Apr 28, 2006 3:23 pm US/Eastern
CBS 2 Exclusive: Inside Littlejohn's Apartment
Investigators Targeted DNA Throughout Intense Search
by Scott Weinberger
QUEENS (CBS) ―
It's of one of New York's most recent high-profile crimes, the murder of Imette St. Guillen.
CBS 2 investigative reporter Scott Weinberger got exclusive access to Darryl Littlejohn's basement apartment. Prosecutors said the case against Littlejohn, who was indicted for St. Guillen's murder, is largely based on forensic evidence that ties him to the blanket that the graduate student's body was wrapped in.
It is here in Littlejohn's Jamaica apartment that prosecutors believe St. Guillen may have spent the last moments of her life.
April 27: Littlejohn Pleads Not Guilty To Second Assault
Slideshow: Evidence In Imette St. Guillen MurderJust hours after the NYPD released the house back to Littlejohn's aunt, Addie Harris, she allowed CBS 2 inside, but only with a small video camera.
"They came with one search warrant. They wanted to acquire any hair, any kind of camouflage clothing, stains on this, that and the other," Harris said.
March 22: Part I Of Jailhouse Interview With Littlejohn March 22: Part II Of Jailhouse Interview With LittlejohnWalking from room to room, we saw the aftermath of the NYPD's forensic investigation. The apartment was a wreck, fingerprint powder everywhere, sections of carpet taken up, and the bathroom was ripped apart.
We showed our videotape to a veteran crime scene detective Edward Wallace, who is retired from the NYPD. He told us what he believed police were searching for, after finding potential clues from the blanket wrapped around the victim's body.
"They want to link this victim to the suspect via the hairs and fibers, latent fingerprints, DNA," Wallace said.
On that blanket were fibers consistent with a red rug in Littlejohn's apartment, police said. And fur consistent with Littlejohn's jackets.
"Carpet fibers are what we call transfer type evidence. I'm sitting on a fabric chair so I could potentially be taking pieces of this chair with me when I get up and walk out," Wallace said.
You can see signs of other evidence collected, like fingerprints lifted from Littlejohn's bedroom wall. But the District Attorney has not disclosed the results.
"Placing her in that apartment via fingerprints would be very powerful," Wallace said.
Also in the bedroom a section of Littlejohn's mattress was removed for testing, but there's been no mention of those results either.
"What does that tell you?" Weinberger asked.
"Well the crime scene investigator had to have a reason to cut that out, something must have jumped out at them," replied Wallace.
Perhaps the most dramatic sight was the bathroom where detectives needed to examine the bottom of the pipes to see if any potential evidence was trapped.
Wallace explained that the tub had to be removed in order to cut away the pipes to look for the victim's hair or blood or skin cells.
Once again, prosecutors haven't said whether the bathtub pipes have yielded any results.
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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