State of affairs in the murder case

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich – Danielle Stislicki, 28, disappeared eight years ago in Oakland County.

Stislicki left her Southfield office on Dec. 2, 2016, and was never seen again. Her body was never found. Floyd Gallowaya security guard who worked in her office was charged with murder.

According to prosecutors, Galloway was known to seek out or flirt with Stislicki and had previously sent her flowers. Galloway told police he worked until 11 p.m. that night. Investigators later learned that Galloway was not working and had canceled a “doctor’s appointment.”

A witness said Galloway was in the office parking lot with the hood of his Buick Regal open. A witness later told police he saw Galloway in the passenger seat of Stislicki’s Jeep Renegade and about to leave the parking lot.

Stislicki had planned to go to dinner with her best friend that evening, but did not show up or contact her friend. She was never seen again.

State of affairs in the murder case

A judge denied the defense’s request to dismiss the case for willfully violating Galloway’s attorney-client privilege, marking the latest in the Danielle Stislicki case.

Oakland County Judge Phyllis McMillen said the motion, in which the defense argued Galloway’s due process and fair trial rights were violated, was denied without prejudice.

This motion was filed based on evidence illegally leaked by James Hoppe, the lie detector operator hired by Galloway’s attorney.

The defendant argued that while the Michigan Attorney General’s Office was not responsible for the illegal disclosure of the information, she and her staff were responsible for further disseminating the information during the litigation that required then-Troy Police Chief Gary Mayer to disclose it von Hoppe forced as a source of information.

The motion also indicated that the Attorney General should refer the case to “unincriminated persons” to prosecute the case.

McMillen said that if someone who was not exposed to illegally shared information was chosen to prosecute the case, “the stain could potentially be contained,” but she says much work still needs to be done to determine whether others have been passed on illegally. Information passed on must be suppressed.

“To properly analyze these issues, it seems clear that the attorney representing the People must know what confidential information was obtained in order to assess whether it had an impact on the discovery of other evidence,” McMillen said in the court file. “If the attorney general were to transfer the case to a prosecutor in good standing at this point, we would be back in the situation we are in now and the prosecutor would be in possession of confidential information. It would be more appropriate to hand over the prosecution to a reputable attorney at the conclusion of this phase of the litigation.”

Galloway is currently serving a sentence of 16 to 35 years for the kidnapping and sexual assault of another woman, a jogger, whom he met several months before Stislicki’s disappearance.

—> View: Full interactive timeline of the Danielle Stislicki murder case

How falsified evidence was discovered

Galloway took a lie detector test seven days after Stislicki’s disappearance. The lie detector test was ordered by an attorney hired by Galloway. James Hoppe, a former FBI agent, conducted the test.

Something Galloway said during the test bothered Hoppe so much that he called his personal friend and then-Troy Police Chief Gary Mayer and told him what he had learned during the test.

According to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, Hoppe told Mayer, “He had information about the security guard and the murder and he said he wanted to pass it on, it was very important, but he couldn’t pass it on unless (Mayer ) was able to keep his identity secret.”

Mayer shared the information with Farmington Hills Police Chief Chuck Nebus, who investigated the case.

Nebus filled out a tip sheet and stated, “A caller said the security guard did it.” He drove the victim’s car from his home in Berkley to her apartment and then went to Tim Hortons and Halsted at 10 a.m. where he bought Shamrock Cab or something that sounds like Shamrock called where he could get a taxi within walking distance of his work car was parked. There should be evidence on or in the victim’s car. The perpetrator threw the victim’s keys on a grassy side of the highway while he went to Tim Hortons. The Fitbit should be near the buttons. The victim’s cell phone was thrown into the trash can at Tim Hortons. The victim’s body should lie in a beige-brown blanket. When asked further, the caller had no further information and wished to remain anonymous.”

Following this tip, investigators found Stislicki’s Fitbit and keys and obtained forensic data from her cell phone. They also obtained witness statements about Galloway being seen at a nearby Tim Horton’s, surveillance video and phone records from the cafe, and evidence of a taxi ride Galloway took that night near where Stislicki disappeared.

—> Stislicki murder case: How tampered evidence was discovered and why it can’t be used in court

The evidence excluded from trial:

• Danielle Stislicki’s Fitbit, keys and phone, as well as forensic data retrieved from her phone.

• The statements of people who work at Tim Hortons.

• Tim Hortons surveillance footage and phone records.

• Surveillance footage from a gas station near Tim Hortons.

• Information from Green Cab company.

The public prosecutor’s office is defending itself against the verdict

Oakland County and state appeals courts have done so chose to suppress the evidence. In the state appeals process, the decision was not unanimous.

Nessel then filed papers with the Supreme Court requesting a writ of certiorari. A writ of certiorari is a request to the Supreme Court to direct a lower court to send the case file for review.

The Supreme Court is not required to hear these cases and typically only considers them if the case could have national significance, harmonize conflicting federal court decisions, or have precedent. The court accepts 100-150 of the more than 7,000 cases it must consider each year.