NY v. Darryl Littlejohn - Imette St. Guillen murder [FOUND GUILTY]

[CSAFD]

Today marks the 3rd year aniversary that 24 year old Imette St. Guillen was murdered in NYC. on Feb. 25, 2006 after leaving "The Falls" Nightclub. her body was found about 17 hours later dumped on a Brooklyn Road. Imette had been raped, tortured, beaten and strangled to death. Bouncer Daryl LittleJohn is currently awaiting trial for Imette's murder.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v63/Maverick1862/famous%20murder%20victims/imette.jpg
24 year old Imette Carmella St. Guillen (2006)

[Nut44x4]

Hair of bouncer Darryl Littlejohn's mom found on quilt over Imette St. Guillen's body

Wednesday, April 15th 2009, 4:00 AM
The evidence against the ex-con bouncer accused of murdering Imette St. Guillen now includes his mother's hair - found near the grad student's body, the Daily News has learned.

Darryl Littlejohn, 44, denied snatching St. Guillen from the SoHo nightspot where he worked, sexually assaulting her and dumping her naked body off the Belt Parkway on Feb. 25, 2006.

But since his arrest, prosecutors have punched a hole in Littlejohn's alibi with damning testimony from his ex-girlfriend. Another problem for the defense: What court papers call a "snow brush" used on icy cars, found under St. Guillen's body, contains Littlejohn's DNA.

Sources say the brush probably fell out when her body was dumped. His DNA was also found on the ties around her hands.

Now that his mother's DNA has been linked to the case, Littlejohn is going to have a tough time selling the idea he's being framed.

"It is definitively his mother's - there's no doubt," one law enforcement source said of the hair found on the floral coverlet wrapped around St. Guillen.

In a bizarre twist, experts say the hair is from the pubic area. It may have wound up on the cover when Littlejohn's mother slept on it, said another source.

From the beginning, the quilt has been a focus of the mostly circumstantial case.

Detectives canvassed motels looking for a similar one and contacted the fabric's manufacturer. They even tested cat hairs from the cover to see if they matched a feline at The Falls, where Littlejohn worked.

The cat hair tests came up empty - but a week before the scheduled start of jury selection, authorities believe the human hair proves the quilt is tied to Littlejohn.

Littlejohn - who got 25 years to life for an unrelated abduction - claimed he was visiting his mother in a nursing home when St. Guillen died. But The News has learned the girlfriend told the grand jury Littlejohn asked her to lie for him.

Littlejohn's trial, expected to last three weeks, will also include phone records, autopsy results and witnesses who will testify he was the last person with St. Guillen.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/04/15/2009-04-15_bouncer_moms_hair_found_on_quilt_over_imette.ht ml

[sunstar]

Jury selection to begin in trial of Darryl Littlejohn for Imette St. Guillen slay

Sunday, April 19th 2009, 4:00 AM


The mother of Imette St. Guillen has waited three long years to settle accounts with the man accused of killing the promising graduate student in a brutal murder that shocked the city.

"It is important for me to see justice for my daughter," Maureen St. Guillen said. "I think any parent who has suffered the loss of a child in such a way would feel the same."

Ex-con bouncer Darryl Littlejohn is finally going to trial in the Feb. 25, 2006, slaying this week.

Littlejohn, 44, who is already serving 25 years to life in prison for an unrelated attack on another woman, faces life without parole in the St. Guillen murder.

St. Guillen's mother knows the upcoming trial will be full of painful reminders, but she wants to attend anyway.

"Nothing will ever replace Imette," Maureen St. Guillen said. "The day she died, our lives changed forever and we became different people...and yet, for her, we must go forward [and] see that justice is served."

Imette St. Guillen, 24, was last seen drinking at The Falls, a SoHo nightspot where Littlejohn worked as a bouncer. The grad student was reluctant to leave at closing time and bar owner Danny Dorrian asked Littlejohn to escort her out.

Seventeen hours later, the Boston native's bruised, nude, sexually assaulted body was found dumped in a remote area of Brooklyn off the Belt Parkway. Her hands were bound behind her back, her legs tied at the ankles.

A white sock was stuffed in her mouth and brown packing tape was wrapped around her head.

The evenly placed neck bruises led the medical examiner to one conclusion - she was strangled and smothered.

There are other crime details that cops say point to Littlejohn. Among the most powerful:

- His DNA, found on the ties that bound St. Guillen's wrists and on a snowbrush found under her body.

- Littlejohn's mother's hair was found on the coverlet St. Guillen was wrapped in.

- Cell tower records showed Littlejohn was near the site where her body was dumped.

- A friend said he asked him to lie about his alibi.

None of it will be easy for Imette St. Guillen's mother, sister Alejandra or stepfather to watch, said their lawyer and longtime family friend, Christopher Lang.

"This is the closest family I've ever seen," he said. "It's going to be one of the hardest things they will ever do."

Defense lawyer Joyce David will focus on Dorrian, the bar owner who, she said, lied twice about the night of the slaying.

Dorrian's lawyers were well-connected and David hopes that skeptical Brooklyn jurors will buy a tangled theory of police conspiracy linked to former city officials.

"The DA's office and NYPD ignored and failed to investigate substantial evidence...to protect Danny Dorrian," David wrote in a recent court filing.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/04/19/2009-04-19_jury_selection_to_begin_in_trail_of_darryl_litt lejohn_for_imette_st_guillen_slay.html

[TigressPen]

I remember reading of this murder. Sure hope Imette's family finally sees justice for her.

[chambord]

Oh I can't believe its been three years since I first became aware of this case. Wow!

Sun, when did Littlejohn have a trial and get sentenced on the other charge? Wasn't he free and working as a bouncer the night he killed Imette? Was this crime after Imette? I'm confused.

[sunstar]

Oh I can't believe its been three years since I first became aware of this case. Wow!

Sun, when did Littlejohn have a trial and get sentenced on the other charge? Wasn't he free and working as a bouncer the night he killed Imette? Was this crime after Imette? I'm confused.

Here's a link to his current conviction. It was a kidnapping charge from before Imette's death. Yes, he was a bouncer at The Falls when she was killed.

Bouncer Darryl Littlejohn gets 25 years for kidnapping

Wednesday, January 7th 2009, 5:56 PM


Calling him a "classic sociopath," a Queens judge condemned bouncer Darryl Littlejohn to 25 years to life in prison Wednesday for snatching a college student off a street just months before allegedly murdering Imette St. Guillen.

"You act one way here and another way on the street. That makes you a very dangerous man," Queens Supreme Court Judge Gregory Lasak warned Littlejohn.

Littlejohn, 44, was convicted in October 2008 on charges he pretended to be a cop in order to kidnap a 19-year-old York College freshman as she walked home from school in 2005.

Shanai Woodard, now 22, managed to escape by throwing her handcuffed body from Littlejohn's moving van, prosecutors said.

"I have nightmares almost every night. Every time I see a van I get scared something is going to happen to me," a sobbing Woodard said in court. "I just want to know, why did you have to do this to me?"

Littlejohn showed no emotion as Lasak read from his "horrendous" rap sheet - which began when he was 12 years old, and includes mugging old ladies, robbing banks, and assault with a razorblade.

He is currently facing murder charges in Brooklyn for the 2006 death of St. Guillen, a John Jay College student last seen at the Falls Bar in Manhattan where Littlejohn was a bouncer.

Defense attorney Jason Russo called the sentence "unjust" and said he plans to appeal.

Queens prosecutor Frank DeGaetano praised the superb legwork of all the investigators who put together an "airtight case" - and hailed the courage of their star witness.

"She (Woodard) showed herself to be a very brave woman. She's one of the good people who remind us why we do this job," DeGaetano said.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/01/07/2009-01-07_bouncer_darryl_littlejohn_gets_25_years_.html

[packy]

I wonder how much Dorrian knew about LittleJohn and if it had come to light about his attack on Shanai Woodard before they asked him to escort Imette out of the bar that night.

[sunstar]

I wonder how much Dorrian knew about LittleJohn and if it had come to light about his attack on Shanai Woodard before they asked him to escort Imette out of the bar that night.

I seem to remember at the time there was a lot of discussion about Dorrian turning a blind eye toward who he'd hire, and there being no background check requirement for bouncers before Imette's murder. So, it's hard to say what Dorrian knew about Littlejohn or what he ignored. :shrug1: MOO

[sunstar]

Here's another article with more detail on the evidence against Littlejohn.

Hair of bouncer Darryl Littlejohn's mom found on quilt over Imette St. Guillen's body

The evidence against the ex-con bouncer accused of murdering Imette St. Guillen now includes his mother's hair - found near the grad student's body, the Daily News has learned.

Darryl Littlejohn, 44, denied snatching St. Guillen from the SoHo nightspot where he worked, sexually assaulting her and dumping her naked body off the Belt Parkway on Feb. 25, 2006.

But since his arrest, prosecutors have punched a hole in Littlejohn's alibi with damning testimony from his ex-girlfriend. Another problem for the defense: What court papers call a "snow brush" used on icy cars, found under St. Guillen's body, contains Littlejohn's DNA.

Sources say the brush probably fell out when her body was dumped. His DNA was also found on the ties around her hands.

Now that his mother's DNA has been linked to the case, Littlejohn is going to have a tough time selling the idea he's being framed.

"It is definitively his mother's - there's no doubt," one law enforcement source said of the hair found on the floral coverlet wrapped around St. Guillen.

In a bizarre twist, experts say the hair is from the pubic area. It may have wound up on the cover when Littlejohn's mother slept on it, said another source.

From the beginning, the quilt has been a focus of the mostly circumstantial case.

Detectives canvassed motels looking for a similar one and contacted the fabric's manufacturer. They even tested cat hairs from the cover to see if they matched a feline at The Falls, where Littlejohn worked.

The cat hair tests came up empty - but a week before the scheduled start of jury selection, authorities believe the human hair proves the quilt is tied to Littlejohn.

Littlejohn - who got 25 years to life for an unrelated abduction - claimed he was visiting his mother in a nursing home when St. Guillen died. But The News has learned the girlfriend told the grand jury Littlejohn asked her to lie for him.

Littlejohn's trial, expected to last three weeks, will also include phone records, autopsy results and witnesses who will testify he was the last person with St. Guillen.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/04/15/2009-04-15_bouncer_moms_hair_found_on_quilt_over_imette.ht ml

[chambord]

I wonder how much Dorrian knew about LittleJohn and if it had come to light about his attack on Shanai Woodard before they asked him to escort Imette out of the bar that night.

