Bloody paring knife used to kill Cedar Rapids man in 2007 was found in his kitchen

CEDAR RAPIDS — A retired crime scene investigator testified Friday he found two paths of blood droplets from the bed, where Dennis First’s body was found in May 2007, to his apartment’s kitchen, where he found blood-soaked oven mitts and a paring knife, with a 3- to 4-inch blade, believed to be the murder weapon.

Jim Kelly, the retired Cedar Rapids investigator, testified that the paring knife had blood on its blade and handle. He said he also found blood on a small knife sharpener in the same drawer.

No prints were found on the knife and only a partial print was found on the knife sharpener. That partial print matched the left index finger of Curtis Padgett, who is on trial in Linn County District Court this week, accused of killing First, 64, on May 11, 2007.

Padgett, 42, is charged with first-degree murder. He lived downstairs from First in the Hawthorne Hills apartment, 2249 C St. SW, at the time of the slaying. He is accused of severely beating First and fatally stabbing him in the neck that day.

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According to testimony, First was found dead on his apartment’s his pullout sofa bed, with his face, head and neck covered in blood.

Padgett waived his right to a jury trial and opted for a bench — non-jury — trial. Sixth Judicial District Judge Ian Thornhill will decide the verdict.

First’s slaying was a cold case until March 2023 when Padgett was charged, but no one has yet testified what evidence led to Padgett’s arrest.

The prosecution should wrap up its case Monday, when the defense should start.

No forced entry

Kelly said he found the oven mitts in a drawer next to the stove and the paring knife in a drawer on the other side of the stove in First’s apartment.

The outside of the drawer holding the oven mitts also had blood on it, Kelly said. The other knives in the drawer with the bloody paring knife did not have blood on them and most were in sheaths, he said.

Kelly said First’s body had been removed before crime scene investigators started collecting evidence. He said he found a “knife stab” in the bed’s fitted sheet and mattress pad where First was lying.

No sign of forced entry was found into First’s apartment, he said.

Kelly said he found partial prints by the wall thermostat, but they weren’t identifiable.

Footwear impressions also were gathered. One unique pattern found in a blood spot matched a lug sole boot found in First’s apartment, Kelly said. A box was found for the boots, which had been purchased April 26, 2007, according to the receipt in the box.

Rod Shifflett, a Cedar Rapids police crime scene investigator who was at First’s apartment in 2007, testified he focused on the bathroom in his search of the apartment. He said he found blood on a loofah sponge in the shower and on the showerhead.

Padgett girlfriend

Padgett’s ex-girlfriend, Katherine Zimmerman, testified that Padgett made suicidal statements during Memorial Day weekend in 2010. He had been drinking alcohol, and they were arguing. At one point, Padgett put a knife to his neck and said that was how “Dennis died.”

At another time, on the anniversary of First’s death, she said Padgett was crying. She asked him if he’d killed First.

He denied it, she said, adding that Padgett told her, “I wouldn’t tell you because you would go snitch on me.”

Zimmerman said she and Padgett dated from May 2007 to 2009 and then briefly got back together for about a month in 2010.

She said Padgett once told her he “blacked out” when he was talking to First. He would sometimes drink to the point of not being able to remember what happened after he sobered up, she said.

On cross-examination, Zimmerman admitted she didn’t tell police about the Memorial Day incident until police reached out to her in November 2011.

Police contacted her again Jan. 5, 2012, asking if she would let them look at her computer. Zimmerman agreed but said nothing was on it regarding First’s death or Padgett.

Zimmerman said the last time police contacted her was in 2022. She told them she didn’t want to get involved because she’d just had a baby.

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