DNA evidence – Gotcha!
26 March, 2009
First, read this article from the BBC, about the police hunting a dangerous woman, involved in over 30 crimes, including six murders, dozens of robberies, and gunning down a police officer. She first came to the attention of the authorities in 1993 when she left genetic traces behind while strangling a woman. By January 2009, the police were offering a reward of €300,000 for clues relating to the whereabouts of the suspect.
Incredibly, after 15 years of chasing this phantom killer, police have finally tracked her down. The suspect apparently works in a factory in Northern Germany. She is eastern-European and has no prior criminal history, having worked in the factory for many years. Amongst other things, one of the products made in the factory is cotton swabs.
Gotcha!
Yes, the same cotton swabs used by police for collecting DNA evidence.
So, several hundred officers have been chasing this woman, stretching back 15 years now – and apparently no-one thought to do a double-blind, or even a simple control sample, to figure out whether the DNA evidence (the only evidence they had) was flawed.
Unbelievable.
