Friday, December 10, 1999
Blood stains match victim's DNA
BY STEVE KEMME
The Cincinnati Enquirer
HAMILTON — A laboratory report identified two blood stains inside James Lee Lawson's Middletown house as the blood of Cheryl Ann Durkin, who was killed and dismembered in February 1998.
One blood stain was on a wall in a closet of Mr. Lawson's bedroom; the other was in the hallway outside the bedroom, Maj. Anthony Dwyer of the Butler County Sheriff's Department testified Thursday in Butler County Common Pleas Court.
The DNA from the two blood samples matched the DNA of tissue from Ms. Durkin's torso, which was found floating in the Great Miami River in Hamilton in April, 1998, Maj. Dwyer said.
Mr. Lawson, 30, is charged with murder. He is accused of killing Ms. Durkin, of Madison Township, dismembering her body and persuading family members to bury the parts.
Last month, he entered a no-contest plea on charges of gross abuse of a corpse and obstructing justice and was found guilty.
The laboratory's analysis showed that the DNA from a second blood stain in the bedroom closet matched the DNA of a blood sample taken from Mr. Lawson, Maj. Dwyer said.
The laboratory concluded that other samples of blood found in the house were insuf ficient for determining DNA, he said.
Maj. Dwyer spent most of Thursday describing the investigation that led to the arrest and indictment.
He said he found that Mr. Lawson had lied to him during interviews before his arrest in November 1998.
Mr. Lawson told him on June 5, 1998 that he had painted his basement, a bathroom and part of his living room about two weeks ago.
But Maj. Dwyer later found purchase receipts in Mr. Lawson's car for cans of paint. The receipts were dated June 1 and June 2, just days after police had interviewed Mr. Lawson's sister, Melissa Lawson Botts, about the case.
Mr. Lawson denied knowing Ms. Durkin, who was a drug addict and a prostitute, but three witnesses have testified that he knew her. A prostitute who was Ms. Durkin's friend testified earlier this week that she saw Mr. Lawson pick up Ms. Durkin several times in Middletown.
Maj. Dwyer told how he dug up Ms. Durkin's skull and other body parts in a wooded area in Preble County after being led there by Mrs. Botts. Mr. Lawson's mother, Ellen Peck, led him to another site where she and Mrs. Botts had buried more of Ms. Durkin's body parts.
By the time a warrant was issued for Mr. Lawson's arrest on Sept. 1, 1998, he had fled the area and was using phony names, Maj. Dwyer said.
Police arrested him outside the house of his girlfriend, Billie Lee Jenks, in Carrollton, Ky., after being tipped off by Ms. Jenks' grandmother, Leda Funk, of Lexington, Ind.
Mrs. Funk testified that on Thanksgiving Day 1998, Ms. Jenks brought Mr. Lawson, who was using the name of David L. Wallace, to her house. She said Mr. Lawson told her that he was wanted on drug charges.
“I said that he should turn himself in,” Mrs. Funk said. “I jokingly said, "Have I ever seen you on America's Most Wanted?'” she said.
She said her granddaughter looked at her and said, “Yes.”
Concerned, Mrs. Funk made a point of videotaping Mr. Lawson at the family gathering.
She said that after sending Mr. Lawson on a phony errand for drinks, Ms. Jenks told her more about Mr. Lawson. Mrs. Funk alerted police.
Maj. Dwyer said he went to view Mrs. Funk's videotape the next day and recognized Mr. Lawson.
He said Mrs. Funk and Ms. Jenks helped police lure Mr. Lawson out of Ms. Jenks' house later that day so that police could safely arrest him.
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