KOMPA! MAGAZINE

[Raymi]

Is it right to convict an accused solely on circumstantial evidence?
We have what will set out to be a very interesting case where a bouncer, Darryl Littlejohn has been indicted for the murder of a John Jay Grad student who was found dead by the belt parkway in Brroklyn, NY.


This is the evidence that the Prosecution has on him:
1. The manager of the club said that he escorted the victim out of the Bar.
2. Carpet fibers from his car were linked to the quilt that the body was wraped in.
3. A record of his cell phone records shows that a call was made in the vicimity of where the body was found.
4. The main evidence: DNA found on the plastic tie used to wrap her hands.

The preceding are circumstial because there are no witnesses who can say that they saw him kill her or dispose of the body and no murder weapon has been found.

Question: Is it right for this man to be facing the possibility of the death penalty when there is no real tangible and direct evidence to link him to this crime?

Can a jury really convict beyond a reasonable doubt and say he is the one who committed the crime based on these evidence?

The conspiracy theory question: How trusting can we really be of the police when there is such a high profile case like this that has the attention of the media and the pressure to produce has been magnified?
Since DNA evidence can be manipulated, Would it be a reach to conclude that since this man has a criminal background and also black, that he is taking the fall for all of this?

Much love
Raymi.
_________________
Some men see things as they are and ask why?
I dream of things that never were, and ask why not? RFK.

[Chachou]

The circumstantial evidence in this case are very compelling because of the fact that Mr. Littlejohn was the last person seen with Emette Saint Guillen. Remember there are still evidence that the prosecutor is not sharing to sensitivity issues surrounding the case. A towel or some piece of cloth from his Aunt or grandmother's home was also found near the body--coincidental? READ ON!


Source: Eyewitness News online!

Bouncer Daryl Littlejohn charged in brutal student murderSources: charges include murder, kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment
Eyewitness News
(New York -WABC, March 22, 2006) - Bouncer Darryl Littlejohn is expected to be in court Thursday to answer to first degree murder and kidnapping charges in the death of grad student Imette Saint Guillen.

Investigators say Littlejohn raped, tortured and then murdered the 24-year-old girl.
And late Wednesday night, Littlejohn's attorney Kevin O'Donnell said in a televised interview that he is determined to challenge the evidence and how it was gathered.

O'Donnell: "He's not surprised by this indictment and quite frankly, neither am I. A week and a half ago, Commissioner Kelly named him as the prime suspect so it wasn't a question of if he was going to be indicted, a question of when."

N.J. Burkett begins our team coverage from the courthouse in Downtown Brooklyn.

First degree murder, that is the top count in the indictment handed up this afternoon and for Darryl Littlejohn it does not get any worse than that.

The city's police commissioner has insisted that the evidence in this case is compelling and overwhelming. The grand jury, today, agreed.

The grand jury heard five days of testimony and handed up the indictment early Wednesday afternoon. Darryl Littlejohn, the prime suspect indicted in a murder case that horrified New York. Sources say the charges include murder, kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment.

Wednesday morning, the victim's family left their home in Boston for Thursday's arraignment in New York.

Imette Saint Guillen was 24-years-old, a graduate student in criminal justice. She was last seen outside The Falls bar in SoHo where she had been drinking alone at 4:00 a.m. Sixteen hours later an anonymous caller used a pay phone and directed police to the desolate marshes of Jamaica Bay where they found Immette's body. She had been raped, strangled and mutilated, her head wrapped in packing tape.

Darryl Littlejohn was the bar's bouncer and had been asked to escort Imette Saint Guillen from the bar the night she disappeared. Investigators have theorized that Immette may have accepted a ride home and that she was attacked in the suspect's van.

Littlejohn's blood was found on plastic ties used to bind her hands and cell phone records allegedly place him at or near where the body was found. But through it all Littlejohn's lawyer has insisted that he will challenge the evidence and how it was gathered.

Kevin O'Donnell, Littlejohn's Attorney: "I want to know who recovered it, how it was recovered, where it was recovered, what was done with it, who tested it. It needed to be retested, why did it need to be retested? Those are questions that I don't have answers to right now, that I'm not going to have answers to until I received the report."

Darryl Littlejohn was booked at the 75th Police Precinct in Brooklyn before his arraignment Thursday.

Neighborhood Reaction

Eyewitness News reporter Marcus Solis is in SoHo with reaction to the latest developments in the Saint Guillen case.

With news of today's indictment there is some relief and it appears that one of the pieces to the puzzle has fallen into place.

In the SoHo neighborhood where Saint Guillen was last seen, news of the indictment comes as a relief.

"I think it brings relief to the family. The case was all over and we saw fliers all over SoHo and I'm glad there is some closure," one resident said.

Ever since the bar has been linked to her disappearance, business has been decimated. There was no comment today from management.

But there are strong feelings from residents about the establishment that hired someone with a long criminal past to provide security.

"When you go out, to think that someone in the bar or establishment where you are could do something like that to you is really unsettling," one resident said.

Calls to the bar's attorney went unanswered.

(Copyright 2006 WABC-TV)
_________________
Peace,
Chachou

"The Brightest Future will always be based on a forgotten past, you can't go on well in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches." Anonymous