DNA evidence not likely in case against suspect
| • | TV show prompted tip in 1975 murder case |
| • | No healing for Dede's mom |
By David Waite and Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writers
The prosecution most likely will not attempt to use DNA comparisons in the case against a former Kane'ohe Marine accused of killing a 13-year-old Kailua girl 26 years ago, a city deputy prosecutor said yesterday.
Indianapolis Police Department
"That's already been thought of, but is probably not necessary in this case," City Deputy Prosecutor Rom Trader said.
Delmar Edmonds was arrested Tuesday in Indiana.
While an affidavit filed by a Hono- lulu Police Department detective in support of a warrant for the arrest of Delmar J. Edmonds, who has been charged with the March 1975 slaying of Dawn "Dede" Bustamante, said semen was recovered from the dead girl's body, Trader yesterday declined to say if the material recovered more than a quarter of a century ago could be used in an attempt to link Edmonds to the crime.
Typically, investigators obtain DNA samples from crime suspects in one of two ways, Trader said. If a case is still in the investigative stage, a search warrant is obtained and a suspect is made to provide a DNA sample, Trader said.
If a DNA sample is sought after criminal proceedings have already begun, as they have in the Edmonds case, the prosecution would bring a motion to have the court order the suspect to submit to DNA sampling and a hearing would be held on the request, Trader said.
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DNA testing on blood, hair, semen and other biological evidence has been used in courts to both link a person to a crime or exclude the person as a suspect.
Dawn Bustamante was slain near the Pali Golf Course in 1975.
Meanwhile, an extradition hearing yesterday was postponed in Indiana for Edmonds. It was rescheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday in Marion County Criminal Court in Indianapolis, said Jim Fulton, spokesman for the Honolulu prosecutor's office.
Edmonds was arrested Tuesday in Indiana after a warrant was issued here charging him with Bustamante's murder. He is being held in the Marion County Jail on $500,000 bail.
Bustamante was raped and killed on a deserted road near the Pali Golf Course. The case was reopened about two years ago and interviews last year led to Edmonds' arrest.
Extradition could be quick if Edmonds complies, said 1st Sgt. Dave Bursten, spokesman for the Indiana State Police.
"If he did agree to extradition, it would be a matter of days or weeks before he would be sent," Bursten said. "If he declines, then we have to go through the longer process, which could take 30 to 90 days. But eventually he will end up in Hawai'i."
