Kody Kaplon trial: ‘Hairy’ day in court

“His hair is different now.”
That’s what the alleged child victim in the Kody Kaplon case told her support person as she walked out of the courtroom following her testimony weeks ago, her support person testified Tuesday.
Valerie Linfoot was with the child Wednesday, July 27 when she offered testimony about a March 2, 2009 incident in which Kaplon, a 25-year-old Hornbrook resident, allegedly kidnapped and sexually assaulted her, drove her into the Humbug hills, choked her and buried her.
The girl was found by a few miners in the area later that day.
Kaplon’s booking photo from the time of his arrest shows him with lots of hair, although it is relatively short. Now his head is nearly shaved.
Of particular interest to District Attorney Kirk Andrus and his coworkers is how Kaplon’s facial hair changed even in the midst of the trial.
When opening statements began Tuesday, July 26, Kaplon had a mustache and goatee that encircled his mouth, Yreka Police Department Chief Brian Bowles testified Tuesday.
On Wednesday, the day the girl was to testify, he showed up to court clean-shaven.
An investigator for the DA’s Office pointed it out to Bowles, he said, and Bowles pointed it out to Andrus, who made sure to point it out in court.
Linfoot also testified to more that happened outside the courtroom the day of the child’s testimony.
The tackle box of Jimmy Browand was found at the area in the Humbug hills where the car Kaplon allegedly drove the girl in was found. Public Defender Andrew Marx previously said that could be the “smoking gun” that proves somebody else committed or was at least involved in the crime.
Linfoot said she was with the girl when Andrus and Supervising Investigator Marc Perrin of the DA’s Office showed her a photo of Browand that day in Andrus’ office. Andrus asked if she knew the man and she said she didn’t know him, Linfoot said.
In his cross-examination of Perrin, Marx asked if he had attempted to get a photo of Browand from 2009 rather than the one shown that was from July 2011. Perrin said he had not.
As they sat in the hallway waiting to go into the courtroom for the child’s testimony, Linfoot said, they were sitting diagonal from Browand, who had also been called to testify.
“I pointed to him and asked her if she knew that man and she said no,” Linfoot said.
Lt. Dave Gamache of the YPD also took the stand as he helped explain a video that was shown to the jury. The video recorded a trip, by car, into the Humbug hills to the spot where the car was found.
With those witnesses, the prosecution rested its case, at least partially. Another witness for the prosecution will appear Thursday.
Marx began his defense case with Robert Shelton, a private investigator on contract with the Public Defender’s Office.
He spoke about an experiment conducted at the scene where the car was found. The experiment consisted of digging several holes the day before a storm and observing the amount of sediment that ran into the holes.
The reason for the experiment, he said, was because testimony at a preliminary hearing surmised that the hole the child was allegedly buried in could not be found because it had been washed away by heavy rain the night of March 2.
Andrus took issue with the fact that Shelton didn’t have pictures of the experiment – Shelton said he had misplaced them – and that he had used a monitoring station at Montague Airport – far away from Humbug – to determine how much rain had fallen both the night of the incident and the night of the experiment.
Shelton also testified to his observations of Kaplon recorded by photos soon after the incident and recently. Marks that had been noted on his thigh could be described more as “stretch marks” than any sort of wound, Shelton said.
The day ended with the playing of an audio interview with George Flippen Jr., one of the miners who found the girl.
Marx claims that the interview – unlike the emotional interview given in court – shows bias against Kaplon.
In the interview, Flippen states, “I have my own personal feelings about it (the incident) and wants, but nothing to act on. He left her for dead. That’s the part that bothers me. … As far as I’m concerned, put him away, drop him. Drop him in a hole and leave him there.”
The trial resumes today at 9 a.m.