News : 'Only shoe in the world:' Testimony in Miller trial focuses on prints, DNA

Only one shoe in the world could have left the bloody footprint found in a soft-side lunch bag on the floor of the mobile home where Sabrina Hustad Janish was murdered, according to an Iowa DCI criminalist. That shoe, a size 11 Survivor work shoe, and its mate, were found in a muddy lake bed a few miles southeast of the crime scene the day after the murder. Another DCI criminalist testified that the blood of Janish and her boyfriend, David Miller, was on those boots. Miller was charged in March for the Oct. 25. 2015, killing of Janish. Benton County Attorney David Thompson spent several hours last week presenting the jury a chain of evidence leading from the trailer on 59^th Street Trail to the muddy, partially-drained lake at Pleasant Creek Park. That evidence includes a trail of blood, two stolen trucks, and the prints of shoeless feet in the thick mud of the lake bed, near where those shoes were found. What may be Miller's last moments of freedom were spent on Lewis Bottoms Road, east of that park, where around noon on Oct. 25, Iowa State Patrol Trooper Cody Reicks saw a man walking only in his briefs, covered with blood, mud and burrs. "It's a little strange - you're in your boxers and covered in blood,"� Reicks told the man, who later identified himself as Miller. During a brief discussion along the side of that road, Miller first told Trooper Reicks he had been playing "War"� with some friends. Later, however, in a 95-minute interview that was interrupted so doctors could stitch a laceration in Miller's hand and staple a large gash in the top of his head, Miller claimed he had been attacked by two or more men with hatchets, guns and a smoke bomb. Miller has been in prison since that day, held first on charges of stealing two trucks, as well as a probation violation. If convicted of 1^st Degree Murder, he faces a mandatory life in prison sentence. Jury selection took place on Monday; testimony began Tuesday morning. The first witnesses included Miller's neighbors, who discussed the stolen vehicles. Justin Varner testified about seeing someone steal his truck, which was later found damaged in a ditch not far from his residence. Brian Brummer testified about the theft of his truck, which was later found at Pleasant Creek State Park, also crashed over a berm at the end of 62^nd Street, near the park's north boat dock. Survillance video from another neighbor shows a person running in the area at around 3:40 a.m., and Varner's truck leaving the area. There are no witnesses to Janish's killing, and Miller denied knowing anything about the murder during that hospital interview. But testimony by DCI Criminalist and impressions expert Dennis Kern, and DCI criminalist and DNA expert Brenda Crosby indicate that blood at the crime scene or on those shoes or clothing was either Janish's or Millers. No other person's DNA was found in blood that was tested. Under questioning by Thompson, Kern testified that two bloody shoe prints found in the carpet of the living room could have been made by any Size 11 Survivor work boot with that same mold. However, he also explained that the print in the lunch bag could have only been made by the left work boot found in the lake bed. That shoe, Kern explained, has some marks in its sole that could have only been caused by rocks or other hard surfaces as they were worn. Those marks, he said, eventually cause virtually every shoe to have a one-of-a-kind pattern. Kern said it would be "virtually impossible"� for any other shoe to have left that print on the white-surfaced bag. Thompson asked, "Are you saying that this is the only shoe in the world that could have made that print?"� "In my opinion, yes,"� replied Kern. Defense Attorney Aaron Hawbaker, the lead attorney of the Iowa Public Defender's Office in Waterloo, vigorously challenged Kern during cross-examination. Hawbaker asked more than once if a defect in a factory mold could have caused the imperfections in the shoe's soles; Kern replied that it was possible, but extremely unlikely. Hawbaker asked if Kern had inspected the molds used to make the sole of the shoes he tested; Kern replied that he had not. DNA testimony came from Criminalist Brenda Crosby, who also works in the DCI lab in Ankeny. Crosby received samples of blood from inside the trailer, as well as from a vehicle outside the house, and the interior of the two trucks which had been reported stolen. She also tested the boots and a bloody sweatshirt found near the lake, in the area where the boots were found. Crosby, after describing what DNA is and how experts test it, shared the following conclusions during her testimony:

• Blood on the vehicle parked near where Miller's body was found included DNA of both Janish and Miller.

• Blood on a lace of one of the shoes had Janish's blood; the other shoe contained blood with Miller's DNA.
• Blood found on Janish's foot and pants was identified as being Miller's.
• Blood found on a knife was identified as Janish's; that knife had been found near a pillow soaked with blood.

Hawbaker, in cross-examination, asked Crosby why not every sample sent to her lab was tested. She replied that her initial testing determined there was only one victim and one suspect. In such cases, she said, not every sample collected is tested. Hawbaker also asked about a cigarette butt which officers had collected as evidence, but Crosby chose not to test. She replied that cigarette butts can be a good source of DNA, but said it was not necessary to test that item because of the number of blood samples available. Also, during cross examination, Cross told the jury, in response to a question by Hawbaker, that the presence of DNA could simply mean a person was in a certain location, but not indicate when. 'Investigative bias' Two State Troopers testified about their interaction with Miller. Under cross-examination, Hawbaker asked if they had collected DNA samples from other possible suspects, including any of the witnesses who reported finding the body; or David Janish, Sabrina's legal husband; or any of his known associates. David Janish was in jail at the time. Hawbaker asked more than once of the officers could define "investigative bias,"� and asked if one purpose of investigation was to rule out other possibilities. 'Devastating wound' The official autopsy by Dr. Michele Catellier, a forensic pathologist at the DCI lab in Ankeny, determined that the cause of death was to strangulation and stabbing. Dr. Catellier's testimony included discussion and photos of blood vessels in Janish's eyes and face, which showed signs of strangulation. Janish, however, also had multiple stab wounds, including several on her neck and one near her eye. While Catellier said that she could not determine the order in which Janish suffered these injuries, she pointed out to the jury one "gaping"� wound in the middle of her neck. With words, photos and diagrams, Catellier showed the jury how that one wound resulted in the severing of Janish's trachea, esophogus and carotid artery. Thompson asked Catellier if that wound would be fatal; she replied that it would be "devastating,"� and could easily cause death. However, she repeated that it is impossible to tell which wounds were fatal. Also, Catellier, told the jurors, despite the way it is shown on fictional TV crime shows, an autopsy cannot determine a time of death. Trial continues Monday afternoon The lawyers and District Judge Ian Thornhill will spend the morning reviewing and finalizing jury instructions; Thornhill told the jurors to arrive at 1 p.m. It is possible that the State could rest its case without calling more witnesses, Thompson told the judge on Friday afternoon. The defense has not indicated how many, if any, witnesses it plans to call to testify. If neither side has witnesses to call, then closing arguments could begin on Monday. The judge told the lawyers he had told the jury to plan on a two-week trial, and said the case was well within that time frame.