NORWICH – Police investigators went way beyond the scope of evidence in theorizing that Patricia Wlasiuk was murdered, the defense’s key expert witness testified Tuesday.

Retired New York State Trooper Dale J. Leonard, who operates his own accident reconstruction consultant firm, testified for the defense in the Peter M. Wlasiuk murder retrial at the Chenango County Courthouse yesterday.

“I don’t know if it was an accident or a deliberate act, but there is no evidence to the theories put forth by these officers of the vehicle being stopped before going down the hill and into the lake,” said Leonard, referring to prosecution witnesses Sgt. Detective Richard Cobb and Monroe County Sheriff Sgt. Andrew Frate. The two officers testified earlier to a number of details involving what they claimed was a staged accident.

“So there is no physical evidence to support those theories?” asked Defense Attorney Randel Scharf.

“It’s speculation, in my opinion,” replied Leonard.

Leonard has had hundreds of hours of training in accident reconstruction since he was first certified in 1995. He listed dozens of training seminars and classes he’d taken to the jury before beginning his testimony regarding the alleged accident that claimed Patricia Wlasiuk’s life on April 3, 2002.