Arrest Made In Jeanine Harms Slaying
POSTED: 12:33 pm PST December 16, 2004
UPDATED: 10:46 pm PST December 16, 2004
LOS GATOS --
Los Gatos-Monte Serreno police arrested a man Thursday in connection
with the disappearance of a woman from this upscale San Jose suburb more
than three years ago.
"We reached
this point by never giving up," police Chief Scott Seaman said. He said
the case had been "our highest investigative priority, because it is a
homicide. ... It is a case that has touched this community and this
department."
Maurice Nasmeh, 40, is being held without bond for the murder of
Jeanine Harms, a 42-year old Los Gatos resident last seen purchasing beer
with Nasmeh at a convenience store on July 27, 2001.
Early in the investigation, Nasmeh told police he had met Harms at
a Los Gatos brewery earlier in the evening and returned with her to her
home where they drank beer for a few hours. He said that she was asleep on
her couch when he left.
Police believe Nasmeh killed Harms in her home late that night or
early the next morning and removed her body, purse and several other
items, including a large Persian rug. Harms's body has never been found.
Police said a break in the case came in April 2003 when police
publicized a picture of the rug. A woman then came forward and said she
found a similar rug rolled up under a trash bin in San Jose, about a
half-mile from Nasmeh's residence.
Forensic tests detected fibers on the rug that matched fibers found
in the cargo hold of a Jeep police believe Nasmeh used to dispose of
Harms's body and the rug.
"That was really a miracle that this lady found the actual rug and
then called us up and told us, `here it is,"' Los Gatos police Detective
Stephen Walpole, the lead detective in the case, told the San Francisco
Chronicle.
Nasmeh was arrested Thursday morning as he left his home.
"This has been a very long investigation," Assistant District
Attorney Karyn Sinunu said. "It's such a relief to have this wrapped up.
The family is very happy."
Defense attorney John Hinkle told the Chronicle that Nasmeh was "an
upstanding member of the community," and that "any case that could be made
... will be the weakest form of circumstantial evidence."
Video |
Video |
Copyright 2005 by KTVU.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.