Experts say evidence links Weber to crime

Erica D. Johnson

Thursday, Feb. 13, 2003 | 11:15 a.m.

DNA evidence and child pornography on his computer connect Timmy "T.J." Weber to the rape of the 14-year-old girl who was found duct-taped to a bunk bed on the day that her mother and brother were killed in the same house, expert witnesses testified Wednesday.

Terry Cook, a Metro Police DNA analyst, said he compared Weber's DNA with body fluid obtained on the girl on April 4, 2002, just hours after she was rescued from her family's downtown Las Vegas home.

"The DNA was a perfect match," Cook said. "That means it's his ... unless he has an identical twin."

The test was so conclusive that there is a less than one in 600 billion chance that the fluids belong to someone else, Cook testified.

Weber, 28, faces multiple charges, including murder and kidnapping, in the slayings of Kim Gautier, 38, and her 15-year-old son, Anthony. If convicted, Weber could face the death penalty.

Prosecutors allege the killings happened after Weber sexually assaulted the girl at Gautier's house at 700 N. First St. They also allege Weber had been molesting the girl since she was 9.

Larry Smith, a detective with Metro's computer crimes unit, told jurors that he found child pornography on Weber's computer, which was located in the living room of the home.

Smith "ran across" the pornography four days after the killings while searching for clues that might lead authorities to Weber, who had fled the state.

"On the floppy disks I found several pictures of an unknown female who appeared to be under the age of 16 engaged in sexual acts with an adult male," Smith said.

Smith said one of the homicide detectives on the case told him the girl was Kim Gautier's daughter.

Prosecutors showed jurors copies of several pornographic pictures Smith said he found on computer disks, along with pictures found on CD-ROMs and on the hard drive of Weber's computer.

The files also included other pictures of child pornography that are known to circulate on the Internet, Smith said. Some of the photos feature children as young as 4 years old, Smith said.

Most of the files were created in June 2001, about 10 months prior to the investigation, Smith said.

The teen that Weber had allegedly molested for years is expected to testify against him sometime this week.

Linda Ebbert, a sexual assault nurse at University Medical Center, said the teen was withdrawn but cooperative when she arrived at UMC in the evening hours of April 4, after the alleged attack.

She had several bruises and abrasions on her legs and tape adhesive on her mouth, arms and legs, Ebbert said.

"She also had an abrasion on the inside of her mouth," Ebbert said. "She said it happened when she was trying to chew through the tape to get out."