MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. – A private contractor will test a hair that was found in the hand of a New Baltimore man who was slain along with his wife in 2006 for DNA after the Michigan State Police could not perform the test.
That was the outcome of a pretrial murder hearing in Macomb County Thursday for Ronald F. Jabalee. The 41-year-old Clinton Township man is charged in the stabbing death of his parents Ronald G. and Christine Jabalee, both 58.
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The hair was sent to the MSP Crime Lab for testing, but conventional DNA testing methods performed by the MSP Crime Lab could not test it.
The follicle will be sent to a private company, possibly Bode Technology Group Inc. in Virginia to perform the mitrochondrial DNA Test, officials told the Macomb Daily.
Defense attorneys said the results of the test could be significant depending on whose DNA is discovered.
The New Baltimore police will pay for the $1,000 test. Results are expected back in about six weeks.
Officials are also waiting for DNA test results taken from six crime scene locations.
Defense attorneys approved the additional DNA tests because DNA found on one of the victims belongs to an unknown donor.
Judge Richard Caretti set a pretrial date for June 3.
He is expected to rule whether the testimony of an FBI expert's crime scene assessment can be included in the trial.
Agent Robert Morton testified recently that the victims knew their killer, and the killer was familiar with the Jabalee's garage, where the bodies were found. He also said the attack followed a "long-standing conflict" between the victims and their assailant.
The couple?s death reaped attention after detectives revealed that months after the initial investigation, a message that read ?SSEUIC? was written in Christine Jabalee's blood. The message was found next to the couple's body.
The homicide perplexed police because nothing from the home had been taken.
Ronald Jabalee was arrested in June 2009 after a grand jury indictment.
Prosecutor's originally indicated money as murder motive, but have de-emphasized that in recent months.
The Jabalee's owned RJ Meats in Detroit?s Eastern Market, but it was run by their children. Ronald Jabalee was the youngest son.
He was arrested at the family business.