DNA results from a speck of blood found under the fingernail of murder teen Mickie Costanzo are expected this week.
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And the fate of two confessed teen murderers could rest on that minute amount of blood and skin found under the fingernail of their victim.
Last month Elko District Attorney Marc Torvinen asked District Judge Dan Papez for permission for permission to submit a tiny piece of blood and/or skin found beneath one finger nail of Micaela Costanzo for DNA testing.
The sample is so small Torvinen cautioned the court that it would have to be destroyed without any left over for retesting.
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According to court records neither of the defense teams representing Kody Patten or Toni Fratto raised any objection to the test provided their own DNA experts be allowed to be present when the testing is done.
“Its a one off thing,” said a source close to the case. “And a lot could be resting on the results.”
Micaela “Mickey” Costanzo was murdered on March 3rd.
Toni Fratto and boyfriend Kody Patten confessed to the murder of but at different times and their statements were at least partially contradictory.
Police, prosecution and both defense teams have already commented on the tremendous lake of forensic evidence linking either Patten or Fratto to the crime scene or even the SUV.
“You don’t expect that from a so called panic murder by one or two teenagers,” said a source close to the case. “But the car was almost spotless. There was no trace of Fratto at the scene not even a footprint and very slight DNA evidence putting Patten there either. It just doesn’t fit the knocked drag out fight account in their confessions.”
“She was a 16 year old girl, she got out of the shower from track practice,” said a source close to the investigation. “She was in the car for any where from 20 minutes to two hours. It should have been full of her DNA.”
If a DNA belongs to Patten nothing much will have changed in terms of defenses strategies for either of the two confessed murderers. However if the DNA belongs to Fratto, the case becomes much more complicated.
Fratto’s attorneys have suggested that the girl was not present at all during the murder and confessed only to help her boyfriend. While not conclusive a DNA match would severely weaken that line.
It would also mean that it is Fratto’s not Patten’s time line that is correct and imply that Mickie costanzo was held captive against her will for over two hours before she was murdered. That would give weight to the additional charge of kidnapping and strengthen the states case for a death penalty verdict.
