Bouncer Charged in Student Slaying
March 22, 2006 — -- The indictment of Manhattan bouncer Darryl Littlejohn in the gruesome murder of John Jay College student Imette St. Guillen is expected to be unsealed in Brooklyn on Thursday, ABC News has learned.
The indictment includes charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment, law enforcement sources told ABC's New York affiliate WABC.
Brooklyn homicide prosecutors were confident of the indictment, bringing charges within hours of meeting with New York police officials who satisfied them that DNA evidence linking Littlejohn to the murder, when combined with other evidence, would win a conviction in the case.
The case had been frustrated by weak circumstantial evidence during the 12-day hunt for St. Guillen's killer.
A spokesman for the St. Guillen family said Immette's mother, Maureen, and sister, Alejandra, left Boston early this afternoon by car.
"They just need to be down there [in New York],'' said family spokesman Chris Lang.
A "very conclusive" DNA match obtained from a blood sample lifted from the back of ties used to bind St. Guillen's hands linked Littlejohn to her killing, police and prosecutors said.
DNA evidence also links Littlejohn to at least one previous sexual assault, ABC News has learned.
New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly announced the DNA match in the murder case at a March 12 news conference.
"This is a very significant finding," Kelly said. "The DNA finding is one in a trillion."
Littlejohn's attorney, Kevin O'Donnell, told ABC News Radio in an exclusive interview at the time that he had objections to the way information about the new evidence emerged.
"The timing of the evidence coming out puts my client in a bad spot, in a worse light and contaminates the jury pool," he said, adding, "[My] main concern is that my client is treated fairly."
The bouncer, whom two witnesses placed with the graduate student at or outside the Falls bar in Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood, remains in New York's Rikers Island jail on probation-violation charges. His police record includes robbery, and drug and gun convictions. Littlejohn has maintained his innocence in this case.
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