Canadians Will Check Evidence In Killing

Canadians will check evidence in killing

YPSILANTI - Certain undisclosed items of evidence gathered at the scene of last week's slaying of a 91-year-old woman ahve been subjected to sophisticated analysis techniques at a Canadian police laboratory.

Deputy Chief Daniel Heliker said the unidentified items were taken to Toronto by an Ypsilanti police detective and a Michigan State Police crime lab technician for "laser processing."

"This is the newest thing in the field of trace evidence analysis,"Heliker said, “and Toronto is the closest place where the technique is used. City Hall readily provided the funds to send one of our detectives to Canada to take advantage of this process.”

HELIKER REFUSED to divulge what items of evidence were analyzed. He also refused to discuss the results of the analysis.

The evidence was taken from the home of Florence Bell, a 91-year-old widow who lived alone in her home at 36 S. Summit St. Last Friday, an intruder broke into the elderly woman’s home and slashed her throat.

In May 1980, Bell was beaten and raped by a man who broke into her home, and police are investigating the possibility that the same man may have been returned nearly 20 months later and killed her. Two other elderly women living alone in Bell’s neighborhood were also beaten and raped during May and June of 1980. The man was never caught.