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March 21st, 1969 in Ann Arbor, Michigan detective Sergeant Don Bennett received a call about a murder.

0:34

This case was different though.

0:36

The victim was found in a location most commonly associated with the end of an investigation, not the beginning.

0:43

In this case, a young woman's body was found lying on top of a grave at a local cemetery.

0:52

When I got here that morning with the fellows, from our crime scene crew, we saw that there was a heel print.

0:59

And then from that he'll print leading kind of endless cemetery where some scuff marks some drag marks, not, not very deep or distinct, but you could see them Beyond the drag marks.

1:12

There was a body lying in front of this headstone that says William Downing seat.

1:22

One third of all murder cases in America remain open.

1:24

Each one is called a cold case and only 1% are ever solved.

1:29

This is one of those rare cases from a Annie.

1:34

This is cold case files.

1:36

The podcast, the body of a woman was found on top of a grave.

1:47

She'd been shot twice in the head.

1:50

Next to her body was a suitcase and a pile of women's clothing.

1:53

And she'd been covered by a towel.

1:55

Detective Sergeant Bennett describes the crime scene.

1:59

Just a warning. His description is a little graphic.

2:06

Her face was bloody. Blood had run down the left side of her face and had dried.

2:12

And beside the blood dried blood on her face, it was very obvious.

2:17

There was a sock stocking tied very tightly around her neck, like a garage that had been, she'd probably been strangled with the fact that her garments were pulled up, exposing her genitalia would tell you that maybe there might've been an attempt at a salt or rape.

2:35

We don't, we didn't know. At the time The

2:39

victim's body was taken to the morgue where it was tested for evidence, including any biological evidence that might indicate sexual assault, but they didn't find any.

2:48

They were able to identify the victim.

2:50

Her name was Jane mixer.

2:52

Jane was one of the 37 female law students at the university of Michigan, out of a class of 420.

3:01

She had been reported missing the day before detective Ken Krauss joins the investigation and he starts by visiting the university.

3:08

He focuses on, what's referred to as the law quad, a subsection of the school where the law students tend to gather.

3:16

He finds some evidence pretty quickly and what could be described as the 1969 version of Craigslist.

3:23

This is detective Kraus.

3:26

This is known as a ride board and students here that are looking for a ride to a particular place in the country can come in here and they can, they can fill out a slip and place it into Slack, or they want to go to Jane

3:38

had done just that. She had requested a ride to Muskegon, Michigan, her home Jane's friends who described her as intelligent and passionate.

3:46

Weren't able to give a description of the man who offered her a ride home.

3:50

The detectives continue their investigation and found what they felt like was another lead.

3:55

And the phone booth in the basement of the law school.

3:57

This is detective Kraus.

3:59

Again, There was a phone book found by one of the phones, was that on it had the words mixture of Muskegon written.

4:07

And we kind of think that whatever probably called her had wrote that on the book.

4:14

It was some of the only evidence we had really maybe identifying a suspect.

4:26

Investigators submitted the phone book for a handwriting analysis and accepted practice.

4:30

At the time though, currently viewed with an increased amount of skepticism detectives turn their attention to Jane storm, hoping for a lead.

4:39

What they find is another phone book.

4:41

This one has a check Mark next to the name David Johnson.

4:46

Well, the reason that I would say she was calling David Johnson was to get her ride to Muskegon.

4:50

The connection was the note on the ride board and a response by him to her for a ride to Muskegon.

4:58

The detectives call the number and talk to David Johnson.

5:01

He denies offering Jane mixer ride home on the evening.

5:04

She was killed. He has a pretty good alibi.

5:07

He was performing in a play.

5:08

David Johnson is a fairly common name, but the police contacted all of the men of that name in the phone book.

5:16

Ultimately none of them were good.

5:18

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It was possible that David Johnson was an alias and it was also possible that Jane mixer was just one victim of a potential serial killer.

7:38

It turns out that in 1969 and Arbor, Michigan had been the location of several murders.

7:45

Jane was the third young woman to be found dead near the university, detective Ken Taylor, a Michigan state police officer notes that the location wasn't the only thing that the victims had in common.

7:59

Although she was shot, she was still had the pantyhose wrapped around her neck.

