ELYRIA — Police quickly focused their attention on Rennell Malone in the 2001 murder of Diane Utsey-Henderson, the lead detective on the case testified Thursday, the third day of Malone’s murder trial.

Retired Lorain police Lt. Robert Poli said after learning of Malone’s relationship with his ex-girlfriend, Malone was questioned, and his home and car were searched.

Malone, 47, denied killing Utsey-Henderson, whose partially-clad body was found in her Amherst Avenue home on June 15, 2001. She had been beaten and stabbed repeatedly and bled to death in her bedroom.

Malone wasn’t charged with the crime until 2006.

But defense attorney Kenneth Ortner questioned why Malone so quickly became the target of the investigation while suggesting that police ignored another potential suspect, James “Poochie” Williams.

Williams, a retired Ford worker, testified earlier in the trial that he had been dating Utsey-Henderson and last saw her late June 13 or early June 14 before he left for Columbus on a trip with another woman.

Williams said while he was concerned about Utsey-Henderson, he didn’t learn the 44-year-old was dead until he returned from his trip and his wife told him police wanted to question him.

Poli said police confirmed Williams’ whereabouts with the woman he went to Columbus with.

Exactly when Utsey-Henderson was killed has been disputed during the trial. Lorain County Coroner Paul Matus originally said the date of death was June 15 but later said she likely died on June 14.

Matus testified that he changed his opinion after learning that workers powerwashing Utsey-Henderson’s home had last seen her alive on June 13, not June 14 as he originally was told.

Police have tied Malone to the murder scene because a toothpick with his DNA on it was found inside Utsey-Henderson’s home. He had moved out of the home in February, according to Utsey-Henderson’s daughter, Jan Patrice Utsey, who also testified Thursday.

Utsey described her mother’s relationship with Malone as “rocky, off and on” and said the couple argued a lot.

Poli said Malone was a suspect because of scratches on his arm and because he appeared to have stopped calling Utsey-Henderson after police believe she was killed.

But Ortner pointed to records that showed Malone paging her three times on June 15, including about four hours before her body was found.

Phone records show that Williams called Utsey-Henderson once on June 14, Ortner said.

“I was suggesting that (Williams) was a suspect then,” Ortner said after the trial concluded for the day. “And I don’t understand why they didn’t pursue it.”

The trial resumes Tuesday before county Common Pleas Judge Mark Betleski, who is hearing the case instead of a jury.

Contact Brad Dicken at 329-7147 or bdicken@chroniclet.com.

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