“I just want answers.”
“As you know, Mark’s been working on an appeal for several years and asking for new DNA testing. He’s been denied multiple times, and he didn’t have the money for legal representation beyond a public defender.”
“Until the Innocence Project became involved over the summer.”
Mathews nodded. “They originally requested to test the touch DNA taken from the lamp in your room, your father’s clothes and your windowsill.” DNA testing had come a long way since the original investigation. Microscopic samples of skin cells could now be tested and produce what was called touch DNA. Nikki had read about touch DNA convicting people years after the crime, but she’d also heard some experts argue that certain kinds weren’t reliable enough to use in court. Nikki also knew that this type of DNA testing was expensive, and with so much other evidence against Mark, she’d previously been told that no judge would approve it. “Patsy Moran convinced the judge to order the testing,” Mathews said quietly.
Nikki’s mouth had gone dry. “Patsy Moran took the case?”
Patsy Moran was a retired prosecutor who had tried and won some of Minnesota’s grisliest murders. In 2014, a man prosecuted for the murders of four teenaged girls nearly two decades prior was fully exonerated with DNA evidence. Moran worked for the original prosecutor’s office, and the conviction never sat right with her. She’d joined the Innocence Project the day after the news of the exoneration broke. She hadn’t lost a case since.
“She’s absolutely convinced Mark Todd was wrongfully convicted,” Mathews said. “After she presented to the judge, he not only allowed the testing but signed off on a full review of the case file.”
“What else are they testing?” Nikki didn’t want to hear the answer, but she had to know. “Obviously it’s more than some skin cells from the lamp and windowsill.”
Mathews looked at her for a moment and then sighed. “Todd’s attorney’s discovered biological samples taken from your mother that had never been tested. The deputy who collected it wanted to test for semen but was denied by his superior.”
Nikki gripped the chair arm to keep from shaking. “There was a sample that was never tested? You should have told me the minute this was found by Todd’s attorneys. You told me there was nothing to worry about.”
Mathews sighed. “The ADA in appeals has been handling it. She notified me last week, and I made the decision to withhold the details of testing from you until the judge made his decision.”
“How could you do that?”
“Because I didn’t see the need for you to hear gruesome details on what I thought to be a Hail Mary by the defense.”
“So I found out through the media instead.” Nikki was furious. “Hardin never said a word to me about another sample at the time.”
“He didn’t do the collection, and you were a kid. Given the way the case played out, he was probably trying to protect you.”
The bagel Nikki had eaten an hour ago threatened to make an appearance. “But Hardin knew they were there, and he knows about DNA advancement. He should have told me.”
“Hardin’s certain he got his man.”
“But you aren’t?” Nikki couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
Mathews leaned back in his chair. “I’ve been thinking about it. Why wouldn’t they have tested those swabs? Surely it should have just been more evidence to convict Mark.”
“The case is twenty years old, things happen. It may simply be an error,” Nikki said, not even sure she believed what she was saying. “Mark was there that night, I saw him, and he had a motive to kill me. John testified he found Mark and me alone at the party. I’d gone to lie down, and John caught Mark trying to take advantage of me. He defended me. He saved me. So John was lying? Several other people from the party verified the story. And I was there too.” Nikki remembered what Rory had told her last night. “A paramedic took my blood to test for blood alcohol level.”
Mathews’ eyebrows knitted together. “You mentioned that when we initially spoke in November. I assumed our staff would be able to locate the report. But we haven’t. Don’t you find it strange that no one could find that toxicology report? Even though John and his friends all testified that you were sober when you left the party, and Hardin stated that you passed a sobriety test,” Mathews said. “As a law enforcement officer, does it make sense to you that there’s no record of this?”
“I remember being in the ambulance,” Nikki said. She remembered sitting there trembling on the gurney while the paramedic checked her over for injuries. Despite the warm air, Nikki had shivered with cold. “I remember the paramedic having a needle.”
Mathews flipped through the dog-eared file. “You were treated for shock. Is it possible you were just given fluids?”
No, because she’d watched the blood fill the vial—hadn’t she? Or was her memory that scrambled? “I—I’m not sure.”
The weeks and months following the murders were mostly a blur, but Nikki remembered the prosecutor treating her like a star witness just as much as a grieving daughter. He’d painted her as a suffering, fragile child who needed to be handled with care. Nikki had been grateful for his kindness, but she knew it made the jury sympathize with her too. She’d been so naive, she believed that simply telling people what happened that night would be enough, but the trial taught her that everything in a prosecutor’s case had to be calculated, down to the clothing and mannerisms. The district attorney had put her through a rigorous mock cross-examination a few days before the trial.
The nightmares started after that miserable day.
Nikki had been well into her junior year in college when she realized she’d developed a skill for reading people after her parents were killed. She kept her guard up, always hyper focused on people’s body language, because everyone had an agenda.
“Nikki?” Mathews looked concerned. “Are you all right?”
“Yes,” she said. “I’m just trying to get my head around all of this. I wasn’t impaired when I found my parents. And I’m betting the defense played up the intoxication thing to this reporter, trying to get more people on Mark’s side.”
“Public opinion might appear to influence the case, and unless the defense has proof you were intoxicated, that argument won’t hold water in court. The DNA certainly will, but Patsy Moran is absolutely certain none of the samples will match Mark’s DNA. She’s pushing for urgent testing because he’s already spent enough time in prison as an innocent man.”
