BLOOMINGTON — The opinion that a bloody palm print found on a pool cue was left by Donald Whalen is scientifically suspect, Whalen's lawyer argued Tuesday in a hearing on whether Whalen should get a new trial on murder charges in the 1991 death of his father.
Sitting at the defense table during the second day of hearings on his petition, Whalen shook his head several times as he listened to testimony from John Dierker, a retired fingerprint examiner who worked for the Illinois State Police crime lab.
Dierker acknowledged to defense lawyer Elliot Slosar that no further testing was done after April 17, 1991, on a palm print lifted from a piece of broken cue found near Bill Whalen's body. The victim was beaten and stabbed at what was then the Twenty Grand Tap in downtown Bloomington.
A week later, Dierker told Bloomington police he had located "a possible palm print" on the pool cue, but he required a better fingerprint sample in order to exclude Bill Whalen as the source of the print.
"I did not receive any of those additional prints from the police department," said Dierker.
The former crime lab examiner had contact during the investigation with former Bloomington Police Chief Randy McKinley, who was a crime scene technician at the time.
Slosar, an attorney with the University of Chicago's Exoneration Project, has raised questions on the veracity of McKinley's 1991 claim that he was a "certified fingerprint examiner." McKinley repeated the claim in his testimony on Monday, saying he believed the certification was provided by the Illinois State Police.
Dierker testified Tuesday that to his knowledge no such certification is available for police departments.
The retired lab worker went on to admit that he had not obtained a certification, which was available but not mandated for fingerprint examiners, in 1991.
During Donald Whalen's November 1991 trial, Dierker told jurors that no one other than the younger Whalen could have left the palm print.
But the state crime lab did not compare prints from Robert McElvaney, a bar patron considered a suspect, or about 20 other people whose prints police had in connection with the case. The police's focus on Whalen as a suspect led to a brief investigation and pressure on the crime lab to return incriminating evidence, according to the defense.
Former McLean County prosecutor Teena Griffith told Dierker in 1991 she "felt no need at this time to compare anyone other than Don Whalen and the victim," said Dierker.
Court-ordered fingerprint tests conducted in 2012 identified a male whose print was found on a blood-stained glass door panel. Fifteen other prints have never been tested, contended Slosar.
Dierker's conclusion that blood was on the suspect's hand before the pool cue was picked up was disputed in testimony Tuesday afternoon from Washington fingerprint expert Michele Triplett.
The controversial prints may have been left on the pool cue before the murder, according to Triplett, a theory that fits with testimony from Donald Whalen's mother Colleen Whalen that he played pool during a visit to the bar the day of the slaying.
In cross-examination by Assistant State's Attorney Trevor Sierra, Triplett acknowledged that her comparison of the partial palm print with Donald Whalen's print could not exclude him as the source of the print that included about 10 percent of the suspect's palm.
Triplett also opined Tuesday that cooking grease and other substances containing proteins could have produced a reaction similar to blood during forensic testing on the evidence.
A Feb. 12 hearing has been set for defense testimony from Dr. Karl Reich, the lab scientist who performed testing on knives believed to have been used in the killing.
Photos: Donald Whalen seeks new trial in murder of father
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Donald Whalen, right, appeared in McLean County Court Monday, Jan. 28, 2019, with his attorney, Elliot Slosar, as Slosar attempts to win Whalen a new trial after he was convicted of murdering his father, Bill Whalen, in 1991.
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Donald Whalen looks around the courtroom as he appeared in McLean County Court Monday, Jan. 28, 2019, as he seeks a new trial after he was convicted of murdering his father, William Whalen, in 1991.
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Donald Whalen appeared in McLean County Court Monday, Jan. 28, 2019, to assist his attorneys, Tara Thompson, left, and Elliot Slosar, right, as they seek to win Whalen a new trial after he was convicted of murdering his father, William Whalen, in 1991.
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Donald Whalen's mother, Colleen, appeared in McLean County Court Monday, Jan. 28, 2019, to testify about the condition of food preparation knives in her husband's bar before he was killed in 1991.
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Donald Whalen's attorneys, Tara Thompson, left, and Elliot Slosar, right, discuss a legal point as they seek to win Whalen a new trial after he was convicted of murdering his father, William Whalen, in 1991.
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Assistant states attorneys Trevor Sierra, left, and David Rossi look up case precedent after Donald Whalen's attorney, Elliot Slosar, cited case law in order to win the testimony of Robert McElvaney at a hearing Monday, Jan. 28, 2019, in an attempt to win Whalen a new trial.
No further questions

Robert McElvaney was called to testify in a hearing Monday, Jan. 28, 2019, to determine whether Donald Whalen should receive a new trial for the 1991 murder of his father, William. McElvaney refused to answer questions put to him by Whalen's attorney, citing his Fifth Amendment rights to not potentially incriminate himself.
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Robert McElvaney refused to answer questions put to him by Whalen's attorney, citing his Fifth Amendment rights to not potentially incriminate himself.
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Assistant state's attorney David Rossi, right, questions former Bloomington Police Chief Randy McKinley as he testifies in McLean County Court Monday, Jan. 28, 2019, about his role as a crime scene technician when he investigated the murder of William Whalen in 1991.
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Former Bloomington Police Chief Randy McKinley testifies in McLean County Court Monday, Jan. 28, 2019, about his role as a crime scene technician when he investigated the murder of William Whalen in 1991.
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This is getting to be embarrassing for Bloomington Police and McLean County prosecutors.
28 years later we find out the Bloomington PD crime scene technician isn’t a “certified fingerprint examiner” because ISP never offered any such certification to police?!
28 years later we find out the ISP lab worker wasn’t a “certified fingerprint examiner” when he examined fingerprints in a murder case?!
28 years later we find out the ISP lab worker located “a possible palm print” on a pool cue and needed a better fingerprint sample from the deceased victim… and BPD never sent fingerprints?! The same ISP lab worker (who never received comparative prints from the deceased victim) then goes on to testify that no one other than the suspect could have left the palm print?!
28 years later we find out the McLean County prosecutor “felt no need” to compare fingerprints from anyone other than the victim (and remember, BPD never sent those prints for comparison) and the suspect?!
This is an embarrassment for this county and city.
For a strikingly similar case, read "The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town" written by John Grisham. This work, Grisham's only non-fiction book, details this false conviction and subsequent coverup of Ron Williamson in Ada, Oklahoma.
Just an FYI. If you liked the book be sure to watch the TV series "The Innocent Man" now available on Netflix. The series not only addresses the Williamson case but it addresses his co-defendant, and interestingly enough addresses another two men from Ada, Oklahoma who very likely were also wrongly convicted.
It seems that Ada, Oklahoma has quite the record of sending innocent men to prison.
What a farce. Our local authorities are a bunch of bumbling idiots. God help you if you happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time here in McLean County.
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