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.

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 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.

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, 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, New York 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, Crime Scene Unit technicians spent 18 hours re-searching 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 these pieces of evidence would likely have satisfied the district attorney that there was enough evidence to have a strong chance of winning a case for murder against Littlejohn. However, combined with the DNA match, homicide prosecutors felt comfortable that they could convince a court that Littlejohn was guilty.

Kelly, in a carefully worded statement, called Littlejohn a "prime suspect," but he did not charge him with the crime or indicate Littlejohn would be rearrested.

The decision was arrived at by police and prosecutors after working through the night. It was intended to minimize the amount of information disclosed to Littlejohn's attorney until such time as he was rearrested, official sources said.

Leak Investigation

However, the discussion of at least part of the evidence did, in fact, provide Littlejohn's attorney with some of that information.

Even as the announcement was made, an ongoing leak investigation continued at the police department in an effort to establish who may have leaked substantial amounts of evidence early in the case.

Two sources have confirmed the leak investigation to ABC News. Both said that officers from the investigation had been called into police headquarters for questioning.

One source said cell phone records for the officers were under review to establish if they had used police phones to communicate with reporters.

The evidence, while in some regards strong, is still seen as muddled by legal experts, who say that the multiple lab tests and potentially weak witnesses -- including a heavy-drinking city park dweller -- far from guarantee a conviction.

ABC News' Emily Just and Chris Francescani contributed to this report.