HUNTINGTON -- Work is ongoing to complete DNA testing in the death of Marshall student Leah Hickman.

The 21-year-old was last seen and heard from Dec. 14. Forensic detectives found her body a week later in a crawl space underneath her apartment building at 403 8th Ave. The crawl space was connected to a common laundry room.

No charges have been filed in the case, and detectives have not released the cause of death. Huntington Police Chief Skip Holbrook said he wants forensics results before releasing that information.

The lack of information has caused some residents to be anxious, but Holbrook continues to urge calm and patience. He said his department would be obligated to warn people if a threat existed. Still, he stops short of saying that Hickman's death was a targeted attack.

"I'm not saying there is not someone out there that has an uneasy feeling, but I think the general consensus is that people aren't walking around in fear," he said Friday.

Soraya McClung, director of the State Police Crime Lab, said her facility received two sets of evidence from Huntington police. The first set of DNA tests are complete, but analysts are still waiting for the second set to yield results.

McClung and Holbrook would not describe what type of evidence is being tested. But in general, McClung said DNA tests examine skin cells and hair, along with bodily fluids, such as blood, sweat and saliva.

"If you have a known fluid or something like that, you can identify the source," she said. "You can match it to a person. Say you find blood at a crime scene. Then you can see if it belongs to the victim or another person."

Holbrook has said detectives hope forensic testing in the Hickman case will lead them to identifying a suspect. He declined comment when asked if the department has comparative samples to use in linking the results to a suspect.

McClung estimates DNA testing can take one to three weeks. She said the lab recently received the second set of evidence, but she deferred comment to Huntington when asked for a specific date. Holbrook had no comment as to when it was delivered.

Both officials said the Hickman investigation is a top priority.

McClung said the DNA lab averages five to 20 "priority" cases at any given time. She said Hickman's case has been assigned to an analyst, and it is the top item on that person's list.

"Right now, it is what we're working on," she said. "We do have a huge backlog, but we have prioritized that case."

Holbrook said he is confident in the state lab's expediency. He said the case has attracted attention from State Police Col. D. L. Lemmon and Gov. Joe Manchin.

Manchin's office said he has offered any assistance that the State Police can provide Huntington investigators, according to Press Secretary Matt Turner.

"We're at the front of the line, so we are not frustrated by any means," Holbrook said. "Lab work is not something that is done just in a few minutes. A lot of the chemical and serology is a multi-step process. It takes time. We certainly don't want them to rush anything they are doing where you might use up a sample in your quest to expedite the process."

Holbrook said he and his department are staying in contact with the State Police. They also have some preliminary test results, but he declined comment when asked if he was encouraged by those results and discussions with the state troopers.

Holbrook and the department also stay in contact with Hickman's family. He said the department has instructed both parents to ignore any rumors they hear and only count on information from his department.

"There's a lot of rumors out there, and it is wreaking havoc on the family," he said. "Inevitable with all the amateur detectives that are out here, somebody in the rumor process may actually guess how she was killed or certain aspects of the case may be accurate, but again it's just a guesstimate on their part. It's not anything that is coming from a credible source."

Detectives have eliminated many leads, and Holbrook said the investigation is much more manageable. He also said they can rule out some people as suspects, but he would not release those names.

"We're not prepared to say that yet," he said.

Holbrook's detectives are not sitting idle, waiting for the results. He said they are still conducting interviews.

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