By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – Jurors in the courtroom yesterday heard that no fingerprints or DNA from the 1985 homicides of elderly Ethel couple Ed and Minnie Maurin came back to the defendant.
Ricky A. Riffe, 55, is charged in the case; his younger brother who was also a suspect died before he could be charged.
Ricky Allen Riffe
A forensics expert who took the witness stand said she met with Lewis County Sheriff’s Office detective Bruce Kimsey to review the evidence in the old case and they selected several items that might be good candidates for DNA testing.
Stephenie Winter Seremo said in some instances none was found, in others just not enough to proceed with.
She agreed that such analysis has come a long way since the mid-1980s, primarily in that scientists need much less material to conduct their tests.
The Maurin’s bodies were found Dec. 24, 1985 on a logging road five days after they went missing from their home. Their car was found abandoned in a Chehalis parking lot, with blood on the front seat, the keys in the ignition. Prosecutors believe they were abducted, forced to drive to their bank and withdraw money before being shot in their backs. Riffe was arrested last year.
There was DNA from Minnie Maurin on the woman’s stockings, but they were actually looking for anything left behind by someone who would have handled her legs, Seremo told the court.
The exteriors of the shoes that were tested yielded no results as did a rear view mirror, according to Seremo. No material was found on Ed Maurin’s socks to test, she said.
A piece of upholstery that was checked came back only to Ed Maurin, as did his belt, she testified.
Some of the items that turned up trace DNA but not enough to process, included the handle of a metal hook, the ties on a rain bonnet, a key ring, a passenger side rear ashtray, according to Seremo.
Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer concluded his questioning with something he said in his opening statements three weeks ago: Just because there was no DNA found doesn’t mean there was no crime committed, right?
“Right.”
Defense attorney John Crowley asked: “Of all the testing you did, did you ever find Rick Riffe’s DNA on any of it?”
“No.”
Another forensic expert testified about the various finger prints that were analyzed.
Of the 23 prints lifted from the car, most were of no value because there was not enough detail or clarity, but six came back to Ed Maurin and one useable print came back negative for matches, according to Stacey Redhead.
Redhead testified that when she looked at prints from the house, she found matches on beer cans for family, Delbert Hadaller and Hazel Oberg. Elsewhere she saw another match for Ed Maurin and one from former Lewis County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Glade Austin. A print on a coffee pot came back negative to known comparisons, she said.
None of the prints matched to Riffe or his younger brother John Gregory Riffe.
A different crime lab specialist also testified yesterday. She said she examined fibers from some clothing that was burned, but found no matches from the blanket, a pillow and a hat she had been given.
She did find a red fiber recovered from a furnace room was similar to the fiber from the red blanket from inside the car, she said.
The trial continues 9:30 a.m. until noon and 1:30 p.m. until 5 p.m. each weekday in Lewis County Superior Court in Chehalis.