Forensic witnesses: gunshot-residue, fingerprints and phone data discussed in 2017 San Antonio homicide trial

Testimony during a San Antonio homicide trial recounted forensic analyses and investigative steps linking a recovered cellphone, latent fingerprints and gunshot-residue findings to an investigation into the April 2017 shooting death of Mark Anthony Saldivar.

Christina Bachon, quality assurance manager at the Bexar County Crime Laboratory, testified that her gunshot-residue analysis identified microscopic particles on both the right and left-hand samples collected from the victim. "My conclusion was that based on the morphology and the elemental composition of the particles I found, Mark Anthony Saldivar may have discharged a firearm, handled a discharged firearm, or was in close proximity to a discharging firearm," Bachon said on the record. She described finding 10 particles on each sample and explained that identification cannot definitively distinguish the three possibilities without additional testing, such as a test-fire comparison to known ammunition.

Latent-print examiner Denise Serenil of the San Antonio Police Department…