Garcia accuser rests case
Defense questions DNA evidence linked to Christie Wilson.
By Hudson Sangree - Bee Staff Writer

Prosecutors in the trial of Mario Flavio Garcia in the killing of Christie Wilson rested their case Tuesday, after defense attorneys cross-examined DNA experts and prepared to call their own witnesses, possibly including Garcia.

Garcia, 54, and Wilson, 27, were videotaped leaving the Thunder Valley Casino near Lincoln together on Oct. 5, 2005. Wilson has not been seen since.

During the trial in Sacramento Superior Court, prosecutors have sought to show Wilson was in Garcia's car, a white 2004 Toyota Camry. Garcia told investigators he said goodbye to Wilson in the casino parking lot.

Defense attorney and DNA specialist Robert Blasier, a former member of O.J. Simpson's defense team, started the day by cross-examining Shawn Kacer, a DNA expert with the state Department of Justice.

Kacer testified Monday he had found what he believed was Wilson's DNA on the inside of a door of Garcia's car and mixed with Garcia's blood on the back seat. He also identified two hairs from Garcia's car as belonging to Wilson and put the odds of their belonging to anyone else at 1 in 720 quintillion.

Blasier asked if Wilson's blood had ever been confirmed in Garcia's car: "You didn't have any sample that you could say conclusively was Christie Wilson's blood?"

"No," Kacer answered.

Blasier also suggested that Wilson's hairs and DNA could have been transferred to Garcia as they sat next to each other, hugging, kissing and touching at the casino.

The attorney pointed out that only the two hairs, one in the door handle and another in the trunk, had generated full DNA profiles for Wilson.

According to Kacer, the DNA from the door panel and in Garcia's bloodstains in the car were sampled in amounts that could only be accounted for in billionths and trillionths of a gram.

In some cases, the tiny amounts of Wilson's DNA that were found allowed only partial genetic profiles and greatly reduced the odds that the DNA was hers, Kacer testified.

Blasier said the total amount of DNA in all of the samples put together was less than in a drop of blood. Such small amounts produced inconclusive results, Blasier suggested.

"Did you ever find any samples other than hairs that had more than half a nanogram that could have been Christie Wilson's?" Blasier asked Kacer.

"No, it appears they were less," Kacer said.

Anne Marie Schubert, a Sacramento County deputy district attorney and DNA expert, countered Blasier's questioning by saying tiny amounts of DNA are the norm in crime probes.

"There's no doubt in the world of forensic DNA testing you had a lot of DNA?" Schubert asked Kacer.

"Plenty of DNA to work with," Kacer answered.

He also said he felt confident that the DNA was Wilson's.

The prosecution's final witness testified about mitochondrial DNA analysis, a method that does not produce the astronomical odds of the nuclear DNA testing used by Kacer.

Angelynne Moore, an analyst with the state Justice Department said her tests had produced a 1 in 384 chance that a hair found on the rear floor of Garcia's car belonged to Wilson.

"You can't say anything about how that hair got there, can you?" Blasier asked.

"No," Moore said.

Garcia's trial was moved to Sacramento from Auburn because of pretrial publicity.

At the end of the day, Placer Superior Court Judge Larry D. Gaddis asked lead prosecutor Garen Horst, a Placer County deputy district attorney, whether he had anyone else to testify.

"The people have no further witnesses," Horst answered.

"Do the people rest their case in chief?" Gaddis asked.

"Yes, we do," Horst said.

Defense lawyer Ron Peters told Gaddis he would be in and out of court today, as lawyers and the judge discussed motions and jury instructions.

"I'll be interviewing Mr. Garcia at the county jail," Peters told the judge.

In opening statements, Peters told jurors that Garcia would testify in the case. Peters refused to comment Tuesday on whether Garcia would take the stand.

"I'm not going to say one way or another whether he's going to testify," Peters said.

About the writer:

* The Bee's Hudson Sangree can be reached at (916) 321-1191 or hsangree@sacbee.com.

Charges expected soon against suspect in death of James Ehrgott

SPOKANE, Wash. - Charges are expected to be filed soon against the man accused of killing James Ehrgott, even though Ehrgott's body has never been found.

John Wayne Thomson, currently being held in California in connection to two other killings, told investigators that he drove aimlessly around Spokane for a couple of hours before leaving Ehrgott's body beneath a short concrete bridge and shooting him. But Thomson couldn't say exactly where that bridge was.

Investigators hoped that hunters would have stumbled across Ehrgott's body by now, but that hasn't happened. They say they'll wait a couple of more weeks to see if anything turns up. If nothing does, then they say they'll file former murder charges against Thomson.

"We can charge this up as a no-body homicide without any problem," said Sgt. Joe Peterson with the Spokane Police Department. "I'm convinced we could easily get a conviction in this case if we never find the body. And if we didn't have two other cases pending on this guy in different jurisdictions, we would have already done so."

Thomson is likely to face the other two murder trials before being returned to Spokane.

Lots of news:

In Oakland, California, Hans Reiser was arrested for the murder of his wife, Nina Reiser. According to police, the couple's two children ages 5 and 7, were home when the murder occurred. Spattered blood on the walls of Reiser's mother's home and in Hans Reiser's car were Nina Reiser's blood. The children were downstairs playing video games when the heard their parents arguing. (Personal note: this is almost the exact same scenario that happened in my case, United States v. Harold Austin.) Inside Bay Area

Aaron Hillman had his charges dismissed in Snohomish County, Washington last week. Hillman was charged with the murder of Brandon Kempf who was missing since August of 2005. Apparently there was not any evidence beyond Hillman's confession. Seattle PI

In Nebraska last week, Christopher Edwards was charged in the murder of his girlfriend, University of Nebraska at Omaha student Jessica O'Grady. Blood evidence ties the defendant to the crime and Ms. O'Grady's body has never been found. Unogateway

Thomas A. DiBiase, "No Body" Guy

In El Dorado Kansas, Jerry Trussell is on trial for the murder of Franklin "Punky" Harrod. Harrod was killed because his wife and the defendant and his wife wanted to continue a love triangle:

Murder Trial Begins
KAKE News

Murder Trial Begins

October 11 - Trial is underway for a man charged in a decade-old murder. Prosecutors say Jerry Trussell was at the center of a plot to kill Franklin ''Punky'' Herrod.

Herrod disappeared in 1997 but his body has never been found. Both Herrod's and Trussell's wives have pleaded guilty in the killing.

The defense claims the women set it up so Trussell would kill Herrod and take the fall. Both women are expected to testify against Trussell during the trial. Testimony resumes on Thursday.

Damien Lamb was found guilty by a Pittsfield, Massachusetts jury last week. Murder was over a $150 debt:

Murder trial
Lamb guilty
Article Launched:10/04/2006 06:58:30 PM EDT
Wednesday, October 04
PITTSFIELD — Damien J. Lamb was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment today for slaying 21-year-old Brandon LaBonte on the night of Feb. 16, 2005, and then disposing of his body.

Lamb, 24, formerly of Becket, shook his head in disbelief as the verdict was read against him.

Lamb, a martial arts expert, strangled LaBonte with a rope and then beat him to death with a shovel. The next night, Lamb and two accomplices buried the body inside a beaver hut on his stepfather's property. Police scoured the area but never found the body.

The complicated trial lasted 17 days, and the jury deliberated for about nine hours over two days before returning the guilty verdict. Lamb's attorney, William A. Rota, said he would file an appeal for his client.