Allen County District Court judge Martha Harrison entered a not guilty plea for Madden and said his case is eligible for the death penalty.
It was an emotional scene in the courtroom as Gabbi Doolin's parents listened to Judge Harrison read the accusation against Madden. "The above named defendant did commit the offense of kidnapping by unlawfully restraining Gabriella Doolin, a child under the age of 12 with intent to advance the commission of a felony and to inflict bodily injury or to terrorize Gabriella Doolin, a child under the age of 12, which resulted in death," said Judge Harrison, reading from the list of charges.
Investigators collected a DNA swab and clothing and used biological evidence to link Timothy Madden to the death of 7-year-old Gabbi Doolin, according to Madden's arrest citation obtained by WKYT.
State police have not said what led them to Madden, only saying it was part of the investigation. However, troopers say they searched his property just hours after Doolin's body was found.
Court documents provide more details about what led to Madden's arrest. A police report says investigators went to Madden's house Nov. 15, a day after Gabbi was reported missing in a wooded area near Allen County High School. The report says Madden consented to a buccal swab and allowed state police to collect "his clothing that he was wearing the previous evening while at the football game."
The report says biological evidence was taken from Doolin during her autopsy, and the KSP Laboratory confirmed that the DNA from Madden was a positive match to the DNA recovered from Doolin's body. The autopsy revealed that Gabbi was raped and the cause of death was "manual strangulation and drowning," according to the police report.
Police have said Gabbi vanished while she was cheering on her two brothers who were playing in a football game at Allen County-Scottsville High School. Her body was found about 30 minutes later in a pond behind the school.
Madden, who was arrested last Friday, maintained his innocence as he was being walked into a cruiser. He told a reporter "I'm sorry for their loss, but it wasn't me."
Madden is being held in the Barren County Detention Center on a $1,000,000 full cash bond. His next court date is scheduled for December 2.
Story courtesy of WKYT.com