Police Claim DNA Link in Student's Murder

By Stephen M. Silverman

03/13/2006 at 08:00 AM EST

There has been an apparent major break in a case that has baffled New York police for nearly three weeks: the brutal rape, torture and murder of graduate student Imette St. Guillen, 24, who was last seen alive leaving a Manhattan bar on Feb. 25.

''This is a very significant development," NYPD commissioner Ray Kelly told a nationally televised news conference on Sunday. ''When you talk about DNA here, we're talking about the certainty of one in a trillion, so it is a very important piece of evidence for us."

Kelly named Darryl Littlejohn, 41, a bouncer in the bar where St. Guillen was last seen, as the prime suspect in the murder investigation.

The forensic link was made after Littlejohn's blood was found on hand ties used to bound St. Guillen, Kelly said, adding that police continue to look into Littlejohn's possible link to other crimes. Kelly also said phone records place the suspect's telephone near the crime scene at the time of the murder.

Darryl Littlejohn

New York Department of Corrections / AP

"The investigation is going forward and has certainly not reached a finality. There's a lot more work to be done," said Kelly. A grand jury is now being assembled to seek a murder indictment against Littlejohn, who remains imprisoned at Riker's Island on charges of violating his parole, according to Kelly.

A formal indictment is expected this week, reports The New York Times.

Littlejohn's attorney, Kevin O'Donnell, has said that Littlejohn maintains his innocence and "feels like a scapegoat" because his picture has been published in newspapers across the country.