The prosecution alleged that Scott Dyleski wrote a "to-do" list when he was planning how he would steal credit card information to carry out the marijuana growing operation he and Robin Croen had schemed about. The "to do" list contained the following information: Knockout/kidnap, Question, Keep captive to confirm PINS, Dirty work, Dispose of evidence and cut up and bury.
The list was allegedly found in Scott Dyleski's old dresser drawer, along with other papers that contained John Halpin's personal financial information, passwords and log-in information to access the accounts via the internet.
These papers were found by David Curiel in January of 2006. Scott Dyleski had been in police custody for three months.
The prosecution speculated that the list was Scott Dyleski's written MO, and how he planned to steal credit card information, thus attempting to explain the violent rage kill of Pamela Vitale.
Let's take a closer look
Scott Dyleski was arrested on October 19th, 2005. A little more than a month later, David Curiel moved into Scott's room. Before he moved into the room it was cleaned thoroughly by Kim Curiel, Esther, and David Curiel himself. This included removing every single thing Scott owned or touched from his room, washing and bleaching the doors and walls. It included removing the bed Scott used and only leaving the frame and box springs. It included taking each drawer out of the dresser and cleaning with a vacuum before replacing. To say this room was thoroughly cleaned, after the thorough search by police, would be an understatement.
Finally David Curiel had his room.
In January 2006 the Curiel's had a party. The next day David Curiel found undamaged papers in the center of his top dresser drawer. Four of those papers contained financial information on John Halpin, and a fifth paper had the "to do" list.
The papers that contained Halpin's financial information had Scott's fingerprints. The "to do" list did not contain any prints from Scott Dyleski. All the papers contained prints from unknown sources.
The extensive information on the four note papers concerning John Halpin was revealed in court through his testimony. John Halpin also testified there was no single place that all his personal information could be found by an outsider, as he had much of his information committed to memory. He knew he typed it into his computer. It wasn't stored in a computer file, but if you were aware of every KEY stroke on the machine, the information would be there.
What does this tell us???
Use logic folks. The list and papers were planted. Scott did not put them there. Scott did not write the list. The only MO for obtaining personal information, that is supported by evidence, is a key logger, not any of the other ridiculous items on the "to do" list. Neither John Halpin or Karen Schneider were kidnapped, knocked out, held captive, cut up or buried.
Who had Scott's papers? Obviously somebody had them prior to them showing up in the dresser.... and more importantly why would that person PLANT the papers along with forged information meant to throw off the REAL modus operandi?
Did Scott's trial reveal the extent of the identity theft going on in Hunsacker Canyon?
Relevant testimony below.
Trial testimony of David Curiel, direct examination:
Quote:
A. Yeah. It was late November/early December.
Q. So more than a month had gone by since his arrest before you moved into his room?
A. Yes, correct.
Q. When you did move into his room, what did you do in preparation to moving in?
A. I had to clean it, because when the police had gone through they had dumped all the bags and all of his clothes were just everywhere, the electrical equipment, everything was just strewn. I mean, it was just one complete mess and nobody would go in the room. So I decided to go in and clean it, because it didn't make sense to have that room up there not being used. So I went through and cleaned out his homework, some of his Boy Scout stuff was in there, notes from Jena, notes from him, drawings, books.
Q. Clothing?
A. Clothing. Lots of clothing.
Q. What did you do with all of that stuff?
A. Packed it up. Esther eventually came and helped me pack it up and get it out.
Q. When you say "she eventually came," where Esther living there at that time?
A. No.
Q. Has Esther lived there since the time of Scott's arrest?
A. Not that I am aware of. I don't ever remember her being there, spending the night.
Q. And then after you got Scott's stuff out, did you move in?
A. Yes, I did.
Q. And did you clean the room thoroughly before you moved in?
A. It was vacuumed several times. I took everything and vacuumed it, cleaned it, chlorined breach everything through the doors, doorknobs, everything.
Q. Was there anything left in there after you were done cleaning that had been in there before?
A. Just the bed and the dresser, that was it.
Q. Okay. Did you clean out the drawers of the dresser?
A. Yes. Kim had done it prior to me doing it, and I did it again.
Q. Okay. And you cleaned them thoroughly?
A. Yes.
Q. And vacuumed them?
A. And vacuumed them thoroughly.
Q. You vacuumed them. You moved in. Did that mean you moved your clothing and personal belongings in that room?
A. Yes.
Quote:
Q. And then in January, was there a time when the house was being cleaned because somebody was going to have a party of some type?
