]ROL The Michigan Daily - Friday, March 10, 1995 - 3 J IONATN LURI Et/Daiy rosecutor prepares to take serial rape case to trial Mackie: Washtenaw County prosecutor r the past 2 1/2 years, Ann Arbor citizens have had to live with the fear of possibly becoming the next victim of a serial rapist - a criminal who brutally beats his victims into unconsciousness and then rapes them. The viciousness of his attacks left one woman dead and four others emotionally scarred. Then on Christmas Day, an alert cab driver gave Ann Arbor police a gift in the form of a tip that led to the arrest of a suspect. Ervin Dewain Mitchell Jr., 33, now stands accused of being the serial rapist. If he is convicted, many concerned members of the community will finally have peace of mind. Before the arrest, the Ann Arbor police, who questioned nearly 800 possible suspects, seemed powerless to stem the series of sexual assaults occurring on the city's west side. Mitchell was already in police custody at the Washtenaw County Jail on $50,000 bond awaiting an April 3 trial before Judge Donald Shelton for an assault and attempted Christ- mas Eve purse- snatching of a 34- year-old Ann Arbor woman. If con- victed on those charges, he faces up to 15 years in prison. He was denied bond last week when he was charged with four counts of first-degree crimi- nal sexual conduct and one count of first-degree murder. "First-degree murder in Michigan carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole," said Washtenaw County Prosecutor Brian Mackie, the attorney handling both of Mitchell's trials. "Criminal sexual conduct in the first degree carries any term of years - up to life." Mitchell remained unemotional as he pleaded not guilty before 14-A District Court Magistrate George Parker. The arraignment came after months of public speculation and one of the most intensive manhunts in the police department's history. Before the arraignment, while his client sat in jail unable to meet his bond, Washtenaw County Assistant Public Defender Lankford accused the prosecution of stalling and not being able to meet their burden of proof. "If the evidence the prosecution has is that good, why haven't they charged him?" Lankford asked. "If you can't charge him, you definitely can't convict him." It was less than three months ago that police arrested Mitchell for al- legedly punching a 34-year-old Ann Arbor woman in the 1800 block of Dexter Avenue and attempting to take her purse. Amid the glare of TV camera lights and a swarm of reporters, Mitchell smiled at his arraignment Dec. 27 on those charges before 14-A District Court Magistrate A. Thomas Truesdell. "You all are going to be seeing a lot of me," Mitchell said as he was escorted back to his jail cell in handcuffs and leg shackles. Mitchell's words were prophetic indeed. Where the trials stand The public will be seeing more of Mitchell at his preliminary examina- tion March 15 in 15th District Court. At that time, the judge will determine if there is enough evidence to try Mitchell for having committed the Ann Arbor rapes and murder. If the judge rules there is probable cause, Mitchell will stand trial in Washtenaw County Circuit Court for being the serial rapist. In several interviews with the media, Mitchell and attorney Lankford have maintained that he is, innocent of the crimes he is accused of, despite DNA evidence linking Mitchell to the rapes. Mitchell said he has an alibi - at least for the time of the Christmas Eve robbery attempt. "They (the police) got the wrong guy," said Lankford, who will repre- sent Mitchell for the robbery and the sexual assault charges. "While this charade continues, people in Ann Ar- bor are being seriously endangered." If Mitchell is the serial rapist, then Ann Arbor may be able to put this chapter of its history in the past. Dur- ing the course of a multi-agent task -- the latest rape attributed to the serial rapist - included investiga- tors from the Michigan State Police, DPS, the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department and the Ann Arbor Po- lice Department. "We owe them a debt of gratitude for their diligence and devotion to duty during a very difficult investiga- tion," said Ann Arbor Deputy Police Chief Walter C. Lunsford. "We ap- preciate the patience and cooperation of the local and metro Detroit area media during these past several months and recognize we both have a difficult job to do." The woman in the last rape is the only victim so far to get a good look at her attacker. The police released their most detailed description of the serial rapist after the last attack. The woman's wallet and checkbook were missing