The most frustrating, and I suppose fascinating, type of murder case involves homicides that feature obvious suspects with little or no physical evidence linking the suspects to the scenes of the crime. Examples include missing women cases in which it seems obvious that the victims have been murdered by a boyfriend, spouse, or ex-husband. The problem is, investigators can't find the bodies. Cases of this nature include the disappearances of Michelle Parker and Robin Gardner. A recent homicide investigation in Maryland started out as a case with a solid suspect and supportive physical evidence, but may end up falling into the suspect only category.
The Keith Little Case
At ten-thirty in the morning of New Year's Day 2011, police were called to the Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland where they discovered maintenance supervisor Roosevelt Brockington's body in his basement boilerroom office. Someone had stabbed Brockington 70 times in the face, neck, chest, and back. The 40-year-old victim had a 12-inch knife stuck in his neck. This was clearly a crime of passion committed by someone who hated the victim.
Five days after the murder, a Suburban Hospital worker reported seeing Keith D. Little, a maintenance employee, washing a pair of black gloves and a ski-mask in chemically treated water. The police recovered these items from the trash outside the boilerroom and took Little, already a suspect, into custody.
In 2003, Keith Little had gone on trial for killing his maintenance boss in Washington, D.C. This victim had been shot six times. The jury in that case found Little not guilty. He walked out of jail a free man.
Investigators in the Bethesda murder case had reason to believe that Little hated Mr. Brockington. In 2009, Little had threatened to "get him" after the maintenance supervisor changed his working schedule. As a result of that adjustment, Little had to give up a second job at the federal court house in Greenbelt, Maryland. More recently, Brockington had given the 50-year-old suspect a negative performance evaluation that kept him from receiving an annual pay raise.
DNA analysts at the Montgomery County Crime Laboratory determined there was not enough trace evidence on one of the gloves to declare the presence of blood. A second analysis by a private firm, Bode Technology, found no evidence of blood either, but did find evidence after applying a serology test that can detect more diluted traces. According to these results, the glove contained DNA from the victim, the suspect, and an unidentified person.
Charged with first-degree murder, Little went on trial earlier this month at the Montgomery Court House in Rockville, Maryland. His attorney, Assistant Public Defender Ronald Gottlieb, in his opening statement to the jury, pointed out that the police found no traces of blood in the defendant's home, car, or work locker. As for the motive behind the murder, Gottlieb asserted that several former maintenance employees could have been angry with the victim. At this point, it seemed the prosecution had a much stronger case than the defense.
On December 6, Montgomery County Circuit Judge Marielsa Bernard ruled that the prosecution could not introduce the results of the DNA test linking defendant Little to the glove that supposedly contained traces of the victim's blood. The judge felt the disparity of lab results rendered this evidence unreliable. The judge also prohibited the prosecution from making any mention of Little's previous trial in which he was found not guilty of killing his maintenance boss in Washington, D.C. This information, according to the judge, was too prejudicial to the defendant's case.
Judge Bernard's evidential rulings essentially gutted the prosecution's case against Keith Little. The prosecutor was left with a good suspect but little else. The prosecutor has appealed Judge Bernard's rulings, but for now, things are looking good for the defense.
The Keith Little Case
At ten-thirty in the morning of New Year's Day 2011, police were called to the Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland where they discovered maintenance supervisor Roosevelt Brockington's body in his basement boilerroom office. Someone had stabbed Brockington 70 times in the face, neck, chest, and back. The 40-year-old victim had a 12-inch knife stuck in his neck. This was clearly a crime of passion committed by someone who hated the victim.
Five days after the murder, a Suburban Hospital worker reported seeing Keith D. Little, a maintenance employee, washing a pair of black gloves and a ski-mask in chemically treated water. The police recovered these items from the trash outside the boilerroom and took Little, already a suspect, into custody.
In 2003, Keith Little had gone on trial for killing his maintenance boss in Washington, D.C. This victim had been shot six times. The jury in that case found Little not guilty. He walked out of jail a free man.
Investigators in the Bethesda murder case had reason to believe that Little hated Mr. Brockington. In 2009, Little had threatened to "get him" after the maintenance supervisor changed his working schedule. As a result of that adjustment, Little had to give up a second job at the federal court house in Greenbelt, Maryland. More recently, Brockington had given the 50-year-old suspect a negative performance evaluation that kept him from receiving an annual pay raise.
DNA analysts at the Montgomery County Crime Laboratory determined there was not enough trace evidence on one of the gloves to declare the presence of blood. A second analysis by a private firm, Bode Technology, found no evidence of blood either, but did find evidence after applying a serology test that can detect more diluted traces. According to these results, the glove contained DNA from the victim, the suspect, and an unidentified person.
Charged with first-degree murder, Little went on trial earlier this month at the Montgomery Court House in Rockville, Maryland. His attorney, Assistant Public Defender Ronald Gottlieb, in his opening statement to the jury, pointed out that the police found no traces of blood in the defendant's home, car, or work locker. As for the motive behind the murder, Gottlieb asserted that several former maintenance employees could have been angry with the victim. At this point, it seemed the prosecution had a much stronger case than the defense.
On December 6, Montgomery County Circuit Judge Marielsa Bernard ruled that the prosecution could not introduce the results of the DNA test linking defendant Little to the glove that supposedly contained traces of the victim's blood. The judge felt the disparity of lab results rendered this evidence unreliable. The judge also prohibited the prosecution from making any mention of Little's previous trial in which he was found not guilty of killing his maintenance boss in Washington, D.C. This information, according to the judge, was too prejudicial to the defendant's case.
Judge Bernard's evidential rulings essentially gutted the prosecution's case against Keith Little. The prosecutor was left with a good suspect but little else. The prosecutor has appealed Judge Bernard's rulings, but for now, things are looking good for the defense.
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