“Well, it was dark brown in color. It had been bleached and the victim had lighter brown, artificial highlights. After speaking with her hair stylist and our chemical analysis, we identified the dye as Chestnut #7. The victim was definitively identified through dental records though. She had two crowns on her first molars as well as a permanent retainer in the upper palate. She had four fillings.”
“All right. You indicated it’s your opinion the victim wasn’t killed as she lay?”
“No. I said I don’t believe the victim was found in a natural position. There was no evidence of any other disturbances in the area around her that would indicate a struggle. Though I have to point out, the victim went missing in March of that year and wasn’t discovered until October. With the advanced decomposition and the changing of seasons, I can’t definitely state there wasn’t a struggle at the site. I can only say we didn’t find any evidence of such. No blood. No broken branches. We found overturned earth next to the body, likely what was used to partially bury her. But you have to understand, that’s seven months out in the elements. There was evidence that animals had gotten to the body. Bite marks on hands and wrists. The flesh had either decayed or been eaten away.”
A few members of the jury grimaced, but they were still with us.
“All right. So based on your thirty-plus years as a crime scene analyst, what conclusions were you able to draw about what happened to Ellie Luke?”
“Ms. Luke was likely killed somewhere else and placed at the base of that tree in those woods. I can’t say for sure where she was killed, but I don’t believe it was nearby. I also believe someone took time with the body.”
“What do you mean?”
“To remove her jeans, put her shoes back on. Remove her panties. Someone cut a large hank of her hair. Also, the location of the body itself. It was protected. Away from where hikers would have naturally come upon it. And as I’ve indicated, partially buried. It was also unusual that we found Ms. Luke’s complete skeleton. Over that amount of time, I would have expected animals to carry part of it off.”
“Do you have any way of knowing how long the victim’s remains were in that location?”
“Not precisely. But based on the vegetation and insect activity, it was consistent with the amount of time she’d been missing.”
“So you’re saying you believe the victim was lying under that tree since March of that year?”
“Mostly likely, yes.”
“Thank you. Dr. Palmieri, have you had occasion to analyze any other artifacts in connection with this case?”
“Yes,” she said.
“Can you tell me what those were?”
“Three months ago, items were sent to BCI and I was asked to conduct the analysis of them. They included an earring, a lock of hair, and a pair of underwear.”
One by one, I introduced photographs of the items Dr. Palmieri described. Then, I took her through the chain of custody of the lock of hair. Hayden would testify later where it came from, but for now, Dr. Palmieri could drop the first bomb.
“Dr. Palmieri, were you able to form a scientific opinion about the lock of hair sent for your analysis?”
“I was. I compared the length and cut marks to those found on the victim under that tree. The hair dye. Though we weren’t able to extract DNA from the locks sent in, we were able to match it to the victim.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean the hair sample sent to my lab on September 1st of this year belonged to Elizabeth Luke. It matched the lock cut from her head.”
“Thank you,” I said. “What about the underwear?”
“Two pubic hairs were combed from the underwear. We were able to extract DNA from the roots. They were a match for Elizabeth Luke.”
“Okay, what about the earring?” The picture of the earring was up on screen. Dr. Palmieri authenticated it as being the earring she was sent from the Maumee County Sheriff’s Department.
“We subjected the earring to the same analysis as the one found at the scene twenty-two years ago. The metals matched. The stone matched. The earring back matched. Additionally, the wear patterns at the front top of the earring matched.”
“What’s significant about that?”
“On both the earring we found at the scene twenty-two years ago, and the one sent for analysis this year … there are distinct wear patterns at the top of the hoop. You can see it in Exhibits 25 and 39.”
I put the photographs side by side on the monitor. Dr. Palmieri used a laser pointer to show two dull patches in the metal just below the stem that would have gone into Ellie’s earlobe.
“Most likely, this is where the wearer would have grasped each earring before lining the stem up to go into the ear hole. It’s a similar wear pattern on both.”
“Which tells us what?”
