Prosecutors Trace A Map Of Murder Dibartolo Jurors Get Detailed Look At Van He Drove Night Of Slaying

Spokane prosecutors hope the last two days of testimony in the Tom DiBartolo murder trial leave jurors buried in information.

They introduced nearly 100 photos of the van DiBartolo drove the night his wife was murdered in Spokane’s Lincoln Park. They spent five hours Friday showing jurors nearly 100 items taken from inside the van.

The detailed list of the van’s contents was meant to send jurors a clear message: nothing inside the van supports DiBartolo’s story that two unknown gunmen attacked the couple and killed Patty DiBartolo last Nov. 2.

But DiBartolo’s defense attorney, Maryann Moreno, tried to short-circuit that message, suggesting prosecutors haven’t introduced all the evidence.

In 20 minutes of cross-examination late Friday, Moreno got a prosecution witness to admit that jurors won’t see every item taken from inside the DiBartolo van.

Prosecutors say DiBartolo, 42, planned his wife’s murder in the park to end their marriage and collect insurance money.

DiBartolo claims he and his wife were in the park around 9 p.m. when two men tried to rob them. He said one of the men reached into the van, found a 38-caliber pistol, and fired a single shot that killed his wife.

He also said he struggled - while the front passenger door was open - to take the gun away. The man fired a second time, wounding DiBartolo in the abdomen.

The battle Friday over the contents of the van followed five hours of testimony by Spokane Sheriff’s Detective Cal Walker.

Walker identified a long list of items investigators found inside the van in the week after the murder.

One bullet was found inside the front passenger seat, having been fired through the door, he said.

Other items included coffee cups, Chinese food in two containers, cosmetic items and medicine bottles, Walker said. But under cross-examination, he admitted the list was incomplete.

Items the jurors did not see introduced as evidence include three pennies found on the van floor, a Post-It note, jumper cables and two hair bands, Moreno said.

County Prosecutor Jim Sweetser tried to counter Moreno’s questions with two questions of his own. He asked Walker if it’s common that some items from a crime scene aren’t presented as evidence during a trial.

It is common, Walker said.

And then Sweetser asked if the defense had a complete list of every item found in the van, even those not listed as evidence.

Yes they did, Walker said.

During testimony Friday, Walker also told jurors that investigators found far less blood inside the van than on the pavement where Patty DiBartolo lay after being shot.

He also said that the van’s surface at the time of the murder was covered with dust except for a few areas where bodies had rubbed against it. The front passenger door - where DiBartolo said he struggled with the gunman - had little of its dust disturbed, Walker said.

On Monday, several Washington State Crime Laboratory experts will testify about evidence from the van.

Prosecutors are expected to conclude their case in about a week. DiBartolo will testify sometime after that.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo