Daily Archives: July 1, 2013

BEIRUT: DNA samples taken from the mother of Salafist Sheikh Ahmad Al-Assir are being compared to those from two charred bodies found at a complex that was at the center of clashes last week between the Lebanese Army and gunmen loyal to the fiery preacher, judicial sources said.

The sources told The Daily Star that DNA samples were also taken from the brother of pop singer-turned-sheikh Fadl Shaker for comparison as well, they added.

They said the DNA testing was ordered by Military Prosecutor Judge Saqr Saqr after suspecting that the charred bodies could be those of Assir and Shaker, given that both their whereabouts were unknown for several days and that the bodies were the only ones that remained unidentified.

The battle between Assirs supporters and the Army left at least 18 soldiers and 28 gunmen killed.

Assir is believed to have fled the complex in the Sidon neighborhood of Abra in south Lebanon before the army seized it.

Also Monday, Saqr released nine detainees arrested in the aftermath of the gunbattles between the Lebanese Army and Assir gunmen in Abra, east of the southern city of Sidon. Thirty suspects now remain in custody.

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DNA from Assir’s mother, charred corpses being compared: sources

District Attorney George Brauchler. (RJ Sangosti, Denver Post file)

The Aurora Police Department's destruction of DNA evidence in 48 sexual assault cases could complicate efforts for both prosecutors and defense attorneys, but it won't stop investigators from pursing new leads, District Attorney George Brauchler said Wednesday.

"We've been prosecuting rape cases for decades before there was any DNA evidence," Brauchler said. "I do not want the public to come away and feel that if there is no DNA, you cannot prosecute a rape case."

Still, the destruction of DNA evidence in the four dozen cases has highlighted the role DNA evidence plays in identifying or excluding suspects, as well as the expectations of the public and potential jurors that DNA and science serve as deciding factors in proving guilt.

Aurora Police Chief Daniel Oates said Tuesday that DNA evidence in 48 cases and possibly more as the department continues to investigate the scope of the error was incorrectly destroyed after officers failed to follow protocols.

In one case, DNA evidence had identified a suspect and investigators were moving toward an arrest. Prior to Tuesday's news conference, Oates and prosecutors met with the woman and told her the case could no longer be prosecuted because the DNA and other evidence had been destroyed.

Under a law passed in 2009, law enforcement agencies cannot destroy DNA evidence in cases where felony investigations have not led to formal charges.

In 18 of the cases, the lead detectives recommended the evidence destruction, but follow-up reviews, required under the law, never occurred. Evidence in the other 30 cases was incorrectly destroyed by an injured officer assigned to light duty in the department's Property and Evidence Unit.

Several of the cases had become inactive and some victims had asked that the cases not move forward.

Still, Brauchler said he is concerned that potential, future defendants will argue that since officers improperly destroyed DNA evidence in the cases, the system is flawed and due process has been violated.

Originally posted here:
Destruction of DNA evidence won't stop investigations, Aurora DA says

DES MOINES, Iowa - Here are some of the measures passed by the split-control Iowa General Assembly during the 2013 legislative session and signed by Gov. Terry Branstad that will take effect July 1:

DNA SAMPLES THE LAW: Iowa scofflaws could face penalties if they run afoul on new offenses for possessing or operating a radar-jamming device or removing a police communications device; also lawbreakers convicted of an aggravated misdemeanor will have to submit a DNA sample to authorities. WHAT IT DOES: Currently, offenders convicted of felonies are required to provide a DNA sample to be entered into the national databank. Law enforcement officials wanted the changes to enhance public safety, while civil libertarian and social justice advocates opposed the changes are government intrusion into Iowans personal lives and unnecessary additions to the criminal code.

REINVESTMENT DISTRICTS THE LAW: Communities will be able to establish reinvestment districts to capture shares of state sales tax and local hotel/motel fees to help fund big-ticket attractions or projects. WHAT IT DOES: The split-control Legislature achieved bipartisan support for cities and counties to designate special 25-acre development zones and use a share of sales tax and hotel-motel tax revenues to assist private projects of at least $10 million as a way to spur big ideas.

BACKGROUND CHECKS THE LAW: All school employees must undergo a background check of the sex offender registry, child abuse registry, and the dependent adult abuse registry before being hired. WHAT IT DOES: For current employees, the law change requires a school district to establish a policy which would require these employees to undergo the record check at least every five years after their date of hire. If a current employee is found to be on one of the registries, that would be grounds for suspension pending a termination hearing by the school board.

LIABILITY PROTECTION THE LAW: Land owners will have expanded liability protections for farm tours. WHAT IT DOES: The change is designed to abrogate an Iowa Supreme Court decision holding that farmers who offer educational tours are not shielded from personal injury lawsuits under Iowas recreational use law. The court ruled 5-2 last February that the owners of a dairy farm could be sued by a chaperon injured when she fell through a hole in a hayloft during a kindergarten class field trip.

