Taylor Sharp, a forensic scientist with the MSP Forensic Science Lab in Marquette, took the stand Thursday morning. Sharp told the jury that her team received a request to process a crime scene on July 8, 2023 – the same day the body of Harley Corwin was discovered across from O.B. Fuller Park in Ford River Township.

Sharp said the forensic team began processing the scene the following day. Jurors were shown sections of her processing report detailing the team’s investigative techniques, evidence collected, the arrival and departure times of personnel and more.

She testified that upon arriving at the scene, she met with investigators to gather additional details about the circumstances, which helps guide how the forensic team processes evidence.

According to Sharp, the Delta County Sheriff’s Office – the agency leading the investigation – specifically requested that the lab team look for potential firearm-related evidence and document any tire impressions at the scene.

Taylor Sharp, a Michigan State Police (MSP) forensic scientist at the MSP Marquette Forensic Science Lab testified in Tavaris Jackson's murder trial on Thursday. (Sophie Vogelmann | Daily Press)

Sharp said the team used industry-standard metal detectors to search for firearm evidence or other metallic components but did not locate any.

“So a metal detector is kind of tricky sometimes,” Sharp said. “It’s very rare that we would actually find something unless it’s on the top layer of the surface. This was a very wooded and grassy area, so in this type of an environment, it’s a lot harder for a metal detector to actually find stuff, especially being that this is kind of like a secluded area that, over time, things can build up. There’s lots of other metal components in the soil and in the surrounding area.”

The forensic team did, however, document tire impressions found at the scene.

Sharp’s report also detailed the location and condition of Corwin’s body. Jurors were shown several photographs taken during different stages of the scene processing.

A member of the Medical Examiner’s Office was later called to the scene. Any evidence discovered by the forensic team was turned over to investigators with the Delta County Sheriff’s Office.

Sharp testified that her team later processed Corwin’s vehicle on July 11 and Jackson’s vehicle on July 12 after both had been towed to the Delta County Sheriff’s Office.

During her testimony, Sharp noted that the original report had to be amended to correct an error involving two latent fingerprints.

The report initially stated that two prints had been photographed and collected during scene processing, but they were neither photographed or collected. Sharp said the entry would have been made by latent print examiners at the scene.

Sharp also testified that in the biology observation section of her report, she documented findings from the inside of Corwin’s vehicle.

“There [were] different areas of red-brown stain that were observed, and then there [were] different items that were collected for what we call touch DNA, which is maybe not something that you’ll see, but we can still test for it,” Sharp testified.

She added that preliminary testing by biologists at the scene indicated the possible presence of blood on items collected from Jackson’s vehicle, specifically a pair of work gloves.

According to Sharp, investigators did not request testing for gunshot residue. She also told the court that she does not have experience conducting gunshot residue testing and that such testing is not performed at the MSP Forensic Science Lab in Marquette.

Jackson’s trial began Tuesday. The 35-year-old faces one count of open murder – a felony punishable by up to life in prison – in the death of his ex-girlfriend, 22-year-old Harley Corwin. Corwin’s body was discovered in July 2023 near O.B. Fuller Park in Ford River Township.

In addition, he faces one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, a two-year felony, and one count of assault resulting in the death of a fetus, also punishable by up to life imprisonment.

—

Sophie Vogelmann can be reached at 906-786-2021 or svogelmann@dailypress.net.