PHOENIX — The Arizona Supreme Court has ruled that key DNA evidence in the 2015 murder of Allison Feldman in Scottsdale can be used in the case.
The decision has been years in the making in a murder case nearly a decade old.
Feldman, who was 31 years old at the time, was found brutally murdered in her home near Loop 101 and Pima Road more than nine years ago.
Police said Feldman died of head trauma. According to court documents, she was found nude, and her body smelled of bleach.
Her case marked the first in Arizona where familial DNA was used to help track down a suspect. But all these years later, Ian Mitcham's trial has been on hold as the battle over DNA evidence went all the way up to the state's top court.
The 31-year-old's murder rocked the Valley, but the case went cold until 2018. In April of that year, law enforcement announced they had arrested Mitcham.
It was the first time Arizona used familial DNA to lead police from the crime scene to the suspect. In Mitcham's case, his brother, who was already behind bars, matched as a close relative.
Despite the arrest, court documents said investigators couldn't find a connection between Allison and Mitcham.
Watch previous coverage talking with Feldman's father in the player below:
Police noted he denied the accusations when questioned back in 2018. All these years later, Mitcham's trial had been on hold after a battle over that key piece of DNA evidence began.
One judge tossed out Mitcham's DNA sample and said it couldn't be used as evidence because it was collected as part of an unrelated DUI case.
But then an appeals court reversed that decision.
The Arizona Supreme Court listened to oral arguments in late September.
Mitcham's attorneys had argued that the DNA couldn't be used because it shouldn't have still been in the DPS system.
Ultimately, the court ruled Tuesday that the DNA taken during the police case can be used.
"The Supreme Court reversed the superior court and sent the case back to that court for trial," a release from the court read. "The Court found that the warrantless sequencing of DNA from Mitcham’s blood violated his Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures. But the Court held because the police would have discovered the DNA evidence through lawful means untainted by the illegal search, the prosecution should not be precluded from introducing that evidence at trial."
Read the full court ruling below:
"She was a special person," said Allison's dad Harley Felman. "She always was positive about things."
"Ten years of uncertainty its hard on your mind when things are open like that and you can't control them," said Harley.
"It's big in the sense that we get to move forward," said Harley.
Hearing Tuesday's decision was an emotional moment for Harley's wife.
"She cried today," Harled told ABC15. "And I think it's more from relief. Of course, she misses Allison a lot, but it's like the pressure came off."
"It's a great question that they took up to the to the State Supreme Court," said Criminal Defense Attorney Dwane Cates.
He's not connected to Mitcham's case, but he believes the DNA battle could make it to the federal level.
"Now you got to pretty much kind of lay your case out, and you got to make a case for why this is important enough for the United States Supreme Court to weigh in," said Cates.
Harley pointed out that the U.S. Supreme Court hears a small amount of cases each year. The U.S. Supreme Court agrees to hear about 100-150 of the more than 7,000 cases that it is asked to review each year.
As Harley waits to see what comes next, he gives back in Allison's honor by serving as the local chapter leader for the Parents of Murdered Children organization.
It appears there is no trial date set yet for Mitcham in Maricopa County Superior Court. This battle over DNA evidence came up just before a previous trial date.
ABC15 has reached out to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office, and Mitcham's attorney for comment.
—