Good question packy. I recall a great deal of people were concerned about what Dorrian knew. Did they close that bar down I wonder? There was talk of that.

moo

[sunstar]

Good question packy. I recall a great deal of people were concerned about what Dorrian knew. Did they close that bar down I wonder? There was talk of that.

moo

AFTER THE FALLS

October 29, 2006 -- The notorious nightspot where slain grad student Imette St. Guillen was last seen alive has been transformed from The Falls into a diner dubbed the Midnight Cafe II.

Authorities shut down the creepy SoHo club in June after owner Danny Dorrian took a week to tell investigators that he saw St. Guillen in his bar on the February night of her rape and murder.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/10292006/news/regionalnews/after_the_falls_regionalnews_janon_fisher.htm

[sunstar]

Blanket that may tie Darryl Littlejohn to Imette St. Guillen's murder may contain his brother's DNA

Wednesday, April 22nd 2009, 4:00 AM


A blanket that prosecutors say ties Darryl Littlejohn to the murder of Imette St. Guillen may contain DNA from Littlejohn's brother - who was accused in an unrelated sex slaying, the Daily News has learned.

Prosecutors said in court papers that semen found on the coverlet that was wrapped around St. Guillen's body came from a brother of Littlejohn with "99.4% certainty."

And it turns out that Littlejohn's late brother, Reggie Harris, also has a brutal background.

Nearly 15 years ago, Harris was charged with a grisly double murder - he allegedly tried to sexually assault a Queens mother, then stabbed her and her boyfriend to death.

There are some eerie parallels between that case and the St. Guillen murder: both Harris' female victim and St. Guillen were stripped and tied.

There is no way Harris was involved in St. Guillen's 2006 slaying: He died of an asthma attack in 1994, shortly after being arrested in the murder of Ronald Reeves and Barbara Robinson, court records show. And Littlejohn could not have been a party to the double homicide since he was in prison at the time, records show.

Yet the revelation about the semen on the blanket is likely to delay jury selection, which was slated to start Wednesday.

Further testing is needed to conclusively pin the DNA to Harris.

If that happens, Littlejohn lawyer Joyce David said prosecutors have "a lot of explaining to do" since the coverlet's manufacturer says it wasn't made until 1998, four years after Harris died.

Last week, The News revealed Littlejohn's late mother's hair was found on the blanket - adding to the forensic evidence against the bouncer.

Prosecutors are set today to ask the judge to allow new DNA evidence tying Littlejohn to a Queens rape, The News has learned.

Littlejohn was a suspect in that 2005 attack, but the victim didn't identify him in a lineup. A T-shirt the rapist gave her had DNA that has been matched to Littlejohn's mother.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/04/22/2009-04-22_dna_twist_in_imette_slay_case.html

[sunstar]

Jury selection delayed until May 4

http://www.ny1.com/Default.aspx?ArID=97775

[sunstar]

DNA evidence piles up against accused Imette St. Guillen killer

Friday, April 24th 2009, 4:00 AM


Tests confirmed that DNA on the coverlet wrapped around Imette St. Guillen's body matches the brother of her suspected killer, prosecutors said Thursday.

Darryl Littlejohn's brother died in 1994, long before St. Guillen's death, but the DNA match adds to a growing pile of evidence against Littlejohn.

Carpet fiber and rabbit and mink hair on the 24-year-old grad student's body was consistent with carpet fiber at Littlejohn's Queens home and two coats hanging in his mother's closet.

Littlejohn's late mother's hair was also found on the coverlet.

The suspect's brother, Reginald Harris, died in police custody after being charged with murdering a woman and her boyfriend in her Queens apartment, the Daily News revealed this week.

Littlejohn is serving a 25-to-life sentence for an unrelated Queens abduction months before the murder. His trial is expected to start in early May.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/04/24/2009-04-24_dna_evidence_piles_up_against_accused_imette_ki ller.html

[killerqueen]

It's hard to believe it's been three long years since Imette was killed. I hope for her family's sake that justice is served.

[sunstar]

Jurors who will decide Darryl Littlejohn's fate in Imette St. Guillen murder trial

Thursday, May 7th 2009, 4:00 AM

Juror No. 1: A 59-year-old black woman from Flatbush who works as a claims clerk. She's a widow with three grown children and lists her hobby as reading the Bible.

Juror No. 2: Divorced mother of two - including a 24-year-old daughter the same age as victim Imette St. Guillen - from Bushwick. A 42-year-old Hispanic food stamp claim evaluator, she has a close relative who is a police officer.

Juror No. 3: A white, 33-year-old single woman. She is a licensed social worker from Park Slope and is the female juror closest in age to St. Guillen.

Juror No. 4: A 48-year-old single black man, he's a ferry service operations manager from Midwood.

Juror No. 5: A college administrator from Williamsburg, he's a 45-year-old white man with a domestic partner and a master's degree.

Juror No. 6: A 911 operator from Bedford-Stuyvesant; a 38-year-old single black woman.

Juror No. 7: A 52-year-old white set designer from Boerum Hill who lives with a girlfriend and writes plays and stories on the side.

Juror No. 8: Father of three, including two daughters close to St. Guillen's age. He's a 50-year-old white computer technician from Bensonhurst.

Juror No. 9: A 40-year-old black speech therapist from Bedford-Stuyvesant. She's married to a minister and is the mother of four girls, including one just five years younger than the victim.

Juror No. 10: A 39-year-old single white woman from East Flatbush who works as a school crossing guard.

Juror No. 11: A black man in his 20s from East Flatbush. He is an assistant asset manager who likes to travel.

Juror No. 12: A retired black airline employee from Midwood with two grown sons from his first marriage and a daughter from his second marriage.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/05/07/2009-05-07_jurors_in_imette_st_guillen_murder_case.html

[sunstar]

Imette St. Guillen slay jurors vow fairness in trial of former bouncer Darryl Littlejohn

Thursday, May 7th 2009, 4:00 AM

They're the 12 New Yorkers who'll decide whether Imette St. Guillen gets justice.

A dozen jurors, evenly divided between men and women, were seated Wednesday to hear the case against former bouncer Darryl Littlejohn - charged with the brutal slaying of the 24-year-old John Jay College grad student three years ago.

The panel of six blacks, five whites and one Hispanic from across Brooklyn includes a social worker, a 911 operator, a speech therapist and a set designer. They are married, divorced, single and widowed, and at least five have children.

Four have daughters in their late teens or 20s. One has a daughter the exact age as St. Guillen. They all promised to be fair to Littlejohn, who is charged with sexually assaulting, smothering and strangling Guillen, who was close to their daughters' age.

"I have three daughters in their 20s," one woman said somberly before she was picked as one of six alternates. "It is difficult, but I think I would be able to look at it with an open mind."

Littlejohn, 44, who wore a neat blue suit and thick-rimmed brown glasses and did not speak during the three days of jury selection, was a bouncer at The Falls bar in SoHo where St. Guillen was last seen alive on Feb. 25, 2006.

The man who spent most of his adult life in prison for robbery, drugs and other crimes was asked to escort St. Guillen out when the bar closed about 4 a.m. Prosecutors say he took her someplace where he assaulted and murdered her.

St. Guillen's naked body, her hands and feet bound, a sock stuffed in her mouth and tape wrapped around her head, was found in a white, pink and green comforter on the side of the Belt Parkway.

Investigators have linked the comforter to Littlejohn through his mom's and brother's DNA, as well as carpet and coat fibers found on the material. His DNA was found on the ties binding her hands.

Defense lawyer Joyce David promised to show a conspiracy designed to protect bar owner Danny Dorrian, who lied to the police at first.

"Do you think that someone who has money and power might [influence] an investigation?" she asked jurors. "Do you think it's possible for the police to plant evidence?"

The jurors vowed to keep an open mind for the trial, which starts Monday in Supreme Court Justice Abraham Gerges' courtroom and is expected to last between three and four weeks.


http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/05/07/2009-05-07_imette_slay_jurors_vow_fairness_in_trial.html

[CSAFD]

Family Of 2006 Murder Victim Ready For 'Justice'
Darryl Littlejohn On Trial For Imette St. Guillen's 2006 Murder

May 11, 2009

BROOKLYN (CBS) ― Darryl Littlejohn faces a murder trial in the headline-making 2006 killing of Imette St. Guillen in Brooklyn.

The attorney for Darryl Littlejohn says in a legal briefing that her client is the victim of a massive conspiracy and that he had nothing to do with the death of Imette St. Guillen.

A jury began hearing arguments in the trial of a New York City nightclub bouncer charged in the abduction and killing of a college student from Boston.

The trial of Darryl Littlejohn began on Monday in Brooklyn Supreme Court.

The 44-year-old is charged with murder in the 2006 death of Imette St. Guillen. She attended John Jay College in Manhattan. Littlejohn has pleaded not guilty and insists of his innocence.

He was a bouncer at a Manhattan bar where St. Guillen was last seen. Her body was found in Brooklyn. Authorities say she had been raped, strangled and suffocated.

On Monday, St. Guillen's family walked into the Brooklyn Supreme Court with purpose, ready to face Darryl Littlejohn for the first day of his murder trial.

"We're confident that justice will be done," said attorney Joseph Tacopina.

"It's a very surreal day. Obviously this is, after three long years, they'll get their day in court. Imette will get her day. It's a very emotional time right now," added Tacopina.

Littlejohn was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for kidnapping another young woman.

Authorities say DNA evidence links Littlejohn to both crimes.

The defense says evidence was tampered.

Back on Feb. 25, 2006, St. Guillen went to "The Falls" bar in SoHo just before 3 a.m. Sixteen hours later, her nude and battered body was found in a desolate section of East New York.

Days after his arrest, Littlejohn gave CBS 2 HD an exclusive interview.

"They have the wrong person," he said. "I'm a likely suspect because I have a criminal background."

When asked if he killed St. Guillen, Littlejohn said, "No, I did not."

"Obviously emotions are going to be a part of this. This is a very realistic sort of experience for them…but they're here because Imette was their life and they'll be strong throughout this," said Tacopina.

http://wcbstv.com/local/darryl.littlejohn.boston.2.1006529.html

[sunstar]

Imette St. Guillen murder trial begins: Prosecution lays out case against bouncer Darryl Littlejohn

Ex-con bouncer Darryl Littlejohn went on trial Monday for the rape and murder of gorgeous grad student Imette St. Guillen after a night of drinking at a SoHo bar.

