Michigan Supreme Court 

# Order

Lansing, Michigan

April 13, 2007 Clifford W. Taylor, Chief Justice

130435 Michael F. Cavanagh
Elizabeth A. Weaver Marilyn Kelly Maura D. Corrigan Robert P. Young, Jr. PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, Stephen J. Markman, Plaintiff-Appellee, Justices

v SC: 130435 COA: 257288 Wayne CC: 00-002335 AZIZUL ISLAM, Defendant-Appellant.

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On order of the Court, th e application for leave to a ppeal the December 6, 2006 judgment of the Court of Appeals is cons idered, and it is DENIED, because we are not persuaded that the questions presented should be reviewed by this Court.

M ARKMAN , J., concurs and states as follows:

I concur in the Court’s order denying leav e to appeal in this case. Although the planting of a bloody hacksaw in defendant’s basement by th e dog handler constituted an
effort to taint evidence , defendant failed to demonstrate that it is more pr obable than not that this, in fact, affected th e outcome of his trial.

The impact of the planted evidence was limited because the jury never heard about

any bloody hacksaw blade. Rather, the jury m erely heard about a br oken hacksaw blade
found in an area where the det ection dog alerted, as well as testimony about several other saws. The trial court, however, stated th ree times that there w ere no saws with the
victim’s blood or remains on them and that each of the saws discov ered was irrelevant as evidence. The expert witness also limited th e type of saw used in committing the murder to a dovetail carpenter’s saw, rather than a hacksaw. Fi nally, the prosecutor never mentioned the planted hacksa w blade to the jury.

In addition, there was abundant, untainted other evidence of defendant’s guilt.
The victim’s blood was found underneath a co at of fresh paint on defendant’s basement floor, on the paint roller, mop, vacuum cleaner, carpet, boots, and sink pump. The defense stipulated that it was the victim’s bl ood, and the stipulati on was consistent with_______________________________________ __ 2

an expert’s testimony. Paint chips consiste nt with both the new paint and old paint on
defendant’s basement floor were found in the victim’s remains. The fact that defendant dismembered the victim and freshly painted the basement floor are further indicators of a

cover-up.

The timing of the murder wa s also such that it fit we ll with defendant’s clear motive to kill the victim, his wi fe. The victim, who was invo lved with another man, had returned to Michigan to fina lize her divorce. Shortly befo re her disappearance, the victim told independe nt witnesses that she feared defendant would kill her, and she would try to get an earlier flight to London . The victim’s boyfriend tes tified that defendant and the victim had an argument when defendant caught her talking to him on the phone, and their conversation ended abruptly. The victim we nt missing very shortly after going to sleep in defendant’s home, leaving her watch and toothbrush behind.

Defendant also was circumsta ntially tied to the disposal of the victim’s body. He requested a neighbor’s assistance to load a very h eavy garbage can into a van he rented, which had a plastic sheet covering the backs eat and the floor. On the day he rented the van, a man who looked like d efendant and drove a van similar to the rented van was seen standing in a field in the To ledo area, near the property where the victim’s torso was later
found.

Defendant also tied himself to the crime with the statemen ts he gave to the police, which expressed remorse and admitted some level of par ticipation in the death. Defendant made inconsistent statements about his reasons for renting the van used to transport the victim’s remains. He told the neighbor who helped hi m load the trash can into the van that he was taking it to a Christ mas party, he told th e van rental company he was picking up relatives from the airport, and he told the police that he was checking the van to see if luggage would fit for an upcoming trip to Washington, D.C. Defendant ultimately made his family trip in his Mazd a sedan. However, th e van was driven 213 miles, inconsistent with all of these explana tions but consistent with a trip to Toledo to dispose of the victim’s torso.

Thus, even absent the ta inted evidence, the remaining evidence here supports the verdict. Because the admission of the plan ted evidence did not ev entually lead to a miscarriage of justice, and because defendant was not actually prejudiced by such evidence, the error, in my judgment, was harmless.

d0410 I, Corbin R. Davis, Clerk of the Mi chigan Supreme Cour t, certify that the foregoing is a true and complete copy of the order entered at the direction of the Court.

April 13, 2007

Clerk