With the court lights dimmed and a photo of Sylvester's naked body displayed on a screen, Merin argued that Puckett's 1977 sexual assaults showed an "MO" consistent with Sylvester's killing.
In each of those crimes, Puckett had posed as a police officer to gain the woman's trust. The absence of forced entry to Sylvester's apartment indicated her killer had also used a ruse, Merin said.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Thursday, May 29, 2008 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 2 inches; 82 words Type of Material: Correction
DNA evidence: A May 4 article in Section A about the statistical calculations involved in describing DNA evidence in a murder case contained an arithmetic error. It said that multiplying the probability of 1 in 1.1 million by 338,000 was the same as dividing 1.1 million by 338,000. Actually, it's the same as dividing 338,000 by 1.1 million. The answer, a 1 in 3 probability of a coincidental match between crime scene DNA and genetic profiles in a state database, was correct.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Sunday, June 01, 2008 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 2 inches; 80 words Type of Material: Correction
DNA evidence: A May 4 article in Section A about the statistical calculations involved in describing DNA evidence in a murder case contained an arithmetic error. It said that multiplying the probability of 1 in 1.1 million by 338,000 was the same as dividing 1.1 million by 338,000. Actually, it's the same as dividing 338,000 by 1.1 million. The answer, a 1-in-3 probability of a coincidental match between crime scene DNA and genetic profiles in a state database, was correct.
Puckett had kidnapped his victims by holding a knife or ice pick to their necks, leaving scratches similar to those found on Sylvester's neck -- what Merin called "his signature."
On the stand, the three victims, who were in their early 20s when Puckett assaulted them, relived their terror.
"I recall his hand on my throat," testified one woman identified in court as Leslie B. "I recall trying to scream, which I wasn't able to. . . . He said he wanted to make love to me."
The prosecutor suggested that it was an unimaginable coincidence that police had stumbled across a suspect -- he didn't say how -- "who happened to be a serial rapist."
"What are the odds?" he asked jurors in closing.
The defense's first move in such cases normally would have been to question the investigators and everyone else who had contact with the DNA evidence to see if they'd followed proper procedures. But in Puckett's case, two of the three police inspectors had died, and the third was "severely mentally incapacitated" and in a rest home. The medical examiners who had conducted the autopsy on Sylvester also were dead.
The most important person missing, however, was Nigodoff, the landlady. She was the only one to get a good look at the assailant but had died in 2005, after Puckett was identified as a suspect. Both sides in the case debated whether Puckett fit the descriptions Nigodoff gave police in the 1970s.
At trial, Inspector Toomey testified that he had never shown Nigodoff a photo lineup that included Puckett, though he had 283 days to do so before she died.
Deputy Public Defender Kwixuan H. Maloof attacked the idea that Puckett's 1977 rapes followed a pattern similar to Sylvester's slaying. Puckett never threatened to kill his victims, put away his weapon shortly after commandeering the women's cars and tried to befriend them after the rapes, apologizing to one and offering another a job, Maloof said.
