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Please see our “Did You Know?” section toward the end of this issue. States making headlines over the past two weeks include Maryland, where a number of amendments made to the new legislation authorizing police to take DNA evidence from all suspects charged with violent crimes, has created many open questions for prosecutors. New Hampshire on the other hand, remains one of very few states to reject collection of DNA from all felons. In Texas, the state's highest criminal appeals court said it will create a new integrity unit to examine and correct problems with the justice system, which currently leads the nation in both executions and wrongful convictions overturned by DNA evidence. In addition to these stories you will find brief summaries of new and ongoing cases involving the use of DNA analysis. Every story is followed by a link to its original source, which you can follow for more details.
In The NewsNew DNA law could hurt law enforcement, prosecutors say Maryland - The state’s new DNA law — hailed as a victory for public safety — creates numerous problems that could hinder prosecutions, Baltimore prosecutors said. Many in law enforcement initially backed the legislation, which authorized police to take DNA evidence from all suspects charged with violent crimes. Gov. Martin O’Malley called the measure “our top public safety priority.” But after significant amendments designed to quell the objections of the Legislative Black Caucus, Holback said the bill creates many “open questions” for prosecutors. Chief among the problems for prosecutors is an apparent delay in when law enforcement can test DNA evidence. Under current Maryland law, police can obtain a search warrant for a suspect’s DNA within hours of crime -- testing it immediately. Under the language of the new DNA law, police can take DNA at the time a suspect is charged with a crime, but could have to wait until after arraignment -- sometimes months later -- to test it, Holback said. Delegate Jill Carter, a District 41 Democrat, who was one of a handful of legislators to oppose the measure, called the bill “poorly drafted.” “We weren’t ready to rush it through,” she said. “There should have been more study to it. Everybody knew we passed a bad bill, and we did so for political reasons.” Source: www.examiner.com
NH rejects collecting DNA from all felons New Hampshire will remain 1 of the few states that don't collect DNA samples from all convicted felons. Concerns about privacy and over-reaching by law enforcement led House lawmakers this week to reject expanding the current DNA testing law to include all felons, not just sexual offenders and violent criminals. Source: www.wcax.com
'Integrity unit' created for Texas justice issuesThe state's highest criminal appeals court said Wednesday it will create a new integrity unit to examine and correct problems with the justice system in Texas, which leads the nation in both executions and wrongful convictions overturned by DNA evidence. The study group was announced by Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Barbara Hervey, whose court handles death penalty appeals and other criminal cases. Hervey, who will be a member of the panel, said its creation is "a call to action" for reform. Since 2001, 33 Texas inmates have been exonerated using DNA testing. The group will look at improving eyewitness testimony, reforming standards for collecting and preserving evidence, eliminating improper interrogations, improving crime lab reliability, and raising the quality of court-appointed lawyers. Source: http://ap.google.com/article
New and Ongoing Stories Involving the Use of DNA EvidenceMassachusetts - His identity remains a mystery to this day, but prosecutors say the man who kidnapped and raped a Worcester woman 15 years ago — and is a “person of interest” in the 1992 slaying of another woman — left behind a crucial piece of evidence, his genetic fingerprint. The key evidence in the case, a DNA profile, was derived from a rape kit prepared after the woman was taken to the hospital. Investigators had the biological evidence. They simply didn’t know its source. The Combined DNA Index System, a database of DNA profiles from convicted felons, failed to link anyone to the crime. On May 16, two days before the 15-year statute of limitations would have expired and all hope of prosecuting the case would have been lost, a Worcester County grand jury effectively stopped the clock by returning indictments charging “John Doe, also known as DNA profile …” with aggravated rape, aggravated kidnapping, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (blunt object) and assault and battery. Source: http://www.telegram.com
Florida - Miami prosecutors have dropped rape charges against a Boston lawyer because of credibility problems with his accuser. The lawyer, Gary Zerola, was named one of People magazine’s most eligible bachelors in 2001. Prosecutors dropped charges after DNA tests were negative and the accuser gave various versions of events to investigators, Source: www.abajournal.com
Ohio - Wayne County Sheriff Thomas G. Maurer and Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation (BCI&I) Superintendent Robert Fiatal, today announced a 25-count Grand Jury Indictment against a man who terrorized elderly victims throughout Wayne County. Jeffrey L. Humrichouser, 49, is charged with multiple sex offenses, after DNA and other forensic evidence linked him to the crimes which spanned 11 years and involved victims ranging in age from 37 to 95. Source: www.chroniclet.com
Indiana - After more than two decades, a cold case may be solved through DNA, giving the family of murder victim Linda Bennitt some long overdue closure. 47-year-old Mark Erler, who is already being held in a hospital for sexually violent predators in California, faces murder charges. Detectives said a Gary officer retrieved the evidence from storage, and a fingerprint taken from Bennitt's windowsill was run through a national database. Erler appeared as a match, according to police. Source: http://cbs2chicago.com
Texas - Lewisville police have used DNA testing to identify a suspect and obtain an arrest warrant in a boat dealership burglary. Joshua Ethan Ripple, 31, of Arlington is wanted in connection with a March 28 break-in at Waterski Boats in Lewisville. Investigators also found blood in one of the boats and sent it to be analyzed. Mr. Ripple, who has spent time in state prison, was identified through CODIS (Combined DNA Index System). Source: www.dallasnews.com
Illinois - An FBI DNA analyst told jurors today that hair samples taken from crime scenes at homes where Jeff Pelo is accused of raping four women do not match his DNA. Susan Copp testified that hair from a pillowcase, a bed sheet, and duct tape used on one of the victims did not belong to Jeff Pelo or Jeffry Young, another man who was, at one time, a suspect. Source: www.wjbc.com
New York - The lawyer for a policeman accused of raping a 17-year-old girl says his client's DNA was not found on gum that the girl was chewing during the alleged attack. New Rochelle Sgt. David Rodriguez submitted a cheek swab after the girl claimed he forced his tongue into her mouth as she was raped. Male DNA was found on the gum but defense attorney Stephen Worth says prosecutors told him it does not match the officer's. Source: www.wnbc.com
Connecticut - A burglar who police say is one of the statewide ring of thieves known as the "safe bandits" has been arrested here after DNA evidence linked him to a stolen car case last year. Angelo Roma, 32, was charged with first-degree larceny, fourth-degree larceny, interfering with an officer, possession of burglar's tools and criminal trover. Source: www.connpost.com
California - On April 23, 1999 an Oroville woman was reportedly kidnapped and taken to the wildlife area in Oroville where she was sexually assaulted. The attacker then attempted to smother her and strangle her. She survived the attack and immediately reported it to law enforcement. A forensic exam was conducted and evidence, including DNA was collected.
