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December 11, 2008

Preliminary hearing in 2005 death of Enid man under way

By Cass Rains Staff Writer

A preliminary hearing for two people accused of killing an Enid man in 2005 began Thursday in Blaine County District Court.

Michael W. Wood Sr., 33, and Jennifer Marie Durbin, 30, are both charged with first-degree murder for the January 2005 killing of Donovan Nimmo.

Nimmo was last seen Jan. 19, 2005. Since then, no one has had contact with him, and financial records do not show any attempts to open new accounts. Despite several searches, Nimmo’s remains have not been recovered.

Assistant District Attorneys Mike Fields and Barry Retherford called eight witnesses to testify before Special District Judge Paul Woodward.

Nimmo’s mother Donna Skaggs, father Roy Nimmo and stepmother Twyla Nimmo each testified they had not seen nor heard from Donovan since January 2005.

Skaggs and Roy Nimmo also testified they gave samples of their DNA for analysis to Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation Agent Steve Neuman, who testified he collected DNA samples from Donovan’s parents.

OSBI crime scene investigator special agent Mike Dean told the court he recovered blood on a carpet in Durbin’s trailer house in Watonga, as well as a cigarette butt in same bedroom where carpet was found. Dean also testified he collected a bloody towel found in the trunk of Donovan’s abandoned car. Dean said he obtained a DNA sample from each of the three items recovered.

DNA expert Dr. Robert Allen told the court the blood on the towel found in Donovan’s car, the blood on the carpet found in Durbin’s trailer house and the cigarette butt found in Durbin’s trailer house had a greater than 99.99 percent probability of being a match to Donovan’s DNA, or the offspring of Skaggs and Roy Nimmo.

Dr. Leon Desecottier, a counselor who counseled Durbin’s children, testified he saw Donovan, Wood and Durbin together on Jan. 19, 2005.

On July 30, a first-degree murder charge was filed in Blaine County against Durbin, whom authorities believe was involved in Donovan Nimmo’s death. Wood was arrested Aug. 14 in Mesa, Colo., on a first-degree murder warrant for the alleged role he played in Nimmo’s death.

Durbin is being represented by Enid attorney Stephen Jones. Wood is being represented by Oklahoma City attorney Jason Spanich.

The hearing resumes at 9 a.m. today.

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