OTHER LAWS OF NOTE -Students attending a state university in Iowa will not see an increase in their in-state resident tuition for the next school year. - Students attending private colleges and universities in Iowa will be eligible to receive up to $5,000 annually in Iowa tuition grants. - Iowans possessing cellphones will pay an extra 35 cents a month surcharge for E-911 service, putting them on even keel with the $1 assessed monthly per land-based telephone line. - Most Iowa drivers will be able to renew their Iowa licenses online as well as only do it every eight years rather than five. - Employees operating ice cream trucks or other mobile businesses catering to kids and school employees will be subject to background checks. - A new sex offender exclusion zone is created making it illegal for a sex offender to operate, manage, be employed by or act as a contractor or volunteer at a business that operates an ice cream truck. - Prevention and control measures are implemented for aquatic invasive species and disbursement of plants or seeds of garlic mustard, oriental bittersweet, Japanese knotweed and Japanese hop is prohibited. - Livestock producers will be allowed to mothball production facilities rather than tear them down if they downsize or temporarily suspend their operations and the change is approved by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

Continued here:
DNA Samples, Background Checks Among Laws Starting Monday

ASSOCIATED PRESS Posted: Monday, July 1, 2013, 12:18 AM

PROSECUTORS in Bucks County say long-awaited DNA tests in a murder case from 3 1/2 decades ago have shed little light on who killed the victim.

Matt Weintraub, Bucks County's chief of prosecution, told the Bucks County Courier Times that the test results were inconclusive "due to the degradation of the evidence."

Given that, Weintraub said the 1977 murder of 20-year-old Shaun Ritterson of Bristol will remain open but will no longer be an active investigation.

"Personally, I'm disappointed," he said. "But professionally, I'm satisfied that we've done all that we can do to solve this case and bring some finality to it."

Ritterson was found stabbed and disemboweled on a Buckingham hillside in June 1977. Numerous people were questioned, but no arrests were ever made.

Weintraub told relatives of the victim that he shared their disappointment and said "they have handled this with grace and dignity."

Family members said the renewed focus on the case had reopened old wounds but they had hoped it would bring a conclusion.

"You never have closure in something like this," said the victim's sister, Grace Gordon. "Each day you learn to deal with it in your own way. Whether it's sadness, anger, or recalling happy memories, or crying with my mom. Either way, it would never have brought closure. A wound like this never heals."

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DNA tests provide no leads in '77 Bucks case

Public release date: 1-Jul-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Maggie Francis maggie.francis@heart.org 214-706-1382 American Heart Association

DALLAS, July 1, 2013 DNA fragments in your blood may someday help doctors quickly learn if chest pain means you have narrowed heart arteries, according to a new study published in the American Heart Association journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology.

The study involved 282 patients, ages 34 to 83, who reported chest pain and were suspected of having coronary artery disease. Researchers used computed tomography imaging to look for hardened, or calcified, buildup in the blood vessels that supply the heart. Blood samples also were tested for bits of genetic material. Release of small DNA particles in the blood occurs during chronic inflammatory conditions such as coronary artery disease.

Higher levels of DNA particles in the blood were linked to high levels of coronary artery calcium deposits. These particles are potentially markers of disease, and may eventually help identify patients with severely narrowed coronary arteries, predict how many coronary vessels were affected, and even whether a patient is likely to suffer a serious heart problem or heart-related death.

"If those markers are proven to be effective specific and sensitive they may improve medical care in terms of identifying patients at risk sooner," said Julian Borissoff, M.D., Ph.D., lead author of the study and postdoctoral research fellow at Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School. "And so the patients may go on treatment sooner."

The scientists noted that larger studies, following more patients for longer periods, are needed to see how precisely these markers might identify patients at risk for developing coronary artery disease. Almost half of the patients studied were followed for a year and a half or longer.

If the markers do pan out, they have the potential to help doctors efficiently pinpoint which patients with chest pain are likely to have coronary artery disease rather than some other problem causing the discomfort, Borissoff said. Currently, a time-consuming and costly battery of tests is used to determine whether the heart is at risk, he said.

It is plausible to think that the DNA particles themselves might contribute to the progression of atherosclerosis and the risk of dangerous blood vessel blockages, the study's authors wrote. "The more the ongoing cell death, which is normal with inflammation, the more DNA enters the circulation and more plaque builds up," Borissoff said. "Cells get damaged, and the products released from the damaged cells can cause even more damage and inflammatory responses."

The researchers are testing the DNA particle components further, he said, to see which ones are most sensitive and to understand more about how their levels might vary for instance, during different stages of progression of atherosclerosis, or during a treadmill test, or after treatment for a heart attack.

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DNA particles in the blood may help speed detection of coronary artery disease