Mistrial declared after report that girl killed in 1986 had been placed
in used body bag
[April 07, 2026]
By DAVE COLLINS
An 11-year-old Connecticut girl who was raped and killed in 1986 was
reportedly placed in a used body bag at the time, a new allegation that
led to a mistrial in a murder case Monday over concerns about evidence
contamination.
Marc Karun was on trial on murder and kidnapping charges in connection
with the killing of Kathleen Flynn, a sixth grader who was attacked
walking home from her middle school in Norwalk. Karun, now 60, once
lived in Norwalk and was arrested in 2019 at his home in Stetson, Maine.
During the trial in Stamford, Connecticut, on Thursday, prosecutors
disclosed that they recently received an email from a retired Norwalk
police lieutenant who said a state crime lab official told him shortly
after Flynn's killing that she had been placed in a used body bag. The
lieutenant, Robert Fabrizzio, said he was reporting possible evidence
contamination.
Fabrizzio said the state crime lab official who told him about the body
bag was Henry Lee, the famed forensic scientist known for his work on
the O.J. Simpson murder case and other high-profile crimes across the
country. Lee, who headed the crime lab at the time, died last month at
age 87. A message left at a phone listing for Fabrizzio was not
immediately returned.
Judge John Blawie declared a mistrial on Monday because of concerns over
the evidence, saying he believed he had no choice. But he said he would
not dismiss the case.
State's Attorney Paul Ferencek, who revealed Fabrizzio's email in court
last week, said in a statement that prosecutors will be working with the
state crime lab and medical examiner's office to see if Fabrizzio's
claim is true.
“We’re obviously disappointed by this turn of events, especially for the
family members of Kathy Flynn, who have waited forty years for justice
and some degree of closure," his statement said.
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Marc Karun is arraigned in Norwalk Superior Court in Norwalk, Conn.,
on June 17, 2019.Ned Gerard/Hearst Connecticut Media via AP, File)
The claim about the used body bag came as a surprise to crime lab
officials, said Rick Green, a spokesman for the lab and agency that
oversees it, the Department of Emergency Services and Public
Protection. He said forensic scientists from the lab stand by their
trial testimony.
Karun's lawyer, Francis O'Reilly, declined to comment. Karun remains
detained on $5 million bond.
Norwalk police alleged Karun killed the girl on Sept. 23, 1986. He
was later convicted of sexually assaulting or kidnapping four other
female victims in the 1980s and served about 10 years in prison.
Police said advances in DNA testing technology, and the fact that
Karun's other attacks were similar to how Flynn was killed, led to
his arrest in 2019. A state forensic lab official testified last
week that testing on scrapings from Flynn's fingernails showed that
the DNA found was 22,000 times more likely to have belonged to Flynn
and Karun than from the girl and another person, Hearst Connecticut
Media reported.
Shortly after Karun's arrest, police said they found nearly 90
rifles and handguns at his Maine home. He was barred from having
firearms because he was a convicted felon, authorities said. Karun
pleaded guilty to federal gun charges in 2024 and is set to be
sentenced in that case in July, federal court records show.
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