Murder of Allison Feldman: Latest updates from Arizona trial

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The trial for the man accused of brutally murdering a Scottsdale woman in her home back in 2015 is underway.

Allison Feldman, 31, was found beaten to death inside her home in February 2015, police said. Ian Mitcham has been charged with killing her.

Nearly 11 years after Feldman was found beaten to death, court proceedings have begun. The murder trial began on Nov. 12, 2025. 12News is streaming all the court proceedings from start to finish.

During the court proceedings on Jan. 8, the day began with former Scottsdale PD forensic scientist Anne Steinmetz. She currently works at Glendale PD as a supervisor.

Steinmetz reviewed procedural operations, discussing evidence processing and test result review. She expounded on how fingerprints were identified around the scene.

A particular round of questions revolved around a mop found at the scene and what fingerprints were found on it.

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A decade after the murder of Allison Feldman, jury selection began in October 2025 in the long-delayed murder trial that has drawn widespread attention in Scottsdale and Arizona.

Feldman, 31, was found beaten to death inside her Scottsdale home in February 2015. For three years, investigators had no suspect in the case, until they turned to new technology that Arizona authorities had never used before: familial DNA.

Investigators say they identified Ian Mitcham as the suspect after DNA evidence from the crime scene closely matched genetic material belonging to Mitcham’s brother, who was already in prison. Police later located a vial of Mitcham’s blood from a 2015 DUI arrest. A sample of that, according to reports, should have been destroyed years earlier.

Without obtaining a new warrant, Scottsdale police tested that blood and created Mitcham’s DNA profile, which they say matched evidence from the Feldman crime scene.

That decision sparked privacy and ethical debates that reached the Arizona Supreme Court, where justices ultimately upheld the use of the evidence.

Testimony started with Scottsdale Police Department Lieutenant Kevin Quon taking the stand.

Quon was one of those in the department handling electronic devices found at the scene. He handled Allison’s devices.

He collected records from the phone and records from social media platforms like Instagram, LinkedIn and others. He did say he had access to any direct messaging

Quon also collected data from dating sites Match.com and PlentyOfFish media.

It was also brought up about any WIFI pings from Alex Sukholodov’s devices at the Feldman home. Sukholodov, the boyfriend of Allison Feldman, reportedly found her body and called 911.

After Quon was dismissed from the stand, Scottsdale PD Senior Management Analyst Kelsey Cohen took the stand.

She was called to the Feldman home on Feb. 18, 2015.

She picked up the conversation about Feldman and Sukholodov’s devices.

One of the lead Scottsdale police detectives on the Feldman case, Detective Heinzelmann, went back on the stand for Day 12.

Both the State and Defense questioned the detective about evidence found at the scene, going over blood trails in certain parts of the Feldman home.

A diagram was also provided in court, laying out what was found: 

Beamer, a supervisor/DNA technical leader with the Scottsdale Police Department, went back on the stand on Jan 5, 2026.

She was asked more about the DNA evidence found at the scene. When she first got to the residence, the home appeared to be clean then started collecting evidence. Beamer said she wore the correct equipment during her collections and made sure to change in and out of the gear when prompted.

The defense asked Beamer if any sort of contamination with DNA evidence found at the scene was discovered; she replied no. She didn’t discover any police officer or lab specialist’s DNA at the scene.

Testimony on Dec. 17 involved statements from a Scottsdale detective who responded to Feldman’s residence following the victim’s death. The detective told the jury about how he participated in a secondary search of Feldman’s home to find any pieces of evidence that may have been missed.

During this search, the detective reported finding a fresh cigarette butt after looking through the backyard and a bloody fingerprint in a hallway.

In the afternoon, Vickie Beamer, Supervisor/DNA technical leader with Scottsdale Police Department, testified about the collection of DNA evidence in the case. 

Beamer talked about how she was able to obtain a full DNA profile primarily from a single individual.

She requested that local and national labs search their databases for this sample. She also put out an international request.

Beamer may return to the stand on Thursday and will likely testify again in the case in January.

A former forensic scientist who responded to the Feldman home in February of 2015, was called to the witness stand on Day 9 of the trial.

While being questioned by the prosecution, she spoke about what she saw when she observed the inside of the Feldman home.

The prosecutor and the former forensic specialist spoke about an image showing a reported crime scene, outlined with traffic cones, located in a Feldman living room. 

More photos were shown of lines of blood throughout the home. Additional photos showed outlines of suspected feet mixed in with the blood trails. The former forensic specialist spoke on the photos.

Day 8 of the trial picked up where it left off in Day 7, with testimony from a crime scene specialist, where she was questioned about more crime scene photos.

Recently retired Scottsdale Firefighter Paul Nurrell, who was with the City of Scottsdale for 25 years, took the stand. Nurrell and his team were called to the Feldman home on Feb. 18, 2015.

Nurrell said he believes the initial call for service was because someone had difficulty breathing, then it was upgraded to a different call.

After a break for lunch, a crime scene specialist with the Scottsdale Police Department began testifying about documenting the crime scene at Feldman’s home. 

The trial continued with questioning on the evidence gathered at the scene of the murder. A crime scene specialist was called to the stand to discuss the process by which evidence was collected and packaged.

The timestamps of when Feldman’s home doors opened and closed moments before the murder were also brought up for questioning.

The crime scene specialist discussed a powerful chemical smell at Feldman’s home when she arrived. 

The witness also described the process of swabbing surfaces at a crime scene for evidence. 

The doctor who performed the autopsy on Feldman took the stand.

The doctor was shown various photos of Feldman’s body, explaining the injuries she sustained.

The main focus of the first portion of the day by the prosecution appeared to be on the injuries she sustained to the neck area.

Some of the injuries that were listed in court included asphyxiation, abrasions and contusions.

Scottdale Police Lieutenant Hugh Lockerby was the first witness called back to the stand. He last worked on the case as supervisor of the violent crimes unit. 

For full Day 5 coverage, click here.

The day began with testimony from a Scottsdale police crime scene investigator, followed by a lieutenant who worked as a detective on the violent crimes unit in 2015.

For full Day 4 coverage, click here.

A police officer and sergeant from the Scottsdale Police Department were called to the stand, followed by Feldman’s father. 

Feldman’s father testified, saying that he visited her from Minnesota often and that he didn’t see any red flags between Allison and Alex, her boyfriend. 

He said he reached out to Allison on Feb. 17, 2015. 

“I sent her a text message to say good night, and I didn’t get a response,” he said.

Since he didn’t get a response, he called her the next day. After not hearing back from her, he contacted the Scottsdale Police Department for a wellness check; within hours, he learned his daughter was dead.

He added that the last time he talked to her, it was a normal conversation, and she was in good spirits.

Allison’s direct supervisor was also called to the stand to share the last few interactions he had with Allison before she was killed and details on how he found out about her death. He added about the interaction Allison had with a UPS employee and details on a corporate credit card that was reported to authorities.

Banking records, text messages and diary entries were all mentioned by attorneys while describing the scope of the investigation during their opening statements on Nov. 12.

For full Day 2 coverage, click here.

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