A. Yes.
Q. Tell us about that, please.
A. There was a bunch of people coming over and they were -- I have a number of gloves and I had left them about the house, and my brother Fred had gathered them up and I went and placed them in that the top left drawer.
Q. Do you have a number of gloves?
A. Yeah, a lot of gloves.
Q. What kind of gloves?
A. Workout gloves, work gloves, cold weather gloves, leather dress gloves.
Quote:
MR. JEWETT: Q. So you cleaned that room out with a fine-tooth comb; is that right?
A. Yes.
Q. And then you were putting some of your gloves in this dresser?
A. Yes.
Q. And do you remember specifically which drawer of the dresser you were putting them in?
A. The top left drawer.
Q. And what was the purpose of this party?
A. It was --
MS. LEONIDA: Objection. Relevance.
THE COURT: Sustained.
MR. JEWETT: Q. Well, let me ask you this: Other than the Curiel household, did anybody from the Hunsaker Canyon Road community attend this party?
A. No.
Q. And how full did you stuff this drawer with gloves, or whatever it was, all in there?
A. Well, the stack of gloves I had was much higher than the actual drawer. So I shoved them down in and I was in a hurry. So ....
Q. Okay. And what day was this?
A. It was on a Saturday, Saturday morning.
Q. Do you remember the month?
A. Yes. January.
Q. Do you remember the date?
A. The 27th, the 28th, something like that.
Quote:
Q. Did you leave at all between the time you attended the party and the next morning?
A. I went to go pick up my blind date and then came back. That was the only time.
Q. Oh.
A. But the door was shut and nobody went up there.
Q. At least as far as you know?
A. As far as I know, nobody had any business up there.
Q. And then did you take your blind date home after the party was over?
A. No, somebody else did.
Q. And then did you sleep there that night?
A. Yes, I did.
Q. And what time did you get up the next morning?
A. Like 9:30.
Q. And do you recall who was home during that time?
A. Yeah. Well, Kim and the girls left. And at that point it was about 10:00 o'clock, and it was just Fred and I that were home at that point.
Q. At some point, did you go back into your dresser?
A. Yeah.
Q. For what purpose?
A. I was looking for some scratch paper.
Q. Okay. Now, you put your gloves in there. Why were you looking for scratch paper in that drawer?
A. Because I had a pad of scratch paper that I had kept in there.
Q. And what are the dimensions of that scratch paper, do you remember?
A. I don't know. About 2 X 4.
Q. I'm going to show you a couple of pieces of paper in a few moments and ask you whether or not these pieces of paper either are or are not similar in size to your scratch paper.
A. Okay.
Q. Okay. So did you open the drawer, looking for the scratch paper?
A. Yeah. I was opening it up to find it.
Q. And what did you find?
A. This was the scratch paper I was looking for, but there was writing on it. And I immediately recognized the handwriting as Scott's, and I, you know, picked it up and started reading and --
MS. LEONIDA: Objection. Narrative.
THE COURT: Sustained.
MR. JEWETT: Q. Now, when you say you found the scratch paper you were looking for --
A. Same size.
Q. Same size?
A. Same size.
Q. The scratch paper that you were looking for, was that a part of a tablet of scratch paper?
A. Yes.
Q. Okay. Let me show you something, People's Exhibit 35, and I'm just going to remove one item from this. It's a black piece of plastic that appears to have some kind of scratch pad on it. Do you see that?
A. Yes.
Q. How does this piece of scratch paper compare with your recollection of the pad that you were looking for?
A. It looked like the same size.
Q. Do you know where you got the pad that was in the drawer that you were looking for?
A. No.
Q. Was it something that was at the house?
A. Yes.
Q. So it wasn't something that you went out and bought?
A. No.
Q. It was something that was already there?
A. It was already there.
Q. Are there more than -- have you seen other pads of a similar size scratch paper at that house?
A. Yes.
Q. Okay. But these pieces that were just laying on the top of your gloves, were they loose or were they attached together in any way?
A. They were loose.
Q. And so did you pick them up?
A. Yes.
Q. And did you read them?
A. Yes.
Q. And I think you just said it. Tell us now, did you recognize the handwriting?
A. Yes.
Q. Whose handwriting was it?
A. Scott's.
Q. Are you certain?
A. I'm certain.
Q. And as you read them, did you see anything that concerned you?
A. Yes.
Q. What?
A. Initially, it was just numbers, account numbers, addresses, phone numbers, and then the last one I looked at had like bullet points.
