posted May 12, 2004
A man is standing trial in Criminal Court on rape charges in a case in which authorities say a DNA test cleared another man and pinpointed him.
Kacy Cannon, 30, of 14th Avenue is charged with aggravated rape in the trial in the courtroom of Criminal Court Judge Rebecca Stern.
Authorities were seeking a young black man in the rape of an 80-year-old woman in East Lake in November 1999.
Elijah Ellington was first charged with the rape.
However, he was freed after his DNA was not consistent with semen found on the victim's pantyhose.
She said the DNA from the semen on the pantyhose matched Cannon's, and he was then arrested and charged.
Mike Turbeville of the TBI Crime Lab in Nashville said the semen DNA did not match that of Elijah Ellington. But he said it was an exact match on all 13 points tested for Cannon.
The defendant is being represented by Public Defender Ardena Garth. She said no one saw Cannon at the woman's house that day.
Authorities said a man asked the elderly woman for a drink of water, then he pushed her inside and raped her on a couch.
A neighbor said that day he saw a young black man sitting on a chair on the woman's porch. He said he noted it because it was unusual.
He said a short time later police told him they were investigating a sexual assault on the elderly woman.
Officials said the woman is now in her mid-80s and has dementia and will not be able to testify.
The jury was to begin deliberations on Thursday morning.
| Dining Out | Business | Movies | Focus | About Us |
| Church | Living Well | Memories | Outdoors | Real Estate | Student Scene | Travel |