Source: http://gridleyherald.com Florida - Detectives with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office say they've found the killer of an 79-year-old man. DNA evidence taken from the victim's pocket matched 19-year-old Jerry Smith, who also had a burglary arrest in 2006. Smith was taken to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office headquarters for questioning, where he admitted to partial involvement in the deadly crime. Smith said Chang was the target because of his advanced age. Source: http://wokv.com New York - An ex-convict went on trial Thursday on charges of raping, torturing and burning a Columbia University graduate student in a 19-hour attack during which her eyelids were slit and she was forced to take so many painkillers that her liver failed. Robert Williams, 31, sat with chained arms and legs, his head lowered, as the prosecutor delivered an opening statement that left several people in the courtroom weeping. Williams' DNA was found on the victim and her clothing, and her DNA was found on his clothing. Security cameras captured him trying to withdraw money with the woman's ATM card. Source: http://ap.google.com New York - The tracing of an uncommon automobile, DNA on an adhesive bandage and two glasses of alcohol, and a little luck led FBI agents and police to arrest the so-called "Bad Hatter," a prolific area bank robber, federal prosecutors said. Source: www.newsday.com
Wisconsin - A Rockford man who was convicted in a bank robbery in Footville was sentenced Wednesday. Authorities said Matthew Evans, 36, was tracked down by DNA left on a bandana. Evans was convicted of four counts of armed robbery. Prosecutors said he robbed the Mid America Bank in Footville, about 10 miles west of Janesville, on Nov. 9, 2007. Evans was sentenced to more than 31 years in prison. Source: www.channel3000.com
Michigan - A Benton Harbor man has been charged with raping a teenage girl after allegedly breaking into her home in 2003, Kalamazoo police said Tuesday. DNA evidence linked Timothy Allen Nichols, 21, to the crime, and last month he confessed to raping a 15-year-old girl, said Detective Lt. Scott Merlo, of the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety. Source: www.mlive.com
Florida - A discarded cigarette, an abandoned car found in an Orlando strip mall parking lot and two checks allegedly written from one neighbor to another: Prosecutors will attempt to attach significance to these objects and tie them together during a first-degree murder trial set to begin today in Circuit Court. Steven Howard Cook, 53, is accused of shooting and killing his neighbor Glenna Wells, 76, who lived four houses down from him on Bahia Track Run in Silver Springs Shores. Wells' 2004 Honda Accord was found abandoned in the parking lot of an Orlando strip mall shortly following her death. DNA recovered from the steering wheel and gear shift matched a DNA sample taken from a cigarette and a coffee cup that Cook used. Source: www.ocala.com
Did You Know?
DNA sprayers for fight against robbery Police have turned to DNA spray technology to help prevent armed robberies at shops. Following five robberies in as many months at Heaton Moor's One Stop Shop, the store has agreed to be the first in the borough to try Redweb. Redweb sprays the robber with a red dye on exiting the premises. The dye is highly visible, forensic proof and has a unique DNA to link the intruder to the premises where it came from. Visibly it lasts for a few days, but traces of it are detectable for long periods of time. And as part of a crackdown on robbery, everybody arrested in Stockport will now be checked under an ultra-violet light for traces of Redweb DNA. Rachel O’Brien, Crime Reduction Advisor for the Stockport division of Greater Manchester Police said: “Criminals fear Redweb because the red dye is highly visible and will link the offender to the crime. It has been installed into this store to deter and detect crime and will be rolled out in other shops across Stockport and Greater Manchester in the fight against crime.”
The DNA Informant is a free bi-weekly email newsletter, published by DNA Labs International. DNA Labs International is a private, ISO 17025 Accredited, Forensic Serology and DNA Identity Testing Laboratory, founded in 2004 by a Board Certified Fellow in Molecular Biology with over two decades of experience in Forensic Serology and DNA Analysis in United States Crime Labs. Our primary mission is to help our clients identify criminals within their jurisdiction by providing timely, accurate and cost effective DNA testing results. To do this we created an organization based on industry best practices from over 20 State Crime Labs around the United States. We are located in Deerfield Beach, Florida, just minutes from the Fort Lauderdale airport. DNA Labs International’s services are now available for individual cases and outsourcing contracts. Please keep us in mind as you start to consider your outsourcing needs, regular and rush cases and DNA case review. Editor: Karen Daurie |
