Friday, March 30, 2007

DNA is everywhere

Vincent Brothers' DNA was found in a glove tip at the house where his family was killed, but unidentified people left DNA on many items at the house, a criminalist testified Thursday.

Kern County Regional Crime Lab supervising criminalist Brenda Smith found Brothers' DNA mixed with DNA from at least two other people on the tip of a glove.


For instance, the base of a phone had DNA from Marques Harper, the couple's oldest son. But it also had DNA from someone other than the Harper family or Brothers.

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Why should intruder theorists be certain that DNA in the underwear is from the killer and only the killer?

Five of the six scientists and lab technologists who examined DNA evidence in connection with Robert Pickton have admitted to contaminating the evidence.

Not that the evidence was necessarily tainted, but the DNA of several technologists and investigators was recovered on some evidence - one such piece of evidence contaminated was cellophane placed around a revolver found in a trailer on Pickton's farm.

Defence lawyer Peter Schmidt exposed many exhibits tampered by the DNA of investigators showing up, even though there were extensive procedures used by scientists to protect against it.
Ticket price to become an Angel Patron at the Captain Planet Foundation's "Party To Save The Planet" on December 8, 2006 -- $200.

Opportunity to demonstrate John Ramsey's hypocrisy in spending more money than that to fly around the country in his private plane as if it was a car instead of using commercial flights, as well as polluting the same planet he professes to save? --

Priceless.

Friday, March 23, 2007


Remember when Lou Smit got up in front of the cameras, all proud of himself for helping tease a series of 47 murder confessions out of Robert Charles Browne, who figured into the single most important case Smit is credited with solving, the murder of Heather Dawn Church? Remember that?

So, here it is, ten months later. How did all those confessions pan out? It was supposed to be a matter pretty much of confirming the deaths Browne confessed to, maybe running some DNA tests to also confirm, and many families will finally have achieved closure, or at least an answer to their queries as to who could have killed their loved ones. Smit would be able to add another entire column of names to his plaques detailing how many homicides he has solved, and it would only serve as further proof as to how valuable he continued to be when occupying his time solving the JonBenet Ramsey case.

Except not so much, it seems.


Convicted Colorado killer Robert Charles Browne's boasts of leaving four dozen victims strewn across the nation have never been proved, say police officials in several states, and some have concluded he's lying.

Browne, serving life in prison for two murders in El Paso County, has told investigators of 47 more killings in nine states and overseas.

His claims, news of which broke last July, sparked fresh hope among families and friends that the long-unsolved murders of their loved ones might finally be resolved. And Browne's willingness to talk about other killings was a key factor in sparing him from a death sentence.

But after detectives scurried from Arkansas to California to find body dump sites and pored over dusty case files, some say they now disbelieve Browne's claims. And in most of the killings claimed by Browne, authorities have no proof that a murder ever took place.

"Some of the things he said are not panning out," said Tela Mange of the Department of Public Safety in Texas, where Browne claims seven murders. "It's not uncommon. People will admit to things they didn't do."

Friday, March 16, 2007

Oh, but in the Ramsey case there could NEVER be contamination as an explanation...

Pickton's defence has seized on the science behind the investigation.

In a modern trial, DNA evidence is vital. In this trial, the jury has heard that a few key pieces of evidence were contaminated with other DNA.

Buckets containing the human remains of two of Pickton's alleged victims were found with the DNA profile of an unknown man. An investigator's DNA was on a piece of plastic found with a sex toy that also had the DNA of Pickton and another of his alleged victims.

In all, out of more than 600,000 exhibits sent for testing, 80 were found to have been contaminated.

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Another episode of "DNA is not always from the killer"...

Foreign DNA found under the fingernails of William J. Jennings did not come from the man accused of killing him, a Johnson County District Court jury was told Monday.

Also, a bloody hair found on a stairwell in Jennings’ Shawnee home did not come from that man, either, said John T. Wilson, a forensic chemist who testified on behalf of the defense.

Wilson was the last person to testify in the second murder trial of music professor David Stagg, which got under way Feb. 26.
...
Prosecutors contend that Stagg killed Jennings and forged a suicide note to deflect the blame from himself. Jennings had tried to commit suicide before, according to testimony.

Wilson, who retired in 2003 after nearly 30 years with the Kansas City Regional Crime Laboratory and testified at Stagg’s first trial, said the DNA found under Jennings’ fingernails was not enough to identify any individual. However, he said, it was enough to eliminate Stagg as a suspect.

Testing on the hair, which was done after the first trial, also ruled Stagg out, he said.

Monday, March 12, 2007

To intruder theorists: DNA is not always deposited under sterile conditions, and DNA found at, on, and among a crime scene's artifacts is not necessarily something that can be traced only to the perpetrator of the crime.

DNA Contamination Revealed On Key Pieces Of Evidence On Pickton's Farm

A police officer contaminated key pieces of evidence with his own DNA in the initial investigation of Robert Pickton's farm, it was learned in court on Thursday.

Vancouver police constable Rodney Deighton explained there was no need for the team to fingerprint the revolver found in Pickton's trailer which had a plastic dildo fitted onto the end because police had looked over the weapon extensively without gloves at first discovery.

Subsequently, Mr. Deighton's DNA was found on the packaging he used to transport the weapon and on hair clipper accessories which he had prepared them for forensic testing.

Monday, March 05, 2007

It also never went unnoticed, Jameson, that the same children you write of never came forward to accuse their parents, either.