Strahl's DNA found on cigarettes in O'Hare home
12:30 PM
Posted: Monday, August 20, 2007
ELK POINT - DNA taken from two cigarette butts found in the bedroom of William O'Hare, 52, matched James Strahl, a South Dakota state criminalist testified this morning.
Stacey Smith said a Dr Pepper bottle found in O'Hare's refrigerator may also have had Strahl's DNA, but those tests weren't conclusive.
O'Hare was bludgeoned to death in his Beresford, S.D., home. Authorities believe he was killed on May 17, 1998, and his body was found about three weeks later.
Strahl is charged with alternate counts of first-degree manslaughter, first-degree murder and second-degree murder and a related charge of grand theft.
In morning testimony, Strahl's attorney, Phillip Peterson of Beresford, S.D., asked Smith how long DNA can be present on an item. Smith said it could last forever if it isn't damaged by extreme temperatures, moisture or sunlight.
There was no way for authorities to determine when Strahl may have smoked the cigarettes found in O'Hare's house, Peterson said.
"You have no idea when those cigarette butts were put in the ashtrays?" Peterson asked.
"That's correct," Smith said.
Read more on the trial later today at siouxcityjournal.com and in Tuesday's Sioux City Journal.
Stacey Smith said a Dr Pepper bottle found in O'Hare's refrigerator may also have had Strahl's DNA, but those tests weren't conclusive.
O'Hare was bludgeoned to death in his Beresford, S.D., home. Authorities believe he was killed on May 17, 1998, and his body was found about three weeks later.
Strahl is charged with alternate counts of first-degree manslaughter, first-degree murder and second-degree murder and a related charge of grand theft.
In morning testimony, Strahl's attorney, Phillip Peterson of Beresford, S.D., asked Smith how long DNA can be present on an item. Smith said it could last forever if it isn't damaged by extreme temperatures, moisture or sunlight.
There was no way for authorities to determine when Strahl may have smoked the cigarettes found in O'Hare's house, Peterson said.
"You have no idea when those cigarette butts were put in the ashtrays?" Peterson asked.
"That's correct," Smith said.
Read more on the trial later today at siouxcityjournal.com and in Tuesday's Sioux City Journal.
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