What this means for Donyell
The state crime lab never tied Donyell to the killing. The DNA on the victim’s car belonged to unknown men, Donyell and Brown were both excluded, the murder-weapon DNA was inconclusive, and the bullet could only be matched to a brand of gun.
Forensic biology (DNA)
- October 30, 2020 (Agent Militza Kennedy): the towel, carpet mat and board from Randall’s car carried DNA from “Unknown Male #1.” The Stockton knife and papers: “Unknown Male #2.”
- The lab asked for “a victim, subject, and any elimination standards.” Those standards did not arrive until October 2022. No reference sample from Randall was ever obtained.
- December 15, 2022: Brown and Donyell were both excluded from Unknown Males #1 and #2.
- February 21, 2023: the SCCY the State called the murder weapon: “No examination was performed.” Its swab and magazine: inconclusive. The bullet: “No examination was performed.”
- The camper fabric: no blood.
Firearms (Agent Denver Hall)
- Told the jury, “I have no certifications currently.”
- Test-fired only two guns. The others, including Brown’s Smith & Wesson, he “looked down the barrel” of and stopped.
- The bullet’s individual marks had rusted away while it sat “in the evidence for a while.” He matched it only to SCCY-type rifling, a brand, not a gun.
Who sent what
The guns and the bullet reached the lab through two submitters the record does not identify by agency, “Sarah Brown” on October 4, 2022 and “Tommy Meeks” on October 10, 2022. See What Was Submitted.