Second Day of Trial for Troy Man Accused of Raping Two Co-Eds
By: Megan Hunter
Updated: January 15, 2013
Tuesday was a second full day of testimony for a man accused of raping two Troy co-eds.
35 year old Andre Lamon Ellis pleaded not guilty to three charges against him.
Ellis has been charged with two counts of 1st degree rape and one count of 2nd degree burglary.
Several people were called to the stand to testify Tuesday, including the two rape victims.
First, Assistant District Attorney Sherryl Harrison called on a doctor from the Troy Regional Medical Center who testified that the first victim came into the hospital with severe trauma of the sexual nature.
He said the victim had to be given over a pint of blood due to trauma from the alleged rape.
The doctor also testified that after an emergency surgery, the girl told him that she had been raped, whereas before, she told doctors she had fallen.
Also called to the stand was the Troy police detective in charge of investigating the alleged rapes.
He testified that the first crime scene had been cleaned up before investigators could get there, and that his department had requested surveillance video of Hunter's Mountain Mobile Estates.
This surveillance video was used to show the jury that Ellis's truck was at the trailer park during the time of the alleged attacks.
The detective also testified that the second victim was able to tell police who her attacker was, naming Ellis.
The prosecution tried to paint a picture of Ellis's presence at the trailer park during the time of the alleged attacks, also showing several photo lineups created by police to help the victims identify their attacker.
Both victims positively identified Ellis as the man who attacked them, and were visibly shaken at his presence in the court room. During the entire trial, the two victims clung to each other, hands held and heads bowed.
Ellis's lawyer, J. Carlton Taylor, cross-examined the Troy police detective, hoping to discredit the photo lineups and the identification of Ellis.
A crime scene investigator also testified that several items were collected at both crime scenes, but no DNA evidence was recovered.
He also said a search warrant was granted for Ellis's house, and several items matching the description of the victim's attacker were found and taken in for testing. None of those items returned any results.
Detectives said the clothes had been washed in Clorox, and there was no physical evidence to prove or disprove Ellis's presence at the girls' homes.
The last testimonies of the day belonged to the two victims. In an emotional few minutes, the victims recounted the day they say Ellis sexually assaulted them.
Ellis is currently serving 22 years in prison for an unrelated charge.
