Van held tools
March 20, 2002
OAKLAND —The van belonging to a woman accused of helping kidnap, rape and kill a young Pleasanton woman contained rope, duct tape and a curling iron believed to have been used in the assault, a forensic expert testified Tuesday.
Antonia Liel, a forensic technician with the Washoe County, Nev., sheriff's department, said two searches of Michelle Michaud's 1994 Dodge van turned up multiple items that a prosecutor maintains were used to assault and kill Vanessa Lei Samson. Along with the rope and duct tape, Liel said she found a green ball gag and a cassette tape titled "Submissive Young Girls Bedtime Stories" that officials have said were bought at a Livermore sex shop.
Liel was one of a string of criminologists and forensics technicians to take the stand in the trial of Michaud, 43, and her ex-boyfriend James Daveggio, 41. The couple is accused of abducting Samson Dec. 2, 1997, while she walked to work, then dumping her in an Alpine County snow bank.
They could face the death penalty if convicted.