John and Patsy Ramsey on CNN

March 27, 2000, John and Patsy promote their book The Death Of Innocence. Part 8 of 8.

John and Patsy Ramsey on CNN

March 27, 2000, John and Patsy promote their book The Death Of Innocence. Part 7 of 8.

John and Patsy Ramsey on CNN

March 27, 2000, John and Patsy promote their book The Death Of Innocence. Part 6 of 8.

John and Patsy Ramsey on CNN

March 27, 2000, John and Patsy promote their book The Death Of Innocence. Part 5 of 8.

John and Patsy Ramsey on CNN

March 27, 2000, John and Patsy promote their book The Death Of Innocence. Part 4 of 8.

John and Patsy Ramsey on CNN

March 27, 2000, John and Patsy promote their book The Death Of Innocence. Part 3 of 8.

John and Patsy Ramsey on CNN

March 27, 2000, John and Patsy promote their book The Death Of Innocence. Part 2 of 8.

John and Patsy Ramsey on CNN

March 27, 2000, John and Patsy promote their book The Death Of Innocence. Part 1 of 8.

This here is some pretty neat stuff. Ramsey case followers who have read Perfect Murder, Perfect Town have seen this reference in the book:

At the same time, Detective Trujillo had called the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to ask about the flexibility of lifting fingerprints from JonBenet's skin. It was a long shot. Trujillo learned, because of the skin's comparatively rough texture. Meyer had suspended the autopsy while a CBI technician walked Trujillo through the process. The best approach would be to tent or otherwise encapsulate the body, then to "fume" the remains with Super Slue. The glue vapor would adhere to any prints on the skin and enhance them enough to make them visible under a fluorescent light source. Trujillo ended up using a different, simpler method to lift one partial print. Meyer decided not to make note of those events in his report. Afterward, he had continued with an internal examination of the body.

As it happens, the web site Instructables has a link to a video of what (on a very casual level) the process of fuming for prints involves. Live and learn.

The Past of Patsy - Part 4

Charleston Daily Mail, September 29, 1977:

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.

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.

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."

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.