DNA evidence was the focus on Day 4 of the trial of a former Norwalk man charged with killing 11-year-old Kathy Flynn as she walked home from school in 1986. But before the witness was even called, prosecutors informed the judge about an email received that morning from a former Norwalk officer who'd overseen the detective bureau at the time of Kathy's death.

Stamford State's Attorney Paul Ferencek told Judge John Blawie the man said at the time, he got a call from Dr. Henry Lee at the state crime lab claiming Kathy's body had been placed in a used body bag by the state medical examiner and Lee was concerned about possible evidence contamination.

Ferencek stated there was nothing in the case files or medical examiner's report to support that claim.

Lee was a famous forensic scientist who died just last week.

Defense Attorney Frank O'Reilly told the judge he thought the email was important and asked for time to think about what should be done. Blawie said he’ll take up the issue on Monday following the three-day weekend.

Testimony then got underway with DNA expert Melanie Russell from the state lab. Russell told the jury testing of one fingernail scraping from Kathy's autopsy was at least 8,700 times more likely to be from Kathy and Karun than Kathy and another person. Russell said analysis of another nail scraping showed Karun was at least 22,000 times more likely to be a contributor. Two other potential suspects were fully eliminated, per the reports shown in court.

Russell also said cheek swabs taken from Karun in 2017 were compared to 31 items of evidence. He was eliminated as the source of DNA on 24 items while results were inconclusive with five other items, Russell testified.

Karun, now 60, is charged with murder, murder with special circumstances and kidnapping. If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole. He was 21 at the time of crime. Kathy was sexually assaulted and strangled as she walked home from Ponus Ridge Middle School on Sept. 23, 1986. Her body was discovered in the woods about 100 feet from the school path she always took.

Police questioned Karun early on in their investigation, in part, because the crime resembled a previous sexual assault in which Karun was charged. In that case, the charges were reduced after the victim decided not to testify. That was just weeks before Kathy was killed

Court documents show that in the years after, Karun was convicted of multiple sexual assaults, which police said were similar to Kathy's case. The likeness of those crimes, coupled with advancements in DNA technology, led to an arrest warrant for Karun in 2019.

The case took a while to get to trial, in part, because of superseding federal charges brought against Karun. Police said they found dozens of guns and nearly 15,000 rounds of ammunition at his home in Maine when they arrested him in connection with Kathy's death. Karun wasn't allowed to own any firearms because of his prior felony convictions. In 2024, he pleaded guilty to the federal charges, which allowed the homicide case to move forward.

In the run-up to the trial, Judge John Blawie denied requests for video and still cameras in the courtroom. The court rules state that in homicide trials involving sexual assault, the cameras will only be approved if the victim's family consents. At a hearing on the request, Stamford State’s Attorney Paul Ferencek told Blawie that Kathy's family did not.