FARMINGTON HILLS (WWJ) -- The long-delayed trial of Floyd Galloway -- the man accused of killing missing woman Danielle Stislicki -- faces a new challenge as the defense tries to have the case thrown out due to a previously leaked polygraph test.
When 28-year-old Danielle Stislicki disappeared in December 2016, Galloway quickly became a person of interest. Shortly after Stislicki was last seen, Galloway took a polygraph test at the advice of his former lawyer.
As reported by WDIV, the polygraph operator then shared the results of the test with his friend -- the former Troy police chief -- who filed the information as an anonymous tip and later passed the information along to the Farminton Hills police chief.
In August 2022, Galloway's defense attorney, Ellen Michaels, filed a motion calling for access to prosecutor files to determine how the information from the polygraph may have been used in the case against her client.
"They were in possession of everything my client revealed to his attorney," Michaels said. She also claimed that the information from the polygraph "was a blueprint for what would probably be the defense of the case."
Oakland County Circuit Judge Phyllis McMillen disagreed and denied the motion, stating that the defense already had all of the files from the prosecution that they needed.
Galloway's attorney has called the sharing of information from the polygraph a violation of due process and that the leaked results have tainted the case so much that Galloway cannot have a fair trial.
After already being delayed for more than a year, it will now be up to a judge to determine whether the trial will go forward at all.
Danielle "Dani" Stislicki disappeared on December 2, 2016, after leaving work at the MetLife building in Southfield.
She had planned to meet a friend for dinner that night but never showed up. Her Jeep was found a day later, parked outside her home at the Independence Green apartments in the area of Halsted and Grand River in Farmington Hills. Her purse was inside. Police found no signs of a struggle but said Stislicki was likely the victim of a crime.
Oakland County Medical Examiner L.J. Dragovic issued a death certificate in December 2018, saying Stislicki appeared to have been a victim of assault, abducted by force and killed by violence on the day she went missing.
At the time of her disappearance, Galloway was employed as a security guard at MetLife, where Stislicki worked. Police searched Galloway's home in Berkley a few weeks after Stislicki went missing, and neighbors said they saw officers taking a mattress and other items out of the house.
Galloway has denied knowing what happened to Stislicki. He is currently serving time for the attempted rape of a jogger in Hines Park in Livonia -- an attack that happened three months before Stislicki disappeared.
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In that case, the victim was on a bike path September 4, 2016, when Galloway attacked -- strangling her and punching her in the face before dragging her into the woods toward the Rouge River. While she struggled, Galloway tried to take her clothes off, demanding sex -- but the victim was able to fight him off and get away. She flagged down a passing motorist and used his phone to call 911 while Galloway ran away.
Cell phone records and DNA tests helped make a case against Galloway, who was arrested and charged nine months after the attack. In December 2017, he pleaded guilty to kidnapping, criminal sexual conduct and assault with intent to do bodily harm.
Though local agencies never brought charges against Galloway in the Stislicki case, investigators poured over "hundreds of pieces of evidence," served dozens of search warrants, and have said repeatedly that the investigation was headed in the right direction.
Newly appointed Attorney General Dana Nessel decided to pursue charges after Oakland County prosecutors declined, partially because Stislicki's body has never been found. Nessel said there was enough "compelling" evidence to charge Galloway.
Galloway was charged with first-degree premeditated murder in March 2019.
In September 2019, Judge James Brady ruled in 47th District Court that there was enough evidence to send Galloway to trial.
Evidence in the case includes a note, said to be in the defendant's handwriting, left for Stislicki from a "secret admirer." Records presented in court showed that police traced the path of Galloway and Stisliski's cell phones to the vicinity of Galloway's home on the day she disappeared. A Michigan State Police forensics expert also said that there was a "strong indication" of Stislicki's DNA in a carpet sample taken from Galloway's bedroom.
Galloway faces life in prison without parole if convicted of first-degree murder in Stislicki's presumed death.
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