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.

'Very Conclusive' Evidence

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.

Links to Other Cases

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 earlier this month.

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. The case has become fodder for tabloid headlines and talk shows around the nation.

Hits and Misses

Detectives had been frustrated numerous times in their effort to build a strong case, one they felt was sufficient to present to prosecutors. For one thing, semen found on an old blanket in which St. Guillen's body was wrapped turned out not to be from the burly bouncer. Also, there was no evidence of fingerprints on packing tape used to wrap St. Guillen's mouth and nose to allegedly asphyxiate her even as she was choked.

In addition to choking and asphyxiating St. Guillen -- by covering her mouth and nose with packing tape -- Littlejohn allegedly mutilated her genital region with a sharp object. The object has not been found.

Also, samples taken from under the victim's fingernails do not match Littlejohn's DNA, ABC News has learned.

St. Guillen was found in a remote section of Brooklyn, with her body bound and her head wrapped in packing tape.

Besides the DNA evidence, detectives and forensic examiners have linked cat hairs found on the floral-patterned blanket wrapping the criminal justice graduate student's corpse to a cat belonging to Littlejohn, according to ABC News sources.

Plus, carpet fibers found on the old blanket matched red carpet samples taken from Littlejohn's Queens, N.Y., home.

Police long have believed that the murder occurred at Littlejohn's home and that St. Guillen was dumped in Brooklyn shortly after her death.

Between Thursday afternoon and Friday morning the week of the killing, crime scene unit technicians spent 18 hours researching Littlejohn's home, hauling away a large amount of potential evidence. Previously, they had also removed the traps, drains and pipes from its plumbing.

None of those pieces would have likely satisfied the district attorney that enough evidence existed to have a strong chance of getting a murder conviction. However, combined with the DNA match, homicide prosecutors felt they could convince a court that Littlejohn was guilty.

ABC News' Emily Just contributed to this report.