After 7 months, an arrest
DA: Bloody glove points to former Lion
Originally published in the Daily Collegian
A bloody rubber glove found next to the body of a Penn State senior fatally stabbed 93 times in June yielded two DNA profiles — the victim’s and former Penn State football player LaVon Chisley’s, police said.
The glove was found a few feet from Langston Carraway’s mutilated body in his residence at 110 Northbrook Lane, according to the criminal complaint. Police have said Carraway and Chisley were known to be friends.
According to the complaint, the only DNA recovered on the inside of the glove matched that of Chisley — who was arrested yesterday and charged with first- and third-degree murder for his alleged role in the slaying of Carraway, 26. The complaint indicates that DNA found on the glove’s exterior matched Carraway’s DNA.
Karen Muir, Chisley’s lawyer, would not comment on the DNA evidence.
Holding his mother’s hand, Chisley, 23, calmly walked into Patton Township police custody yesterday morning at the Centre County Courthouse. He entered through the back entrance of the courthouse, where police handcuffed him and asked him to kneel on a bench so they could shackle his ankles.
Muir said Chisley is innocent, but chose to cooperate with authorities.
“It is still Mr. Chisley’s position that he had absolutely nothing to do with this homicide,” she said, adding that she will be speaking on behalf of Chisley.
Other evidence revealed in the criminal complaint filed Sunday was a bloody shoe print, measured at about 13 inches long, on the carpet of Carraway’s apartment. According to the criminal complaint, the shoe print matched the length of a shoe found at the crime scene that police say belongs to Chisley.
Carraway died of massive blood loss as a result of 93 separate wounds, including slashes on the neck and stab wounds to the right side of his torso and face, according to the criminal complaint. A knife or knives were used, police said, and in a deep stab wound, a broken blade was found in Carraway’s chest. Also, the doctor who performed the autopsy said multiple injuries to Carraway’s arms were defense wounds.
A friend of Chisley, Kerry Onaka, told police that on June 3 she saw Chisley in possession of the same thick rubber gloves found at the crime scene, according to the criminal complaint. The complaint also indicates that she told police she and Chisley had a scheduled trip to Baltimore and that he called “agitated” and with a “sense of urgency” requesting to leave at 6 a.m. June 4, about two hours earlier than they had planned.
According to the criminal complaint, the murder happened between 8 p.m. June 3 and 6:30 a.m. June 4, and Onaka told police Chisley called her June 20 claiming he was in trouble and told her to tell police he stayed with her the night of June 3 if asked.
Chisley was arraigned at about 11:30 a.m. yesterday by District Judge Thomas Jordan, who set Chisley’s preliminary hearing date for 9 a.m. Jan. 26 at the county courthouse. Chisley is being held at the Centre County Correctional Facility. He was not given the right to bail, which is normal for most first-degree murder cases, Centre County District Attorney Michael Madeira said.
Chisley arrives at the Bellefonte Courthouse yesterday morning in the company of his mother.
At the end of the arraignment, Chisley showed emotion for the first time and broke down crying. His mother put her arms around him to comfort him, and he left the judge’s office with bloodshot, tear-filled eyes.
“He’s naturally upset. He can’t reconcile why it is he is being charged,” Muir said. “He is saddened at the loss of a friend.”
Chisley voluntarily turned himself in at the courthouse yesterday, Muir said, but he and Muir were also present because of a search warrant hearing that began at about 9 a.m.
The hearing was to decide whether a search warrant being filed by the Commonwealth for financial records relating to Chisley at Muir’s law
offices, 1315 W. College Ave., is relevant and if it would violate attorney-client privileges.
“I’m suggesting the Commonwealth is using this as a way to look at my files regarding my client,” Muir said. “This is more of a fishing expedition than it is actually looking for evidence of a crime.”
Centre County President Judge Charles C. Brown approved the search warrant for Muir’s financial records.
Madeira said robbery is being investigated as a motive for the homicide, which is why he is seeking financial records from Muir and others.
“Obviously, the more people [Chisley] owed money, the greater the desperation,” he said.
According to the search warrant, authorities are investigating Chisley’s financial state after they found he owes about $51,475 to several different parties, not including Muir.
The warrant states that the district attorney’s office received notice in April 2006 from an unknown sports agent who said he used to represent Chisley; he said Chisley still owed him about $10,000.
Police officers also reported in July 2006 that through speaking with State College tattoo shop owner Philip Clouser, who did tattoo work on Chisley, they found that Chisley still owed him $3,000 as of the date of Carraway’s murder. Clouser said Chisley told him he would pay the money once he was drafted into the NFL, but Chisley was never drafted, according to the criminal complaint.
Carraway was last seen alive at 3 p.m. June 3 buying wine at the Wine and Spirits Shop at 1690 N. Atherton St., police discovered through witness accounts.
The complaint states that Carraway was wearing a large watch and carrying a wad of cash about 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick. Relatives confirmed to police that the JoJo diamond watch, valued between $500 and $1,500, was Carraway’s. Madeira said police did not recover the watch or the cash.
Patton Township Police Officer Tom Snyder escorts LaVon Chisley into a police cruiser at the Bellefonte Courthouse yesterday. Chisley was charged with first- and third-degree murder for his alleged role in Langston Carraway’s death.