Q. Showing you what's been marked as People's Exhibit 28. I'd ask you to open that and tell us if you recognize its contents, please.
A. Yes, I do.
Q. Hold it up so we can see what you are removing. And you have removed a clear plastic baggie containing some slips of paper?
A. Yes.
Q. Do you recognize that plastic baggie?
A. Yes. That's a bag that I put in.
Q. Would you go ahead and remove the pieces of paper from the baggie, please?
A. (Witness complied.)
Q. Have you done that?
A. Yes, I have.
Q. Could you put them up on the table where we could all see them?
A. (Witness complied.) Q. How many slips of paper are there?
A. There's four.
Q. How many?
A. Four.
Q. How many?
A. Five. I'm sorry.
Q. And do you recognize those slips of paper?
A. Yes.
Q. And what are they?
A. Those are the pieces of paper that I found in the drawer.
Q. Now, amongst those pieces of paper do you see the one that had, what you just a moment ago described as bullet points?
A. Yes.
Q. Could you put that one aside just for a second.
A. (Witness complied.)
Q. Okay. The other four, what kind of information are on those?
A. Names, addresses, phone numbers, birth dates, Visa number, Web sites -- I'm not sure what those are -- client access code, John Halpin, at Citibank card, more account numbers.
Q. Okay.
A. And Fidelity, more account numbers.
Q. On those four slips of paper that I have just read generalized information from, do you recognize the handwriting on those slips of paper?
A. Yes.
Q. Whose is it?
A. Scott's.
Q. Would you go to that fifth slip of paper that I asked you to set aside for a moment.
A. (Witness complied.)
Q. Have you got that one?
A. Yes.
Q. Do you see the handwriting on that one?
A. Yes.
Q. Do you recognize that?
A. Yes.
Q. Whose handwriting is that?
A. Scott's.
Q. Would you read that, please, from beginning to end, bullet point, by bullet point?
A. First one is, "Knockout/kidnap." Second one is, "Question." Third one is, "Keep captive to confirm opinions." Next one is, "Dirty work." And last one is, "Dispose of evidence and cut up and bury."
Q. How did you react when you found those in your drawer?
MS. LEONIDA: Objection. Relevance.
THE COURT: Sustained.
MR. JEWETT: Q. What did you do when you found those in your drawer?
A. I started screaming for my brother.
Trial testimony of David Curiel, on cross examination:
Quote:
MS. LEONIDA: Q. Mr. Curiel, you say you found these papers in the top drawer?
A. Yes.
Q. No drawer above it?
A. No.
Q. Just the flattop of the dresser there?
A. Yes.
Q. And it was lying in the middle of the drawer?
A. Well, about halfway back, I believe so.
Q. You testified about this in February?
A. Yes.
Q. And at that point when asked where it was found, you said in the middle of the drawer; is that correct?
A. Yes.
Q. Is that true?
A. It was in the center, yes.
Q. And the only thing on top of that is the flattop of the dresser; correct?
A. Correct.
Q. There's not a bar that goes down the middle of the drawer, down the middle of the top of the drawer?
A. No.
Q. There is?
A. No.
Q. And the papers you say you found them perfectly flat?
A. Yes.
Q. Not torn?
A. No.
Q. Not wrinkled?
A. No.
Q. Not shoved to the back?
A. No.
Q. Now, prior to your making this discovery, the police had searched that drawer; correct?
A. Correct.
Q. And in fact your sister-in-law and Esther Fielding had cleaned out that drawer?
A. Correct.
Q. And put the stuff in storage; is that correct?
A. I had also cleaned it up.
Q. Yeah. You actually removed all of the drawers?
A. Yes, I did.
Q. You vacuumed them?
A. Yes, I did.
Q. And then you replaced them?
A. Yes, I did.
Q. And it's after all of this that these papers appear by magic, lying flat?
MR. JEWETT: Objection. Argumentative.
THE COURT: Sustained. Rephrase, please.
MS. LEONIDA: Q. It's after all of this searching, cleaning and vacuuming that these papers appeared flat and unwrinkled in the middle of the top of the drawer; is that your testimony?
A. Correct. Yes.
Q. On top of your many gloves?
A. Yes.
Quote:
Q. During the time that you knew Scott Dyleski, did he write you a lot of letters?
A. No, he did not.
Q. Did he send you any postcards?
A. No, he did not.
Q. Did you help him with his postcard?
A. No, I did not.
Q. And you are not a handwriting analyst, are you?
A. No.
Q. The paper, I believe you said, is paper that's scrap paper of a type that's all over the house?