiated with final reports having been issued, lab reports, autopsy reports. Is that right?" Bonjean asked. "Yes," Morin agreed.

"During your review for Lieutenant Hooks, she writes: 'CSI Morin stated that no autopsy report was available because the pathologist was waiting for the bloodstain report to be completed before rendering a final autopsy report.' Did you tell her that?"

"Yes."

"And that, 'Lieutenant Hooks informed CSI Morin that the pathologist should not be waiting on the BPA report and this was not an accepted practice in the BPA community.' Did she tell you that?"

"Yes."

"You also reached a conclusion, the very last sentence of this report, that says, 'The size of the offset area along with the bloodstain pattern present and bullet trajectory suggest that the victim was standing alone in the bedroom offset area at the time of the incident. Do you see that?"

"Yes."

"Okay. And then you subsequently withdrew that opinion, correct?"

"Yes."

"Okay. And as you stand here today, are you prepared to offer that opinion under oath?"

"Which one?" Morin asked.

"The one, this one, 'The size of the offset area along with the bloodstain patterns present and bullet trajectory suggest that the victim was standing alone in the bedroom offset area at the time of the incident.'"

"No, because that would completely contradict the purpose of issuing my corrected report," Morin testified.

"Okay. So you did, after your review with Lieutenant Hooks, provide a corrected bloodstain pattern analysis report, right?"

"Yes."

Morin testfied his correct report was issued Aug. 30, 2018, nearly seven months after Harer died.

Morin Cannot Explain Blood Stains On Flores' Clothes

Morin agreed he looked at some of the clothing Flores wore at the time of Harer's shooting.

"And you did find blood spatter on his sweatshirt. Can we agree on that?" Bonjean asked.

"There were bloodstains on the sweatshirt, yes. There were bloodstains."

"And in your report, you limit yourself to just describing them. You don't make any conclusions about them. Is that mostly fair?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Were you ever asked to determine how he may have gotten those bloodstains on his sweatshirt?"

"No, I was not."

"Did anyone, either anyone in your department or any law enforcement officers, ask you about why he may have had bloodstains on his sweatshirt?"

"No. I informed them that I had located the blood during my analysis, but I don't recall any additional questions beyond that."

"Do you have any opinions, as you sit here today, how he got bloodstains on his clothing?"

"Unfortunately, no," Morin testified.

Police Eager To Close Hare Case As Self-Inflicted: Bonjean

As the deposition continued, Bonjean told Morin she planned to ask more questions about the bloodstains on the front sweatshirt worn by Flores inside Harer's apartment at the time of her shooting death, which was on a Tuesday morning.

"I notice you didn't characterize them as anything but stains. Is there a reason for that?"

"Bloodstains in clothing are, are very, very difficult to characterize because of the texture and the wicking that occurs when the liquid soaks into the fabric," Morin testified. "So because of the texture and the way that the blood soaks in, it's hard to identify whether blood was just from a contact or whether it was a spatter. ... there's a lot of different variables and possibilities, and it's just, it's inconclusive on how to determine those."

"But you can draw some meaning from how it's diffused, right?"

"Depending. I mean, depending on what's there ... in this case, really the only inference we can make was that he had some contact with her blood while wearing that clothing. But I was unable to determine how that blood got deposited on the shirt and when."

"You would agree, though, that there were stains on his sleeves that were more saturated. I think you did make that finding, right? On the right sleeve in particular, the rear, the rear portion of the right sleeve?"

"Yes. So there was blood that appears to be saturated or soaked into that area."

"And it would appear that there was more blood that impacted that rear part of the sleeve than, say, the front of the sweatshirt,right?"

"Yes, I believe so."

"Would you agree that if Mr. Flores had no contact with Ms. Harer as she was bleeding, that would be inconsistent with the blood being on the sweatshirt?"

"Absolutely," Morin responded.

"This is just my impression, and I would like your honest answer," Bonjean advised. "It seemed to me that there was an eagerness on the part of a number of people, including even your chain of command, to classify this as a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Did you sense that at any point during your work on this case?"

"I mean, I wouldn't say eagerness on either end of it," Morin testified. "I'm impartial in this case. I have no bearing one way or the other on whether this was determined to be a homicide or a suicide."

"If that's the case, why do you think that you included initially a finding that she had to be alone in that offset area?" Bonjean wondered. "Because that, that would suggest that he was not in there when she was shot, right? You wrote in your first report that it's suggested that she was alone in the offset area, that there was no one, no one else present. And then that finding you subsequently revoked. Is that just a mistake on your part? You seem like an experienced guy. Or did you feel a certain amount of pressure to corroborate Phil Flores's story?"

"I would say, I mean, and obviously, I have no pressure of one way or the other," Morin told the Harers' lawyer. "I believe I was making an observation based off of the evidence that was there, and I made a conclusion that was not completely supported. So it was a very specific conclusion to say ... that she was alone in the room at the time of the incident ... there was not enough evidence to support saying that he absolutely was not in there."

"Well, if I'm correct," Bonjean asserted, "I think what you actually said was that the size of the offset area along with the bloodstain patterns present and the bullet trajectory suggests that the victim was standing alone in the bedroom offset area at the time of the incident. Right? And, in fact, you, you received some positive reinforcement for your work and your conclusions on that point, right? It's an email from Sean Grosvenor. Looks like your sergeant, right?"

"Yes."

"Long before your quality issuance report and corrected report, right?"

"Yes."

"And your sergeant said, 'Excellent job," on this case, correct?"

"Yes."

"This is a classic example of a good teaching case. Bullet trajectory was the extra touch that provided good context to the BSPA, right?"

"Yes."

"So he was pleased with your initial report, including your findings in there, I assume, right?"

"Yes."

"And, as you sit here today, the bullet trajectory doesn't tell us anything about whether Phil Flores was in that room or even in that offset area, correct?"

"No, it doesn't."

"During the interview with Mr. Flores, the detectives who were questioning him were curious about what they perceived as voids on her body where there was an absence of blood that I guess they found curious or suspicious, I suppose. Were you aware of that?"

"No, I was not," Morin answered.

"Have you ever had the opportunity to look at the photos of Ms. Harer?"

"Yes."

"Okay, you knew, of course, that Ms. Harer was found or discovered in the nude, right?"

"Yes."

"And the reason I ask is because Detectives Matlock and Austin asked Flores about it, and I was wondering if you remember having any conversations with the detectives about that?"

"I don't recall."

"Were you ever interviewed by anyone from the Crest Hill Police Department?"

"No."

"Okay. And were you ever interviewed by anyone at all in connection with this death investigation?"

"No."

"Like, for instance, anyone from the prosecutor's office?"

"No. Surprisingly, I've had no contact with the prosecutor's office in this case."

"All right. I have nothing more for you. Thank you for your cooperation."

"Thank you," Sgt. Morin told the plaintiff's lawyer.

Related Patch Coverage Of Samantha Harer Case:

Phil Flores' Gunshot Residue Test: 'I Was Wrong,' Bolingbrook Cop Says

Samantha Harer: Joliet Detective Not Asked To Re-Interview Flores

Samantha Harer's Gun Also Contains Phil Flores' DNA: Lawyer

911 Dispatcher's Death: Gunshot Residue Tests Revealed

Listen: 911 Call From Samantha Harer Gunshot Death