Cops Believe They've Captured Mummy Maniac
Jim Kouri, CPP
March 09, 2006
Crime scene investigators are gathering evidence that will link an ex-con who worked as a nightclub bouncer to the savage February 25 murder of a 24-year-old Manhattan graduate student. The police investigating the case dubbed the killer the "Mummy Maniac" because the victim's face was wrapped in packing tape.
Homicide detectives and forensic technicians continue to search the Queens, NY home of parolee Darryl Littlejohn this week, looking for critical forensic evidence in the brutal slaying of Imette St. Guillen.
The John Jay College of Criminal Justice graduate student was last seen leaving The Falls Bar in SoHo in the early morning hours of February 25 escorted by Littlejohn, police told reporters. Cops recovered her battered and tortured body hours later, after a 911 caller led them to a secluded area in Brooklyn where the killer had dumped it.
On Tuesday, police revealed Littlejohn was also a suspect in string of rapes in Queens and Nassau County and that they would bring him before a judge to receive permission to put the suspect in a police lineup.
In their attempt at recreating the brutal murder, detectives suspect that St. Guillen was grabbed by the suspect while she was leaving the bar. They believe she was pulled into another part of the building, where she was beaten, tortured and murdered.
Cops shut the trendy SoHo nightspot The Falls while they searched the building for clues. Crime scene investigators say they "went through the building top to bottom" gathering hair and other forensic evidence in the basement, a second-floor office and on the roof. SoHo is home to many New York's top artists and actors.
The family of John Zaccaro, husband of former Queens Congresswoman and Vice Presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro, owns the building. Offices on the second floor of the building are used by several Zaccaro-connected businesses -- and by a charity supported by Ferraro.
Cops obtained a search warrant for the suspect's house after informing a judge that cell phone records place Littlejohn at the location where St. Guillem's body was found an hour later.
Crime scene cops carrying various tools such as sledgehammers and crowbars, and spray bottles of blood-tracing Luminol arrived at the home at about 5 PM on Monday. They completed their crime scene processing more than 12 hours later, carrying over a dozen large evidence bags.
Police sources said DNA evidence is playing a valuable role in this investigation. Sources said cops even collected semen “from several pieces of evidence collected during the two searches.”
Littlejohn refuses to give forensic officers a DNA sample, but the homicide detectives were able to obtain DNA information gathered by prison officials during the suspect's numerous prison stints. Littlejohn's DNA will be tested against the collected material to determine Littlejohn’s possible connection to St. Guillen’s murder.
Police obtained another search warrant on March 7 for a gray minivan they found parked two blocks from the South Jamaica home. One detective anonymously said cops found a fiber in the van which connects Littlejohn to the crime scene.
Sources said cops searched the neighborhood for the vehicle after they found a rear seat from a minivan in Littlejohn’s apartment. The van was towed away for forensic testing. Cops also towed a blue van found parked in a driveway at the house, which will be tested for forensic evidence.
Police believe Littlejohn's minivan may have been used to transport St. Guillen’s body to the site in Brooklyn where it was recovered, sources said.
Littlejohn, who has not been charged in the murder, is being held at Rikers Island on an unrelated parole violation. Cops said he violated his latest parole by working at the bar, which kept him out past his 9 p.m. curfew.
Parole officials said Littlejohn could be held until November on the parole violation charge.
Littlejohn has spent parts of the last 20 years behind bars -- most recently for an armed robbery at a Long Island bank. He has also served time for drug possession, possession of stolen property and for using a firearm, parole officials said.
Homicide detectives and forensic technicians continue to search the Queens, NY home of parolee Darryl Littlejohn this week, looking for critical forensic evidence in the brutal slaying of Imette St. Guillen.
The John Jay College of Criminal Justice graduate student was last seen leaving The Falls Bar in SoHo in the early morning hours of February 25 escorted by Littlejohn, police told reporters. Cops recovered her battered and tortured body hours later, after a 911 caller led them to a secluded area in Brooklyn where the killer had dumped it.
On Tuesday, police revealed Littlejohn was also a suspect in string of rapes in Queens and Nassau County and that they would bring him before a judge to receive permission to put the suspect in a police lineup.
In their attempt at recreating the brutal murder, detectives suspect that St. Guillen was grabbed by the suspect while she was leaving the bar. They believe she was pulled into another part of the building, where she was beaten, tortured and murdered.
Cops shut the trendy SoHo nightspot The Falls while they searched the building for clues. Crime scene investigators say they "went through the building top to bottom" gathering hair and other forensic evidence in the basement, a second-floor office and on the roof. SoHo is home to many New York's top artists and actors.
The family of John Zaccaro, husband of former Queens Congresswoman and Vice Presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro, owns the building. Offices on the second floor of the building are used by several Zaccaro-connected businesses -- and by a charity supported by Ferraro.
Cops obtained a search warrant for the suspect's house after informing a judge that cell phone records place Littlejohn at the location where St. Guillem's body was found an hour later.
Crime scene cops carrying various tools such as sledgehammers and crowbars, and spray bottles of blood-tracing Luminol arrived at the home at about 5 PM on Monday. They completed their crime scene processing more than 12 hours later, carrying over a dozen large evidence bags.
Police sources said DNA evidence is playing a valuable role in this investigation. Sources said cops even collected semen “from several pieces of evidence collected during the two searches.”
Littlejohn refuses to give forensic officers a DNA sample, but the homicide detectives were able to obtain DNA information gathered by prison officials during the suspect's numerous prison stints. Littlejohn's DNA will be tested against the collected material to determine Littlejohn’s possible connection to St. Guillen’s murder.
Police obtained another search warrant on March 7 for a gray minivan they found parked two blocks from the South Jamaica home. One detective anonymously said cops found a fiber in the van which connects Littlejohn to the crime scene.
Sources said cops searched the neighborhood for the vehicle after they found a rear seat from a minivan in Littlejohn’s apartment. The van was towed away for forensic testing. Cops also towed a blue van found parked in a driveway at the house, which will be tested for forensic evidence.
Police believe Littlejohn's minivan may have been used to transport St. Guillen’s body to the site in Brooklyn where it was recovered, sources said.
Littlejohn, who has not been charged in the murder, is being held at Rikers Island on an unrelated parole violation. Cops said he violated his latest parole by working at the bar, which kept him out past his 9 p.m. curfew.
Parole officials said Littlejohn could be held until November on the parole violation charge.
Littlejohn has spent parts of the last 20 years behind bars -- most recently for an armed robbery at a Long Island bank. He has also served time for drug possession, possession of stolen property and for using a firearm, parole officials said.
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