Steven Petric was sentenced to death by the State of Alabama for the murder of Toni Lim
According to court documents Steven Petric would sexually assault and murder Toni Lim.
The case went unsolved for nearly twenty years until Steven Petric would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
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Steven Petric is incarcerated at Holman Prison
Steven Petric Case
The State’s evidence tended to show the following. On March 9, 1990, the victim, Toni Lim, was found dead on her bed in the apartment she shared with Martha Milinda Higginbotham. The apartment was located in Homewood, a suburb of Birmingham. Higginbotham discovered Lim’s body after returning home from work at around 8:00 p.m. Lim was alone in the apartment when Higginbotham left for work earlier that day. There were no signs of forced entry into the apartment. Higginbotham testified that Lim had previously told her that a man named “Steven” was going to help Lim fix the brakes on her car. Higginbotham also testified that a man named Steven sometimes gave Lim a ride home from school. However, Higginbotham had never met Steven. Barbara Short testified that in March 1990, she lived with Petric, whom she had married in January 1990 after a brief courtship, in the Birmingham area.
Lim’s mother testified that she had recovered Lim’s watches and gold chain from Lim’s apartment after her death. However, Lim’s mother also testified that she knew that Lim possessed wedding rings and that they were missing from the apartment and were never recovered. A former property evidence technician for the Homewood Police Department who collected evidence from Lim’s apartment after her death testified that he specifically looked for Lim’s rings after her death but that he never found them.
When Lim was found lying on her bed in her apartment, her body was covered with a blanket, and her head was covered with a pillow. Examination of Lim’s body revealed that she had suffered a stab wound to the back of her neck and a large cut across her throat. Lim was dressed in only a blouse and a brassiere. The brassiere was unlatched in the front, and only one button was buttoned on the blouse. The other buttons on the blouse were intact but unbuttoned. A T-shirt tied loosely around Lim’s neck was soaked with blood. Lim’s hands were tied behind her back with pantyhose. An exercise rope was tied tightly around Lim’s right wrist, and the rope extended down to her ankles, which were tied together with the rope. The rope was tied in such a way that it would tighten if Lim’s legs were straightened. The rope caused abrasions and bruising on certain areas of Lim’s skin. All of Lim’s fingernails were intact. The autopsy of Lim’s body did not reveal any appreciable evidence of trauma to her genitalia. However, the presence of semen was discovered in Lim’s vagina and anus. Also, some round bruises were discovered on Lim’s right leg. Dr. Gary Simmons, the forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy on Lim, testified that the round bruises could have been caused by fingers grabbing Lim’s leg, but he could not be certain what caused these bruises. Dr. Simmons testified that Lim “died from the sharp force entry, mainly the stab wound to the back of her neck and the incised wound to her throat.” (R. 1123.)
In 1990 and again in 1998, ABO blood testing and rudimentary DNA testing were performed on items recovered in and around Lim’s body. The results of that testing excluded several individuals as suspects, but the results did not match the DNA of any person of interest. In 2004, additional DNA testing using more modern techniques revealed that the DNA profile from the semen found in Lim’s body matched the DNA profile found on some of the cigarette butts that were in Lim’s bedroom on the day she was killed.
Debra Kay Dodd, who performs DNA analyses for the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, testified that, in June 2006, she received information from the administrator of the national Combined DNA Index System (“CODIS”)1 that the DNA profile of the semen found in Lim’s body matched the DNA profile of Petric, who at the time was in prison in Illinois. After receiving oral reference samples from Steven Petric in August 2006, Dodd tested the samples and generated a DNA profile for Petric. Dodd found that Petric’s DNA profile matched the DNA profile of the semen found in Lim’s body and the DNA profile found on some of the cigarette butts that were found in Lim’s bedroom.
After Dodd had finished testifying, at the request of defense counsel, the defense and the prosecution agreed to admit into evidence a laboratory report prepared by a DNA expert for the defense. (R. 1279–82, 1296–97.) The report was marked as both a State’s exhibit and a defendant’s exhibit. (C. 532.) The results of that report did not contradict the results of Dodd’s testing. Both Dodd and the expert for the defense concluded that the DNA profile of the semen donor on the vaginal swab of Lim’s body matched Steven Petric’s DNA profile. (R. 1243–44, 1250–51; C. 537–38.) The defense expert also concluded that Steven Petric’s DNA was present in stains on a blanket recovered from the crime scene. (C. 537.) Additionally, the laboratory report prepared by the expert for the defense stated that “[t]he DNA profile obtained from the swab taken from the right hand fingernail clippings is a mixture” and that “Steven Petric is included in this mixture.” (C. 538.)
At trial, the State presented evidence of other bad acts of Steven Petric. Gerald Gear, who was a detective for the Joliet, Illinois, police department in 1994, gave testimony concerning Debra O’Rourke, a white female who was found murdered in her apartment in Illinois at around 10:00 a.m. on July 6, 1994. The last time that anyone had communicated with O’Rourke was on July 3, 1994. Gear testified that O’Rourke was found lying on her stomach across the bed in her bedroom. The bedroom had been ransacked. O’Rourke was covered with a blanket and there was a pillow on top of her head. Also, a washcloth was lying on O’Rourke’s shoulder. O’Rourke’s blood had coagulated on another pillow near her head. A T-shirt was tied around O’Rourke’s head. O’Rourke’s arms were behind her back, and she had markings on her wrists and ankles that indicated that she had been bound with ligatures. There were no signs of forced entry into O’Rourke’s apartment. Gear testified that his investigation revealed that O’Rourke was dating two men at the time of her death. One of those men was Petric, who was the maintenance man at O’Rourke’s apartment complex. According to Gear, telephone records revealed that a call was made from O’Rourke’s residence to Petric’s residence at around 5:10 p.m. on July 4, 1994. Another telephone call was made from O’Rourke’s residence to the residence of Petric’s ex-girlfriend at 12:06 a.m. on July 5, 1994. Both the State and the defense stipulated that Petric used or attempted to use O’Rourke’s ATM card on several occasions on July 5, 1994. A wedding ring and a set of keys were missing from O’Rourke’s apartment. The keys were never recovered, but the ring was eventually found in Petric’s possession.
