Forensic testimony in the Mecklenburg County trial revealed mixed and partial DNA profiles on items from the December 2019 killing of Scott Brooks. Most samples did not yield conclusive foreign profiles, but DNA on one shell casing matched Keleasta Smith, Conner’s former girlfriend, and the lab reported additional profiles with a high probability implicating Terry Conner. Defense attorneys emphasized the uncertainty of partial DNA, while prosecutors also pointed to cellphone pings near the scene tied to the two defendants.
Mixed DNA Profiles Highlighted in Trial Over NoDa Sandwich Shop Owner’s Killing
Forensic testimony in the Mecklenburg County trial revealed mixed and partial DNA profiles on items from the December 2019 killing of Scott Brooks. Most samples did not yield conclusive foreign profiles, but DNA on one shell casing matched Keleasta Smith, Conner’s former girlfriend, and the lab reported additional profiles with a high probability implicating Terry Conner. Defense attorneys emphasized the uncertainty of partial DNA, while prosecutors also pointed to cellphone pings near the scene tied to the two defendants.
02:54 AM, 11/18/2025Society
DNA evidence takes center stage in Brooks murder trial
Prosecutors on Monday focused on DNA results recovered from the scene where Scott Brooks was fatally shot outside Brooks’ Sandwich Shop in NoDa in December 2019. Testimony from forensic analysts described multiple mixed and partial DNA profiles found on items collected at the scene.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg analyst Patricia Byron told the Mecklenburg County jury that evidence she tested included Brooks’ wallet and several pockets of his jeans. "I was able to obtain DNA that was a mixture of at least two DNA samples," Byron said. She added that while Brooks’ own DNA was expected on those personal items, most material she analyzed contained partial DNA belonging to someone else.
"I was not able to make any conclusions on the foreign DNA profile," Byron testified.
Neither defendant — Terry Conner nor Steven Staples — matched the DNA recovered from the clothing or most shell casings, a point emphasized by defense attorney Kenneth Snow. "That could have been anyone's DNA, male or female," Snow argued. Byron agreed she could not determine whose DNA the partial profiles represented.
However, forensic testimony introduced a more specific connection on one shell casing. Dr. Rachel Oefelein of Advanced Technology Laboratory in Florida testified that DNA on a single bullet casing matched Conner’s former girlfriend, Keleasta Smith. The lab also detected two additional DNA contributors on that same casing and, based on statistical analysis, reported a high probability that Terry Conner was among those contributors.
"There was very strong support that there was DNA of Terry Conner and Keleasta Smith and an unknown person rather than Keleasta Smith and two unknown persons," Oefelein said.
Later in the day, two parole officers testified about cellphone records. Prosecutors used their testimony to show that telephone numbers associated with Staples and Conner were among the numbers that pinged close to the crime scene around the time of the shooting.
What this means: The DNA evidence presented was complex: most items produced mixed or partial profiles that forensic analysts could not conclusively attribute, but one casing contained a stronger set of matches linking it to Conner’s former girlfriend and statistically supporting Conner as a contributor. Defense counsel stressed the ambiguity of partial profiles while the prosecution highlighted the casing and phone data as corroborating elements.