8:05

So of course that, that was what happened to the, the prior one show.

8:12

Of course, that that would sort of lead you to believe it was the same person In

8:17

March. Jane had been the third woman killed, but by a mid-summer, there were seven unsolved murders in the area surrounding the university of Michigan.

8:26

Marianne George.

8:28

Now at crime reporter was a student at the university.

8:31

During this time period, she describes what the atmosphere was like.

8:37

It just permeated. Everybody's subconscious.

8:38

You know, walking at night, you'd be looking over your shoulder.

8:41

I used to ride my bicycle instead of walking, cause I could, I could move faster, but it was very scary.

8:50

Six months after Jane's murder, there were still no leads on our case there, however, an arrest And

8:56

a conviction. In the case of one of the other victims, Karen Benjamin had been strangled to death by a man named John Norman Collins who was later arrested and convicted of her murder.

9:07

A lot of speculation surrounds John Norman Collins still to this day.

9:12

Was he responsible for more than just the single murder he was convicted of the police?

9:18

Aren't convinced, but they're also out of leads After

9:22

Collins was, was arrested.

9:24

Eventually you run out of information or things just to track down.

9:28

It never really went to a dead file, but it would very inactive.

9:34

I guess that's what you'd call it.

9:40

Jane mixers case stayed what detective Krauss referred to as inactive for 30 years, it was only revisited.

9:47

Once DNA science was advanced enough to potentially provide some answers.

9:52

That's when detective Eric Schroeder and detective Denise pal took on the case, it was widely believed that John Norman Collins was the perpetrator.

10:01

Even though he'd never been charged the detectives with advanced science now available, investigated the possibility.

10:08

This is detective pal.

10:11

Wait. One of the first things is let's compare it to John Norman Collins and see if it matches Items

10:22

from the evidence box. Like the towel covering Jane mixers body and the pantyhose she had been wearing were sent to the crime lab and Lansing detectives showed her was especially hopeful that the panty hose would provide some insight.

10:35

We felt quite strongly that the offender's DNA could have been embedded into the weave of that due to the fact that he had obviously had to pick her up to transport her DNA

10:43

analyst, Steve Milligan received the evidence and began his examination.

10:47

He started by shining a blue light over the evidence to help identify substances, not visible to the eye.

10:53

The blue light works and he finds something.

10:58

There were four areas on the nylon pantyhose from gene mixer visibly.

11:02

You could see that there was a stain present in the, in the mesh of the nylon.

11:08

Milligan thinks the stains are likely mucus or sweat transferred from the killers hands while he carried Jane's body.

11:14

He isolates the stains and then extracts the DNA.

11:19

Three of the stains gave a full profile.

11:21

They were the same profile.

11:23

So they had the same types.

11:24

They indicated the presence of a male donor Milligan

11:30

makes another discovery.

11:31

A spot of blood that had been found on Jane's hand.

11:34

The investigators previously had made the assumption that it was Jane's own blood, but they were wrong after testing the spot of blood.

11:42

It was determined that it belonged to a man and an unexpected twists.

11:47

It was also determined that it didn't belong to the same man as the DNA on the, There

11:58

was no information other than we had two distinct profiles of two different male donors associated with the items of evidence that came from Jane mixer In

12:08

order to confirm or deny a 30 year old suspicion that John Norman Collins had murdered Jane mixer.

12:13

They compared both DNA profiles against that of Collins.

12:19

One of the first things is let's compare it to John Norman Collins and see if it matches they compared as DNA.

12:26

And it was not a match. You know, that basically left us with, if he didn't do it, then who did Now

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November of 2002.

15:47

The two DNA profiles from Jane mixers case were loaded into the national database of DNA profiles.

15:53

The national database is able to compare the DNA profiles of millions of violent offenders.

15:59

It

15:59

takes

15:59

an

15:59

entire

15:59

year,

15:59

but

15:59

finally,

15:59

one

15:59

of

15:59

the

15:59

DNA

15:59

profiles

15:59

is

15:59

matched

15:59

the

15:59

spot

15:59

of

15:59

blood

15:59

on

15:59

Jane

15:59

mixers

15:59

hand

15:59

matched

15:59

to

15:59

a

15:59

man

15:59

named

15:59

John

15:59

David

15:59

Ruelas,

15:59

who

15:59

was

15:59

incarcerated

15:59

for

15:59

murdering

15:59

his

15:59

own

16:13

mother. We thought, well, this is outstanding.

