The defense team representing the man charged in the 2016 slaying of Danielle Stislicki is urging an Oakland County Circuit Court judge to remove key law enforcement investigators from the case. The defense contends that their continued substantive involvement risks contaminating the prosecution with confidential and privileged defense evidence that should never have reached police hands.
Defense attorney Ellen Michaels recently submitted a motion asking the court to disqualify the primary officers in charge of the investigation. The filing specifically names Farmington Hills Police Department Detectives Robert Gerak and Ryan Molloy, alongside Sgt. Chad Double, seeking to bar them and any other exposed law enforcement personnel from taking part in ongoing prosecution efforts.
The legal request marks the latest chapter in a protracted legal struggle surrounding the first-degree murder case against Floyd Galloway. Galloway was formally charged in 2019, but the proceedings have faced extensive delays and procedural challenges rooted in allegations that privileged defense materials were improperly disclosed to law enforcement authorities years ago.
Danielle Stislicki vanished in December 2016 after leaving her workplace, and her remains have never been located. Authorities have pursued first-degree murder charges against Galloway under the theory that he deceived Stislicki by feigning mechanical issues with his vehicle to obtain a ride from her before ultimately carrying out her murder.
Galloway is currently serving a prison term of 16 to 35 years following a separate conviction for a 2016 kidnapping incident involving a jogger in Livonia. His murder trial in Stislicki's disappearance has remained stalled as courts evaluate the fallout of improper information-sharing that occurred during the early stages of the homicide investigation.
The controversy originates from actions taken by former FBI agent Jim Hoppe, who administered a polygraph examination for Galloway. Hoppe later disclosed confidential details learned during the session to Gary Mayer, who was serving as the police chief in Troy at the time. Hoppe requested that his identity remain concealed and cited worries that impending snowfall might destroy critical evidence.
Upon receiving the unauthorized briefing, Mayer relayed the information directly to then-Farmington Hills Police Chief Charles Nebus, whose department was leading the search and investigation into Stislicki's disappearance. The illicit tip identified Galloway as a primary suspect and provided specific allegations regarding his conduct on the night Stislicki went missing.
The disclosure triggered a prolonged series of defense motions aimed at suppressing all evidence gathered as a consequence of the polygraph examiner’s breach. In November 2024, former Oakland County Circuit Judge Phyllis McMillen determined that the state Attorney General’s Office must designate an untainted prosecutor who had not reviewed or been exposed to the privileged material to handle the case moving forward.
Judge McMillen subsequently retired at the close of 2024, leading Judge Michael Warren to assume oversight of the circuit court docket. The state Attorney General’s Office agreed to the condition that an unexposed prosecutor would be assigned once all outstanding suppression disputes were resolved by the court.
Michaels previously attempted to have the entire Michigan Attorney General's Office disqualified from prosecuting Galloway. While Judge Warren rejected that broader disqualification effort, he reaffirmed Judge McMillen's earlier mandate, ruling that any state attorneys who had previously handled the case or accessed the tainted evidence are prohibited from trying the matter.
Building upon those judicial findings, Michaels’ latest motion asserts that replacing prosecutors is insufficient if the underlying investigative team remains unchanged. The defense argues that the lead detectives possess deep knowledge of the privileged disclosures, which could inadvertently influence or taint any newly appointed prosecutor assigned to conduct the trial.
In her written motion to the court, Michaels argued that establishing administrative barriers at a later stage cannot undo investigative choices that were fundamentally shaped by privileged defense information. She emphasized that while physical records can be sealed, an investigator's personal memory, perspective, and judgment cannot simply be cleansed of what they have learned.
The defense motion underscored that officers exposed to privileged material remain in charge of critical trial preparation duties. These tasks include deciding which witnesses are important, determining which investigative avenues receive emphasis, preparing individuals for testimony, and conveying case facts to prosecutors, all of which carry the potential to pass along tainted perspectives without overt disclosure.
Michaels has requested that the circuit court enforce a strict separation by requiring the state to proceed exclusively through a completely untainted investigative unit. The Michigan Attorney General’s Office has not yet submitted a formal legal response to the defense's request to remove the Farmington Hills detectives as the court prepares to consider the matter.
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