DETROIT – Day three of the trial for a suspected serial rapist accused of committing sexual assaults across Metro Detroit continued Wednesday.

Ikeie Ranordo Smith, 32, of Redford Township, is facing multiple charges of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, second-degree criminal sexual conduct, first-degree home invasion and assault with intent to do great bodily harm.

Smith is charged in Allen Park, Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Inkster and Redford Township.

According to police, the incidents date back to 2011.

READ: Trial Day 1 Recap

READ: Trial Day 2 Recap

Nurse testifies about evidence collection

The first witness called to testify Wednesday was a forensic sexual assault nurse who worked at Beaumont Hospital.

She collected DNA evidence from the victim in Redford case from 2014 that testified during day two of the trial.

She read the report she took from the victim after the incident and described the evidence collected after taking the report.

The nurse told the jury she took samples from the victims toes. The victim said during testimony, and in multiple reports, that her attacker had sucked on her toes.

Forensic scientist matches DNA from victim’s foot

Jennifer Morgan, a forensic scientist with the Michigan State Police Northville Crime Laboratory, took the stand and talked about the handling of the DNA evidence taken from Redford victim’s toes.

She described in detail how DNA is extracted from a sample.

Morgan said that the sample showed a male’s DNA and the profile was added to law enforcement’s database.

Smith’s DNA was taken in September of 2016 and his profile was run against the sample taken in the Redford 2014 case. Morgan said Smith’s profile was a match for swabs taken from the victim’s foot. She said the match was 1 in 119.5 decillion (10³³) for the Caucasian population and 1 in 6.72 nonillion (10³⁰) for the African American population.

DNA linked cases before suspect was identified

Billie Hooker, a forensic scientist with the Michigan State Police Biology Unit, was called to the stand to talk about DNA matches in the database.

Hooker told the jury that the swab taken from the victim’s foot in the Redford case from 2014 matched the DNA on the cigarette butt found in the victim’s bedroom from the Inkster case in 2011.

The match between the two cases was made before Smith’s DNA was taken by Dearborn police in 2016.

The defense had no questions for this witness.

Garden City victim takes the stand

The victim in a sexual assault from November of 2015 in Garden City took the stand to tell the jury about the night she was attacked.

She told the jury that she was sleeping in the living room when her attacker entered the home. Her husband was sleeping in their bedroom and her three children were in their beds. She said when she fell asleep, the television and the lights were on.

The victim woke to see a man over her holding a knife. The television and the living room lights had been turned off. She said the attacker threatened her and her family. She told the jury he left through the back door after the sexual assault.

White lawn chairs were found under the kitchen window of the home. Cuts in the screen were found at the window by police.

The victim was taken to the hospital and evidence was collected.

The defense attorney asked questions about which lights were on in the home, when the TV in the living room was turned off and which hand the attacker was holding the knife.

Victim’s husband called to testify

The victim’s husband in the Garden City sexual assault was called to the stand to testify about the night in question.

The husband told the jury that when he went to bed, the television was on and the living room lights were on.

He said he didn’t leave the white lawn chairs under the kitchen window.

The victim’s husband said he has sleep apnea and uses a breathing machine at night, which makes a good deal of noise.

Officer discusses crime scene in Garden City

The last witness to be called to the stand Wednesday was Officer Patrick Schneider. He worked for the Garden City Police Department and discussed his role at the crime scene.

Schneider said he examined the cuts on the screen in the kitchen window.

The sliding portion of the window was removed from the home. A fingerprint was lifted from the window and collected as evidence.

The defense attorney asked the officer if mud had been dragged through the home from someone entering the kitchen window. The officer said he didn’t see any mud.

Details of case

Dearborn Police Chief Ronald Haddad addressed the community when Smith was taken into custody, detailing the arrest of the suspected serial rapist and the case against the man.

"I appreciate the public's support and patience while we continue this investigation," Haddad said. "Investigations of this type are complicated and time consuming and, while it is importnat to notify the public of current events, it is most important that we do not do anything to compromise the investigation."

The chief said a pattern was noticed in home invasions near the border between Dearborn and Allen Park in July 2015. The home invasions involved some sort of completed or attempted sexual assault. Neighboring jurisdictions had received several more incidents which appeared to be similar.

Haddad said at least three of the cases happened in Dearborn.

A multi-jurisdictional task force was created in November 2015 involving police departments in Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Allen Park, Redford Township, Inkster and Garden City, as well as the Michigan State Police, FBI, MDOC and the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office.

The FBI behavioral scientists labeled the suspect as a “power reassurance rapist.”

“There’s no more power he holds over the people,” Haddad said. “I can assure you he’ll be in jail for a long time.”

Surveillance video of a suspect in the backyard of a Livonia home helped in naming a person of interest.

“This particular nightmare that has plagued our community and our region for a long time is over,” Haddad said.

Authorities believe there are a minimum of 35 cases in the region they suspect Smith is responsible for.

Dearborn Mayor Jack O’Reilly and Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy also spoke at the news conference.

“In our region, law enforcement comes together time and time again without borders,” O’Reilly said. “Crime doesn’t care about boundaries.”

Timeline

The Dearborn Police Department released a timeline of events related to the serial rapes and home invasions across the region. 

Background

According to police, Smith was arrested in connection with a series of home invasions and sexual assaults across the metro area.

Police said the incidents date back to 2011 and involve at least eight jurisdictions.

Smith was taken into custody by Dearborn police within a mile of where a number of the home invasions occurred, police said.

"The arrest of this suspect will hopefully provide closure to our victims and it is important to note that all members of this task force have expended an enormous amount of resources and energy into this investigation," Haddad said. "This collaborative effort along with citizen cooperation has resulted in a very dangerous predator being taken off the streets."

The FBI, MSP, Livonia Police Department, Dearborn Police Department and a number of other police agencies across the metro area participated in the investigation.

Painful flashback

Local 4 spoke to a sexual assault victim who says the description of Smith matches the man who attacked her in 2012.

The woman was just a teen at the time of the attack. She said a man came into her Dearborn Heights home when her mother was at work and attacked her while she was in her bedroom.

"He said if I moved he'd kill me," she said about the attack. "It's just really scary."

The woman said she was able to escape the man, but her mother says the memory of the attack still lingers.

"We have all the windows blocked with something still," the victim's mother said. "It's been four years since that happened and it still lingers. It's horrible."

Stay with Local 4 and ClickonDetroit.com as more information becomes available.