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Prosecutors spent the day examining physical evidence connecting the 50-year-old man on trial to the suspected murder of two Greeley residents in February 2020, while the defense suggested alternate suspects in the case.

Kevin Dean Eastman and his defense attorneys Samatha Deveraux and Ashley Morriss appeared Wednesday before Weld Judge Marcelo Kopcow for the second day of his trial.

After several delays due to COVID-19, Eastman pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder after deliberation, tampering with deceased human bodies and tampering with evidence back in April 2021.

Prosecutors accused Eastman of killing his ex-girlfriend Heather Frank and well-known area musician Stanley Scott Sessions in February 2020. He is suspected to have cut Sessions’ throat at Frank’s home in Greeley before dumping his body in Pingree Park in Larimer County.

A snowplow driver found Sessions after noticing “smoldering” smoke coming from a large log that was right next to his body. Sessions’ body was also wrapped in plastic and was burned significantly from the waist down.

Eastman is also facing accusations that he fatally shot Frank twice in the chest nearly a week after Sessions’ homicide. Her body was located in a pile of wood, similar to the way Sessions body was found, in a rural Kersey property where he was employed and living.

On Feb. 16, Weld County Sheriff’s Office field evidence technician Ray Johnson conducted a search warrant on the property, which was owned by Eastman’s boss. Initially, Johnson said, his main focus was on a burn pit on the property after Eastman was seen tending to the fire the morning of his arrest.

Sgt. Jaime Smith of the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office also testified he also conducted a search of the pit. He found the following items:

After searching the property, including the fire pit, for about 45 minutes Johnson took a break to use the restroom next to a portable restroom, which received questioning from Morriss on why he didn’t use the portable restroom.

Johnson testified he saw a wooden tabletop on a wood pile near the restroom. He recalled this seemed out of place at the time.

Underneath the table, he discovered Frank’s body, wrapped in plastic and baling wire, which is noteworthy because the baling wire was located in the burn pit and the garage on the property. Plastic wrap was also located inside the pit and inside one of the Conex boxes on the property, he said.

Before finding Frank’s body, Johnson also indicated he saw a footprint near the crime scene. Morriss asked why he chose not to make a casting of the imprint. He said it was “overlooked.”

The defense also confirmed with Johnson there was no blood evidence, signs of struggle or weapons located in the garage where the wire evidence was spotted.

However, a piece of evidence found in the garage, not mentioned by prosecutors but pointed out by Morriss during Johnson’s testimony, was a .22 caliber ammo with 44 live rounds out of 50.

During direct examination, Weld County Deputy District Attorney Yvette Guthrie also walked through a few items of evidence inside the house, owned by Eastman’s employer. Morriss focused on a long list of evidence inside the home and suggested the property owner may have been involved in the case.

In the kitchen, a box of rifle ammunition was found on top of the refrigerator. However, no ammo was missing.

Upstairs, in the main bedroom, Johnson said he found a crossbow with bolts on a dresser. Similarly, a crossbow and bolts that matched in size and color were also in Eastman’s car. In the bedroom closet, a rifle was found in the closet with two rounds in the sleeve and one in the chamber, as well as some dust inside.

Multiple firearms, other than the rifle discussed in the direct examination, were found in the bedroom, Morriss said.

She also discussed with Johnson that within two bedrooms, black worker boots were photographed for evidence, which later came back into the defense’s conversation when three different types of shoeprints were found at the site of Sessions’ body.

Additionally, the whole household, including the bedroom, kitchen and bathroom, had multiple vials of substances and needles. The property owner’s closet even had a large black trash bag of empty unlabeled bottles and used needles.

The owner’s bedroom also contained an ammunition magazine and clear pipes with white residue  — indicating the consumption of illegal narcotics — according to Morriss’ cross-examination of Johnson. A duffle bag filled with various sex toys was also found.

After introducing and suggesting the property owner as a possible suspect through the suspicious evidence found in the home, Guthrie asked Johnson a few questions during re-direct about Frank’s autopsy. She asked if her cause of death was from human growth hormones or a crossbow injury, as well as if her body was harmed by a dildo. He responded, “no.”

On Feb. 10, Smith also responded to the scene of Pingree Park where Sessions’ body was found. He observed and photographed tire marks nearby the body and multiple footprints going back and forth from a down tree and brushing to the body’s location. Due to the snowy weather, he had to return three days later to collect evidence through castings.

