Opinion ID: 2266034
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: The 1984 Celebrity and hair in the car

Text: Appellant's relatives linked him to the use of his parents' 1984 Chevrolet Celebrity on May 24, 1989. Appellant lived with Mr. and Mrs. Donald Auker, both adoptive parents of appellant. According to Mrs. Auker, appellant drove their Celebrity on May 24 and arrived home between 5:00 and 5:30 p.m. Mr. Auker was displeased that appellant drove the car on May 24 because he was not permitted or insured to use the Celebrity. The next day, Mr. Auker decided to trade the car for a truck and did so on May 27. Harry Hartman, husband of appellant's natural mother, resided across the street from the Auker residence and testified that appellant used the Celebrity on May 24 and that he observed appellant on May 25 meticulously vacuuming the passenger side of the front of the Celebrity and vacuuming and scrubbing its trunk, which struck him as unusual behavior for appellant. The Celebrity was traded to Jack Miller, a local car salesman, on May 27, and only Miller and Ray Benner were inside the vehicle before it was wholesaled to Todd Brosious, owner of Todd's Auto Sales, on May 27. The car was sent to be cleaned; however, the cleaners needed only to vacuum the vehicle for foot dirt. After cleaning, Todd Brosious took the vehicle to the local auction and, on June 8, Jim Eby bought it for a friend who by coincidence was a state trooper. The trooper cooperated with the state police's request of the vehicle for analysis. All who had been inside the vehicle from the time of trade provided hair samples to ensure that none of their hair would be confused with the hair of appellant or the victim. Human hairs were removed by a state police criminologist and forensic scientist from the front passenger side of the Celebrity in the upper door seal and from the door jamb. The hairs were similar to those of Lori Auker. Hairs from Lori's cats were found in the trunk area and on the appellant's Velcro splint which he wore on the date of Lori's disappearance. [1] The cat hairs were an identical match. Mr. Auker indicated that there were no cats in the Auker household.