In the decade between the East Mountains triple homicides of Kevin Shirley, Matthew Hunt and Luis Garcia, the Albuquerque Police Department lost track of a series of photos by firearms expert Steve Guerra, who has since retired and moved on to the state crime lab in Santa Fe, according to trial testimony.

The windshield of the orange Datsun hatchback the teenagers were in at the time of the May 29, 1999 homicides had 23 bulletholes sprayed across it. For 13 of those, Guerra said he was able to establish a vertical trajectory because there was also a second impact in something solid such as the dashboard.

Overall, he said, it depicts two shooting areas on either side of the car.

In cross-examination, Guerra said the photos he'd taken and believed to have been properly stored went missing. The prosecution instead presented other photos prepared by criminalistics investigators. But when Guerra said in cross-examination that jurors could not rely on them for evidence about the trajectory, District Judge Kenneth Martinez allowed in only three of them.

Dr. Ross Zumwalt, chief medical investigator for the state, testified Wednesday about the massive trauma to the teenagers' bodies.

As Assistant District Attorney Jonathan Ibarra prepared to show a limited number of the gruesome photos, most of the victims' family members left the courtroom, while others listened to testimony with heads down or eyes covered.