Prosecutors branded Littlejohn a sex fiend who attacked St. Guillen the same way he preyed on two other women, both of whom will testify at the trial.
"He did the same thing to two other women three months before," said Kenneth Taub, a Brooklyn prosecutor. "Until this case, he got away with it."

In a 90-minute opening statement, Taub pointed to extensive circumstantial evidence against Littlejohn, including fibers from his van and DNA evidence linking him to a blanket used to wrap St. Guillen's body.

Cops also traced his cell-phone to the desolate area in East New York where the 24-year-old beauty's defiled body was dumped on Feb. 26, 2006.

A defense lawyer countered that the case is an elaborate racially charged frame-up by police eager to close a blockbuster case.

"He's a black man with a long criminal record," said Joyce David, who spoke for an hour. "Who's going to care about him?"

David pointed an accusing finger at Danny Dorrian, the politically connected owner of The Falls bar where St. Guillen was partying the night she died.

"Darryl Littlejohn is being framed to protect Danny Dorrian," she declared.

The jury of six blacks, five whites and one Hispanic listened intently in the packed Brooklyn courtroom.

Three rows of seats were filled with relatives and friends of the popular St. Guillen, who grew up in Boston and attended John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

The first witnesses are investigators cops who are expected to show the jury shocking photos of St. Guillen's battered body.

St. Guillen's sister is also expected to testify about the family's loss.



Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/05/11/2009-05-11_imette_st_guillen_murder_trial_begins_prosecuti on_lays_out_case_against_bouncer_.html#ixzz0FFJ6RA Tb&B

[CSAFD]

In Bouncer’s Murder Trial, Victim’s Friend Recalls Their Last Night
May 11, 2009

The young women, best friends since the eighth grade, spent the last minutes of their friendship drunk, in a silly yet fateful argument about when it was time to go home.

On a cold February night three years ago, the friends, Claire Higgins and Imette St. Guillen, drank at a downtown Manhattan bar called Pioneer. Around 3:30 a.m., they split up, but not before arguing in the street about Ms. St. Guillen’s stubborn refusal to go home.

Ms. Higgins would hail a cab, and they would argue, letting cabs go over and over again. Finally, Ms. St. Guillen walked off alone as her worried friend trailed her down the Bowery and then stopped.

“I stood there and I watched her walk away,” said Ms. Higgins, in an admission that seemed to shake her as she spoke from the witness stand in State Supreme Court in Brooklyn on Monday.

She was among the first witnesses in the murder trial of Darryl Littlejohn, 44, who is accused of killing Ms. St. Guillen, 24, in the hours after she left the Pioneer that night in 2006.

The trial on Monday also included testimony from several investigators and from Ms. St. Guillen’s sister, Alejandra.

Prosecutors said that after she left Ms. Higgins, Ms. St. Guillen walked alone to a nearby bar, the Falls, and ordered two drinks.

There, the authorities said, she encountered Mr. Littlejohn, who worked as a bouncer at the Falls. He abducted and killed her, the authorities said, dumping her brutalized body on the side of a dirt road in Eastern Brooklyn.

Mr. Littlejohn’s lawyer, Joyce B. David, argued that her client was innocent and had been framed by the authorities to protect another suspect, whom she called a “member of a rich and powerful family.”

Since his arrest in 2006 for Ms. St. Guillen’s murder, Mr. Littlejohn was tried and convicted in another case that prosecutors said had striking similarities. In January, Mr. Littlejohn was sentenced to 25 years to life for kidnapping a college student as she walked home from class in October 2005. Mr. Littlejohn posed as a law enforcement officer and handcuffed the woman before throwing her in a van. The woman escaped.

In court on Monday, the chief of the Brooklyn district attorney’s homicide bureau, Kenneth Taub, showed pictures of Ms. St. Guillen’s body as it was discovered, a haunting reminder of a murder that gripped the city for months in 2006, and led to laws intended to make nightclubs safer.

Ms. St. Guillen, a graduate student at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, was found with her hands bound behind her back with plastic ties, brown duct tape wrapped around her face and a sock stuffed in her mouth. She had been beaten and apparently choked, and died of asphyxiation.

Mr. Taub said that Mr. Littlejohn’s blood, tissue and DNA were found on the plastic ties used to bind Ms. St. Guillen’s hands. He said that on the blanket, investigators found a pubic hair belonging to Mr. Littlejohn’s mother and semen belonging to his long-deceased brother.

Along with other forensic evidence, Mr. Taub said that cellphone calls made and received by Mr. Littlejohn, who lived in Queens, placed him on the road in East New York where Ms. St. Guillen’s body was found. Ms. St. Guillen, he said, had an “excruciating” death. “This defendant decided to use Brooklyn as his dumping ground,” Mr. Taub added.

Ms. David said in her opening statement that Mr. Littlejohn had been framed to protect the manager of the Falls bar at the time of Ms. St. Guillen’s murder. Ms. David said the manager, Daniel Dorrian, is a “member of a rich and powerful family,” who had hired high-profile lawyers to protect him, even though the police were interviewing him as a witness.

A lawyer for Mr. Dorrian did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

In the weeks following the murder, officials complained that Mr. Dorrian was hindering the investigation and had changed his story: after first saying that Ms. St. Guillen had left the bar on her own, Mr. Dorrian later told investigators that he had ordered Mr. Littlejohn to escort Ms. St. Guillen from the bar, officials said. Mr. Dorrian was not charged with any crime.

But Ms. David said in court that investigators should have focused on Mr. Dorrian as a suspect and did not because of his powerful connections. She dismissed the evidence against Mr. Littlejohn, saying it was planted, faked or easily explained: the blanket Ms. St. Guillen was wrapped in could have been at the Falls, she said.

Mr. Littlejohn was a “patsy” who became a suspect in part because he is black. “He’s expendable,” Ms. David said.

Ms. St. Guillen’s sister, Alejandra, gave tearful testimony about driving to New York from Boston the day after her sister went missing and heading to her sister’s Upper West Side apartment.

“I was at her apartment, hoping that she was there,” Ms. St. Guillen said. “And I got a phone call.” Her sister’s body had been identified, from tan lines, of all things: she had just returned from a vacation in Florida.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/12/nyregion/12littlejohn.html

[CSAFD]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v63/Maverick1862/famous%20murder%20victims/imette.jpg
24 year old Imette St.Guillen, murdered, Feb. 25, 2006

[CSAFD]

Medical Examiner Testifies In Grad Student Murder Trial
May 12, 2009

The medical examiner took the stand today trial of Darryl Littlejohn, who is accused of killing John Jay graduate student Imette St. Guillen in February of 2006.

The medical examiner who performed the autopsy on St. Guillen, 24, was the first person to take the stand today. She spoke in detail about St. Guillen's badly-bruised and cut body. The medical examiner said St. Guillen died of asphyxiation, and had a white sports sock stuffed in her mouth.

St. Guillen's body was found in East New York. She was last seen at a bar in SoHo where the suspect, Littlejohn, worked as a bartender.

According to the medical examiner, St. Guillen likely died about one to three hours after her last drink; her blood alcohol qualification was .17 at the time.

During her cross examination, the medical examiner said the situation did not seem like a sexual bondage scenario gone bad, as proposed by the defense, because strings and zipties are not typically used in sexual play.

Daniel Dorian, the manager of the bar where St. Guillen was last seen, is also set to testify today.

Littlejohn's attorney claims her client is being framed by police to protect Dorian, because of his political connections.

Dorian was the manager of The Falls bar in SoHo where Littlejohn worked, and where St. Guillen was last seen alive.

The Falls bartender Rebecca Scherle testified this afternoon that she remembered seeing St. Guillen at the bar.

St. Guillen's best friend and sister were among the first to take testify in an emotional start to the trial yesterday.

Prosecutors say DNA evidence, cell phone records, and witnesses connect Littlejohn to the crime. But the defense says police ignored Dorian as a potential suspect.

"She was bound from behind, her eyes were covered. She was thrown into a vehicle and was driven," said prosecutor Kenneth Taub. "Her cell phone was stolen and is missing. You're going to hear that the defendant pretended to be law enforcement."

"No checking of Danny's cell phone to try to do this magic cell tracking that they claim they can do," said defense attorney Joyce David. "And no checking with anybody who ever knew him, all his past girlfriends, lots of past employees, none of the questioning was about Danny Dorian."

Littlejohn is already serving a 25 year sentence in a separate case.

http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/98928/medical-examiner-testifies-in-grad-student-murder-trial/Default.aspx?ap=1&Flash

[sunstar]

Bar workers say suspect Darryl Littlejohn chatted with Imette St. Guillen before she disappeared

A Soho bus boy testified Tuesday that slain grad student Imette St. Guillen chatted at the bar with an ex-con bouncer minutes before she disappeared.

Felix Santiago said he saw Darryl Littlejohn sitting next to the tipsy woman just before closing time at The Falls bar - the first time jurors at his murder trial heard the two were together.

"He was sitting next to her for a few moments," said Santiago, a Mexican immigrant. "That's all I saw."

The bar helper didn't hear what Littlejohn said, but believed the strikingly beautiful woman was answering a question about her race.

"She mentioned that she had a friend who was (Asian)," Santiago said.

A few moments later, Santiago said he saw Littlejohn and another bouncer escort St. Guillen out the front door.

He saw the other bouncer later, but never saw Littlejohn or St. Guillen again.

"They opened the door and disappeared," the bus boy said.

Littlejohn, 44, is accused of snatching St. Guillen, 24, from the bar and killing her on Feb. 25, 2006.

Her battered body was found dumped in East New York.

A bartender said St. Guillen walked into the empty watering hole about 15 minutes before the 4 a.m. closing time and ordered two rum and cokes.

She served the drinks then went downstairs as staffers worked to shut the bar along with owner Danny Dorrian.

"(Dorrian) said, 'This girl's crazy. She doesn't want to leave,'" said the bartender Rebecca Scherle.

Dorrian is expected to take the stand this afternoon.

Defense lawyers say cops framed Littlejohn to protect the politically connected bar owner.

A medical examiner said St. Guillen's blood alcohol level was at least .17%, or more than twice the legal limit, when her body was discovered hours later.

St. Guillen was registered as an unknown woman, victim No. 22606, when her body was brought into the morgue, said Christina Roman of the city medical examiner's office.

Roman detailed the woman's injuries, including scrapes on her neck and face and evidence of a violent sexual encounter.

She also showed jurors the brown packing tape used to cover St. Guillen's nose and the white tube sock her attacker stuffed in her mouth.