Dr. Joseph Sapala performed the autopsy on O’Rourke’s body. At the trial in the present case, Dr. Sapala testified that O’Rourke was found nude on her bed and that her head was covered with blood. Dr. Sapala further testified that O’Rourke had a gag in her mouth and a shirt tied tightly around her neck and head. Dr. Sapala also noted that O’Rourke had bruising around her wrists that could have been caused by being bound with ligatures or handcuffs. According to Dr. Sapala, O’Rourke died from strangulation and stab wounds to her neck.
DNA testing was performed on certain items that were recovered from O’Rourke’s apartment. Those items included the washcloth that was found lying on O’Rourke’s shoulder, O’Rourke’s bed sheet, and a pillowcase. A stain on the washcloth contained a mixture of blood and semen, and the DNA profile identified on that stain matched Steven Petric’s DNA profile. The pillowcase contained a semen stain, and the DNA profile of that stain also matched Steven Petric’s DNA profile. The bedsheet contained two semen stains. The DNA profile identified on those two stains matched the DNA profile of the other man O’Rourke was dating at the time of her death.
In light of the evidence concerning O’Rourke’s death and the use of her ATM card, Petric was tried for murder and robbery in Illinois. Petric was convicted of the robbery, but he was acquitted of murder. Steven Petric was not charged with rape in the situation involving O’Rourke.
Doug Finch, a detective with the Homewood Police Department who reopened the present case in 2004, requested the additional DNA testing on the items that were recovered in and around Lim’s body, and he asked that the results of that testing be entered into the CODIS. When the CODIS revealed that the DNA profile of the semen found in Lim’s body matched the DNA profile of Steven Petric, Detective Finch traveled to Illinois to collect DNA samples from Petric and to further investigate Petric. During that investigation, Detective Finch viewed photographs of the O’Rourke crime scene. At trial, Detective Finch was asked to describe the similarities between the O’Rourke crime scene and the Lim crime scene. Detective Finch testified that the personal items in the victims’ bedrooms had been ransacked; that the victims’ bodies were nude; that ligatures or some type of restraints had been used to restrain the victims; that the victims’ heads were covered with a pillow; that there were stab wounds to the back of the victims’ necks; that there were incisions or cut marks on the victims’ necks; that Petric’s semen was present at the scene of both crimes; that the victims’ keys and wedding rings were missing; that O’Rourke and Lim were similar in appearance; that there were no signs of forced entry into the victims’ apartments; and that the victims lived in second-floor apartments.
The State also presented evidence of an incident that occurred in Illinois involving Petric and Tina Hillock. At trial, Hillock testified that she dated Petric from October 1993 to June 1994. In June 1994, Hillock told Steven Petric that she did not want to see him anymore. On August 13, 1994, Hillock left her second-floor apartment for the afternoon, and she locked the door to the apartment when she left. Hillock returned to her apartment later that evening. As soon as Hillock entered her apartment, she sensed that something was wrong and grabbed a knife from the kitchen to protect herself. Petric was inside the apartment, and he immediately confronted Hillock and began screaming at her. Steven Petric took the knife away from Hillock and threw it into the kitchen sink. A short time later, Hillock attempted to leave the apartment through the front door, but as soon as she opened the door, Petric grabbed her and threw her onto the couch. Petric told Hillock that “if he can’t have [her] nobody else would.” (R. 1494.) Petric then put his hands around Hillock’s throat. Then, in an attempt to prevent Petric from hurting her, Hillock falsely told Petric that she was pregnant. At that time, according to Hillock, “[Petric] got up off of [her] and he punched the wall and put a hole through the wall.” (R. 1495.) Hillock then made a second attempt to leave the apartment, but again Petric grabbed her and threw her onto the couch. A short time later, in response to a call that had been made by a third party, police officers arrived at Hillock’s apartment. After the officers talked to Hillock, they arrested Petric. Hillock then went with the officers to the police station.
Steven Petric’s vehicle was discovered parked about two blocks from Hillock’s apartment. A bag containing some of Hillock’s undergarments and jewelry was discovered inside Petric’s vehicle. Hillock testified that she had not given Petric permission to enter her apartment or to take her personal property.
After filing charges against Steven Petric and obtaining a protection order, Hillock returned to her apartment. When Hillock returned, she discovered a roll of duct tape and the belt to her bathrobe lying in her son’s bedroom. Hillock testified that neither she nor her children had placed those items in that location.
During cross-examination, Hillock admitted that during a preliminary hearing in an Illinois court in 1994, she gave a completely different account of what had occurred on August 13, 1994. During that hearing, Hillock testified that the violent incident in her apartment involving Steven Petric never happened. Hillock also asked that the charges against Petric in Illinois to be dropped. In the present case, Hillock testified that she lied to the Illinois court because she was “terrified” of Petric and was afraid that he would harm her. (R. 1512.)
One of the officers that arrested Steven Petric for assaulting Hillock testified that as he was booking Petric, the officer removed three rings from the pocket of Petric’s pants. Hillock identified two of the rings as belonging to her. At trial, the third ring was identified as the ring that was missing from O’Rourke’s apartment.
The defense did not present any testimony to the jury during the guilt phase of the trial.
https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/al-court-of-criminal-appeals/1623778.html