Disclaimer: All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — There could be more delays in the case against the four teens accused of the 2022 fatal carjacking and dismembering of Linda Frickey.
Officials say a small amount of DNA was found at the scene. Defense attorneys want to hire their own individual experts to test the DNA, but due to the size of the sample, they can’t be tested at the same time by separate DNA experts. They argue that the DNA test could take between six and nine weeks to complete.
“Delay, delay, delay. This is all like a game,” said Frickey’s sister, Jinny Lynn Griffin.
The Frickey family feels delay after delay is the name of the game when it comes to the defense attorney’s tactics with the DNA evidence.
“Each and every defendant has the right to their own expert to test the sample being given. The problem is if there’s not enough to go around. Then, the attorneys will be jockeying for position, and it will cause unnecessarily another delay,” said WGNO legal expert Cliff Cardone.
Cardone said in criminal cases that, the more delays, the more the advantage the defendants could have.
“Because witnesses memories fade, their willingness to testify might be reduced,” he said.
With the real possibility that the trial could be delayed again, the Frickey family is still not wavering.
“You have to keep fighting. Go to court every time because every victim needs justice,” Griffin said.
Another court hearing is set for Sept. 19. Currently, jury selection is scheduled to begin on Nov. 20. Judge Kimya Holmes said it will most likely take about six days for jury selection.
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