MORNING TESTIMONY CENTERED AROUND DNA EVIDENCE IN THE 3RD DAY OF THE FIRST DEGREE MURDER TRIAL OF 41-YEAR-OLD ALFREDO CASTELLANOS-ROSALES IN UNION COUNTY DISTRICT COURT AT ELK POINT SOUTH DAKOTA.

HE IS CHARGED IN THE APRIL, 2023 STABBING DEATH OF 23-YEAR-OLD JORDAN BEARDSHEAR AT HER DAKOTA DUNES APARTMENT.

JESSICA KIRKPATRICK, A FORENSIC INVESTIGATOR WITH THE STATE FORENSIC LAB IN PIERRE WAS QUESTIONED AT LENGTH BY ATTORNEYS ABOUT HER D-N-A FINDINGS FROM THE MURDER SCENE AND OTHER RELEVANT EVIDENCE GATHERED IN THE CASE:

SD DNA1 OC…..FROM JORDAN BEARDSHEAR. :28

BLOOD ON A KNIFE BLADE ENTERED AS EVIDENCE ALSO TESTED POSITIVE FOR BEARDSHEAR’S BLOOD, AS DID OTHER ITEMS PRODUCED AS EVIDENCE.

THE DEFENSE ATTORNEY FOR CATELLANOS-ROSALES NOTED THAT HIS DNA WAS NOT POSITIVELY IDENTIFIED ON ANY OF THOSE ITEMS:

SD DNA2 OC……..COMPARABLE DNA RESULTS, YES. :25

THE PROSECUTION COUNTERED THAT IT DOESN’T MEAN SOME OF THE ITEMS ABSOLUTELY DIDN’T HAVE THE SUSPECT’S DNA ON THEM:

SD DNA3 OC…..ONE WAY OR THE OTHER….YES. :21

THE JURY TRIAL WILL NOT CONVENE THURSDAY BECAUSE OF THE JUNETEENTH HOLIDAY.

IT WILL CONTINUE ON FRIDAY AT 9AM IN ELK POINT.

AUDIO COURTESY KTIV TV

The high school conferences select their top players every season, and we select ours.We even go so far as to pick our own Players of the Year.More All Area Teams: Find out which Rockford-area stars top off another powerful All-Area softball team

But this is the reader’s chance to have their voice heard.

We will soon be coming out with our own Boys and Girls high school athletes of the year, voted on by our staff who spent hours pouring through stats, game highlights, and more. But this is your opportunity to pick your favorite.

This poll includes athletes who played sports during the 2024-25 school year, and many who played more than one.

Please, vote once per day.

The poll will stay open for two weeks, with the results being announced some time after 5 p.m. July 2.

Choose from these 15 high school male athletes:

2025 Rockford Register Star Male Athlete of the Year nominees

• Adam Awender, Eastland
• Jacob Benson, Hononegah
• Ben Bucher, Belvidere North
• Jackson Cook, Harlem
• Jaxon Diedrich, Pecatonica
• LaShawn Gathright, Jefferson
• Cooper Hoffman, Pecatonica
• Parker Krogman, Eastland
• Nicolai Martino, Winnebago
• Andrew Nuyen, Rochelle
• Alec Schlichting, Lena-Winslow
• Andrew Talbert, Byron
• Messiah Tilson, Guilford
• Cam Verner, Freeport
• Bane Workman, Lutheran

Jay Taft is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at jtaft@rrstar.com and sign up for the Rockford High School Sports Newsletter here at rrstar.com. Jay has covered a variety of sports, from the Chicago Bears and Blackhawks to local youth sports, since the turn of the century at the Register Star.

Milton’s Holley MacLellan has been named the Vermont high school girls soccer player of the year for the 2024 season, Gatorade announced Wednesday morning.The senior is the first ever girls soccer player from Milton to win this award which recognizes athletes for their on-field success, high academic achievement and exemplary character.More: Colchester star named Vermont’s best boys soccer player by Gatorade

The 5-foot-5 midfielder and forward led Milton to a 17-1 record in 2024 that ended with a state championship. MacLellan scored 27 goals including both goals in 2024 the D-II championship game and dished out 14 assists. MacLellan is a two-time state girls soccer champion helping the Yellowjackets win back-to-back Division II championships in 2023 and 2024.

The senior was the only Vermont girls soccer player to be named a 2024 United Soccer Coaches All-American and will be continuing her soccer career at Stonehill College in the fall.

“Holley is the most complete player in Vermont girls high school soccer,” Mount Mansfield coach Dustin Hess said in a press release. “She has all of the physical and mental skills to dominate and lead. She’s excellent on the dribble, can find brilliant passes, can shoot any time and is willing to do the work on the defensive side of the ball.”

Besides her talents on the soccer field, MacLellan won another state championship as a member of the Burlington/Colchester girls hockey team in 2024.

MacLellan has maintained a 4.34 weighted GPA in the classroom. Outside of athletics, the senior is a member of the National Honor Society (NHS) and Math Honor Society. MacLellan also serves on the school’s athletic leadership council. She has volunteered locally as part of multiple community service initiatives in association with the NHS.

As part of Gatorade’s commitment to breaking down barriers in sport, every player of the year also receives a grant to donate to a social impact partner.

To learn more about the Gatorade Player of the Year program, visit playeroftheyear.gatorade.com.

Contact Judith Altneu at jaltneu@gannett.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter: @Judith_Altneu.