Police: Bouncer's Blood Tied to Grad Student Case

March 12, 2006 — -- A "very conclusive" DNA match obtained from a blood sample lifted from the back of ties used to bind Imette St. Guillen's hands has linked bouncer Darryl Littlejohn to her killing, police and prosecutors said.

DNA evidence also links Littlejohn to at least one prior sex assault, ABC News has learned.

New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly announced the DNA match in the murder case at a Sunday afternoon press briefing at police headquarters in Manhattan.

"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 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.

The Brooklyn district attorney now will empanel a grand jury to seek Littlejohn's indictment.

"[My] main concern is that my client is treated fairly," O'Donnell said.

Prosecutors are confident there is a strong case for an indictment and a winnable prosecution if the grand jury indicts and the case goes to trial.

The bouncer, whom two witnesses placed with St. Guillen at or outside The Falls bar in Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood, will remain in New York's Rikers Island jail on probation violation charges until the grand jury returns with an indictment or a "no true bill." That is likely to occur within a week.

"He is the individual that we've identified as the prime suspect for this case," Kelly said.

In addition, Kelly said, other evidence now links Littlejohn to past sexual assaults -- rapes and attempted rapes -- that help establish a pattern of sexual violence. In those cases, women were bound and washed or swabbed clean by an assailant. St. Guillen's case bears several similarities.

ABC News has learned the evidence includes a DNA match to Littlejohn on the handcuffs used to bind a victim in an alleged attempted rape. Two victims of those assaults failed to identify Littlejohn as their assailant in police lineups held last week.

O'Donnell said he would have no comment on any of the DNA evidence "until my own experts analyze it."

Littlejohn had been the sole "person of interest" in the sexually motivated killing of St. Guillen, a 24-year-old graduate student. The case has become fodder for two weeks of tabloid headlines and talk shows around the nation.