Three different sets of shoeprints were discovered upon analysis, according to Smith and another witness Daniel Gilliam, a retired criminalist from Larimer County who also testified Wednesday.

Smith indicated one print had a waffle pattern on the bottom, another had a common bottom similar to construction boots and the other had a wave design in the heel.

Due to this, Deveraux argued there could have been a third person at Pingree Park and pointed the evidence toward the Kersey property owner who had multiple pairs of working boots located in his room during the search. Cross-examination revealed that Smith documented the size 13 boot found in the Kersey bedroom could have been a match to the prints discovered near Sessions’ body.

After Sessions was located, a search warrant was conducted within his vehicle after it was found in a Greeley King Soopers parking lot near Frank’s residence. Civilian Criminalist Darcie Fedlack took the stand on Wednesday to share what she discovered inside his vehicle.

She found a six-pack of beer, musician equipment and instruments, the vehicle’s interior dome light unconnected from the ceiling on the floor, reddish-brown stains that tested negative for blood, Sessions’ insurance and the keys inside the ignition.

Larimer County Coroner Dr. James Wilkerson conducted Sessions’ autopsy on Feb. 11, which revealed small levels of codeine and morphine, as well as marijuana, in his toxicology report.

But these findings had no cause in his death, Guthrie mentioned and confirmed with Wilkerson. His cause of death was from sharp-injury force to the neck and head. Wilkerson testified Sessions’ jugular vein was transected, and his neck injury started on the left side and cut deeper toward the right.

The autopsy also revealed Sessions had defensive wounds on his hands, showing he tried to fight back against the knife.

In cross-examination, Deveraux discussed the likelihood of the attack being an ambush from behind due to the nature and location. Wilkerson said the homicide was most likely from behind and unexpected. She further argued this means it would have been easy for anyone of any size to commit the act, as an indication that Frank is to blame for his murder.

Like Sessions’ death, Wilkerson attested to Frank’s death being a homicide as well. His reasoning included the way her body was found wrapped in plastic and wire. Also, he ruled out suicide since the act usually entails one gunshot, not two, and there were no weapons or casings at the scene of the death, which is a common component in suicides.

Her toxicology report showed she had a .243 blood alcohol level in her system, almost three times the legal limit. Additionally, she had consumed a small amount of meth.

Her cause of death stemmed from two close proximity gunshot wounds to the chest from a “small caliber,” Wilkerson said. Frank’s X-ray, presented to the jury, also appeared to be cloudy on the left side due to the bleeding from the bullets. In total, he reported about a quart of blood in her chest cavity leaked through the bullet holes.

Exit wounds, one partial and one full, were also observed on her back. This projectile informed Wilkerson that something was tight against Frank’s back when she was shot, which could have been a bra strap or an indication that she was lying on the ground or up against the wall, according to his testimony.

However, Wilkerson’s report was missing important factors, Deveraux said. She questioned if he knew that he is required to communicate any scars on a body during autopsy because he didn’t document any of Frank’s marks. His testimony revealed there was no documentation of the faint scars on her wrist or on her neck.

Gilliam received a request to assist in a home search of a female suspect in Sessions’ homicide, which was Frank, Deveraux noted his testimony.

In the kitchen, Gilliam said he located three or four small stains on her cabinet that were assumed to be blood. Cross-examination uncovered that he didn’t swab the stains because he was distracted by more pressing evidence.

Frank’s bedroom became another hot topic from the search of Frank’s home during the afternoon because the defense introduced evidence that they believe proves Frank was trying to flee the scene. Gilliam testified her bed was stripped, and there were sheets, blankets and a comforter on the floor, along with a suitcase with female clothes surrounding it.

Wrenn fired back during redirect with questions about Frank’s bed skirt being missing, which was notably found in the fire pit of the Kersey property where Eastman was residing and working. Gilliam had no way to prove Frank ever owned a bed skirt, Deveraux said.

On the stand, Fedack also testified to her involvement in the search of Frank’s unit. On her initial walkthrough, she noted the living room coffee table had three beer cans, cigarette butts and two cellphones. She also found Frank’s bedroom in a similar fashion to Gilliam’s description but also included that she saw men’s and women’s clothes on the bed.

Eastman’s trial will continue 8:30 a.m. Thursday with Fedlack remaining on the stand.

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