16:16

We've got someone who's in prison for a violent crime.

16:20

So, you know, we got all excited about that for about 20 seconds.

16:24

John David Roulis was born in 1964 and Jane mixer was murdered in 1969.

16:33

It's obvious pretty quick that he was only four years old and eight months at the time Jane mixer was murdered.

16:37

Surprised would be somewhat of an understatement.

16:40

I think Instead

16:43

of the answers, detectives were hoping for the DNA testing had raised more questions like how did the blood of a four-year-old come to be on the hand of a murder victim?

16:53

The detectives went to visit John David Ruelas and prison hoping to find some answers.

16:58

Ruelas

16:58

has

16:58

memories

16:58

from

16:58

his

16:58

childhood

16:58

are

17:05

hazy. He describes his mom is transient and mentioned that she frequently gave him cough syrup as a sedative.

17:11

He does have one memory that is of particular interest to police.

17:15

He described a time that he woke up in the night and went out to the garage where he saw and heard a car running, Who

17:31

I don't know of anyone at the time that we've heard.

17:35

I

17:35

remember

17:35

my

17:35

uncle

17:35

had

17:35

a

17:35

gun

17:35

in

17:35

her

17:35

feet,

17:35

a

17:35

lot,

17:50

A lot, a lot of blood.

17:52

I mean a lot.

17:58

The detectives turned to the uncle implicated by a hazy childhood memory, but it doesn't appear to be a lead after extensive questioning and a voluntary DNA swab.

18:07

The investigators determined that there's no relationship between as his uncle and Jane mixers murder.

18:13

Not only are investigators no closer to finding answers about Jane mixers killer.

18:18

They now have a new question.

18:20

How did a little boy's blood make its way to Jane's hand In November of 2004, two years after the DNA profiles had been entered into the database, another match was found to a second man.

18:38

This time it matched the DNA found on the pantyhose.

18:42

The man's name was Gary Lederman.

18:44

And of course police immediately went to talk with him.

18:50

Do you have any reasons or do you have any reason?

18:53

Why not?

18:55

I have, I bought me whenever you have a problem with somebody in the neighborhood or something and that, I mean, help me here.

19:06

Help me out now. I'm totally reaching out to you here, but I don't remember her specifically.

19:11

I don't remember the face.

19:13

I can remember having one or two occasions, a sexual encounter with women that I met at fires, the DNA where it's at, how it is directly puts you there.

19:29

You didn't meet her in a bar.

19:31

I have nothing to do with this girl and her being killed and left here.

19:40

I

19:40

have

19:40

nothing

19:40

to

19:40

do

19:40

with

19:44

that. Well, science says otherwise, and that's the bottom line I can admit to something.

19:52

The police felt that by talking with Lederman, they were giving him a chance to explain an innocent reason that a CNA might've been found on Jane.

20:00

What this interview did for us was tell us that there was no innocent explanation for his DNA to be on her.

20:08

And I feel like we covered every base we could in this interview.

20:16

This case is hard for me to accept as science, really the bottom line and a case where at least one obvious error had already been made.

20:23

I can't say for sure, but I can tell you what happened next.

20:28

Gary Lederman was arrested and charged with first degree murder.

20:32

The

20:32

prosecutor,

20:32

Steve

20:32

Heller

20:32

had

20:32

to

20:32

overcome

20:32

the

20:32

challenge

20:32

of

20:32

explaining

20:32

why

20:32

the

20:32

blood

20:32

of

20:32

John

20:32

David

20:32

Ruelas,

20:32

who

20:32

remember

20:32

was

20:32

only

20:32

four

20:32

years

20:32

old

20:32

at

20:32

the

20:32

time

20:32

of

20:32

the

20:32

murder

20:32

had

20:32

been

20:32

found

20:32

on

20:32

the

20:32

victim's

20:45

hand. Well, it was something that Needed

20:48

to be explained. It was something that needed to be investigated to find out if there was a problem that was the responsible thing to do.

20:57

One possible explanation could be cross-contamination of the samples.