The sock had blood on it, indicating she died of asphyxiation after the smothering sex attack, which may have lasted up to 12 minutes, Roman said.

"She was alive and able to breathe," Roman said.

The coroner also pulled out the floral bedspread used to wrap St. Guillen's body. Prosecutors say DNA evidence ties Littlejohn to the blanket.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/05/12/2009-05-12_bar_workers_place_.html

[rem16]

BAR OWNER ADMISTS LYING TO COPS ABOUT IMETTE ST. GUILLEN SLAY

The scion of a Big Apple bar-owning family made infamous in the notorious preppie killer case, admitted today he callously lied to cops hunting for the killer of a woman last seen in a downtown bar he ran to avoid a repeat of the 1980s scandal.

Danny Dorrian initially told cops that he didn't remember anything about 24-year-old Imette St. Guillen who was last seen leaving The Falls bar in SoHo in February 2006 with bouncer Darryl Littlejohn who is charged with brutally killing her.

"If I pretended it didn't happen, maybe it wouldn't be true," he testified at Littlejohn's trial in Brooklyn. "I didn't believe it was true."

http://www.nypost.com/seven/05122009/news/regionalnews/dorrian_feared_red_ux_168919.htm

Just sickening :madranting94dp:

[sunstar]

BAR OWNER ADMISTS LYING TO COPS ABOUT IMETTE ST. GUILLEN SLAY

The scion of a Big Apple bar-owning family made infamous in the notorious preppie killer case, admitted today he callously lied to cops hunting for the killer of a woman last seen in a downtown bar he ran to avoid a repeat of the 1980s scandal.

Danny Dorrian initially told cops that he didn't remember anything about 24-year-old Imette St. Guillen who was last seen leaving The Falls bar in SoHo in February 2006 with bouncer Darryl Littlejohn who is charged with brutally killing her.

"If I pretended it didn't happen, maybe it wouldn't be true," he testified at Littlejohn's trial in Brooklyn. "I didn't believe it was true."

http://www.nypost.com/seven/05122009/news/regionalnews/dorrian_feared_red_ux_168919.htm

Just sickening :madranting94dp:

I feel the same way about this guy :madranting94dp: and I can see why he's a good target for the defense ~ but unfortunately for them Littlejohn's DNA, carpet fibers from his house, fur, etc. are on all the evidence connected to the crime. The only connection I can see with Dorrian is if he told Littlejohn to do it. MOO

[sunstar]

Bar Manager Cross-Examined In Bouncer Murder Trial

The manager of the SoHo bar where graduate student Imette St. Guillen was last seen alive was cross-examined on the stand today in the murder trial of bouncer Darryl Littlejohn.

Daniel Dorrian, seen above, admitted in the Brooklyn court yesterday that he kept details from police about the night St. Guillen was killed, because the case reminded him of the bad press his family received in 1986 after Robert Chambers picked up Jennifer Levin at another bar owned by his family before killing Levin in Central Park.

The day after first being approached by police, Dorrian told investigators that he ordered Littlejohn to escort the 24-year-old graduate student out of The Falls bar on that February 2006 night, because St. Guillen did not want to leave.

Dorrian said he did not remember learning about Littlejohn's background check between the second time he spoke with police.

Also, while Dorrian told police earlier that he saw the bouncer and student together in a hallway and then heard "screaming," Dorrian said today that he heard no screaming.

The defense team tried to portray Dorrian as a son of privilege who was only interested in protecting himself once he found out that St. Guillen was killed.

"Within a few hours of that, coincidentally, Danny's lawyers, who are very hooked up to the police department, let the police know that Danny had something more to say," said Joyce David, Littlejohn's defense attorney. "And what he has to say, depending on who you believe, is that my client was the one who escorted her out."

The prosecution countered the defense's accusation that Dorrian was evasive to the investigation, saying that the bar manager eventually cooperated and shared all the information he had.

St. Guillen's body was found less than a day later in a lot in East New York, Brooklyn.

Defense attorneys say Littlejohn is being framed because Dorrian is politically connected, and that Dorrian should be subject to stronger investigations.

But prosecutors say they have physical evidence linking Littlejohn to the murder.

http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/98995/bar-manager-cross-examined-in-bouncer-murder-trial/Default.aspx

[Faith]

Bar owner testifies in Littlejohn trial

Wednesday, May 13, 2009 | 5:40 PM

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Lawyers for the bouncer on trial in the murder of Imette St. Guillen have said police have the wrong man. And Wednesday, Darryl Littlejohn's lawyers went after the manager of the bar in court.

Defense attorneys for the 44-year-old Littlejohn would certainly like a jury to believe he had nothing to do with the crime. But Danny Dorrian, the owner of the Falls Bar in SoHo, said nothing to reporters outside the courthoust. He also said very little when he was peppered with questions from Littlejohn's attorney about the murder of St. Guillen in 2006.

"Why would somebody lie to police about something like this?" defense attorney Joyce Davide said. "You can say, well, if [Dorrian] would lie to protect his family from scandal, he certainly would lie to protect himself from a murder charge."

The defense argues that Littlejohn was set up in order to protect Dorrian, who has an influential family that has endured scandals in the past. Dorrian's father owns a bar that was where the infamous preppie killer, Robert Chambers, first met his victim Jennifer Levin, two decades ago.

In court Wednesday, Danny Dorrian appeared evasive and said he simply didn't remember numerous things about the case. For example, when asked if police ever looked at his body to see if he had any scratches, Dorrian replied, "I don't know."

"You don't remember if police looked at your body?" the defense attorney asked.

"That week was a crazy week, ma'am," he replied.

"It was very strange, not to remember things that you should remember," Davide said. "And the only thing that he seemed absolutely positive about was that the quilt hadn't been at the Falls Bar. That, he clearly remembered."

That quilt was used to wrap the body of Imette St. Guillen, who was found in East New York hours after she disappeared. Prosecutors emphasized that DNA evidence will tie Darryl Littlejohn to the crime scene.

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local&id=6811504

[Faith]

Dorrian’s Controversial Testimony at Question in Bouncer’s Murder Trial
published online 05-13-2009


http://www.brooklyneagle.com/inc/miniaturka.php?plik=051309173839.jpg
Danny Dorrian testified that after “Preppie Killer” Robert Chambers (above) murdered Jennifer Levin in Central Park in 1986 after picking her up at Dorrian’s Red Hand bar on the Upper East Side, he was reluctant to tell police everything he knew about Imette St. Guillen’s disappearance from The Falls in SoHo, which was another Dorrian family establishment.
AP Photo


JAY STREET — At the heart of Darryl Littlejohn’s defense in his murder and rape trial of a 24-year-old graduate student is the manager of the SoHo bar where Littlejohn worked as a bouncer.

“Did you pay a homeless man to tell the police that he had seen my client escort Imette St. Guillen into a blue van?” defense counsel Joyce David asked Danny Dorrian, a witness for the prosecution.

Prosecutor Kenneth Taub objected to the question and was overruled by Justice Abraham G. Gerges, and Taub then asked David to show him the documents she was holding. David turned to Taub and said, “No. The judge said no.”

Justice Gerges told the attorneys not to argue in the courtroom.

During opening statements, David had argued that Littlejohn is being framed to protect the Dorrian family, who have owned and managed New York City bars for decades, and that Danny Dorrian was not sufficiently investigated.

Dorrian’s parents, Jack and Carol, were owners of Dorrian’s Red Hand, the Upper East Side haunt where “Preppie Killer” Robert Chambers met Jennifer Levin before killing her in Central Park in 1986. After the two left the bar together, a cyclist found Levin’s body several hours later behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Chambers was later convicted of manslaughter and spent over a decade in prison. He was sentenced to prison again last year for drug crimes.

Dorrian testified that Chambers’ murder of Levin had caused many problems for his family’s business years ago, and therefore, he was reluctant to tell police everything he knew about St. Guillen’s disappearance on the night Littlejohn escorted St. Guillen out of The Falls in SoHo.

“Even though you lied to police for a week, you were never charged with hindering prosecution?” David asked Dorrian. The witness was not forced to answer the question because an objection was sustained.

Dorrian had admitted in testimony the day before on Tuesday that he did not tell police that he had told victim St. Guillen to leave The Falls bar and ordered Littlejohn to escort her out. He said in court that he was “banged up” on that night in February 2006 and did not have a clear memory of the night’s events, because of various factors including that he had been fighting with his girlfriend.

David questioned Dorrian about whether he had been fingerprinted by police or given a polygraph test, and he said he had not. She also asked if police had ever examined his body for marks and scratches, and he said they had not.

After David’s cross-examinations were over, prosecutor Taub stood to ask a few more questions. “Did you have anything to do with the death of Imette St. Guillen?” Taub asked as his final question. “Absolutely not,” Dorrian said.

Littlejohn’s trial has attracted citywide media coverage. The former bouncer is already serving a sentence of 25 years to life in the kidnapping of another young woman in Queens that authorities say was part of a sexual assault spree.

Littlejohn reportedly had a fake badge and is accused of pretending that he was a member of law enforcement in the Queens kidnapping and possibly with St. Guillen.

St. Guillen was a Boston native and graduate student at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, where she was on the dean’s list and preparing to graduate. She attended George Washington University in Washington, D.C., as an undergraduate and graduated with honors.

She died in an unimaginable way: raped, strangled, tortured and left on the side of a remote service road in East New York. Beige-colored packing tape masked her entire face and a sock had been stuffed inside her mouth. Her hair had been chopped off.

The tragedy’s brutal nature blindsided St. Guillen’s family.

At the time of the killing, St. Guillen’s mother said she wanted to avoid dwelling on disturbing details.

“Really, what we want to do is just concentrate on the positive things and the life of my daughter and not focus on all the negative aspects,” she said. “She was a beautiful girl, I mean beautiful inside also.”

St. Guillen, who lived on the Upper West Side, had just returned from a Florida vacation when she went out drinking Friday night with her friend. At 2:30 a.m., the friend decided to go home; a security camera captured footage of the two parting ways outside Pioneer, a bar in the Bowery where they had spent the past four hours.

The friend later told police she checked on St. Guillen by cell phone about 30 minutes later. In their brief, final conversation, the victim said she had gone to another bar in the neighborhood and would be home soon. Employees at The Falls testified that she was there until closing time when management forced her to leave. After he escorted her out, neither Littlejohn and St. Guillen did not re-enter the bar, a bartender testified earlier this week.

Nearly 18 hours passed before authorities received an anonymous call from a man who gave the location of St. Guillen’s body — and nothing more.

