Keven Tolliver may have been interested in acquiring an engagement ring and may have had plans to propose to Claire Schneider before her death, a witness testified Friday.

Tolliver is charged with murder and tampering of evidence in the Dec. 29 death of Schneider, 25. Schneider, a senior in Spanish and international studies, was found dead in the 100 North St. apartment where she and Tolliver lived.

A conversation between Timothy Fleming, a jeweler and personal acquaintance of the defendant, and Tolliver, believed to have taken place in early December 2001, may have detailed Tolliver’s intentions to propose to Schneider.

“I was told that (Schneider) was going to go out of the country, I believe for school, and (Tolliver) was going to go visit her and give her the ring at that time,” Fleming said.

The state objected to the testimony, calling it hearsay, but Judge John A. Connor overruled. The defendant’s state of mind when he was discussing the purchase of the ring is relevant to determining his intentions, he said. He told the jurors to decide whether or not the evidence was relevant.

Dr. Keith Norton, a Franklin County deputy coroner, was brought back for further questioning. He reiterated his investigation centered around determining whether the death was a suicide or homicide.

Norton testified he had never seen a case involving suicide in which a gun was shot from outside the mouth with the bullet traveling to the inside of the mouth, as happened in this case. He found this to be especially relevant since the victim was female.

“Ladies generally don’t use firearms, as they tend to be less violent perhaps. They tend to use sleeping pills or something similar,” he said. “If they do use firearms, it would be more likely to be in the heart … it’s almost never in the face, although anything’s possible.”

In a previous meeting, the defense asked Norton to list the factors that would favor homicide, which included the gut feeling of the detective, the location of the gunshot wound, a blood-stained shirt which is said to have been hidden on the bottom of a hamper, the fact that the apartment was covered in blood and other elements.

The details which would indicate a possible suicide included Schneider’s history of depression and the fact that she had been prescribed Paxil and Wellbutrin, both known to be anti-depressant medications, although neither were found in her system at the time of death, Norton said.

Schneider was found to have a blood alcohol level of 0.16 at the time of her death, a factor which could indicate either homicide or suicide, Norton said.

“Alcohol could make you do things you normally wouldn’t do. It could also make you say things which make you a target,” he said.

When asked if there was evidence pointing toward Schneider having been raped, Norton said, “There was no injury that I noted to the genitalia, and although I collected the evidence for the rape kit, I did not examine it.”

Detective Robert Lawson, a latent fingerprint examiner for the Columbus Division of Police, identified a fingerprint from a blood impression on the kitchen counter as positively matching a known left palm print from Tolliver.

A latent print is a reproduction of the ridges of a fingerprint. A latent print must be removed from an object and brought in via a photograph or a tape lifting from powder placed on a print.

Latent prints are compared to known prints from the suspects in the crime. The examiner compares the prints, looking for points or similarities.

The print, obtained from a tape lift, contained 20 matching ridge characteristics to the known print of Tolliver. A print is required to have eight points to make an identification. If it has any less, it is considered useless, Lawson said.

The examiner had difficulty identifying a print found on the end of a gun. The print could not be positively identified as belonging to anyone because there was some distortion of the print due to the movement of the skin on the finger.

Lawson was not aware of any latent fingerprints identified on Schneider’s body.

Amoreena Clarkson, a DNA analyst for the Columbus Division of Police, testified for the prosecution that several items she had examined, including a bathrobe worn by Tolliver at the time of his arrest, had evidence of blood which matched blood samples of Schneider obtained from a rape kit.

Clarkson did not find evidence of semen or sperm in the rape kit or in a pair of white panties submitted by the police.