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Wow, seemed like a lot of traction lately and I'm glad to see my suspicions were wrong......terrible discovery but much needed closure. I'm sure the mother is going to beat herself up horribly over this.
http://wnyt.com/news/suspect-noel-alkaramla-murder-offered-to-give-dna-sample/4223610/Oquendo sat in silence as his attorney argued in Rensselaer County Court that he not give out a sample of his DNA.
"When the government wants to search you, the ramifications is it's your constitutional right not to have that search. So that's why we're here today," explained William Roberts, Oquendos defense attorney.
It's the second time prosecutors in the Noel Alkaramla murder case tried to get Oquendo's DNA. The first request was denied. This time Judge Andrew Ceresia granted it.
The stepfather of 21-year-old Noel Alkaramla has been charged with her murder almost a year to the day after he was initially taken into custody.
The Rensselaer County Jail confirmed Sunday that Johnny Oquendo, 40, is listed as being held on charges of murder, first-degree strangulation and concealment of a human corpse. The charges came as the result of a court action Friday.
Rensselaer County District Attorney Joel Abelove said Sunday, "I can't confirm anything at this point," regarding the murder charges. If Oquendo was charged under a sealed indictment Friday, the contents would be secret until a judge opened the indictment. "If there was a sealed indictment, it's not something we can comment on," Abelove said. Jail staff said they did not have information on when Oquendo will appear next in court.
Oquendo had been kept at Rensselaer County Jail because police said he violated the conditions of his parole that was tied to a previous conviction for robbery and assault. Oquendo, who had allegedly been separated from Alkaramla's mother for some time prior to Alkaramla's death, was also a level 1 sex offender. Alkaramla's mother, Debra Napoli, was living in Malone, Franklin County, at the time of her daughter's death.
On the final night that anyone saw Noel Alkaramla alive, her accused murderer Johnny Oquendo says he was among the last people near her.
"I did see her that night," Oquendo tells police on a newly-released interrogation video.
The admission was uncovered at a pre-trial hearing in Rensselaer County Court on Tuesday, with Oquendo's attorney appealing to the judge to throw the video evidence out of his pending murder trial.
Search warrants and a statement made by the man accused of killing his step-daughter and dumping a suitcase containing her body into the Hudson River in November 2015 are the subject of an evidence suppression hearing at the Rensselaer County Court House.
Defense attorney William Roberts is pushing to get State Supreme Court Justice Andrew Ceresia to rule that Troy police evidence from Johnny Oquendo's Third Street apartment, a Google account and records for Oquendo's two cell phone as well as a statement he made to detectives should not be admitted at his Sept. 18 trial.
Nearly two years after a 21-year-old girl went missing after leaving her job at a Lansingburgh restaurant, her former stepfather is set to face trial in her death.
Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday in Rensselaer County Court in the case against Johnny Oquendo, 39, who is charged with second-degree murder, criminal obvbstruction of breathing and unlawful concealment of a human corpse in the death of Noel Alkaramla.
Jury selection was scheduled to begin Monday in Rensselaer County Court in the case against Johnny Oquendo, 39, who is charged with second-degree murder, criminal obstruction of breathing and unlawful concealment of a human corpse in the death of Noel Alkaramla. Officials in the Rensselaer County District Attorneys Office said Monday morning, however, jury selection was postponed to Monday, Sept. 25, because of a death in the family of prosecutor Andrew Botts.
Jury selection had been expected to begin Tuesday in Rensselaer County Court in the case against Johnny Oquendo after a one-week delay because of a death in the family of prosecutor Andrew Botts of the Rensselaer County District Attorneys Office, but officials in the DAs office say the beginning of jury selection has now been pushed back to Oct. 30 after defense attorney William Roberts filed a motion challenging the admissibility of certain phone records and the use of Google location services. A hearing has been scheduled on that motion for Oct. 16 before state Supreme Court Judge Andrew Ceresia.
DNA, cell phone data and surveillance video are often part of a criminal case. It's no different with this one involving Johnny Oquendo, 39. Except this time, there's one more piece of technology, Google Location Services, and the defense doesn't want it used.
"We're just asking for the courtroom to determine if this is good science," said Oquendo's attorney, William Roberts.
The judge will make a decision soon. Roberts said his client is ready for the trial slated to begin on Monday, October 30.
more at link above.Rensselaer County prosecutors will not be able to use Google technology to try to prove Johnny Oquendo strangled 21-year-old Noel Alkaramla and dumped her body in a suitcase in the Hudson River.
In a strongly worded three-page ruling issued Thursday, state Supreme Court Justice Andrew Ceresia determined prosecutors for District Attorney Joel Abelove "failed to meet their burden of demonstrating that the science underlying Google location services has gained general acceptance in the in the relevant scientific community."
Jury selection begins Monday in the trial of Oquendo, 40, who is charged with second-degree murder, concealment of a human body and criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation, a misdemeanor. He faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted.
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