after the attack, but were found in another location with the aid of a po- lice tracking dog. The rapist's other victims were taken by surprise and too disoriented afterward to provide much of a description to the police. Manhunt in Ann Arbor As students' fear of the serial rap- ist mounted, calls to the University's student-run walking service increased by 200 percent. "In a certain sense, it's kind of frustrating," Safewalk co-coordina- tor Eric Kessell said. "When some- thing like this happens, you'll see walks go up and go down, until some- thing happens again. Once people begin to feel complacent again, they will be less cautious." An open letter released Nov. 14 by police pleaded with city residents to help them capture the serial rapist. Among the signs the letter sug- gests to look- for in the suspect are depression, increased drinking or drug use, missed appointments and a sud- den interest in reading the newspaper. The police also sought to reassure Blacks that the new, more specific profile would protect African Ameri- can males from undue harassment. City Councilmember Larry Hunter (D-3rd Ward), who is Black, criti- cized the police investigation. Hunter is a member of the Coalition for Con- munity Unity, a civil-rights watch- dog organization. Despite releasing a physical and Charged: Ervin Dewain Mitchell Jr. faces charges from four assaults that occurred between September 1992 and May 1994 on Ann Arbor's west aides The attacks have all been linked to a single assailant through DNA evidence left at each crime scene. The charges are: 8 Sept. 23, 1992: Raping a 47-year-old woman who was walking through Eberwhite Woods, south of Liberty Street at 8 a.m. The woman was jumped from behind by a man who repeatedly bludgeoned her with his fists while he raped her, police reports say. ® Oct. 2, 1993: Raping a 23-year-old University student who was walking to her apartment along the 400 block of Longshore D~rive near Argo Park at 10:30 p~m. She suffered head and facial injuries consistent with being repeatedly punched and was raped when she lost consciousness, according to police reports. 8 Nov. 2, 1993: Raping a 40-year-old woman as she was returning to her apartment on the 800 block of Miller Avenue from a shopping trip at about 1:45 a.m. As she entered her apartment, she was knocked to the floor and sexually assaulted. Police say the attacker used only his fists. 9 May 7, 1994: Killing 32-year-old Christine GaIlbreath along a lightly wooded path behind Ann Arbor's main U, Post Office on West Stadium Boulevard, as she was returning home from a nearby drugstore between 1 and 6:39 p.m. Police say she was repeatedly beaten with fists and raped. The cause of death was listed as "Blunt impact to head with injuries of brain;manual strangulation." Shelton: Washtenaw bounty Circuit Judge results indicated that Mitchell's blood sample matched DNA found on four of the rape victims. A search warrant for Mitchell's known previous addresses was issued Jan. 11 after scientists at the Michi- gan State Police Crime Laboratory in East Lansing completed two DNA probes of Mitchell's blood. The sta- tistical chances that another Black individual possesses the same DNA profile as Mitchell is one in 17,000, the technicians said. Four more probes were conducted before Mitchell was charged with the Ann Arbor rapes. "(Lab technicians) break the DNA down so much at each step or each probe of the testing," said Ann Arbor Police spokesman Sgt. Phil Scheel. "Generally, the first two probes can be done in two to three weeks. Then it takes 10 days to two weeks for each successive probe after that. "To get through the whole process of six, seven, eight probes - or how- ever far they can break down a par- ticular sample - can take several weeks, even three or four months." for to connect Mitchell to the last in the series of rapes. However, the victim could not positively identify the recovered neck- lace as hers. Other ongoing investigations A Wayne County grand jury is also collecting evidence to determine whether to charge Mitchell with six rape-murders that occurred between 1989 and 1991 in Inkster, Mich. Mitchell was not charged in a 1992 Inkster case because there was insuf- ficient, physical evidence left at that crime scene to compare with DNA samples taken from Mitchell. But DNA results kept on file at the state police crime lab indicated he was responsible for the Ann Arbor rapes. Mackie, however, was reluctant to use the information collected by the Inkster Police Department and waited for the results of DNA tests of Mitchell's blood taken after the purse- tt."t S ] :rQ, \ F.CE_ _____ t""t h :i:Y' 77 :':