Collin County

DNA Evidence Focus of Day 7 of Enrique Arochi Kidnapping Trial

Day seven of the trial of Enrique Arochi, accused of kidnapping a Plano woman missing since 2014, is focused on DNA evidence tying Christina Morris to the trunk of Arochi's car.

Morris was last seen on surveillance video with Arochi walking into a parking garage at the Shops at Legacy in Plano early in the morning of Aug. 30, 2014.

Investigators testified Thursday morning about possible blood evidence obtained from the trunk of Arochi's Camaro. Plano Police did something called a Blue Star test that highlights where blood could be. The test showed a faint mark in the trunk of Arochi's car.

The defense questioned how that evidence is gathered and stored after being processed as well as who else had access, questioning whether it could have been contaminated.

Defense attorneys also asked an investigator about the Blue Star treatment also reacting to other iron-based substances like soil and bleach. The investigator said those substances can create false positives but that in this case there likely would have been a stronger reaction if bleach had been poured over the trunk.

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DNA experts then took the stand to testify about matching the samples found in the trunk to Christina Morris' DNA profile.

One DNA expert was Christina Capt from the UNT Center for Human Identification. She took DNA samples from Christina Morris' parents and from a Dr. Pepper can found in her car.

Capt then matched those samples to the DNA profile pulled from a mat in the trunk of Arochi's car. Capt testified that the genetic results from the trunk mat are 230 billion times more likely to be from a biological child of Christina Morris' parents than from someone else.

Capt also testified that the likelihood the DNA from the trunk mat is not Christina Morris is 1 in 1.7 quintillion, when compared to other Caucasian individuals. A quintillion is a 1 followed by 18 zeroes.

Capt testified also about hairs she tested that were pulled from a vacuum at Arochi's place of work. Capt said the hairs were not a match for Christina Morris.

The defense asked questions about whether the DNA in the trunk could be what's called "touch DNA," that would be transferred through skin cells.

The defense argues the DNA could have been transferred through touch, for instance crime scene investigators accidentally passing it from Morris' car to Arochi's while processing both.

But multiple experts have testified there was too much DNA present for it to have happened like that. Capt testified the concentration of DNA in the trunk mat samples made it much more likely that it was from a bodily fluid.

There is some question of what that bodily fluid could be. Plano police crime scene analysts believe it was blood, based on their Blue Star test.

But Capt testified that her testing did not find a match for blood. She still believes it is a bodily fluid, with a genetic match for Christina Morris. She did not specify what that bodily fluid could be.

Prosecutors argue the test could have come back negative for blood because Arochi cleaned his car very carefully, as other witnesses have testified. There was also testimony that the cotton swab was almost completely used up to find a DNA profile. So when the blood test was done, only the stick of the swab was left to test.

The last witness of the day Thursday testified about dents in Arochi's car. He said they didn't come from someone punching it as witnesses have testified Arochi said, nor from a tire or rim hitting it, or from a collision, because there's no damage to the paint.

The jury is expected to get an in-person look at Arochi's car on Friday. Prosecutors want to show how big the trunk is, to prove Christina Morris could fit inside.

Day 6

On Wednesday, Rand Aridi testified that she was dating Arochi at the time of Morris' disappearance. According to text message records, Arochi told Aridi he had a headache the night Morris disappeared and was going to sleep. Arochi was actually with a group of friends, including Morris.

Aridi also said she and Arochi went to the Shops at Legacy for dinner the next day and he never told her he'd been there the night before. She said he had cuts on his knuckles and told her a tire fell on his hand while he was fixing it. Witnesses testified Tuesday that Arochi claimed the cuts came from a fight.

A Plano detective testified Wednesday that he placed a tracking device on Arochi's car shortly after Morris went missing and noticed the undercarriage of the s car was "absurdly clean."

Prosecutors showed evidence a Plano police officer pulled from Arochi's trash that included black gorilla tape and empty bottles of cleaning products. The officer also found a Post-It note in the trash with the following bullet points written on it:

  • Black shirt
  • texts from 29-today's date
  • bank bills
  • cellular bills

Defense attorneys pointed out Arochi could have been making a list of evidence to gather to defend himself and show his innocence.

Day 5

Defense attorneys questioned Plano Det. Aaron Benzick Tuesday, who laid out his theory that Morris was not kidnapped in the parking garage, but rather after she willingly got into Arochi's Camaro. He testified something happened after they left that made Morris change her mind about being in Arochi's car and he believes that's when things went wrong.

Prosecutors also heard testimony from Morris' boyfriend, Hunter Foster, who discussed text messages between the two the night she went missing. Foster struck an immunity agreement for his testimony in exchange for a suspended sentence on a drug charge. He said he was never near Morris the night she disappeared.

Day 4

Arochi's former co-workers at Sprint testified Tuesday, describing Arochi's strange behavior the day after Morris disappeared.

"He had a bite mark on his arm," one former co-worker, Jacob Talamontes, told NBC 5. "He told me his rim fell on him while he was changing a tire. He told two other co-workers that he got into a fight at the Shops at Legacy."

Talamontes was reprimanded by the judge Wednesday for speaking with the media.

Day 3

On Monday, attorneys looked at the cell phone records of Arochi and Foster.

Days 1 and 2

Friends who were with Morris and Arochi the night Morris went missing testified last week that they didn't recall seeing cuts on Arochi's hands or damage to his car, both of which appeared the next day.

NBC 5's Chris Jose and Alice Barr contributed to this report.

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