Opinion ID: 1835515
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: investigation into o'grady's disappearance

Text: Omaha police interviewed Edwards in the course of speaking to anyone who had contact with O'Grady in the days before her disappearance. The police obtained permission to search Edwards' bedroom at his aunt's house, where he lived. When an Omaha police detective began to approach the bed, Edwards said he was 'not sure' he wanted police 'checking that area.' Police suggested that O'Grady might have hidden a note under the mattress, where Edwards would find it later. Edwards said that '[made] sense' to him and permitted the search to continue. Spattered blood was found on the nightstand, headboard, clock radio, and ceiling above the bed. Edwards was asked to explain the bloodstains on the headboard and clock, and replied that he had cut his wrist. A small bloodstain was located on the top of the mattress. Edwards was asked about the bloodstain and replied that he had intercourse with a girlfriend who was menstruating. But on further investigation, a very large, damp bloodstain was found on the underside of the mattress, covering most of the bottom side of the mattress. Bloodstains were later found on the bedding, a chair in the room, a bookcase, and laundry baskets. Luminol, a chemical used to locate where blood has been cleaned up, was applied to the walls of the room. The Luminol suggested blood on large areas of the south and west walls. Stains that appeared to be blood were found on the ceiling, covered up by white paint. A short sword was found in Edwards' closet. Blood was found on the sword. A shovel and a pair of garden shears were found in Edwards' vehicle. A bloodstain was found on the handle of the garden shears. More bloodstains were found on the trunk gasket of the car and on the underside of the trunk lid. A black, plastic trash bag was found in the garage next to the vehicle. The bag contained two bloodstained towels and a receipt from a drugstore in west Omaha. Edwards had been videotaped purchasing poster paint, white shoe polish, and correction fluid at that drugstore on May 11, 2006, at 7:41 p.m. The poster paint was chemically identical to that found on Edwards' ceiling. DNA profiles were recovered from blood on the headboard, ceiling, walls, and sword, and from the trunk of Edwards' car. The profile was consistent with O'Grady's DNA profile. Specifically, the chances of another unrelated Caucasian person having the same DNA profile were 1 in 26.6 quintillion. Edwards was excluded as a DNA contributor to nearly all of the samples. DNA profiles were also recovered from blood found on the mattress and were also consistent with O'Grady's DNA profile. The odds of another, unrelated Caucasian person having the same DNA profiles ranged from 1 in 15.6 billion to 1 in 46.5 quintillion. A partial profile was obtained from blood on the garden shears, also consistent with O'Grady's DNA profile; the chance of another, unrelated Caucasian contributor having the same DNA profile was 1 in 3.81 trillion. DNA profiles obtained from blood on the towels found in the garage next to Edwards' car were also consistent with O'Grady's DNA profile; the odds of another, unrelated Caucasian person contributing the DNA found on one of the towels were 1 in 1.96 quintillion, and for the other towel were 1 in 26.7 billion. A laptop computer was seized from Edwards' bedroom. Forensic examination of the computer revealed that at 2:26 p.m. on May 9, 2006, someone had used that computer to perform Internet research on the human body. Specifically, a Google search had been performed for the term arteries. The user had then viewed the first search result, a diagram of the human arterial system. Stuart James, a forensic consultant, performed an analysis of the bloodstains found in the bedroom and car. James testified that the bloodstain on the mattress was a saturation stain, meaning a volume of blood had been deposited on the surface of the mattress and had soaked into the fabric. James opined that a significant bloodshed event had occurred on or close to the mattress. James also opined that the source of the blood spattered on the headboard was over or close to the top of the mattress. And James opined, from the pattern of blood spattered on the ceiling, that it was cast-off blood from seven individual swings of an object wet with blood. The stains were more consistent with a thin object, such as the sword found in Edwards' closet, than with a broad object. James opined that the bloodstains in the trunk of Edwards' car, on the garden shears found in Edwards' car, and on the towels found in the garage were transfer stains, produced by contact with a bloody surface.