ST. JOHNS, Mich. (WLNS) — Prosecutors called multiple witnesses to the stand Wednesday, for the second day of the preliminary hearing of two men who have been charged with killing hunter Chong Yang in 2018.
Thomas Olson and Robert Rodway could spend the rest of their lives in prison if found guilty of Yang’s murder.
The first order of business was to address the plastic bag and hunting spray that led investigators to the two defendants.
An analyst determined that Olson’s DNA appeared on both the plastic bag and the hunting spray, but Rodway’s DNA was not found on either item.
“This analysis provides very strong support that Thomas Olson is a contributor to the DNA profile from the spray bottle swabs,” said DNA analyst Kirk Deleeuw.
However, no DNA evidence from either man was found anywhere close to Yang’s body.
The defense continued to question the relevancy of the bag and spray.
Next to the stand, was an FBI agent who analyzed cell phone data, which confirmed that Olson was in the area on the day of the shooting, but exact locations could not be pinpointed.
Olson’s attorney said because the locations were not exact, nothing could be confirmed.
Possibly one of the biggest developments so far was a WhatsApp group chat between the two men in the days after the 2018 shooting.
An FBI agent read the messages aloud during the hearing.
“The message sent from Mr. Olson’s phone says ‘I mean we killed that guy, you don’t see us crying about it.'” said FBI Special Agent Reese McIntyre “Mr. Rodways phone responded ‘LMAO.'”
Both defense attorneys pawned it off as being coincidental dark humor and cited the defendants’ cooperation with the investigation as a means of not trying to hide anything.
