Story Published:
Dec 5, 2008 at 10:13 PM CST
Story Updated:
Dec 7, 2008 at 8:47 AM CST
CLAYTON, Mo. -- A judge denied two motions on Friday by attorneys for a man charged with murdering a woman 23 years ago. Attorneys for Gerald Carnahan and prosecutors spent nearly five hours in front of a St. Louis County judge in a rape and murder case dating back to 1985.
The body of Jackie Johns of Nixa turned up in Lake Springfield. She had been raped and beaten. Last year, prosecutors said a DNA match linked her death to Carnahan. He's been awaiting trial in jail since August 2007.
Now the prosecutor says he's one step closer to trial. The case, which is being tried in St. Louis County to try to ensure a fair outcome, had two developments after the hearing.
Defense attorney Dee Wampler tried to get Greene County Prosecuting Attorney Darrell Moore off the case. The motion was denied. Carnahan then took the stand to try to convince the judge to let him out of jail on bond. That request was also denied.
Moore says several other big motions are yet to be heard, including Wampler's attempt to get DNA evidence thrown out. Wampler argues a DNA sample lifted from Johns' body has changed hands too many times, and hasn't been well preserved. It's that sample that investigators say matches Carnahan's DNA.
