"Margo Prade's autopsy revealed she was shot six times behind the wheel of her van in her office parking lot on Wooster Avenue on the morning before Thanksgiving in 1997.
The DNA issue the high court addressed involved a bite mark the killer apparently left on Dr. Prade's left arm — through her lab coat and blouse — as she was trying to defend herself moments before the shooting.
At the time of the 1998 trial, only Dr. Prade's DNA profile was identified in the bite-mark evidence. Bleeding on the lab coat had overwhelmed any traces of DNA the perpetrator might have embedded in the bite, according to Dec. 16 arguments before the high court.
Prade's chief defense counsel, David B. Alden of the Cleveland firm Jones Day, told the Supreme Court justices that if another person's DNA were found inside the bite mark, a reasonable conclusion would be that Douglas Prade was not the killer.
REPORTER ED MEYER; BEACON JOURNAL; (Wikipedia informs us that, "The Akron Beacon Journal is a four-time Pulitzer Prize winning morning newspaper in Akron, Ohio, and published by Black Press Ltd.. It is the sole daily newspaper in Akron and is distributed throughout Northeast Ohio.)
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BACKGROUND: In one of Akron's most notorious murders, Prade's former wife, Dr. Margo Prade, 41, was found by her medical assistant slumped behind the wheel of her van in her office parking lot on Wooster Avenue on the morning before Thanksgiving in 1997. Autopsy findings revealed she was shot six times. After a lengthy trial, Douglas Prade was convicted in September 1998 of all charges in his indictment: aggravated murder, six counts of wiretapping and one count of possession of criminal tools. Common Pleas Judge Mary Spicer, now retired, sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 26 years. Prade, now 64, is serving his sentence at Marion Correctional Institution. The issue addressed by the high court involved a bite mark the killer apparently made on Dr. Prade's left arm — through her lab coat and blouse — as she was attempting to defend herself inside the van moments before the shooting. Although DNA tests were performed on that evidence in preparation for the 1998 trial, only Dr. Prade's DNA profile was found. Profuse bleeding on the doctor's lab coat had overwhelmed any traces of DNA that might have been embedded in the bite mark by the perpetrator. In December, Douglas Prade's attorney, David B. Alden, argued before the high court that DNA technology now can detect a small amount of male DNA, even if it is mixed in with vast amounts of female DNA. If another person's DNA is found inside the bite mark, Alden said, a reasonable conclusion would be that Douglas Prade was not the killer.
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"Arguments to determine whether new DNA testing will proceed in the long-running murder case of former Akron Police Capt. Douglas Prade will be held Sept. 1 before a Summit County judge," the Beacon Journal story by reporter Ed Meyer published earlier today begins, under the heading, "DNA testing debate set: Issue involving bite mark on victim's arm could lead to new examinations."
"Prade's defense team and the county prosecutor's chief legal counsel, Mary Ann Kovach, met Wednesday in the chambers of Common Pleas Judge Judy Hunter and settled on the date," the story continues.
"Prade, who was convicted in 1998 for the murder of his ex-wife, Akron family physician Margo Prade, 41, had his case sent back to Summit County in a May 4 decision by the Ohio Supreme Court.
The high court ruling means Hunter will decide whether new DNA testing of forensic evidence from Prade's trial could detect potentially exonerating clues that a previous DNA test could not.
Margo Prade's autopsy revealed she was shot six times behind the wheel of her van in her office parking lot on Wooster Avenue on the morning before Thanksgiving in 1997.
The DNA issue the high court addressed involved a bite mark the killer apparently left on Dr. Prade's left arm — through her lab coat and blouse — as she was trying to defend herself moments before the shooting.
At the time of the 1998 trial, only Dr. Prade's DNA profile was identified in the bite-mark evidence. Bleeding on the lab coat had overwhelmed any traces of DNA the perpetrator might have embedded in the bite, according to Dec. 16 arguments before the high court.
Prade's chief defense counsel, David B. Alden of the Cleveland firm Jones Day, told the Supreme Court justices that if another person's DNA were found inside the bite mark, a reasonable conclusion would be that Douglas Prade was not the killer.
Alden said Wednesday that his deadline is July 9 for submitting defense briefs in preparation for the September arguments.
The prosecution would file its briefs within 30 days.
The case is before Hunter because the previous Common Pleas Judge, Lynne S. Callahan, recused herself June 15.
Callahan declined to comment on the reason for stepping down. When the appeal of Prade's conviction was denied in Akron's 9th District court in August 2000, Callahan's husband, attorney Michael T. Callahan, was Summit County's chief prosecutor.
Judge Callahan, according to her court biography, also was an Akron police detective in the narcotics unit and, later, an assistant county prosecutor handling major felony cases.
Douglas Prade, once thought to be in line for Akron's chief of police, has been behind bars at a state penitentiary since September 25, 1998, prison records show.
Ed Meyer can be reached at 330-996-3784 or emeyer@thebeaconjournal.com.
Arguments to determine whether new DNA testing will proceed in the long-running murder case of former Akron Police Capt. Douglas Prade will be held Sept. 1 before a Summit County judge.
Prade's defense team and the county prosecutor's chief legal counsel, Mary Ann Kovach, met Wednesday in the chambers of Common Pleas Judge Judy Hunter and settled on the date.
Prade, who was convicted in 1998 for the murder of his ex-wife, Akron family physician Margo Prade, 41, had his case sent back to Summit County in a May 4 decision by the Ohio Supreme Court.
The high court ruling means Hunter will decide whether new DNA testing of forensic evidence from Prade's trial could detect potentially exonerating clues that a previous DNA test could not.
Margo Prade's autopsy revealed she was shot six times behind the wheel of her van in her office parking lot on Wooster Avenue on the morning before Thanksgiving in 1997.
The DNA issue the high court addressed involved a bite mark the killer apparently left on Dr. Prade's left arm — through her lab coat and blouse — as she was trying to defend herself moments before the shooting.
At the time of the 1998 trial, only Dr. Prade's DNA profile was identified in the bite-mark evidence. Bleeding on the lab coat had overwhelmed any traces of DNA the perpetrator might have embedded in the bite, according to Dec. 16 arguments before the high court.
Prade's chief defense counsel, David B. Alden of the Cleveland firm Jones Day, told the Supreme Court justices that if another person's DNA were found inside the bite mark, a reasonable conclusion would be that Douglas Prade was not the killer.
Alden said Wednesday that his deadline is July 9 for submitting defense briefs in preparation for the September arguments.
The prosecution would file its briefs within 30 days.
The case is before Hunter because the previous Common Pleas Judge, Lynne S. Callahan, recused herself June 15.
Callahan declined to comment on the reason for stepping down. When the appeal of Prade's conviction was denied in Akron's 9th District court in August 2000, Callahan's husband, attorney Michael T. Callahan, was Summit County's chief prosecutor.
Judge Callahan, according to her court biography, also was an Akron police detective in the narcotics unit and, later, an assistant county prosecutor handling major felony cases.
Douglas Prade, once thought to be in line for Akron's chief of police, has been behind bars at a state penitentiary since September 25, 1998, prison records show."
The story can be found at:
http://www.ohio.com/news/97558369.html
Harold Levy...hlevy15@gmail.com;
