Defense attorneys sent shockwaves on the first day of a gruesome murder trial by claiming that the DNA of a mysterious man beneath the victim’s fingernails is her real killer.
Milana Li, 13, was found sexually assaulted and murdered in a stream in Beaverton, Oregon on May 10, 2022..
Her alleged killer, then 16-year-old Daniel Gore, was the last person seen with her and his DNA matched a sample found on her underwear, reported The Oregonian.
During the first day of his murder trial on Wednesday, Gore’s attorneys admitted the two had a sexual relationship but pointed out that other unidentified male DNA was found on her body.
‘From the grave she speaks. If Daniel had been scratched in the face by Milana, his DNA would have been on those fingernails – that was not the case,” said attorney J. Mark Lawrence.
‘They developed a friendship and a sexual relationship. It happens to adolescents nowadays. But he wasn’t the last to be with her, my client was out of the picture.’
Gore, now 18, will be tried as an adult and could face a prison sentence of 30 years to life if convicted.
Prosecutors said Li was last seen alive on May 8, 2022, riding in a bus with Gore and surveillance footage showed them walking to the area where her body was found around 7:45 p.m.
Milana Li (pictured), 13, was found sexually assaulted and murdered in a stream in Beaverton, Oregon on May 10, 2022.
Her alleged killer, then 16-year-old Daniel Gore, was the last person seen with her and his DNA matched a sample found on her underwear
Li’s mother, who worked a night shift at the Nike factory, reported her missing the next day.
A friend discovered her body on May 10 after news of her disappearance began to spread.
‘She was beaten. She was clawing at him and trying to prevent what was happening to her,” said Senior Deputy District Attorney John Gerhard. “He made the choice to strangle her until there was no life left in her.”
Gore, a homeless airstrip who lived in a tent near the crime scene, reportedly took a blue waterproof blanket from his hiding place, weighed her body down with rocks and left her in the creek.
Prosecutors said that after the killing, he fled to a friend’s apartment with scratches on his face and told his girlfriend he had done something bad. KKG 8.
Police collected DNA evidence from inside her and from two of her fingernails that had been torn off during the struggle.
Defense attorneys are pushing back on the fact that DNA from the fingers is not a match to Gore.
They also said that another unknown man’s DNA was found in Li’s underwear and that authorities did not run any tests to see if it matched the fingernail samples.
Gore’s attorneys admitted that the two had a sexual relationship, but pointed out that other unidentified male DNA was found on her body.
Gore allegedly took a blue waterproof blanket from his hiding place, weighed her body down with rocks and left her in the creek.
When Gore was identified as a person of interest in the case, he fled from authorities when they approached him in a library and led them on a twenty-minute chase.
During a two-hour interview, Gore denied having a romantic relationship with her and said he had parted ways with her earlier than the images indicate, Gerhard said.
Gore’s attorney said he fled because he had warrants for his arrest for other crimes and was afraid.
Li and Gore only knew each other about two weeks before her murder. The family described her as a wonderful daughter who her parents could rely on.