21:00

Meaning somehow a substance collected from one case came in contact with the substance from another Jeff NY, the DNA analyst strongly rejected.

21:10

This theory.

21:12

We were pretty defensive. I would say, you know, we, we are so cautious on how we process everything.

21:19

The laboratory, Despite

21:21

nice denial, some hard refute information came to light the evidence from the murder case in which John David Ruelas was found guilty was in the crime lab.

21:31

At the same time as the evidence from Jane mixers case, I

21:40

was asked to investigate the two cases together to determine if there was any crossing of paths between the two cases in the laboratory.

21:47

So basically what I would do is come to the file room and grab all of the files associated with each case.

21:54

The state argued that because the two cases were processed by two different analysts at two different workstations, cross-contamination was highly unlikely.

22:04

They're stored on opposite sides of the property room and all the evidence that comes to the laboratory are sealed.

22:08

So there's no issue there.

22:10

The fact that they came unsealed and DNA just magically cross from one side of the room to the other, They

22:16

couldn't however, explain the presence of rural assist DNA.

22:18

The defense attorney, Gary Gabri did not share the state's confidence in the lab testing.

22:24

It appeared to him that there were two options.

22:27

Either the state had contaminated the evidence or they hadn't.

22:31

If the evidence wasn't contaminated, then there was an unexplained gap.

22:36

In the state's case, From

22:38

my perspective, the defense was sitting in a good position with either argument that you can't rely on the lab, if there's contamination and they can't prove beyond a reasonable doubt, given the evidence that they have left, that my client was guilty.

23:00

The trial goes to a jury and Marianne George, the crime reporter that attended the university of Michigan at the same time as Jane is assigned to cover the case.

23:10

I mean that kind of detail. It just broke my heart because here was this beautiful girl who just got robbed in a most violent way.

23:20

I mean, it's still, yeah, I'm at a known her on campus.

23:24

The state focused his case on the DNA from the defendant that was found on the victim's pantyhose.

23:28

They

23:28

will

23:31

With him having lifted her out of the vehicle, putting his hand underneath her legs, dropping saliva or sweat, or perhaps even tears onto the top of her thigh.

23:43

As he's doing that, The

23:46

defense also focused on DNA, but not that of the defendant.

23:49

They focused on the unexplained match between blood and the victim's hand and a four year old boy, Where

23:56

did that come from? How did that get there?

23:59

How does that connect to Gary Leiderman?

24:01

How does Gary Laderman connect to Jane mixer?

24:04

How does the origin of the blood person by the name of Jan connect to Jane mixer or Barry Leiderman, they could answer none of those questions.

24:17

The attorneys made their arguments, both believing that DNA was the key.

24:22

Something that's been lost to history, but it doesn't change the fact that Gary Leiderman, the DNA was on Jane mixers pantyhose.

24:31

Now he just wants to brush this off saying those answers are lost in history.

24:35

Well, those answers are evidence and that's, what's so troubling about this case.

24:47

The trial lasted two weeks and the jury deliberated for five hours.

24:52

The main point of disagreement was how the handle, the John rule loss, blood drought, if it was his, That

25:00

was Steve Kestin. One of the members of the jury that in this case found Gary Lederman guilty.

25:06

Wasn't the jury concerned about the DNA mix up in the lab?

25:12

I personally don't think so. I think that that was Jane Mitch's blood.

25:15

My personal opinion is that your might, may have been a mix-up in the lab.

25:20

And that's how that tropical blood was associated with genre loss.

25:26

A mix-up in a lab involving DNA might be a red flag to some of us, but not to this jury and not to Steve Keston.

25:34

The DNA evidence is so compelling that it's hard to overcome.

25:38

I'm fairly certain.

25:40

We made the right decision and Gary Leatherman was guilty of this crime With

25:49

the jury, fairly certain of Gary Lederman skill and without an explanation of the faulty DNA findings, he was sentenced to life without parole.

25:58

Still to this day, Gary maintains his innocence, but so far he's been unsuccessful with his appeals Cold case files.

26:09

The podcast is hosted by Brooke Giddings produced by McCamy Lynn, Scott Brody, and Steve delegator.

26:15

Our executive producer is Ted Butler.

26:18

We're distributed by podcast one.

