Jury finds man guilty of first-degree murder in Clay Township cold case

A jury found 55-year-old John Germain guilty of first-degree murder Wednesday after an hour of deliberation.

Germain faces up to life in prison for the murder of 79-year-old Virginia Cecelia Farrell in 1997.

The verdict came after Germain testified Wednesday morning and the attorneys gave their closing arguments. It was his second jury trial after the first one resulted in a hung jury.

St. Clair County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Stephen Guilliat said he was glad to get the verdict Wednesday.

"I'm very happy that justice was done and very happy for Virginia's family and friends," Guilliat said. "This is something they've lived with for 26 years and they finally have closure."

During his testimony Germain told the jury he did not kill or rape Farrell under questioning by his attorney, Frederick Lepley. He said he was living with his parents at the time of the murder down the street from her Harcus Court home in Clay Township.

"By the truth of the Holy Spirit, in the name of Jesus I did not (kill her)," Germain said.

Lepley asked Germain if he ever had any arguments with Farrell, to which he said he did not. He said he was at home on May 16, 1997, and he noticed his dogs were barking loudly, but that nothing else significant happened that night.

Germain was flustered as Guilliat questioned him about the night. Guilliat asked him how he could remember his dogs barking on a night 26 years ago and why he hadn't told police after the murder was reported.

Guilliat also questioned Germain about his DNA at the scene, including a pubic hair found on Farrell's body. Germain said he had no idea why the hair was there or why his DNA was found under her finger nails, suggesting Farrell could have scratched on a chair while at his parents' house.

Both Guilliat and Lepley focused on the DNA evidence in the case: the pubic hair, the DNA under the fingernails, and a matching haplotype associated with the Y chromosome that also matched Germain.

Guilliat told the jury it was lucky the case could be prosecuted, as much of the DNA could not have been compared in 1997. He said Michigan State Police investigated a wide range of suspects close to Farrell, and only Germain was a match for the DNA samples.

In arguing that the murder was premeditated, Guilliat showed the jury pictures of Farrell's body, which had been stabbed 24 times on the chest, head, neck and hands.

"It's hard to look at what happened to her, but we need to," Guilliat said.

The attacker, Guilliat said, cut through Farrell's window screens to enter the house. She had been partially undressed in an apparent rape, which the prosecutor said all showed the attacker was acting with intent.

"Think of this woman, her life, and how it was taken from her in this humiliating way," Guilliat told the jurors.

Lepley, however, said several of the expert witnesses said there were other DNA samples from the scene that were never tested. He said witnesses told the jury DNA on her underwear was found to have come from four sources. There were two other unidentified sources of DNA under her fingernails besides Germain, he told them. and there were five other pubic hairs that were not tested, in addition to the one that matched his client.

"We probably all have hairs on us which we don't know where (they) came from," Lepley said.

Guilliat said during rebuttal that those five other pubic hairs were from a woman and were likely from Farrell's body.

Lepley said the DNA match from the rectal swabs also left room for doubt because it was based on a haplotype taken from a male Y chromosome. Instead of being a perfect match for Germain, Lepley said, it simply did not rule him out. The same haplotype would match one in every 1,200 men, according to Lepley.

Lepley also noted there was no bruising found around the vagina or rectum, and no semen samples or stains.

"I don't think they've proven there was an actual sexual assault or penetration," Lepley said.

Germain was previously charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct, but the charge was dropped at the prosecution's request two weeks before the trial. Guilliat said he wanted to reduce the amount of evidence the jury had to consider to reduce the likelihood the case would end in a hung jury as the first trial did.

"When you look at the evidence there is reasonable doubt all over this case," Lepley said.

Guilliat told the jury during rebuttal the case was an easy decision, saying the idea Germain's pubic hair got on the victim by chance was beyond belief, particularly given there was no suggestion Germain never met her while she was wearing her night gown.

"None of the other (suspects') hairs were found on her," Guilliat said.

Germain is scheduled to be sentenced at 1:35 p.m. on Nov. 6 in the St. Clair County Courthouse.

Contact Johnathan Hogan at jhogan@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Jury finds John Germain guilty for murder of Virginia Farrell in 1997