Danielle Stislicki Case: Suspect In Livonia Sexual Assault Not A Person Of Interest

FARMINGTON HILLS, MI — While Floyd Galloway, Jr. has been interviewed by Farmington Hills Police in connection with the disappearance of Danielle Stislicki and his Berkley home searched, he is not an official person of interest. Galloway was arrested by Livonia Police Tuesday in a separate case for attempted sexual assault of a female jogger in Hines Park in Livonia.

“We’ve never called him a person of interest,” said Farmington Hills Assistant Police Chief Matt Koehn. “We have talked to him, but we’ve also talked to hundreds of people in our investigation of this case.”

In an interview with Patch, Koehn said that because Galloway hasn’t been labeled a person of interest doesn’t mean he won’t be in the future. He said any of the people interviewed for the case could wind up as a person of interest.

“We’ve not ruled anything out,” Koehn said.

(For more local news, click here to find your local Michigan Patch and sign up for our free newsletters and real-time alerts. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)
In the Livonia case, Galloway is accused of grabbing a 28-year-old woman who was jogging on Hines west of Levan Road. Livonia Police believe Galloway dragged her toward the Rouge River to have sex with her. But she was able to fight back enough that her attacker fled.

Galloway was arraigned on Wednesday in 16th District Court in Livonia on charges of Kidnapping, Criminal Sexual Conduct - Assault with Intent to Commit Sexual Penetration, and Assault with Intent to do Great Bodily Harm Less Than Murder by Strangulation, according to a Livonia Police news release. Bond was set at $750,000.00 cash and his next court appearance is scheduled for July 6, 2017.

Galloway is a former security guard who worked for a contracted company that provided security at MetLife in Southfield where Danielle Stislicki worked, Farmington Hills Police said. Galloway was acquainted with Stislicki during his security duties at MetLife, the department said in a Wednesday news release.

Stislicki, who lived in a Farmington Hills apartment, went missing Dec. 2, 2016. Her Jeep was found outside her home at the Independence Green apartments the following day, but police think it was driven there by a third party. Her purse and other items were still inside. She was last seen at MetLife.

“We definitely think she’s a victim of a crime,” Koehn said. “She didn’t leave on her own.”

Galloway was not arrested after investigators combed his Berkley residence for clues into Stislicki’s disappearance on late December, but authorities seized a mattress. Thus far, 60 search warrants have been executed in the investigation.

It’s a large number for a missing person case, but Koehn said evidence has been recovered at each that led to the issuance of another search warrant. The investigation is still very active, he said.

“Over 100 law enforcement officers, evidence technicians, and lab personnel have been diligently working on the Stislicki case,” added Farmington Hills Police Chief Chuck Nebus.

Personnel from the FBI, Michigan State Police, Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, and the cities of Farmington Hills, Livonia, Southfield, Berkley, Detroit and other local police agencies have all been involved, Nebus said. Hundreds of pieces of potential evidence have been collected and processed, he said.

“We’ve had 35-40 police officers working the case at one time in the same room,” said Koehn, a 31-year veteran of the Farmington Hills department. “That hasn’t happened much in my career.”

Investing so many man hours has brought the investigation down to a personal level for many of his officers, he said. “This could really happen to anybody,” said Koehn. “It hits home for all of us. This is the kind of case you lose sleep over.”

He declined to put a timeline as to when the case might be presented to the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office for possible charges. But he said steady progress in the investigation is being made.

“The pieces of the puzzle have been slowly falling into place since Danielle disappeared on December 2,” Nebus added in the news release. “Investigators are optimistic the case will be solved. They will not rest until justice is obtained for Danielle and the Stislicki family.”

File photo