GALENA, Ill. - Twice Adonnis Hill went looking for his daughter, Donnisha, when she disappeared, and twice he found her.

But the third time the 13-year-old went missing - on Oct. 27, 2006, after stepping off a school bus following allegations of abuse at the hands of a neighbor - the father was unable to locate her.

Adonnis Hill testified Tuesday in the second day of trial for the neighbor, David Damm, who is charged with murder in Donnisha's death.

He told jurors the first two times she disappeared she was found with Damm or near the used car shop where he worked.

Authorities believe Donnisha went looking for Damm the third time, but Damm, aware of the abuse investigation, hired friend Bruce Burt to make her disappear for good.

Donnisha was found beaten to death Oct. 28, 2006, in rural Jo Daviess County, Ill., and Burt later told investigators he killed the girl with a hammer because Damm paid him to.

Peering up over a computer screen, Adonnis Hill held Damm's gaze for a number of seconds when asked to identify Damm in court Tuesday.

He told jurors he remained close to Donnisha and her sister even though he had separated from their mother years earlier. He talked to the girls daily and was getting closer to Donnisha.

They talked about "the usual boy stuff and the usual dad stuff," Adonnis Hill said. "We'll wait until after college for boys," the father said, explaining his attitude.

The first time Donnisha went missing was Oct. 11, 2006, after she told her mother she was going to a friend's house.

Adonnis said he drove around, eventually seeing his daughter hop out of a white Dodge Caravan with a handicapped placard and dealer license plates on Beech Street in the area of Ferguson Fields Park. She went behind a house and came out the other side.

"I got out of the car and started asking her where she'd been," Adonnis Hill said.

She told him she was coming back from a friend's house, and Damm gave her a ride.

The father said he was upset and questioned why she was dropped off blocks from her home when Damm lived just across the street.

"A lot of things weren't making sense at that time," he said. "I didn't know what was going on."

Donnisha later claimed a stranger had raped her in the area of Idaho and Madison streets. She said she escaped, and Damm offered her a ride after she ran past his shop.

Police said there was no evidence where she said the attack occurred, which was a good half-mile from the shop, but they continued to investigate.

Meanwhile, Adonnis said he wanted to confront Damm and went to Eastside Motors, where he worked. He also asked for a police escort during the meeting.

An officer told him it would be better to let the investigation take its course.

"He started telling me 'you don't want to get hit with a trespassing charge,'" Adonnis Hill said of the officer.

A short time later Donnisha disappeared a second time, leaving home when she was supposed to be in her room.

Again Adonnis Hill found her, this time crossing Vinton and Independence streets near Eastside Motors. She was carrying a duffle bag, rolling along on her in-line skates and listening to music.

When the father went to get her, he realized she wasn't wearing a bra or underwear.

"I grabbed her like 'let's go' … You could see, there was nothing underneath," Adonnis Hills said.

Adonnis Hill said his testimony had nothing to do with a lawsuit he and Donnisha's mother filed against the city of Waterloo, the school district and Damm in the slaying.

"I'm here for justice for my daughter," he said.

Testimony from a former Black hawk County supervisor known for his crimefighting efforts coincided with Adonnis Hill's account of seeing Donnisha leaving Damm's van.

Leon Mosley told jurors he saw a young woman he thought was 18 to 20 years old walk toward's Damm's van on one ocassion in mid-October.

"She looked at me, and I looked at her," Mosley said.

The van's passenger door opened as she approached, said Mosley, who lost sight of the van after he drove past.

Mosley said he used to be Damm's neighbor and has known him for a long time.

Damm managed to crack a smile a few times during Mosley's testimony.

Mosley said he didn't know Donnisha but later saw a photo of the girl in The Courier after her death. That's when he realized she was the one he saw heading to Damm's van.

Mosley also talked about trying to shut down a drug operation run by Burt.

Hammer shown to jury

Donnisha died of crushing injuries to her head, possibly caused by a hammer, a pathologist told jurors Tuesday.

"Donnisha Hill died of blunt force trauma to the head," said Dr. Mark Peters, who conducted the autopsy on the girl.

Parents of the victim remained outside the courtroom as Peters walked jurors through a catalog of injuries to Donnisha's head and neck.

The largest was a 4-by-2-inch laceration to the top left part of her head.

"The injury would definitely be a fatal injury," Peters said.

He said the wound could have been caused by a steel sledge hammer with a red and yellow grip that prosecutor Terry Kurt said was recovered by police.

The wound may have been caused a single blow from the hammer, if the head of the tool faced sideways, or from multiple blows with the head facing forward, Peters said.

There were five other lesser blows to the head and a number of cuts and puncture wounds to the neck - including an almost 4-inch slice - that appeared to be superficial, Peters said.

He said they could have been caused by a long-bladed kitchen knife with a forked tip the Kurt displayed during questioning.

Peters wasn't able to determine the order in which the injuries was inflicted.

He also noticed some minor abrasions on Donnisha's right hand and arm, but he said he couldn't determine if they were defensive wounds or evidence of a struggle. He said they may have happened when the body was dragged through brush.

The examination didn't find any injuries to the genital area, but Peters said he couldn't rule out a sexual assault. The girl was found fully clothed, according to testimony.

Burt, who is charged with murder and agreed to testify for the prosecution, allegedly told police he clubbed Donnisha with a hammer and then cut her neck after driving her from Waterloo to Illinois.

Defense attorneys said Damm had planned to have Donnisha taken to another city - not killed.

They dispute Burt's account of the slaying and during opening statements suggested a struggle may have unfolded when Burt was driving with Donnisha.

Contact Jeff Reinitz at (319) 291-1578 or jeff.reinitz@wcfcourier.com.