John Brickman Wall, 49, enters 3rd District Court in Salt Lake City on Oct. 3, 2013. <\/p>\n
Rick Egan <\/p>\n
Enlarge photo <\/p>\n
SALT LAKE CITY Lawyers for a Salt Lake City pediatrician accused of killing his ex-wife asked a judge Monday to toss DNA evidence gathered from skin cells found underneath her fingernails and on a pillowcase. <\/p>\n
An attorney for John Brickman Wall, 50, said investigators found about three skin cells not enough to draw any conclusions. A prosecutor conceded the evidence doesn't point directly to Wall, but said it does eliminate nine other possible suspects. <\/p>\n
The DNA on the pillowcase could have come from any one of the couple's four children, according to Elizabeth Johnson, an expert testifying for the defense during a hearing Monday who said her calculations show it didn't come from Wall. Prosecutors disputed that. <\/p>\n
The DNA is a key piece of evidence in the case, which was filed more than a year after the death of 49-year-old Uta Von Schwedler, a biologist at the University of Utah. <\/p>\n
\"This case is a huge circumstantial case,\" said defense attorney G. Fred Metos. \"It's not the only piece of evidence they're going to rely on, but it's certainly very important.\" <\/p>\n
A medical examiner couldn't say if Von Schwedler's death was a homicide or a suicide. She was found drowned in an overflowing bathtub in 2011, having overdosed on Xanax, a drug she didn't have a prescription for. <\/p>\n
Von Schwedler was in a bitter custody battle with her ex-husband over their four children. There was evidence of a struggle in her room, and she had cuts on her body, authorities said. <\/p>\n
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Read more from the original source: John Brickman Wall, 49, enters 3rd District Court in Salt Lake City on Oct. 3, 2013. Rick Egan Enlarge photo SALT LAKE CITY Lawyers for a Salt Lake City pediatrician accused of killing his ex-wife asked a judge Monday to toss DNA evidence gathered from skin cells found underneath her fingernails and on a pillowcase. Continue reading
\nDoctor wants DNA evidence left out of murder case<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"