Preliminary examination of murder suspect begins

By Christine Laughren
Apr. 16, 2009    ·    10:37 p.m.

A relative of the man accused of bludgeoning his girlfriend to death in January said he would have never left the house with the suspect hours after the incident had he known the circumstances.

The testimony of Lamone Wadey wrapped up today’s preliminary examination of Dominic Oyerinde.

Oyerinde, 20, faces four felony charges in relation to the death of his girlfriend, 17-year-old Ann Arbor resident Anna List. He is charged with open murder, assault to commit great bodily harm, assault with a dangerous weapon and larceny of a vehicle.

Wadey, a distant cousin of Oyerinde, said the suspect was sitting in a van in his driveway when he returned home from school in the early evening of Jan. 13. He said he invited his cousin into the house, the two talked for a while, played video games and went out later for groceries.

“I would have never been associated with him,” Wadey said of his cousin during his testimony. “I would have never left my house with him.”

Oyerinde and Wadey were pulled over in Detroit at approximately 8 p.m. Jan. 13, shortly after Ypsilanti Police dropped off a wanted poster of the suspect.

Wadey said his cousin told him earlier in the evening that he had gotten into an argument with a guy he believed stole his phone.

“He told me he had gotten into it with some guy and he had gotten into an argument with his girlfriend and he wanted to come down to relax and get away from it all,” Wadey testified.

Wadey said Oyerinde never said anything about beating his girlfriend.

“He told me he beat someone and put him in the hospital, referring to the guy who took his phone,” Wadey said.

Two elementary children attending Ypsilanti’s Chapelle Elementary, also testified today. The girls, age 10 and 11, said they found a phone in the playground of the school. One of the girls said she took it home, however, the phone was later turned over to the Ypsilanti Police.

List was found unconscious in the early morning hours of Jan. 13 near Recreation Park on Congress Street, northeast of Chapelle. She was hospitalized and in a coma until she died less than a week later. An autopsy confirmed her death was a result of a blow to her head.

Officers were able to track footprints in the snow back to a house on the same block of Congress, where an argument with Oyerinde and List was said to have originated. The suspect is believed to have walked back and took the victim's mini-van, a 1997 Honda Odyssey.

Defense attorney Tim Niemann said there were no surprises with the preliminary examination today. The exam is scheduled for Monday, barring scheduling conflicts. The preliminary exam will continue May 13, if not Monday.

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