The cold case murder trial for Leon Chatt began today. High profile cold case detective Dennis Delano is expected to testify. Chatt is accused of murdering his sister-in-law, Barbara Ann Lloyd, of Buffalo back in 1974. This is Chatt's second trial. The first ended with a hung jury. Many of the issues that played a major role the first trial are front and center again. Lloyd's body was found in the bedroom of her Riverside home in Buffalo. According to prosecutors, she was raped and stabbed. Her children were at home when she was murdered, asleep in their beds. They are going thorugh a trial all over again.
Son Joe Lloyd looks tense outside the courtroom. "Hopefully, they'll put him away and no other woman would have to worry about this again."
DNA will once again play a major roll in the case. 3 pubic hairs were found between Barbara Ann Lloyd's legs the night she was murdered. Prosecutors say it points the finger at Chatt. The defense attorney, Joseph Terranova, disagrees.
"The evidence itself simply does not exclude my client as a donor of those hairs. It'd doesn't exclude. They're talking like he's identified by them."
The Lloyd murder is one that high profile cold case detective Dennis Delano worked on and he is scheduled to testify. Delano is currently suspended from the Buffalo Police Department for allegedly leaking videotaped evidence to the media in another high profile murder case involving D-N-A, that of Lynn Dejac.
"So something had to, Delano and company to accuse Rusty Chatt and I want to question Detective Delano about some of the choices he made," says Terranova.
The victim's son supports Delano's actions. " (He) is doing the right thing. It's unfortunate what happened with him and hopefully they will get that straightened out."
Delano is expected to testify this coming Friday. The trial itself could last into next week
