Lacey manslaughter trial: Specialist says Antwerp man's DNA was found on tire

May 21—WATERTOWN — The last witness called by the prosecution to testify in Nicole M. Lacey's trial said the DNA of the man who she allegedly ran over with an Impala was found on the tire.

Lacey's boyfriend, 28-year-old Jared C. Cook, died in May 2018 after suffering serious head trauma and abrasions at the home he shared with Lacey on County Route 24 in Antwerp.

After a two-year investigation by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, Lacey, who was 29 at the time, was arrested and charged with first-degree manslaughter in June 2020. She was later indicted on the manslaughter charge, as well as second-degree assault, first-degree reckless endangerment, felonies, and misdemeanor fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

Authorities allege that on May 30, 2018, Lacey ran Mr. Cook over with her 2004 Chevrolet Impala in their driveway shortly after 4 p.m. Mr. Cook was flown to Upstate University Hospital where he was pronounced dead on June 1.

Day four of Lacey's trial in Jefferson County Court finished Friday with the prosecution's witnesses. District Attorney Kristyna S. Mills and Assistant District Attorney Nolan D. Pitkin rested their case on Friday after bringing nearly 20 witnesses to the stand. They laid out their case to jurors through detectives, a forensic pathologist, EMTs who responded that day, an intelligence analyst and forensic analysts.

The prosecution set out to prove Lacey reversed her car into their yard and then drove it into Mr. Cook while he was standing or sitting in their driveway. They want to prove Lacey struck him with the front passenger side of the vehicle, causing his head to hit the pavement. His legs were then run over and he was dragged along the vehicle's passenger side, according to testimony. While his legs were being run over, he instinctively put his hands up on the side of the car, the prosecution says. His left palm hit the passenger door and his right went into the wheel well and became entangled in the wheel, according to the prosecution, causing a serious abrasion on his forearm.

Lacey's defense attorneys Gary Miles and Todd Doldo have questioned the prosecution's witnesses about the results of DNA testing, the clothes Mr. Cook was wearing and the Impala's crash into a ditch a few weeks before Mr. Cook's death.

The prosecution called several detectives to the stand, including Jefferson County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Ben Timerman, who spent hundreds of hours investigating the case and submitted a 31-page report of his findings. Dr. Deborah G. Johnson, a forensic pathologist who examined Mr. Cook's body, testified that the police investigation was one of the best she's ever seen.

On Friday, Sgt. Timerman was cross-examined by Mr. Miles, who noted that the blue fibers — Mr. Cook was wearing denim jeans the day of the incident — that were found underneath the car were not tested to determine if they matched Mr. Cook's jeans. Sgt. Timerman said there really isn't a testing mechanism to determine whether the denim found underneath the car matched Mr. Cook's blue jeans.

Mr. Cook's blue jeans were ripped when Sgt. Timerman examined them, and Mr. Miles asked if he could prove the rips weren't there before the incident. Sgt. Timerman said the rips were frayed and appeared new, and that a surveillance photograph of Mr. Cook taken hours before the incident appeared to show no rips.

Mr. Miles brought up the few hairs found underneath the vehicle and asked if test results showed that they were Mr. Cook's. Sgt. Timerman said the results were inconclusive and that the only certain thing was that they were human hairs.

Mr. Miles also asked Sgt. Timerman if he knew that the Impala was driven into a ditch a few weeks before the incident. The sergeant was aware of that, but he said he could tell the difference between the effects of the ditch crash on the car and the effects of Mr. Cook's body being entangled underneath it.

Mr. Miles noted that Lacey drove her vehicle to the Syracuse hospital — with Mr. Cook's mother — and back to Watertown for a voluntary interview with police. She then drove it back to County Route 30 where it was stored, so Mr. Miles said the car was unsecured by authorities for at least five hours.

To wrap up the week and the prosecution's case, Kristine Robinson, a DNA specialist with the New York State Police Crime Lab, took the stand.

Ms. Robinson testified that Mr. Cook's DNA was found in the tire voids on the rear passenger tire, as well as on the rocker panel on the passenger side.

Dr. Johnson, the forensic pathologist, testified on Thursday that the evidence points to Mr. Cook being run over. She added that it's not her job to speculate whether it was intentional.

The prosecution also called Julie Horn, an intelligence analyst with the state police. Her testimony addressed the initial statement Lacey gave to police. Lacey told police that she picked up Mr. Cook in Gouverneur after he had done a roofing job. She drove him home to Antwerp and then he asked what was for dinner. Lacey decided she would go back to Gouverneur to pick up food from Subway, according to her statement.

When she got about halfway to Gouverneur, Lacey realized she had no money and decided to go back home. And, according to her statement, Lacey saw Mr. Cook lying in the driveway when she got home and frantically drove through the yard toward him. Several detectives testified that — given the obstruction of a tree line just before their driveway — it would have been highly unlikely for Lacey to see Mr. Cook in the driveway and then have a quick enough reaction to drive through the yard.

Ms. Horn analyzed Lacey's phone that day and tracked it in the minutes before and after Lacey says she found Mr. Cook in the driveway. Lacey's phone was tracked from Gouverneur at 3:45 p.m. to their home in Antwerp. It never left the residence until it started heading toward the Syracuse hospital, she testified.

Mr. Miles, in cross-examining Ms. Horn, asked if she knew that Lacey was in possession of the phone when it was being tracked. Ms. Horn said she did not know.

The trial is set to continue Monday.