Testimony begins in trial of accused double murderer

Friday, Aug. 15, 1997 | 11:41 a.m.

In opening statements on Thursday, Washoe County Deputy District Attorney Tom Viloria said hairs and other evidence found in David Middleton's storage unit link him to the killings of school teacher Katherine Powell and casino worker Thelma Davila.

But defense lawyer Fred Pinkerton argued that authorities have no evidence that proves he killed the women.

Powell, 45, was reported missing in February 1995. Her body was found a few days later, wrapped in plastic in a trash bin. Davila, 42, disappeared in August 1994. Her remains were discovered the following spring in a marshy area near Verdi.

Middleton faces a possible death sentence if convicted.

Investigators have said both women were bound with rope, and laboratory tests showed pieces of rope found in Middleton's Sparks storage unit matched those found on the victims.

Detectives also found hair and body fluids, including blood and saliva, on items in the unit which compared with DNA of both victims, the prosecution said.

Middleton was working for a cable television company when Powell disappeared. He has denied killing her but told police she had sex with him willingly.

Middleton was charged in Florida of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 16-year-old woman while he was on duty as a Dade County police officer in 1990. He pleaded guilty to battery and false imprisonment in a plea bargain after his trial resulted in a hung jury.

He also is a suspect in Colorado in the death of Buffy Rice Donahue. Donahue, 19, was last seen alive in November 1993 at a Wal-Mart store in Montrose, Colo., where she reportedly worked with Middleton's girlfriend, Evonne Haley. Donahue's remains were found in May 1995.