26:22

The TV series cold case files was produced by Curtis productions and hosted by the esteemed bill Curtis, check out more cold case files@aegtv.com and by downloading the a and D app.

26:36

Thank you for listening to this one production. Available on Apple Podcasts and one. Do amazing with total wireless. Get an unlimited text, and data plan for twenty five dollars a month. One gig at high speed, then two G total wireless do amazing a month equals 30 days terms and conditions@totalwireless.com one gig at high speed, then two g. Total wireless. Do amazing. A month equals thirty days, terms and conditions at total wireless dot com. On March twenty first nineteen sixty nine Ann Arbor, Michigan, detective sergeant Don Bennett received a call about a murder. This case was different though. The victim was found in a location most commonly associated with the end of an investigation, not the beginning. In this case, a young woman's body was found lying on top of a grave at a local In this case, a young woman's body was found lying on top of a grave at a local cemetery. When I got here that morning with the fellows, from our crime scene crew, we saw that there was a heel I got here that morning with the fellows from our crime scene crew, we saw that there was a heel print And then from that heel print, leading kind of into the cemetery were some scuff marks, some drag marks, not not very deep or distinct, but you could see them. Beyond the drag marks, there was a body lying in front of this head stone that says William Downing Senior. 1 third of all murder cases in America remain 1969. Each one is called a COLDCASE, and only one percent are ever solved. This is one of those rare cases. From a and e, this is cold case files, the podcast. The body of a woman was found on top of a grave. She'd been shot twice in the head. NetSuite her body was the suitcase and a pile of women's clothing, and she'd been covered by a towel. Detective sergeant Bennett describes the crime scene. Just a warning. His description is a little graphic. Her face was bloody. Blood had run down the left side of her face had dried beside the blood, dry blood on her face, It was very obvious there was a silk stocking tied very tightly around her neck like a garote that had been she'd probably been strangled with. The fact that her garments were pulled up exposing her Chantelia would tell you that maybe there might have been an attempt at a assault or rape we didn't know at the time. The victim's body was taken to the morgue where it was tested for evidence, including any biological evidence that might indicate sexual salt, but they didn't find any. They were able to identify the victim. Her name was Jane mixer. Jane was one of the thirty seven female law students at the University of Michigan out of a class of four hundred and twenty. She'd been reported missing the day before. Detective Ken Krause joins the investigation, and he starts by visiting the university. He focuses on what's referred to as the LockWad. A subsection of the school where the law students tend to gather. He finds some evidence pretty quickly 1969 what could be described as the nineteen sixty nine version of Craigslist. This is detective Krause. This is known as a ride board 1969 students here that are looking for a ride to take a place, the company can come in here and they can they can fill out a slip and place it in the slap where they wanted to go to. Jane had done just that. She'd requested a rag to Mesquite in Michigan, her home. Jane's friends who described her as intelligent and passionate weren't able to give a description of the man who offered her a ride home. The detectives continued their investigation and found what they felt like was another lead and the phone booth in the basement of the law school. This is detective Krause again. There was a phone book found by one of the phone booths that had the words mixture of Muskegon written. And we kind of think that whoever probably called or had wrote that on the book. It was some of the only evidence we had really of of maybe identifying assessment. Investigators submitted the phone book for handwriting analysis. And accepted practice at the time, though currently viewed with an increased amount of skepticism. Detectives turn their attention to Jane Storm, hoping for a lead. What they find is another phone book. This one has a check mark next to the name David Johnson. Johnson. 1969 reason that I would say she was calling the image answer was to get her right to Muskegon. The connection was the note on the right board 1969 a a response by him to her for a ride to Muskegon. The detectives called the number and talked to David Johnson. Johnson. He denies offering Jane mixer ride home on the He denies offering Jane fixer ride home on the evening she was killed. He has a pretty good alibi. He was performing in a play. 