What else might he have been up to?

It seems like Joseph Duncan is trying to suggest that there’s an alternative explanation for the 36 “way points” he marked on his GPS as he traveled around on a multistate trip, during which he purchased items, considered victims, and then committed his crimes. Prosecutors say many of the points are homes that show obvious signs that children live there, and some are day care centers, school bus stops, etc. Yesterday, Duncan asked how far a home with a swingset and play equipment was from the waypoint he marked on the nearby highway; it was a quarter-mile away. Today, he questioned FBI Special Agent Mike Gneckow about why Gneckow didn’t ask Duncan what the way points were all about. “During your investigation of those way points, did you ever make any effort to contact the defendant, myself, to find out what they were about?” Duncan demanded of Gneckow. (Gneckow explained he couldn’t do that.)

The way points were created by simply pressing a button on the GPS at that location, according to earlier expert testimony. Journal entries Duncan left on his laptop computer during his trip back up the government’s theory, detailing how he traveled around searching for “flowers,” a word he apparently used to refer to potential child victims (“Saw pretty flower, tried to pick it, but it got away.” “Drove to Missoula looking for flowers.”) If there’s another explanation for the way points, it seems like Duncan, who is representing himself, could simply say it, while he’s cross-examining a witness like Gneckow, and ask Gneckow whether he agreed. He hasn’t.