Former Reverend's Murder Trial Focuses on Detailed Forensic Evidence

Stroudsburg, Monroe County - The jury in a former Monroe County reverend's murder trial heard detailed, and sometimes disturbing, testimony about the alleged crime scenes Thursday.

In this third day of testimony, jurors got intense lessons on forensic techniques. They examined detailed photos and heard lengthy descriptions.  

Schirmer is accused of beating his wife Betty Jean then staging a crash to make it look like her death was an accident.

State troopers took the stand to painstakingly detail how they reconstructed what happened in July of 2008 when Betty Jean died.

The couple lived in the Reeders United Methodist Church parsonage. Investigators say they discovered blood in the parsonage garage. So police parked a PT cruiser similar to the one involved in the Schirmer crash in that garage. They showed evidence that they found blood around where the vehicle was parked. They say that proves Schirmer injured his wife in the house then put her bleeding body in the vehicle.

The defense argued that evidence is not good. Defense attorney Brandon Reish believes the evidence photos were taken incorrectly. And added it's not good evidence because the scene re-creation took place months after the death.

There was also detailed testimony about damage to Schirmer's vehicles. A body shop worker testified the passenger side interior was soaked in blood. He also said the airbags did not deploy. Assistant District Attorney Mike Mancuso has said the amount of blood in the car could not have come from a low speed crash that didn't trigger the airbags.

The defense says it's all "bad science."

Betty Jean is Schirmer's second wife. He's also accused of murdering his first wife, Jewel, in Lebanon County in 1999. That trial will not be scheduled until this trial is complete.