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It was possible that David Johnson was an alias it was also possible that Jane Mikser was just one victim of potential serial killer. It turns out that in nineteen sixty nine, Ann Arbor, Michigan had been the location of several murders. Jane was the third young woman to be found dead near the universe Detective Ken Taylor, a Michigan state police officer, notes that the location wasn't the only thing that the victims had in common. Although she was shot, she was still had the patios wrapped around her neck. So, of course, that that was what happened to the the prior one. show. Of course, that that would sort of lead you to believe it was the same person of course, that that would sort of lead you to believe it was the same person. In March, Jane had been the third woman killed. But by mid summer, there were seven unsolved murders in the area surrounding the University of Michigan. Marian George, now a crime reporter, was a student at the university during this time period. She describes what the atmosphere was like. It just just permeated everybody's subconscious. You know, walking at night be looking over your shoulder. I used to ride my bicycle instead of walking because I could I can move faster, but it was very scary. Six months after Jane's murder, there were still no leads on her case. There was, however, an arrest and a conviction in the case of one of the other victims. Karen Meeneman had been strangled to death by a man named John Norman Collins who was later arrested and convicted of her murder. A lot of speculation surrounds John Norman Collins still to this day. Was he responsible for more than just the single murder he was convicted of? The police aren't convinced. But they're also out of leads. After Collins was was arrested, eventually, you run out of informational or things to to track down. It never really 1969, I'd say, to a dead file, but it was very inactive. I guess that's what you'd call it. Jane Mixer's case stayed what detective Krausz referred to as inactive for thirty years. It was only revisited once DNA science was advanced enough to potentially provide some answers. That's when detective Eric Schroeder and detective Denise Powell took on the case. It was widely believed that John Norman Collins was the perpetrator even though he'd never been charged. The detectives, with advanced science now available, investigated the possibility. This is detective Powell. Wait. One of the first things is let's compare it to John Norman Collins and see if it matches 1 of the first things is let's compare it to John Norman Collins and see if it matches. Items from the evidence box, like the theyll covering Jane Vitzer's body, and the pantyhose she had been wearing were sent to the crime lab Lansing. Detective Schroeder was especially hopeful that the pantyhose would provide some insight. We felt quite strongly that the offender's DNA could have been embedded into the weave of that due to the fact that he'd obviously had to pick her up to transport her DNA analyst Steve Milligan received the evidence and began his examination. He started by shining a blue light over the evidence to help identify substances not visible to the eye. The blue light works and he finds something. There were four areas on the nylon pantyhose from gene mixer. visibly. You could see that there was a stain present in the, in the mesh of the you could see that there was a stain present in the in the mesh of the nylon. Milligan thinks the stains are likely mucus or wet transferred from the killer's hands while he carried Jane's body. He isolates the stains and then extracts the DNA. Three of the stains gave a full of the stains gave a full profile. They were the same profile, so they had the same types. They indicated the presence of a male donor. Milligan makes another discovery, a spot of blood that had been found on Jane's hand. The investigators previously had made the assumption that it was Jane's own blood, but they were wrong. After testing the spot of blood, it was determined that it belonged to a man. And in an unexpected twist, it was also determined that it didn't belong to the same man as the DNA on the pantyhose. There was no information other than we had two distinct profiles of two different male donors associated with the items of evidence that came from Jane mixer There was no information other than we had two distinct profiles of two different male donors associated with the items of evidence that came from Jane MiXler. In order to confirm or deny a thirty year old suspicion that John Norman Collins had murdered Jane Mixer. They compared both DNA profiles against that of Collins. 1 of the first things is let's compare it to John Norman Collins and see if it matches. They compared his DNA it was not a match. You know, that basically left us with, if he didn't do it, then who did. Now more than ever, it's vital to take care of your mental health and with Valentine's day approaching, it's especially important for the health of your relationship with Talkspace, you can send and receive unlimited messages with your dedicated therapist on their secure 24 hour more than ever, it's vital to take care of your mental health. And with Valentine's Day approaching, it's especially important for the health of your relationship. With Talkspace, you can send and receive unlimited messages with your dedicated therapist on their secure twenty four hour platform. They help you set goals and hold you accountable to make sure you're really progressing us here on the cold case team have family and friends who have used Talkspace themselves and have found it so helpful, super convenient and very thoughtful help you set goals and hold you accountable to make sure you're really progressing. 