[May 16, 2012] Dog cable contraption the focus of testimony Wednesday in Hummert murder trial Tweet May 16, 2012 (The York Dispatch - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- A York County detective on Wednesday testified he was part of a forensics team searching Brian David Hummert's Fairview Township home when he spotted a red plastic-coated cable rigged to a nylon dog leash, which the Hummerts used for their pit bull. That was on March 31, 2004, a week after Detective Doug Demangone saw the body of strangulation victim Charlene Hummert at a Camp Hill funeral home. "She had two abrasions ... on the front of her neck -- a large bruise and a ligature mark," Demangone told jurors. "I felt (the cable) was consistent with what I had seen on her neck." Demangone, now assistant chief of York County detectives, said when he saw the cable, "It just clicked and I was like, 'Oh my God.'" Prosecutors allege Brian Hummert, 55, ambushed his wife from behind the night of March 19, 2004, and used the cable to strangle her from behind. He allegedly dragged her body outside, put it in the cargo area of her Land Rover and drove the SUV to the Giant Food Store on Old York Road in Fairview Township. Police found the Land Rover, and its owner's body, in the Giant lot the night of March 21, 2004. Hummert remains in county prison, charged with first-degree murder and related offenses. This is his second trial. The first ended in a first-degree murder conviction and life sentence, but it was overturned on appeal. 'Consistent': Also testifying Wednesday was forensic pathologist Dr. Samuel Land, who performed the autopsy on Charlene Hummert's body. Land told jurors he is considered an "injury-pattern-recognition expert," and that when he saw photos of the homemade red cable contraption, he knew right away it was consistent with the wounds he found on the victim's neck. He confirmed that, in his decades-long career as a forensic pathologist, he's never seen a similar device used as a strangulation ligature. "This could certainly have caused the injury on the front of her neck," Land told jurors. And a specific part of the cable contraption "matches very well" to wounds on Charlene Hummert's neck, he said. Land also told jurors the killer would have had to exert 5 to 10 pounds of pressure to strangle the victim, for "upwards of five minutes or so to ensure death." He also said based on wound patterns on the neck and the lack of defensive wounds on the victim's arms and hands, she likely wasn't facing her attacker. "I believe the perpetrator was behind her ... pulling on the ligature," Land testified. Straw, dirt: Demangone testified the forensics team collected various evidence during its search of the Hummert home, including straw and dirt from the driveway. That's because straw was found in Charlene Hummert's hair, and dirt was found on her clothing. Police allege the dirt got there when Brian Hummert dragged his dead wife's body from their home to the cargo area of her Land Rover. Jurors also heard from Jan Ryan, a detective with the Harford County (Md.) Sheriff's Office and an expert in forensic video analysis. He showed jurors security video from the Giant Food Store where Charlene Hummert's body was found. Mystery man: A man wearing a bulky winter jacket, knit hat and red gloves can be seen walking into the store at 6:17 a.m. March 22, 2004, getting Milk-Bone dog biscuits, checking out and leaving. That's the timeframe when the Land Rover was driven to Giant and left there, prosecutors allege. The Hummerts' former home at 10 Boeing Road is about a mile away from the Giant. Prosecution testimony is expected to resume at 9 a.m. Thursday. -- Reach Elizabeth Evans at [email protected], 505-5429 or twitter.com/ydcrimetime. ___ (c)2012 The York Dispatch (York, Pa.) Visit The York Dispatch (York, Pa.) at www.yorkdispatch.com Distributed by MCT Information Services [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]