Before Williams' first trial in 2001, the handle of the butcher's knife used in the murder had been analyzed for fingerprints, but none had been found; blood on the blade matched Picus.
In August, St. Louis County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Keith Larner testified in court that back then, he had concluded that there was no additional forensic testing that needed to be done on the murder weapon, so he repeatedly handled the weapon without using gloves. https://interc.pt/4g7TWkf