Police later traced the call to a public phone at the Lindenwood Diner on Linden Boulevard in East New York, about a mile from where the body was discovered in a patch of weeds, six miles from where she was last seen alive.

Additional reporting by the Associated Press

http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=4&id=28229

[Faith]

Darryl Littlejohn is Being Framed to Protect Bar Manager

Manager of bar where Imette St. Guillen was last seen alive, took the stand Wednesday

BY MARY SCHULTZ | wpix.com

May 13, 2009
NEW YORK (WPIX) - The manager of the SoHo bar where Imette St. Guillen was last seen alive, was cross-examined Wednesday during the murder trial of her alleged killer.

The lawyers representing Darryl Littlejohn suggested in their defense that Dan Dorrian played a role in the murder of the John Jay College student. St. Guillen was found dead in Brooklyn with her hands bound behind her back, duct tape wrapped around her face, and a sock stuffed in her mouth.

Littlejohn's attorney also suggested that Dorrian's well-connected lawyers provided police with information on Littlejohn's criminal record.

Dorrian denied all the allegations.

Dorrian was the manager at The Falls bar in February 2006 when St. Guillen disappeared, and was later found murdered. He admitted on the witness stand Tuesday that at first he did not tell detectives the whole story.

In addition to several admissions, he said he had bad memories of a similar crime that took place at his father's Upper East Side bar more than twenty years ago. A young woman was murdered after meeting her killer at Dorrian's Red Hand on 84th Street. The crime became known as the "Preppy Murder."

Littlejohn is currently serving time for kidnapping another woman. His lawyer says Littlejohn is being framed to protect Dorrian.

http://www.wpix.com/news/local/wpix-bar-manager-cross-examined-imette,0,6793245.story

[Faith]

In Imette St. Guillen slay trial, bar manager Danny Dorrian under fire; lawyers paint him as suspect

By Scott Shifrel and Dave Goldiner
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Updated Wednesday, May 13th 2009

http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2009/05/14/alg_the_falls_bar.jpg
The Falls bar, in SoHo, where murder victim Imette St. Guillen was drinking the night of her death. Bar manager Daniel Dorrian was among the last to see her alive.

SoHo Bar manager Danny Dorrian (http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Danny+Dorrian) fended off harsh questioning Wednesday in the Imette St. Guillen (http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Imette+St.+Guillen) murder trial as the defense sought to cast him as a possible suspect in the sensational slaying.


http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2009/05/14/amd_daniel_dorrian.jpg
Dorrian arriving at State Supreme Court in Brooklyn to testify. He came under fire after admitting he did not reveal the whole truth to police during the investigation.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/05/13/2009-05-13_in_imette_st_guillen_slay_trial_bar_manager_dan ny_dorrian_under_fire_lawyers_pai.html#ixzz0FQx3Oc SZ&B




The weasely bar boss admitted fudging the facts and said cops put words in his mouth when they quoted him saying bouncer Darryl Littlejohn (http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Darryl+Littlejohn) and the gorgeous grad student had a screaming match.



"It might have been a loud conversation," Dorrian said. "By the end . . . it came out she was screaming."


Dorrian insisted he didn't exactly lie when he initially stonewalled cops about St. Guillen's kidnapping and murder.


"I didn't tell them everything," Dorrian said. "I (later) told them what I remembered in more detail."


The scion of a Manhattan (http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Manhattan) family of bar owners earlier said he feared a backlash from the St. Guillen killing similar to the Preppie Murder case that embroiled his father's Dorrian's Red Hand bar two decades earlier.


Littlejohn, 44, is accused of raping and killing St. Guillen, 24, after he kicked her out of the bar at closing time on Feb. 25, 2006.


The John Jay College (http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/John+Jay+College+of+Criminal+Justice) student's battered body was found a day later in East New York (http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/East+New+York).
Defense lawyer Joyce David (http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Joyce+David) fiercely grilled Danny Dorrian about the lies and suggested he might have been the real killer.


She forced him to admit he told cops he was "banged up" in a quarrel with his girlfriend a couple of days after St. Guillen's body was found.


Even still, cops never investigated him as a possible suspect.


"I don't believe I had any bruises," the manager said. "It was just a figure of speech."


David suggested that St. Guillen might have returned to The Falls bar and hooked up with Dorrian.

http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2009/05/14/amd_darryl_littlejohn.jpg
Darryl Littlejohn, 41, the former bouncer at The Falls is on trial for St. Guillen's murder.

He admitted having drinks with friends, but insisted he never saw St. Guillen again and didn't sleep with any woman that night.


The defense lawyer also got Dorrian to admit occasionally using cocaine and attending acting classes, apparently an effort to stoke doubt about his story among jurors.


After Dorrian finished a grueling 1-1/2 hour cross-examination, he was forced to endure the final indignity of fighting his way through a crowd of reporters and photographers.


Tailed by swarms of journalists, he walked back and forth across a street in front of the Brooklyn (http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Brooklyn) court house until his father, Jack, finally arrived to pick him up.


Two decades ago, Jack Dorrian (http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Jack+Dorrian) was also accused of being less than forthcoming after preppie killer Robert Chambers (http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Robert+Chambers) picked up Jennifer Levin (http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Jennifer+Levin) at his upper East Side bar.



Chambers famously killed Levin later during a violent sexual encounter in Central Park (http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Central+Park).

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/05/13/2009-05-13_in_imette_st_guillen_slay_trial_bar_manager_dan ny_dorrian_under_fire_lawyers_pai.html#ixzz0FQx3Oc SZ&B

[annalyzer]

Oh so he went and borrowed the blanket from Darryl to wrap her in? :rolleyes:

[sunstar]

Thanks so much, Faith, for posting today's additional articles! :love0081:

[sunstar]

Oh so he went and borrowed the blanket from Darryl to wrap her in? :rolleyes:

I sincerely doubt it! If Dorrian were involved in actually killing her and disposing of her body I would think his DNA would be somewhere on the body or what she was wrapped in. I think the defense is just doing the only thing they can ~ point suspicion in another direction away from their guilty client. MOO

[CSAFD]

05/14/2009
Detectives Continue Testimony In Littlejohn Trial

Crime scene detectives resume their testimony in the trial of bar bouncer Darryl Littlejohn, seen above, for the murder of graduate student Imette St. Guillen.

Yesterday, Daniel Dorrian, the manager of the SoHo bar where Littlejohn worked and St. Guillen was last seen alive, was cross-examined.

Dorrian admitted he had withheld information from police in his initial interview.

The defense says Dorian only gave the full story after a background check showed Littlejohn had a long criminal history.

Dorrian also testified that he only told police he heard a screaming match between Littlejohn and St. Guillen after police strongly interrogated him.

Dorrian said in reality it was more like a loud conversation.

St. Guillen's body was found on the side of a road in East New York, Brooklyn in February 2006, a day after she had gone missing.

http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/99090/detectives-continue-testimony-in-littlejohn-trial/Default.aspx?ap=1&Flash

[sunstar]

Ex-girlfriend of Imette St. Guillen's accused murderer: He asked me to lie for him day after slay

An ex-girlfriend of accused murderer Darryl Littlejohn testified Thursday the ex-con asked her to falsely claim he used her car in the hours after grad student Imette St. Guillen was killed.

Sandra Smith said Littlejohn told her to claim he drove her white Chrysler Sebring to see his ailing mom in a Queens nursing home.

"He called me and said if anyone calls, [to] say he had my car," said Smith, who once dated Littlejohn and remained friends with him.

Littlejohn also initially told cops that he used Smith's car to visit his mom in the hours after St. Guillen was kidnapped and killed on Feb. 25, 2006.

The alibi fell apart when Smith told cops he didn't use her car.

Police suspect Littlejohn, 44, used another van to abduct and rape St. Guillen, 24, after meeting her at The Falls, a SoHo bar where he worked.

The gorgeous student's badly beaten body was found in East New York the day after Littlejohn escorted her out of the bar at closing time.

A cell phone expert is expected to testify later Thursday that Littlejohn spent time in almost the exact spot that St. Guillen was found.

The circumstantial evidence is important to the prosecution because there are no witnesses to the brutal crime and only limited DNA evidence points to Littlejohn.


Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/05/14/2009-05-14_exgirlfriend_of_imette_st_guillens_accused_murd erer_he_asked_me_to_lie_for_him_d.html#ixzz0FWnDu2 Ty&B

[nanabillie]

http://www.nypost.com/seven/05152009/news/regionalnews/trace_on_cell_nails_littlejohn_169381.htm

Trace On Cell Nails Littlejohn

Last updated: 10:25 am
May 15, 2009
Posted: 2:03 am
May 15, 2009

The bouncer accused of killing Imette St. Guillen was within a stone's throw of where her naked body was found, a cellphone engineer testified yesterday.
The engineer, Terence Li, told a Brooklyn jury that Darryl Littlejohn's calls between 7:15 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Feb. 25, 2006, the day of the murder, were transmitted via cell towers along the Belt Parkway near the desolate embankment where the body was recovered.
One call in particular -- made at 7:31 p.m. -- pinged off two different towers, in Canarsie, Brooklyn, and Howard Beach, Queens, each roughly two miles from the dump site.
The two towers are connected by the Belt Parkway, which runs within a few hundred feet of where she was dumped.
Jurors yesterday also heard from Sandra Smith, a former girlfriend of the 44-year-old Littlejohn. Smith testified that he asked her to help him when she talked to police.
"He called and said if anyone calls me to say that he had my car on Friday and Saturday," the woman, Sandra Smith, said.

[CSAFD]

Woman kidnapped by Darryl Littlejohn offers gripping testimony at Imette St. Guillen murder trial

May 18, 2009


A sobbing young woman captivated a Brooklyn jury Monday as she recounted her daring escape from a bouncer who was later charged in the murder of grad student Imette St. Guillen.

Glancing furtively at the defense table, Shanai Woodard took the stand and fingered Darryl Littlejohn as the man who plucked her off the street and threw her into his van in October 2005.

"I said, 'What did I do? Can I call my sister?'" Woodard said, her voice trembling. "That's when he took my phone and said I can't call anyone."

She wept as she recalled Littlejohn's viciousness and the thought that she might have shared the same fate as St. Guillen, whose naked body was found dumped off the Belt Parkway four months later.

Woodard said she tried to escape by opening the door and screaming for help, but Littlejohn stopped the van and climbed into the back with her.

