SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — A battle over a blood sample is making its way to Arizona’s highest court Thursday morning.
This appeal comes from the suspect in the high-profile murder of Allison Feldman, a Scottsdale woman killed almost a decade ago. The issue at the center of the case: how police obtained a DNA match.
This started in February 2015, when Allison Feldman, 31, was murdered in her Scottsdale home.
There were no arrests until 2018, when Scottsdale police announced with DPS that they got their guy: a man named Ian Mitcham.
Investigators said they were able to make this connection, in part, by using familial DNA. New technology matched DNA found at the scene with one of Mitcham’s brothers who was already in prison. Then, Scottsdale police used Ian Mitcham’s DNA sample from a 2015 DUI to connect the crime scene DNA to Mitcham.
But in 2022, when the murder case was about to go to trial, Mitcham’s defense team filed to throw out the DNA evidence.
The defense argued that Scottsdale police violated Mitcham’s 4th Amendment rights by using the old blood sample from a different case. Paperwork indicated that that sample should have been destroyed and Mitcham's defense attorney argued that Mitcham didn't consent to that blood sample being used for a DNA match.
The trial court judge agreed and tossed the state’s key evidence.
The state appealed the lower court’s decision last year and won, meaning the evidence was back in. Then Mitcham’s defense appealed that decision to Arizona’s Supreme Court, where arguments are set to start this week. All the appeals have continued to push back the trial.
"It's the last place on earth I would have expected to be at," said Harley Feldman, Allison Feldman's father. "But you know, it's the task I have, the life I have, and I need to get it resolved for Allison."
Mitcham's attorney sent the following statement over email regarding the upcoming arguments: The Fourth Amendment and Article 2 Section 8 of Arizona Constitution cannot be chipped away. We all have the right to be free from government overreach into the most private areas of our lives. The Arizona Supreme Court’s decision in this case either will ensure our individual rights or deteriorate them.
MCAO declined to comment on the case. Scottsdale police did not get back to 12News by the time of publication.
Harley Feldman plans to be in court Thursday for oral arguments and thinks the decision in this case could be precedent-setting. But the series of delays to get to trial has taken an additional toll on his family.
"It's very frustrating," Feldman said. "In fact, my wife and I don't talk about it anymore. We can't control the pace, we can't control the timing…She won’t be coming to court this week. It’s too hard on her."
Feldman's spent years keeping his daughter's case in the spotlight, fighting for justice. He's become the leader of the local Parents of Murdered Children chapter.
"The way I talk about it is if you lose your parents, which is in the order of things, it's sort of like losing your past," Feldman explained. "But when you lose a child, you've lost your future. And it can never be fixed."
Oral arguments are scheduled to begin in the morning on Thursday, Sept. 26. 12News plans to cover the proceedings, so check back for updates.
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