FONDA – A state police technician testified Wednesday that murder defendant Ivan Ramos had blood on the soles of one of his sneakers.
Ramos is accused of stabbing and killing William McDermott, 56, and Cheryl Goss, 46, on March 2 at McDermott’s 359 Locust Ave. apartment in Amsterdam.
Ramos, 30, of Amsterdam was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. Ramos is on trial in Montgomery County Court.
Cheryl Strevell, a New York State Police laboratory technician, analyzed blood swabs and physical evidence in the case for blood.
Strevell also testified one of the Nike sneakers police linked to the scene in testimony Tuesday was positive for blood. She said while the left sneaker’s swabs were negative, three of four swab sites on the right sneaker tested positively.
Also, a glass pipe found in the drawer and several stained tissues were identified as having blood on them.
In addition to swabs of blood from the scene, Strevell tested for the presence of blood in a sexual-assault kit performed on Goss. Results were positive for blood, but negative for semen.
Juda objected to the submission on the grounds that the sneakers’ recovery and transport didn’t follow “the proper chain of command.” His objection was overruled. Juda made several of those objections throughout the day.
Autopsy reports also were presented, concluding that the cause of death was stabbing.
Strevell’s testimony set the basis for State Police forensic scientist Brian Murphy, who is expected to testify today about the DNA in the objects Strevell tested.
Murphy is expected to be the last witness before District Attorney James Conboy’s case rests. Juda said he would do his best to reschedule testimonies to today or Friday.