"He punched me in the head two to three times and he put a jacket over my head so I couldn't see," said the petite 23-year-old, glancing at an expressionless Littlejohn. "He said I was trying to be slick and trying to get away and he wouldn't let me get away."

"I said, 'Why are you doing this? What did I do? I didn't do anything.'"

St. Guillen was last seen at the SoHo bar where Littlejohn worked. The ex-con's DNA, as well as that of his brother and mother, were found near St. Guillen's body.
Littlejohn was convicted last year of abducting Woodard and has since been sentenced to 25 years to life.

St. Guillen's best friend, step-father and several others in the audience looked at Littlejohn as Woodard broke down in tears. Jurors sat up straight and listened as if spellbound.

"I managed to get the jacket off my head so I could see," she said.

She said she then decided to fling herself from the moving van. "I got the door open and pushed myself out."

"I tumbled on the ground really hard ... I landed in like a dirt patch. It happened really fast."

Littlejohn slowed the van, but apparently the sight of children playing nearby convinced him to drive off and leave the bloodied victim who might have been.

He was convicted of the Queens abduction in October and is serving 25 years to life in prison.

Normally, testimony of another crime would not be allowed. However, Justice Abraham Gerges ruled over Littlejohn's lawyers objections that similarities - a young woman abducted, hands bound behind, hit in the head and her eyes covered - were striking enough to let the jurors hear.

In fact, it was St. Guillen's case that led to the arrest of Littlejohn for the Queens abduction.

Woodard recounted that she was watching the news in February 2006 when she saw the van from the as-yet-unsolved murder of St. Guillen.

"I just started freaking out. I started crying, 'Mom, that's the van I was in," she said.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/05/18/2009-05-18_woman_kidnapped_by_darryl_littlejohn_offers_gri pping_testimony_at_imette_st_guil.html

[sunstar]

All I can say is God bless Shanai. What a brave young woman she is! :tender:

[CSAFD]

Forensics expert testifies against bouncer Darryl Littlejohn in Imette St. Guillen murder trial

May 19, 2009

A forensics expert testified Tuesday that fibers from a rug and three fur jackets link ex-con Darryl Littlejohn to the murder of grad student Imette St. Guillen.

Nicholas Petraco, a retired NYPD evidence expert, said fibers from items seized at Littlejohn's home were found on tape binding St. Guillen and a quilt used to wrap her battered body.

"It's consistent in all respects," Petraco said.

Littlejohn, 44, is on trial for killing the 24-year-old John Jay College student after snatching her from the Soho bar where he worked as a bouncer.

Petraco conceded under cross-examination that fiber analysis is not as watertight as DNA evidence.

His expert testimony is a key piece of the prosecution's mostly circumstantial case against Littlejohn.

Petraco said the fibers in question came from two fur coats and a rabbit-collared leather jacket that belonged to Littlejohn's mother, along with traces of a red rug in his house.

All the fibers were also found in Littlejohn's van, which prosecutors believe he used to abduct and rape St. Guillen before beating her to death Feb. 25, 2006.

A Queens woman wrapped up testimony pointing the finger at Littlejohn for a previous abduction a couple of months before the St. Guillen murder.

Littlejohn was convicted of that attack and is already serving a 25-year prison sentence.


http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/05/19/2009-05-19_forensics_expert_testifies_against_bouncer_darr yl_littlejohn_in_imette_st_guille.html

[sunstar]

Thanks for posting the update! It seems amazing that the source of so much of the forensic evidence makes it look like Littlejohn never did laundry or cleaned anything ~ such as his brother's DNA on the quilt (when the brother died in 1994) and fur from his mother's coats. :waitasec:

[sunstar]

Littlejohn Murder Trial Continues With Graphic Medical Evidence

JAY STREET — Brooklyn medical examiners testifying in the trial of Darryl Littlejohn Wednesday spoke about DNA evidence recovered from a car Littlejohn was allegedly seen driving and the quilt wrapped around grad student Imette St. Guillen’s body.

A mountain of forensic evidence was investigated after 24-year-old St. Guillen’s body was found naked and wrapped in a quilt in East New York in 2006. In addition to the quilt, police also seized a Ford Windstar that one witness allegedly saw Littlejohn and St. Guillen driving outside the SoHo bar where Littlejohn was a bouncer.

Littlejohn is accused of rape and murder and faces 25 years to life in prison. He is being tried in Brooklyn Supreme Court before Justice Abraham G. Gerges.

Medical examiner Taylor Hickerson testified about examining a “rubber penis” found inside the Windstar. He said that the rubber penis tested positive for Littlejohn’s DNA, and for the DNA of at least two other sources, including an unidentified woman. It did not test positive for St. Guillen’s DNA, he said.

Hickerson also said that he examined the postmortem sexual assault kit taken from St. Guillen’s body, and testified that Littlejohn’s DNA was not found.

Jason Kolowski, another medical examiner, investigated hairs and fibers that were found in the quilt that St. Guillen’s body was wrapped in. Kolowski testified that 233 hairs were found in the quilt, some of which belonged to St. Guillen.

St. Guillen’s body was found with her hair chopped off. However, outside the courtroom, Kolowski said he was not allowed to comment on whether hair from St. Guillen’s head was found on the quilt. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner imposes strict restrictions on what information medical examiners are allowed to give out to the public.

Hairs were found that potentially match Littlejohn’s DNA, but Kolowski explained that they could also belong to a maternal relative, and that DNA testing could not absolutely prove that the hairs belonged to Littlejohn. Kolowski also testified that they found DNA samples from eight other donors who were never identified during tests on the quilt. He said that he could not determine through testing if these samples were left recently or in the past.

The zip-ties that prosecutors say Littlejohn used to bind St. Guillen were also discussed as evidence and brought out and shown to the court yesterday. Medical examiner Ewelina Bajda said that while examining the three zip-ties, some of which were tied together with string, she was surprised to find a reddish-brown stain inside the locking mechanism of one zip-tie. That stain was later revealed to be Littlejohn’s blood.

Those zip-ties were found inside the Windstar. It was unclear why they had been tied together with string, although they resembled makeshift handcuffs.

Defense counsel shot back fiercely at the medical examiners, as Samuel Karliner intensely cross-examined the witnesses about DNA testing methodology and their individual work in the laboratory. Karliner represented cop-killer Lee Woods in a 2008 trial, and is co-counsel to Brooklyn Heights attorney Joyce David.

more at: http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=4&id=28364

[sunstar]

Detective on Imette St. Guillen case: NYPD cops focused on Darryl Littlejohn as suspect

Tuesday, May 26th 2009, 3:04 PM


The lead detective in the Imette St. Guillen murder case testified Tuesday that cops focused on ex-con Darryl Littlejohn and did little to probe other possible suspects.

Det. Sean McTighe admitted he didn't consider bar manager Danny Dorrian a potential suspect in the grad student's slaying, despite reports of his boozing, drug use and womanizing.

Even when Dorrian told investigators he was "banged up" in a fight with his girlfriend right after St. Guillen, 24, was killed, cops didn't check out his injuries.

"For me, it was determined that 'banged up' meant drunk," McTighe said.

Defense lawyer Joyce David suggested he might have been covering up for Dorrian, the scion of a politically connected Manhattan family of bar owners.

"Is that [banged up] an Irish expression?" she asked skeptically.

"Yes, I use it a lot," McTighe replied.

David tried to hammer McTighe about perceived shortcomings in the probe.

The veteran detective mostly stood his ground, saying other detectives may have tracked down leads on Dorrian and other possible suspects in the case.

He did concede it was "very unusual" for him to meet with Dorrian late on a Friday in the office of the NYPD Chief of Detectives, a sign of the bar manager's clout.

David wants the jury to think cops concocted the case against Littlejohn, 44, because he is black and an ex-con.

"They're framing him," she said outside the Brooklyn courthouse. "They disregarded any information that didn't go along with their theory."

Dorrian's father, Jack Dorrian, is the owner of Dorrian's Red Hand, the upper East Side bar at the center of the '80s Preppie Murder case.

The younger Dorrian said he failed to fully cooperate with cops because he feared a flood of bad publicity about The Falls, the bar where St. Guillen was drinking when she disappeared Feb. 25, 2006.



Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/05/26/2009-05-26_detective_on_imette_st_guillen_case_nypd_cops_f ocused_on_darryl_littlejohn_as_su.html#ixzz0Gf3zAR 9g&B

[sunstar]

Alleged Rape Victim Testifies Against Littlejohn

NEW YORK (CBS) ―

A surprise witness testified in the trial of Darryl Littlejohn, the bouncer charged with raping and murdering Imette St. Guillen.

The witness was a woman the DA said Littlejohn raped four months before Imette St. Guillen. She stared directly at him when entering the court.

The 22-year-old student who was snatched from a Queens street after spending the night at a Manhattan club picked Littlejohn out of a photo array, but failed to point him out in a line-up.

Yet, she is one of the key witnesses for the prosecution, who said in October of 2005 she was stopped by a man in uniform who got out of his car and asked for her ID.

"At that moment I realized he's not an officer. I tried to run away. I screamed. He said, 'Shut the f*** up.' Then I was handcuffed from behind and put into his car," she said.

She said she was placed face up in the back seat of his car, with a gun was pointed at her.

"I said I want to go to the bathroom. Please don't kill me. I have cash," she said.

The victim testified that she was driven to a house. "A knit cap was placed over my head and pulled down to my nose. That was wrapped with duct tape many times."

She said she was sexually assaulted in more than one way while handcuffed to a bedpost. The prosecution said it's shockingly similar to the St. Guillen attack.

However, Littlejohn's attorney Joyce David said the rape of this woman was different in several ways. "I don't think it's the same MO at all."

"I'm not going to minimize it. She was raped then driven back safe and sound to where she was picked up," David said.

Prosecutors said the rapist made one huge mistake, giving the victim a t-shirt with the DNA of Littlejohn's mother on it.

http://wcbstv.com/topstories/imette.st.guillen.2.1020138.html

[sunstar]

Rape victim's shirt had Darryl Littlejohn's mother's DNA on it, says expert at Imette trial

BY Scott Shifrel and Dave Goldiner
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Updated Wednesday, May 27th 2009, 4:02 PM

A city criminologist gave DNA testimony Wednesday that could tie accused killer Darryl Littlejohn to the rape of a Japanese woman attacked a few months before the murder of Imette St. Guillen.

Kyra Keblish of the medical examiner's office said DNA from Littlejohn's mother was found on a T-shirt given to the woman by her attacker.

