UPDATE: Cave trial recesses for day

Testimony ended early today in the murder trial of Janelle Cave, 22, Jamestown, in Southeast District Court.

Cave and Leron Lee Howard, 34, Jamestown, are charged in the death of Abdi Ali Ahmed, 18, Jamestown, on April 30, 2010. Cave and Howard each face murder and criminal conspiracy charges in the case. The charges are Class AA felonies and are punishable by life in prison without parole. Howard will be tried beginning Aug. 7.

Afternoon testimony was cut short after Special Agent Arnie Rummel of the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigations was called to the stand. Rummel testified about shoe print evidence found at the site where the body was discovered. He said the shoe prints in the mud matched the soles of the victims shoes.

Testimony for the day ended after a conference between the attorneys and Judge Thomas E. Merrick. The jury and audience were excluded from the conference but were told that testimony would resume at 9 a.m. Tuesday.

Dr. William Massello, forensic examiner for the North Dakota Crime Lab, testified earlier on Ahmed’s autopsy, which he performed.

North Dakota Crime Lab employees Alexandria Gibbs, forensic scientist, and Jennifer Penner, DNA analysis, testified about blood spot evidence recovered on clothing connected to Howard.

Sun reporter Keith Norman can be reached at 701-952-8452 or by email at knorman@jamestownsun.com

Tags: news, updates, crime, court, trial, fccnetwork