Cops: Lots Of Evidence In NYC Slay

House and money (iStockphoto)

Darryl Littlejohn has pleaded not guilty to first- and second-degree murder charges in the slaying of 24-year-old New York grad student Imette St. Guillen, who was found raped, bound and strangled in Brooklyn last month.

"Imette St. Guillen's horrific murder will not go unpunished," District Attorney Charles Hynes said in announcing the three-count indictment against Littlejohn, 41.

Littlejohn, who was being held on a parole violation while police built their case, was a bouncer at The Falls bar in Manhattan, where St. Guillen was last seen alive on Feb. 25th.

Hynes says Brooklyn prosecutors have never handled a crime "where there has been so much forensic evidence as the foundation."

There's so much evidence, says Hynes, that he thinks "someday this case is going to be taught at law school as a particularly special example of forensic testimony."

After the hearing, St. Guillen's sister wept as she read a statement thanking police for their efforts. St. Guillen was from Boston.

"New York was Imette's home," Alejandra St. Guillen said. "She loved the city and its people ... Imette was a good person, a kind person. Her heart was full of love. With Imette's death, the world lost someone very special too soon."

Police say DNA from the ties that bound the victim's hands link Littlejohn to her murder.

Police also say fibers discovered on the tape that was on St. Guillen's head when her body was found dumped in Brooklyn are consistent with fibers with three items in Littlejohn's apartment.

"This is an unusual finding, put it that way," said NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly, outlining forensic evidence including "polyester rug fiber from carpeting of Littlejohn's residence along with brown mink hair from a jacket of his residence, and blue rabbit hair from a jacket collar in his residence are consistent with rug fiber, mink and rabbit hair that were found on the tape used on Imette's head."

Investigators furthermore maintain that cell phone transmissions show Littlejohn's phone was used to make a call from near the spot where the body was dumped, only an hour before it was discovered.

Kelly also says that an eyewitness has reported seeing a van - resembling one belonging to Littlejohn - making a U-turn at the place where the victim was found, not long before police found her.