She said the odds are 81 billion-to-1 that the genetic sample came from anyone other than the mother, who has since died.

Under cross-examination, Keblish admitted technicians initially failed to find the sample on the shirt and made the match only after Littlejohn was arrested in the St. Guillen murder.

"Things aren't what they seem," declared defense lawyer Joyce David, who claims Littlejohn was framed by gung-ho cops.

The Japanese woman testified Tuesday that she was kidnapped and raped by a man who flashed a badge and taped a knit cap over her eyes.

Although Littlejohn wasn't charged in the attack, the details she gave - along with the T-shirt evidence - may suggest he was the assailant.

Prosecutors will argue the rape is part of a pattern that culminated with the St. Guillen slaying. Littlejohn was convicted in January of snatching a Queens woman, who managed to escape from his van.

His mom's DNA also was found on a coverlet used to wrap the battered body of St. Guillen, 24, who disappeared after drinking at a SoHo bar where Littlejohn worked as a bouncer.

The grad student's nude and battered body was found hours later on Feb. 25, 2006.

The prosecution is expected to rest its case today and Littlejohn may take the stand next. The Brooklyn jury could get the case early next week.



Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/05/27/2009-05-27_rape_victims_shirt_had_darryl_littlejohns_mothe rs_dna_on_it_says_expert_at_imett.html#ixzz0GlBRFc M8&B

[sunstar]

Prosecution rests in Imette St. Guillen murder trial; defense suggests Littlejohn won't take stand
BY Scott Shifrel AND Dave Goldiner
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Updated Thursday, May 28th 2009, 1:13 PM

Defense counsel in the Imette St. Guillen trial suggested that Darryl Littlejohn will not be taking the stand.

St. Guillen murder trial, and lawyers for ex-con Darryl Littlejohn suggested he won't take the stand.

Prosecutors and defense lawyers spent most of the day sparring over defense plans to call into doubt the work of a DNA-testing firm used by the city in the murder case.

The defense wants to claim the firm might have botched evidence in an effort to frame Littlejohn and clear well-connected bar manager Danny Dorrian.

The Brooklyn judge has not made a decision on whether Littlejohn's lawyer can call a witness to trash the firm's reputation.

Both sides are expected to make closing statements early next week and the jury could get the case by Tuesday.

Littlejohn, 44, is accused of killing St. Guillen, 24, after luring her from a SoHo bar where he worked as a bouncer.

Her nude body was found hours later on Feb. 25, 2006.

Prosecutors say St. Guillen was one of a series of abductions carried out by Littlejohn. Two women testified about other attacks that mirrored the case.

The defense contends that cops pinned the murder on Littlejohn because he is black and has a rap sheet.



Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/05/28/2009-05-28_prosecution_rests_in_imette_st_guillen_murder_t rial_defense_suggests_littlejohn_.html#ixzz0Gr8Y9m Sp&B

[sunstar]

DEFENSE RESTS IN ST. GUILLEN SLAY CASE

Posted: 4:08 pm
June 1, 2009

Defense lawyers for the bouncer accused of murdering grad student Imette St. Guillen rested their case today after grilling two detectives about an extensive search of Darryl Littlejohn's home.

NYPD crime scene investigators spent 25 hours combing through Littlejohn's basement apartment in Queens and collected everything from bedding and carpet samples to baby oil and a pair of ladies underwear, Det. Thomas Forte said.

But none of the more than 50 items seized in the March 2006 search were ever linked to St. Guillen and DNA testing failed to yield a match.

A second detective, Maria Quinones, acknowledged that only a handful of items were removed from the SoHo bar where St. Guillen had been drinking on the night of her death on Feb. 25, 2006.

Lawyers for Littlejohn, 44, have argued that cops overlooked potential evidence against bar manager Danny Dorrian.

Quinones said Dorrian was investigated "as much as anyone else was,"

but could not pinpoint the date that cops ruled him out as a suspect - a decision that defense attorney Joyce David suggested happened one week after the murder.

Jurors are set to hear closing arguments tomorrow in Brooklyn Supreme Court.

Despite the lack of physical evidence in Littlejohn's home, prosecutors have presented proof that Littlejohn's blood, tissue and DNA were found on the plastic ties that were used to bind St. Guillen's hands.

A blanket that was found with her body had a pubic hair belonging to Littlejohn's mother and semen from his long-deceased brother.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/06012009/news/regionalnews/defense_rests_in_st__guillen_slay_case_172036.htm

[sunstar]

Lawyers Say Bouncer Accused of Murdering Graduate Student Was Framed

NEW YORK — A bouncer accused of sexually assaulting and murdering a young graduate student was framed by his employer in a cover-up that reached as high as the former mayor of New York City, a defense attorney told jurors Tuesday.

The employer, Danny Dorrian, came from a wealthy family with friends in high places. Defense attorney Joyce David said he accidentally killed Imette St. Guillen after a night of sexual domination play where she was bound and gagged, and then asked his family for help.

David suggested Dorrian, his family and his friends, who included an adviser to then-presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani, chose to lay the blame on her client, Darryl Littlejohn.

Dorrian has denied having anything to do with St. Guillen's killing. A prosecutor called David's accusation "the rankest kind of speculation."

St. Guillen was last seen alive on Feb. 26, 2006. Her nude body, bound and with a sock shoved down her throat, was discovered the next day on a roadside in Brooklyn wrapped in a quilt. She had been sexually assaulted.

Littlejohn pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in her death.

In closing arguments Tuesday, his attorney placed the blame squarely on Dorrian. She said police zeroed in on Littlejohn and failed to investigate Dorrian to protect the family and also so Giuliani would not be dragged into the scandal because of the family's ties to his adviser Tony Carbonetti.

"Darryl Littlejohn was the solution to all their problems: solving the city's biggest crime at the time, protecting Daniel Dorrian and also protecting Rudy Giuliani from another scandal," David said.

Dorrian testified for the prosecution. When prosecutor Kenneth Taub asked Dorrian if he had anything to do with her death, he replied, "Absolutely not." He also insisted he did not have sex with St. Guillen the night she was killed and has denied that he pointed the finger at Littlejohn.

The prosecution has argued that Littlejohn was a sexual predator who kidnapped a drunken St. Guillen, raped her and killed her before dumping her body.

"It is the rankest kind of speculation by the defense to suggest that there is evidence that Danny Dorrian did the killing," Taub said during his closing argument.

more at: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,524578,00.html

[sunstar]

GUILTY!!!

Bouncer Darryl Littlejohn found guilty of murdering of Imette St. Guillen

A jury took less than seven hours Wednesday to convict ex-con bar bouncer Darryl Littlejohn of the 2006 rape and first-degree murder of grad student Imette St. Guillen.

One of the alternate jurors who didn't get to deliberate with the full panel had predicted the decision, telling the Daily News flatly: "He's toast."

Littlejohn, 44, was convicted of raping and murdering St. Guillen after meeting her at The Falls, the Soho bar where he was a bouncer.

He is already behind bars, serving 25 to life for the kidnap and assault of a Queens woman.

Prosecutors at the three-week trial presented a mound of damning circumstantial evidence, including witnesses who saw him escort St. Guillen out of the bar at 4 a.m., various types of DNA linking him to her body, and cell tower records putting him near where her body was found.

Defense lawyer Joyce David tried to convince jurors her client was a patsy, the victim of a massive police conspiracy to shield well-connected bar manager Danny Dorrian.

But jurors didn't bite.

"The defense worked very hard but they just didn't have anything," the alternate juror, a Borough Park college administrator, told the News.

"We all felt the same. The defense tried, they did their best putting on a very good case. But they had nothing."

The most compelling piece of evidence?

"One drop of blood," the alternate said, holding up a single finger, referring to a spot of Littlejohn's blood found on the plastic ties used to bind St. Guillen's hands behind her.

"It was a gruesome case and some of the women on the jury were really affected by it, you could tell," the juror said.

"The cell tower records were very convincing too.

"But it was really just that one drop of blood."

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/06/03/2009-06-03_darryl_littlejohn.html#ixzz0HP3vEsS5&B


JUSTICE FOR IMETTE! :1222423:

[sunstar]

Bouncer Found Guilty of Woman’s Murder

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2009/06/03/nyregion/04littlejohnblog.jpg

Updated, 5:05 p.m. | Jurors have found a Manhattan bouncer guilty of rape and first-degree murder in the killing of a 24-year-old graduate student, Imette St. Guillen. The bouncer, Darryl Littlejohn, was convicted on Wednesday, after one day of deliberations.

Mr. Littlejohn will be sentenced July 8 by Justice Abraham G. Gerges in State Supreme Court in Brooklyn. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole.

Earlier Wednesday, jurors requested that evidence — including a timeline of Mr. Littlejohn’s cellphone calls and testimony from a woman who told the court that he asked her to lie — be repeated to them, as well as testimony about test results from DNA, hairs and fibers taken from tape wrapped around Ms. St. Guillen’s head. The jury also asked that the prosecution summation be read back to them, to which the defense objected.

On Tuesday, Mr. Littlejohn remained silent during the prosecution’s closing arguments. The lead prosecutor, Kenneth Taub, described what he called “a mountain of evidence” against him, including cellphone records, DNA and fiber samples and testimony from witnesses.

Mr. Taub described cellphone records that placed Mr. Littlejohn at his house in Queens the day after Ms. St. Guillen went missing in the early morning of Feb. 25, 2006, and shortly thereafter in the area in East New York where her body was found wrapped in a blanket. The signal from his cellphone showed where he went, Mr. Taub said.

“In 51 minutes it goes from hitting his house, to hitting his house, with a trip out to East New York,” Mr. Taub said during his closing statement. “That’s why it’s so simple, and that’s why it’s so powerful.”

He then summed up testimony from a man who said he saw a minivan that prosecutors said Mr. Littlejohn used to dump Ms. St. Guillen’s body on the dirt road in East New York in the area where her body was found. She died of asphyxiation after being sexually assaulted, her mouth gagged and her head wrapped in tape. A snowbrush was also found there, which Mr. Taub said fell out of the back of the van when Mr. Littlejohn dropped Ms. St. Guillen’s body.

The snowbrush handle contained tiny amounts of Mr. Littlejohn’s DNA, Mr. Taub said. Blood samples on zip ties used to handcuff Ms. St. Guillen contained much more of Mr. Littlejohn’s DNA, Mr. Taub said. Three different kinds of fiber found on tape wrapped around Ms. St. Guillen’s head and in the back of the van matched samples taken from Mr. Littlejohn’s house.