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If If you're a business owner, I don't need to tell you that running a business is tough, but you might be making it harder on yourself than you're a business owner, I don't need to tell you that running a business is tough. But you might be making it harder on yourself than necessary. Don't let QuickBooks and spreadsheets slow you down anymore. It's time to upgrade to NetSuite, stop paying for multiple systems that don't give you the information you need when you need It's time to upgrade to NetSuite. Stop paying for multiple systems that don't give you the information you need when you need it. Ditch the spreadsheets and all the old software that you've outgrown now is the time to upgrade to NetSuite by Oracle, the world's number one cloud business Ditch the spreadsheets 1969 all the old software that you've outgrown. Now is the time to upgrade to NetSuite by Oracle, the world's number one cloud business system. 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It takes an entire year, but finally, one of the DNA profiles is matched the spot of blood on Jane mixers hand matched to a man named John David Ruelas, who was incarcerated for murdering his own It takes an entire year, but finally 1969 of the DNA profiles is matched. The spodumab on Jain Vicks' hand matched to a man named John David Rulis who was incarcerated for murdering his own mother. We thought, well, this is outstanding. We've got someone who's in prison for a violent crime. So, you know, we got all excited about that for about twenty seconds. John David Roulis was born in 1964 and Jane mixer was murdered in John David Rulis was born in nineteen sixty four. 1969 Jane Mikser was murdered in nineteen sixty nine. It's obvious pretty quick that he was only four years old and eight months. At the time Jane Mixer was murdered, surprised would be somewhat of an understatement, I think. Instead of the answers detectives were hoping for, the DNA testing had raised more questions. Like, how did the blood of a four year old come to be on the hand of a murder victim? The detectors went to visit John David Rulis in prison, hoping to find some answers. Rulis' memories from his childhood or hazy. He describes his mom as transient 1969 mentions that she frequently gave him cough syrup as a sedative. He does have one memory that is of particular interest to police. He described the time that he woke up in the night and went out to the garage where he saw and heard a car running. The incident, which I'm referring to. It's a death. They involve a person who I don't know anyone. Don't know who can't do it. At the time that occurred, I was going to fix his own. I remember mine for Hanigang. I remember doing without a whole series in a can't. And the receipt, and there was a lot of blood. And I spent a lot of blood. I mean, fifty of twenty. I'm glad. The detectives turned to the uncle, implicated by a hazy childhood memory. But it doesn't appear to be a lead. After extensive questioning and a voluntary DNA swab, the investigators determine that there's no relationship between rule as his uncle and Jane Mixer's murder. Not only are investigators know closer to finding answers about Jane Mixer's killer, They now have a new question. How did the little boy's blood make its way to Jane's hand? In November of two thousand and four, two years after the DNA profiles had been entered into the database, Another match was found to a second man. This time, it matched the DNA found on the pantyhose. The man's name was Gary 1969 of course, police immediately went to talk with him. Do you have any reason do you have any reason why we'd be here? Do you wanna do that? Not at all. I I have III thought it would ever sorry that you were so I mean, a problem with somebody in the neighborhood or something and that I mean, help me here. Help me. I mean, I'm totally reaching out to you here. But I don't remember her specifically. I don't remember the face. I can remember having on one or two occasions, sexual encounter with women at diabetic virus. The DNA, where it's at, how it is, directly put you there. You didn't mean you're in a bar. I have nothing to do. With this girl 1969 her be killed and left here. I have nothing to do with that. Well, science otherwise, and that's the bottom line. Yeah. I can't admit to something that is admit to. The police felt that by talking with Lieberman, they were giving him a chance to explain an innocent reason that a DNA might have been found on Jane. What this interview did for us was tell us that there was no innocent explanation for his DNA to be on this interview did for us was tell us that there is no innocent explanation for his DNA to be on her. And I feel like we covered every base we could in this interview. This case is hard for me to accept. Is science really the bottom line in a case where at least one obvious error had already been made? I can't say for sure. But I can theyll you what happened next. Gary Lieberman was arrested and charged with first degree murder. The prosecutor, Steve Heller, had to overcome the challenge of explaining why the blood of John David Rulis, who remember was only four years old at the time of the murder, had been found on the victim's hand. While it was something that needed to be explained, It was something that needed to be investigated to find out if there was a problem. That was the responsible thing to do. One possible