Lorenzo J. Gilyard, left, is flanked by a defense attorney in Jackson County Circuit Court in Kansas City, Mo., in this May 10, 2004, file photo A trial for Gilyard, 56, on seven murder counts began Monday.

Kansas City ? DNA evidence will link Lorenzo Gilyard to a series of murdered women whose strangled, shoeless bodies were found in secluded spots around the city, a prosecutor said Monday as the former trash company supervisor’s trial began.

Gilyard, described by neighbors as mild-mannered and friendly, had been charged with 13 killings of women and girls between 1977 and 1993, but six of those charges were dropped Monday, as expected.

Prosecutors, who can refile the dismissed charges later, said the seven remaining cases were the strongest. All occurred in 1986 and 1987. They also said suppressed evidence in the other six made them harder to try.

But if convicted on even one count of first-degree murder, Gilyard’s only possible sentence would be life in prison without parole. Prosecutors agreed in January not to seek the death penalty as long as Gilyard’s attorneys agreed to a trial before a judge without a jury. They said Gilyard’s age was also a factor, because appeals in death penalty cases can take up to 20 years, meaning the 56-year-old Gilyard may never have been put to death. His attorneys also agreed to give up nearly all of their client’s appeal rights.

DNA evidence

In opening statements Monday, prosecutor Jim Kanatzar said crime lab experts would show Gilyard had sex with the victims near the time of their deaths. He also noted that Gilyard denied knowing the women during police interviews.

“All the victims have several things in common: All were found dead during the same one-and-a-half-year period, all were left in secluded or obstructed locations, all were strangled, all showed signs that they were involved in a struggle, all were missing their shoes and all but one showed distinct signs of sexual intercourse,” he said.

Gilyard’s attorney, Tom Jacquinot, noted police at first suspected other men in some of the killings and pointed out that most of the victims had a history of taking rides with strange men as part of their work as prostitutes.

“My client stands before you facing these accusations telling you the same thing he told police more than three years ago: He did not kill anyone,” Jacquinot said.

At the time of Gilyard’s arrest in April 2004, Jacquinot said his client was living a normal life in a south Kansas City neighborhood in a home he shared with his wife. Jacquinot noted one of Gilyard’s neighbors was a DNA analyst who worked on the case against Gilyard, initially linking 12 cases to him.

Authorities added the 13th murder charge last year – a 26-year-old Austrian immigrant found dead on a street in 1989 with a paper towel in her mouth and strangulation marks around her neck. That charge was among the counts dropped Monday.

Monday’s testimony

Prosecutors began their case with the murder of Catherine M. Barry, 34, the only victim who was not known to be a prostitute. She reportedly was mentally ill and often walked the streets and accepted rides from strangers.

Carl Glazier, a retired Kansas City police officer who investigated Barry’s 1986 death, testified that her body was found next to a public works building that was used for storage, nude and covered in leaves and debris, with a nylon stocking and beaded rosary around her neck. He said the area was frequented by transients and strewn with old clothing and discarded beer cans.

Much of the testimony Monday revolved around DNA and medical evidence collected at the time of the killings.

Robert Frank Booth, quality assurance manager at the Kansas City Police Crime Laboratory, said the semen recovered from Barry’s body was Gilyard’s, noting there is only a one in 18 quadrillion chance of anyone having that DNA profile. He also testified that the sexual contact had occurred near the time of her death.

About 20 family and friends of the victims listened, sometimes comforting one another, as the witnesses, including Jackson County’s chief medical examiner Mary Dudley, described the graphic crime scene photos. Many wore tags on their shirts with photos of their relative and a red ribbon.

Megan Carter, victims services director, said the family and friends did not plan to talk to the media until the end of the trial.

Little of Gilyard’s past was discussed during the open day. But court records show he had a long history of scrapes with the law and served time for crimes including child molestation. State probation records show that from January 1969 to June 1974, he was a suspect in five rape cases, though he was never convicted.

The victims he still is charged with killing are Barry; Naomi Kelly, 23; Ann Barnes, 36; Kellie A. Ford, 20; Angela Mayhew, 19; Sheila Ingold, 36; and Carmeline Hibbs, 30.

The other victims were identified as Stacie L. Swofford, 17; Gwendolyn Kizine, 15; Margaret J. Miller, 17; Debbie Blevins, 32; Helga Kruger, 26; and Connie Luther, 29.