Earlier Tuesday, Mr. Littlejohn’s defense lawyer suggested that the bouncer was the target of a framing conspiracy. In part to rebut that suggestion, Mr. Taub described how semen found early in the investigation on a blanket used to wrap Ms. St. Guillen’s body turned out to be from Mr. Littlejohn’s brother, who died in 1994.

Mr. Taub also described similarities between the assault of Ms. St. Guillen and the abductions of two women in the months beforehand. (Mr. Littlejohn was convicted of kidnapping one of the women, and has not been charged in the other attack, a rape.)

Mr. Littlejohn’s lawyer, Joyce David, had argued that the manager of the bar that Ms. St. Guillen visited before she disappeared might have killed her during rough sex. Mr. Taub argued against this by saying that the man, Danny Dorrian, gave a DNA sample that “didn’t come back anywhere.” He may have lied to the police, Mr. Taub said, by not volunteering that he had asked Ms. St. Guillen to leave his bar, but that was simply because his bar was attracting so much negative publicity during the investigation.

The judge, Justice Gerges, dismissed four of the six alternate jurors at about 10 a.m. Wednesday, and thanked them for their service.

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/03/deliberations-begin-in-bouncer-case/?ref=nyregion

[Faith]

Justice is Served!!!!!

[LiveLaughLuv]

Bouncer Darryl Littlejohn was found guilty of rape, first-degree murder of Imette St. Guillen.

Related News
Articles
Alternate juror in Imette trial: Littlejohn is 'toast'
Jury poised to get Imette murder case
Prosecutors mock defense claim Littlejohn was framed
Brooklyn jurors who quickly convicted Darryl Littlejohn of murdering grad student Imette St. Guillen on Wednesday said the ex-con bouncer was done in by his huge ego - and a tiny spot of his own blood.

"The DNA said a lot about it. They gave us evidence and it was obvious," said juror Marian Mallero, 42. "He's guilty, that's all I'm going to say."

Another juror said, "All the evidence pointed to the defendant," despite the defense case that Littlejohn was railroaded.

Jury forewoman Aldith Gill, 59, said the brutality of St. Guillen's murder rattled her faith in humanity. "How could another human being think to do that?" Gill asked. "How could someone do that?"

St. Guillen's tearful mom thanked the Brooklyn Supreme Court jurors for their work on the gruesome case but said nothing can bring back the light of her life.

"Imette was an amazing young woman, one of those rare people who brightened the lives of everyone she met," said Maureen St. Guillen. "With Imette's death, all of our lives are forever darker."

The jury of six men and six women took less than seven hours to convict Littlejohn of murdering the 24-year-old John Jay grad student he met at the SoHo bar where he worked on February 25, 2006.

Littlejohn, 44, stared straight ahead as the verdict was read in the packed courtroom.

The victim's family and friends held hands and wept.

Maureen St. Guillen looked over at Brooklyn North Homicide Detective Sean McTighe, the lead investigator in the case, and mouthed, "Thank you."

Prosecutor Kenneth Taub said he was "surprised and grateful" at the quick verdict.

Littlejohn, who is already serving 25 years for kidnapping and assaulting a Queens woman, faces up to life in prison without parole at his new sentencing July 8. "Darryl was terribly disappointed" at the verdict, said his lawyer Joyce David.

The defense vowed to appeal, based on a trial ruling that allowed two women to testify they were snatched off the street, including the victim in the earlier kidnapping case.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/06/03/2009-06-03_darryl_littlejohn.html#ixzz0HSXyORPe&B


http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/06/03/2009-06-03_darryl_littlejohn.html

[sunstar]

Justice is Served!!!!!

Yes it sure was!

Rest in Peace, Imette :1222423:

[sunstar]

Imette St. Guillen's mother, Maureen, speaks out on her loss and Darryl Littlejohn's conviction

The tears flow, and then stop. The heartache lasts an eternity.

"I don't believe in the word closure," Maureen St. Guillen says, weeping at the memory of her murdered daughter Imette.

"The wounds are open for life. The pain is forever there."

It hasn't disappeared in the three years since a SoHo bouncer brutally killed her beautiful daughter. And it didn't go away with the conviction of killer Darryl Littlejohn, a vicious 44-year-old ex-con who abducted her from a bar.

"Everyday you wait, you keep waiting for something to happen, for her to walk through a door or something," St. Guillen continues. "No, I don't believe in closure. It doesn't happen."

Sitting in a Massachusetts office, with her husband at her side, Maureen St. Guillen met with the Daily News yesterday for her first interview since the verdict.

She heard a Brooklyn jury find Littlejohn guilty on Wednesday, something she wanted more for her slain 24-year-old daughter than for herself.

"For some reason I just wanted to say, 'Yeah, it did happen to Imette,' and just to make sure that people understand," St. Guillen says. "And that's all."

She recalls entering the courtroom for the verdict, accompanied by husband Frank Holbrook, daughter Alejandra and other family and friends.

"The emotions, I can't even relate what the emotions were," she says. "I don't know if you're ever actually ready for a verdict. I think you're just afraid of the verdict.

"And I can't even explain what crossed my mind. All I know is I just started breaking down."

At the thought, her lips quiver and her eyes well with tears. She grips the chair and glances at Frank as she remembers the fateful hour of Littlejohn's reckoning in a Brooklyn courtroom.

"You just go in because you're hoping for the best," she says. "And I was trying to prepare myself for the worst all the way through it."

St. Guillen, 63, suffered a stroke in the first year after Imette's Feb. 25, 2006, slaying. She stayed out of the courtroom during the trial to avoid the grisly details of her daughter's killing.

"I couldn't sit through anything about Imette," she says. "I couldn't do it. I haven't read anything. I haven't watched anything.

"That's the way I have to go on to survive."

She avoids asking the hardest question of all: Why?

"You go crazy thinking of why," St. Guillen explains. "There's always 'whys' and 'whys' and 'what ifs.' But you can't think about it."

St. Guillen tries to remember Imette as the vivacious, John Jay College grad student who wrapped her arms around life. She recalls the little girl who became a gymnast and a runner, who loved traveling, camping and adventure - even went skydiving once.

more at http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/06/06/2009-06-06_imette_st_guillens_mother_maureen_speaks_out_on _her_loss_and_darryl_littlejohns_.html

[sunstar]

Darryl Littlejohn gets life without parole for Imette St. Guillen murder

Ex-con Darryl Littlejohn was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison without parole for the brutal murder of graduate student Imette St. Guillen.

Darryl Littlejohn was convicted of first-degree murder last month for the slaying of St. Guillen, whose bound and battered body was dumped in Brooklyn on Feb. 25, 2006.

Littlejohn, 44, a bouncer at the SoHo bar where St. Guillen was drinking before her murder, is already serving 25 years to life for kidnapping another woman.

St. Guillen's relatives tearfully spoke about her at the sentencing hearing and her mother read a letter the 26-year-old student wrote to herself about her life in New York

Prosecutors portrayed Littlejohn as a sexual predator who liked to pretend he was a law enforcement officer.

Two other women testified during the trial about attacks that mirrored the abduction of St. Guillen.

Defense lawyers claimed Littlejohn was framed because he is black and has a criminal record.



http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/07/08/2009-07-08_darryl_littlejohn_convicted_for_the_murder_of_i mette_st_guillen_sentenced_to_lif.html#ixzz0KiNzpQ VX&D

[LiveLaughLuv]

Another one down...Justice for Imette...bittersweet for her parents...they should have their child...:45024:

Littlejohn should not have been walking the streets...he should have been locked up forever, now he is...

[sunstar]

Another one down...Justice for Imette...bittersweet for her parents...they should have their child...:45024:

Littlejohn should not have been walking the streets...he should have been locked up forever, now he is...

Yes, finally some justice!

:1222423: Rest in Peace, Imette :1222423:

[Nut44x4]

St. Guillen’s Family Can Sue Feds for Her Murder, Brooklyn Judge Rules

CADMAN PLAZA EAST — A Brooklyn federal judge has ruled that the family of Imette St. Guillen can sue the U.S. government on the grounds that they failed to properly supervise her killer, Darryl Littlejohn, while he was on probation.

U.S. District Judge Dora Irizarry ruled in favor of the St. Guillen family, who are suing U.S. Probation and Pre-Trial Services for neglecting to monitor Littlejohn while he was on probation after a 1999 robbery conviction.

U.S. Probation and Pre-Trial Services moved to dismiss the lawsuit, but Judge Irizarry struck down that motion, writing that they cannot get immunity because they botched enforcement of the probation order.

“Contrary to the court’s sentencing order, defendant completely failed to supervise Littlejohn,” Irizarry wrote.

Littlejohn worked as a bouncer at The Falls in SoHo when he met, abducted, raped and brutally murdered 24-year-old St. Guillen, a graduate student at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Her body was found in Brooklyn.

“Had defendant properly supervised Littlejohn, it could have arrested him as soon as it learned that he was working at the Falls as a bouncer,” Irizarry’s decision states.

Littlejohn, 44, had pleaded guilty to robbery in March 1999 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. He was sentenced to three three-and-a-half years in prison, followed by three years post-release supervision.

However, according to the chief of the U.S. Probation Department for the Eastern District of New York, Tony Garoppolo, the Probation Service was unaware of Littlejohn’s release date.

“Garoppolo explained that Littlejohn ‘fell between the cracks,’ because of ‘human error,’ and the support worker responsible for the error had been laid off,” Irizarry wrote in her decision.

Judge Irizarry wrote that “as a result of defendant’s failure,” St. Guillen’s horrific murder and Littlejohn’s eventual murder conviction were set into motion.

It was on Feb. 25, 2006 that St. Guillen parted ways with a childhood friend after a small argument. St. Guillen then went alone to The Falls bar until closing time, when she was purportedly asked to leave and escorted out by Littlejohn, according to employees at the bar.

The next morning, St. Guillen’s nude body was found wrapped in a blanket and dumped in East New York, bound with zipties, with duct tape wrapped around her face and a sock stuffed in her mouth. Her hair had been chopped off, and she he had been beaten, raped and sodomized before being asphyxiated.

Defense attorney Joyce David, who has law offices at 16 Court St., said that Littlejohn had been framed by The Falls’ politically-connected manager Danny Dorrian.

Littlejohn was already serving 25 years-to-life for kidnapping another woman in Queens when a life sentence was handed down in July by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Abraham Gerges.

http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=4&id=31062

[CSAFD]

good to know they can sue him, may not get anything.