explanation could be cross contamination of the samples, meaning somehow a substance collected from one case came in contact with the substance from another. Jeff Nye, the DNA Analysts strongly rejected this theory. We were pretty defensive, I'd say. You know, we we are so cautious on how we process everything in the laboratory. NetSuite NICE denial, some hard to refute information came to light. The evidence from the murder case in which John David Rulis was found guilty was in the crime lab at the same time as the evidence from Jane Mixer's case. I was asked to investigate the two cases together to determine if there was any crossing of paths between the two cases and the laboratories. So basically, what I would do is come to the file room and grab all of the files associated with each case The state argued that because the two cases were processed by two different analysts at two different workstations, cross-contamination was highly The state argued that because the two cases were processed by two different analysts at two different workstations, cross contamination was highly unlikely. They're stored on opposite sides of the property room and all the evidence that comes to the laboratory are sealed. So there's no issue there on the fact that they came unsealed and denials magically crossed from one side of the room to the other. They couldn't, however, explain the presence of Rulis' DNA. The defense attorney, Gary Gabrie, did not share the state's confidence in the lab testing. It appeared to him that there were two options. Either the state had contaminated the evidence or they hadn't. If the evidence wasn't contaminated, then there was an unexplained gap in the state's case. From my perspective, the defense was sitting in a good position with either argument that you can't rely on the lab, if there's contamination and they can't prove beyond a reasonable doubt, given the evidence that they have left, that my client was my perspective, the defense was sitting in a good position with either argument that you can't rely on the lab if there's contamination, and they can't prove beyond a reasonable doubt given the evidence that they have left, that my client was guilty. The trial goes to a jury Mary Anne George the crime reporter that attended the University of Michigan at the same time as Jane is assigned to cover the case. I mean, that kind of detail is just broke my heart because here was this beautiful girl who just got robbed in the most violent way. I mean, it's still, yeah, I'm at a known her on I mean, it's still. You know, I might have known her on campus. The state focused his case on the DNA from the defendant that was found on the victim's state focused its case on the DNA from the defendant that was found on the victim's Peony House. They were consistent with him having lifted her out of the vehicle, putting his hand underneath her legs, dropping saliva or sweat or perhaps even tears onto the top of her as he's doing that. The defense also focused on DNA. But not that of the defendant. They focused on the unexplained match between blood the victim's hand and a four year old boy. Where did that come from? How did that get there? How does that connect to Gary Lighterman? How does Gary Lighterman connect to Jane Mixer? How does the origin of the blood, person by the name of John Whelas, connect to Jane Nicks or Gary Leiterman. They can answer none of those questions. The attorneys made their arguments, both believing that DNA was the key. That's Something that's been lost to history, but it doesn't change the fact that Gary Leiderman, the DNA was on Jane mixers that's been lost to history. But it doesn't change the fact that Gary Leiterman, the DNA, was on Jane Rexer's pantyhose. Now he just wants to brush this off saying, those answers are lost in history. Well, those answers are evidence. And that's what's sold troubling about this case. The trial lasted two weeks and the jury deliberated for five trial lasted two weeks. And the jury deliberated for five hours. The main point of disagreement was how to handle the John Rulos blood drop if it was his. That was Steve Kessen, one of the members of the jury, that, in this case, found Gary Leiderman guilty. Wasn't that Jerry concerned about the DNA mix up in the lab? I personally don't think so. I think that that was Jane mixes, but my personal opinion is that there might may have been a mix up in the lab, and that's how that truffle blood was associated with John Carlos. A mix up in a lab involving DNA might be a red flag to some of us, but not to this jury 1969 not to Steve Kaston. The DNA evidence is so compelling that it's hard to overcome. Barely certain that we made the right decision and that's Carrie Lyderman was guilty of this crime. With the jury fairly certain of Gary Lieberman's guilt without an explanation of the faulty DNA findings, he was sentenced to life without parole. Still to this day, Gary maintains his innocence. But so far, he's been unsuccessful with his appeals. COLDCASE files the podcast is hosted by Brook Giddings. Produced by Mckamey Scott Brody Steve Delomator. Our executive producer is Ted Butler. We're distributed by COLDCASE one. The TV series, COLDCASE Files, was produced by Curtis Productions 1969 hosted by the esteemed Bill Curtis. Check out more cold case files at aetv dot com 1969 by downloading the a and e app.