Posted 2:22 am Saturday, May 08, 2010
Jurors Hear Biological Evidence In Baby Exorcism Murder Case
By KENNETH DEAN
Staff Writer
CONROE -- Blood and DNA evidence consumed most of the testimony Friday in the baby exorcism murder case of Blaine Milam.
Staff Writer
CONROE -- Blood and DNA evidence consumed most of the testimony Friday in the baby exorcism murder case of Blaine Milam.
Milam and Jesseca Carson stand accused of murdering her 13-month-old daughter, Amora, on Dec. 2, 2008, by beating the child to death while performing what they claim was an exorcism to drive out demons from the toddler.
Southwest Institute of Forensic Sciences Biologist Angela Fitzwater told jurors she did extensive testing on more than 50 pieces of evidence.
Some of that evidence proved to have an insufficient amount of DNA material to match any one specific profile that would identify a contributor of the material, she said
However, some of the evidence did have enough to indicate Milam and Ms. Carson as contributors to some of the DNA taken from the clothing and body of Amora, who was sexually assaulted and bitten more than 20 times.
Also Fitzwater said one bite in particular on the child's elbow indicated the major contributor of DNA came from Milam.
Lead defense attorney Rick Hagan asked Ms. Fitzwater if it was true that the lab where she works has had problems in the past with cross-contamination of DNA material rendering the testing a failure.
Ms. Fitzwater said there had been instances, but even in those incidents there were corrections made before the case came to fruition.
Hagan asked repeatedly if cross-contamination was possible and if mistakes could have been made in the case, and Ms. Fitzwater said she had never had any of her tests in her career at SWIFS give indications of contamination.
Before jurors were led into the courtroom Friday, Lisa Tanner, Texas Attorney General prosecutor assisting in the case, asked Judge Clay Gossett to have the defense team remove a book from their table in clear view of jurors titled, "Why Mothers Kill." Ms. Tanner told Gossett the book has been in the view of the jury for the past few days.
"It is quite obvious what the purpose of that book being there is," she said, indicating the defense could want the jury to think about Ms. Carson and not the defendant in this case.
Ms. Carson remains jailed awaiting her capital murder trial some time next year. If convicted, both parties face the death penalty.
Jurors are scheduled to resume hearing testimony at 9 a.m. Monday when the state continues prosecuting the case with additional witnesses, including a bite expert.
