FARMINGTON HILLS (WWJ) - A trial for the man accused of killing missing Farmington Hills woman Danielle Stislicki has been delayed for a few months.
An Oakland County Circuit Court docket shows Floyd Galloway's trial, which was scheduled to start next Monday, is now scheduled to begin April 20.
Stislicki was last seen leaving work on December 2, 2016. Her body has never been found.
The 28-year-old, who went by "Dani," planned to meet up with a friend for dinner the night she disappeared -- but she 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, with her purse inside. Police found no signs of a struggle but said Stislicki was likely the victim of a crime.
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 although they wouldn't comment at the time, neighbors said they saw officers taking a mattress and other items out of the home.
Among those to testify at a preliminary hearing, a Michigan State Police forensics expert said there was a "strong indication" of Stislicki's DNA in a carpet sample taken from Galloway's bedroom. Evidence in the case also includes a note, said to be in the defendant's handwriting, left for Stislicki from a "secret admirer."
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.
In that case, the victim was on a bike path Sept. 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 said repeatedly that the investigation was headed in the right direction. Attorney General Dana Nessel decided to pursue charges in early 2019 after Oakland County prosecutors declined, partially because Stislicki's body has never been found. Nessel says enough "compelling" evidence existed to charge Galloway with murder.
Oakland County Medical Examiner L.J. Dragovic issued a death certificate for Stislicki in December 2018, saying she appears to have been a victim of assault, abducted by force and killed by violence on the day she went missing.
Galloway faces life in prison without parole if convicted of first-degree murder in Stislicki's presumed death.