Experts: Fingerprints, DNA Link Couey, Lunsford
POSTED: Monday, March 5, 2007
UPDATED: 3:58 pm EST March 5,
2007
  John Evander Couey, who is accused of abducting, raping and murdering 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford in 2005, has pleaded not guilty and could get the death penalty if convicted. AP Image. |
MIAMI -- Forensics experts testified Mondayabout fingerprint and DNA evidence in the trial of the man accused of raping 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford and then burying her alive in a plastic bag that she apparently tried to claw her way out of. The experts told the jury about a stained mattress and fingerprints from a pizza box linking the girl to John Evander Couey. Wesley Zackery said positive matches were made of prints of Jessica's left thumb and Couey's two index fingers on the pizza box. Similar matches were found on a glass tabletop in the room. Zackery is with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement crime lab in Tampa. An FDLE expert on DNA, Roshale Gaytmenn, testified that Jessica's blood and Couey's semen were found on his mattress, including a mixture of the two in one spot. Gaytmenn said similar DNA matches for Jessica and Couey were found on pillows recovered from the room.
Copyright 2007 by Internet Broadcasting Systems and Local6.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Previous Stories:
- February 28, 2007: Jury Seated In Couey Case; Opening Statements Set
Copyright 2007 by Internet Broadcasting Systems and Local6.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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