Prosecutors: Traces of blood in suspect's home matched DNA from woman found in burning car

WORCESTER — Prosecutors on Tuesday continued to detail in Worcester Superior Court forensic evidence they argue implicates Steven M. Foley in the 2017 killing of Cynthia L. Webb, including evidence of her DNA being found in a floorboard of his Northborough home.

Lindsay Bird, a DNA expert at the state police crime lab, testified that DNA from red-brown stains taken from the floorboard conclusively matched Webb.

In opening statements Monday, prosecutors alleged that Foley murdered Webb, an exotic dancer he’d taken to his home, in a bedroom at 76 Shady Lane Ave., and later set her car on fire with her body in the trunk the following day at Hope Cemetery to cover his tracks.

They alleged that video and cellphone data place Foley and Webb together at his home the night of Dec. 11, 2017, and prove that he drove her car to the cemetery the following morning.

Foley’s defense argued Monday that prosecutors might be able to link Webb to Foley’s home, but could not prove he killed her, suggesting that drugs may have played a role in her death.

Blood evidence a focus Tuesday

Blood evidence was the focus of much testimony and cross-examination Tuesday.

Eric Boss, a Worcester police sergeant, testified that a chemical test detected the presence of blood in the trunk of Webb’s burned-out vehicle.

Authorities allege that Foley placed Webb’s body in the trunk. Boss testified the chemical test indicated the likely presence of blood underneath her head.

Boss also testified that multiple tests showed the likely presence of blood on floorboards found in the bedroom where authorities allege Webb was murdered.

Boss said the pattern of the blood, which had to be detected with advanced technologies since it was invisible to the naked eye, “showed that someone had cleaned the area.”

Prosecutors alleged in opening statements Monday that Foley told his then-fiancée – who was away on business at the time Webb died ‒ that he used bleach to clean up the floor, something he learned on the TV show “Dexter.”

They said Foley told the woman, who is expected to testify this week, a story “full of lies” in which he admitted to burning Webb’s body but alleged two other men he did not know had killed her.

Boss testified that tests in the home indicated the likely presence of blood on a large section of floorboards, as well as two wheels of the bed frame in the room. No blood was found on the mattress or box spring, he said.

Prosecutors entered into evidence Tuesday about a dozen floorboards they said were found with red-brown stains on their sides after being ripped out of the floor by detectives.

Bird, the state DNA expert, testified that she was asked to test one of the floorboards for DNA, and that it conclusively belonged to Webb.

Sarah Hamilton, Foley’s defense lawyer, pressed Boss and Bird at length on cross-examination about the forensic testing in the case.

Hamilton, who told jurors in her opening statement Monday they would have questions about the strength of the forensic evidence, noted that only one of the dozen floorboards was tested for DNA.

She noted that while police used one type of test to indicate the likely presence of blood on the floorboards, a separate, "confirmatory" test they also conducted to confirm the presence of blood tested negative three times.

Boss told Hamilton that Worcester police, as a result of the Foley case, stopped using the "confirmatory" test they had used that day, finding it unreliable.

Hamilton noted through her questioning of Bird that state police did not do “confirmatory” tests to ensure the red-brown stains were blood. She attempted to have Bird agree that the DNA could have come from another substance, like saliva or skin.

Bird said that while saliva or skin could technically show up on such a test, she was confident that the DNA she tested came from the red-brown stain, not any DNA that might have been beneath or around it.

Jurors see video of Foley, Webb in club

Prosecutors spent a chunk of the day Tuesday playing for jurors a video timeline of Foley’s alleged movements prior to and after the Dec. 12, 2017 discovery of Webb’s body.

An expert spent more than an hour presenting a video that, using cellphone data and surveillance footage, suggested that Foley met Webb at the Webster club where she worked Dec. 11, took her to his home in Northborough and then left the home multiple times Dec. 12.

The video showed a man they allege is Foley entering Mario’s Showplace in Webster on the afternoon of Dec. 11.

The footage shows him interacting with multiple women, including Webb, inside the club before leaving alone in his SUV around 7 p.m. and traveling to the Lamplighter II strip club in Worcester.

The footage then showed a car prosecutors have alleged is Webb’s pulling up to the Lamplighter a short time later, with a person appearing to get out of the driver’s seat and enter the car on the passenger’s side.

Authorities then showed footage from a nearby gas station that showed a man who appeared to be Foley pumping gas and interacting with someone inside the vehicle who could not be seen.

Authorities said cellphone records show Foley returned to his Northborough home, where he allegedly called a cab in the middle of the night to get back to his SUV at Lamplighter II.

They then showed multiple brief surveillance videos from businesses they allege captured Foley driving Webb’s car in the area of Hope Cemetery about five hours later.

One of the clips – which was difficult to see clearly from the courtroom gallery – showed a vehicle authorities alleged was Webb’s maroon Buick traveling in the direction of Hope Cemetery.

About 10 minutes later, the same camera showed a fire engine racing toward the cemetery, and, in the same frame, a man authorities allege to be Foley walking in the opposite direction.

Authorities also showed jurors a timeline of cell phone data they alleged showed that, on the afternoon of Dec. 12, Foley traveled to Peabody, before eventually driving to the New York area the next day.

Neighbor testifies

Jurors on Tuesday also heard from Jason Prashaw, a next-door neighbor of Foley’s in Northborough who said he saw the vehicle prosecutors said was Webb’s parked in the man’s driveway the night of and morning after the alleged murder, and then saw Foley walking the neighborhood in a red jacket later that morning.

Prosecutors have alleged Foley was wearing a red jacket when he drove to the cemetery and, both Monday and Tuesday, presented video of a man wearing a red jacket walking near the cemetery around the time of the blaze.

Prosecutors also Tuesday presented evidence from a T-Mobile cellphone expert regarding calls they’ve said Foley made from his cellphone to a Worcester cab company on Dec. 12 ‒ once to get back to his SUV at Lamplighter II in the middle of the night, and a second time to get a ride back to Northborough from an area near Hope Cemetery.

Prosecutors entered pages of telephone records from on and around Dec. 12 into evidence. The T-Mobile expert confirmed the account pertaining to the records was linked to Foley for payment.

A cab driver who picked up a man named “Steve” at Foley’s address around 3 a.m. Dec. 12 testified Monday that the man smelled like he’d just showered and made a derogatory comment about women seeking money.

The cabbie, like the neighbor Tuesday, testified to seeing a maroon car parked in Foley’s driveway.

The cab driver prosecutors allege drove Foley to Northborough from the area of Hope Cemetery has since died, the president of the cab company testified Tuesday.

The man, William Clark of Yellow Cab, testified that company records show a “Steve” was picked up at 76 Webster St. in Worcester shortly before 9 a.m., and was dropped off at Beaumont Nursing Home in Northboro at 9:18 a.m.

The Webster Street address is less than a mile from Hope Cemetery, while the nursing home is less than a half mile from 76 Shady Lane Ave.

Foley’s trial will resume Wednesday morning.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Steven Foley trial: Prosecutors say DNA in his home matched victim