|
Please see our “Did You Know?” section toward the end of this issue. As police in California consider using familial DNA for some new and upcoming cases, there are some who are skeptical about its effectiveness – as they feel that it could “create false leads and could create a political and civil rights firestorm because of possible invasion of privacy and a perception of “genetic surveillance.” Yet there have been successes with partial DNA matching or familial searching in the UK and the United States. In addition to this story 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 NewsPolice consider familial DNA Since late last year, California began using its state DNA database to conduct familial searches after being the first state in the nation to create a policy on it. A special software program allows scientists to rank the partial matches to increase the probability that they are a biological relative of the perpetrator. After police receive the name of the possible relative, detective work is needed to see if that person can shed light on a killer's identity. "The bulk of the mismatches you get will likely be thousands of false leads, and you will essentially be looking for a needle in a haystack," Romero said. "But maybe you could find that needle." For more information on ‘Successful links’, facts about familial DNA searching and how it works, please see the complete article at: Source: www.rgj.com
New and Ongoing Stories Involving the Use of DNA EvidenceMaryland – A Baltimore man faces up to 25 years in prison for torching his nephew's Pasadena home and two of his cars nearly a year ago, county fire officials said. Charles Earnest Maynard, 50, pleaded guilty earlier this month in county Circuit Court to second-degree arson and manufacturing and using a destructive device. Chief Tobia said police used DNA evidence left at the scene to link the arson to Maynard. It's the first time county investigators have used DNA evidence in an arson case, he said. Source: www.hometownannapolis.com Michigan - Police say DNA linked a recently released prisoner to the 1998 sexual assault of a then-13-year-old girl who was sleeping in her home when the suspect broke in. Mark Douglas Ball, 50, is charged with first-degree sexual assault and home invasion in the May 17, 1998, attack. He was not considered a suspect until he provided a DNA sample before his release last week from prison to a half-way house. Source: www.mlive.com Iowa - DNA from two young girls whose stepfather is charged with murdering them was found in blood taken from the man. New York - A prosecutor says a man accused of killing his mother and stepfather claims he was drunk at the time and can't remember "what he did, if anything." Source: www.newsday.com California - An Oregon man has been convicted of sexually assaulting two teenage girls in an Orange County home eight years ago. Trevor Jordan Shaw told the victims he would kill them if they didn't do as he commanded. He was linked by DNA to the 2001 attacks. Shaw was linked to the incident in 2006 when his DNA matched a sample from a similar crime in Oregon. Source: www.mercurynews.com Arkansas - A man accused of killing a Little Rock television anchorwoman from South Carolina says he didn’t do it and that police obtained his DNA illegally. Curtis Lavelle Vance, 28, of Marianna has pleaded not guilty to rape and capital murder charges in the killing of Anne Pressly. Vance denied being in Little Rock the day of the attack on Pressly and allowed detectives to swab a DNA sample from his saliva, according to a police affidavit. Officers say his DNA matched that found in Pressly’s home. Detectives arrested him on Nov. 26. Source: www.greenvilleonline.com Maryland - A 16-year-old boy has been charged in the killing of former City Councilman Kenneth N. Harris Sr., the third suspect arrested in the September robbery-turned-slaying at a Northeast Baltimore nightclub. Source: www.baltimoresun.com Texas - DNA testing on part of a man's ear bitten off by a woman being raped in San Antonio led to his arrest. Thirty-year-old Daniel Martinez was jailed Wednesday on two counts of aggravated sexual assault. A woman assaulted in March 2008 bit off part of the attacker's earlobe, keeping it in her mouth to give to police. Police say the DNA evidence also matched a June 2005 rape. Source: www.chron.com Connecticut - DNA technology has led to an arrest in a 2006 break-in. Source: www.courant.com Virginia - Police say DNA evidence left at the scene of car vandalisms this summer led them to arrest a 17-year-old Culpeper boy on Monday. The boy — police are withholding his name and any possible criminal history because he is a minor — was identified as a suspect early in the case. But police say they held off on charging him until they had more concrete evidence. “The DNA is what made the case,” said Culpeper Police detective Susan Bartee, who investigated the crimes. Source: www.starexponent.com
Did You Know?
MiniSTR TechnologyAnalysis possible with minute samplesMiniSTRs are basically a miniaturized version of the traditional STRs (Short Tandem Repeats) that are used by every forensic lab in the country. They incorporate the same loci, or locations, on the DNA molecule that are typed using available commercial kits such as Applied Biosystem's Identifiler kit, but there is a very big (or should I say small) difference. MiniSTRs create DNA fragments that are many base pairs less in length than traditional STR markers. This is accomplished through pushing the primers (which serve as markers to indicate where copying should begin during the PCR (polymerase chain reaction) process) closer to the repeating DNA segment of interest. What all this means for your average detective working a case is that DNA results that were once simply not possible to obtain—now can be. For more please go to: Source: www.lawofficer.com
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 |
