Talk about a dirty job.

Retired state police detective Keith Hoyt testified last week at the murder trial of Dequan McKethan that as the Eastern District Major Crime Squad processed the scene of Darius Bishop's homicide for evidence three years ago, they could not overlook a portable toilet that was nearby. 

Bishop's body was found near a baseball dugout on the grounds of the Charles Long Sports Complex in Bozrah on Sept. 25, 2012. The detectives collected a number of items at the scene, including a spent shell casing found near the victim's head. As Hoyt described the investigation from the witness stand in New London Superior Court, prosecutor Lawrence J. Tytla put a photo of the blue plastic handicap-accessible porta-potty on the projector.

Hoyt said the squad called in a truck to empty the toilet waste. The detectives examined it, he said, and found nothing of significance.

"We can all be thankful of that," commented Tytla, who was conducting the direct examination of Hoyt.

The proceedings are a serious matter, with one man dead and another's future at stake, but a brief foray into bathroom humor can ease the tension in the courtroom.

In their effort to process the scene thoroughly, Hoyt said the detectives also emptied out a garbage can, again finding no significant evidence.

k.florin@theday.com

Twitter: @KFLORIN