Monthly Archives: June 2017

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium polar bear cubs arent just cute and cuddly.

Theyre also helping the federal government fight crimes against their wild relatives in the Arctic, thanks to advancements in forensic science and DNA testing.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services Forensic Laboratory in Oregon often relies on zoos to maintain its database of DNA samples from protected animal species. But when the Columbus Zoo sent DNA from its six polar bears to the lab in March, it came with payoffs for both parties - including a confirmation of whether the zoos three newest cubs are male or female.

The labs scientists analyze evidence during investigations of violations of federal wildlife protection laws, including poaching, illegal trading of animals, theft of rare plants and creating products from endangered species.

For example, the lab could use DNA to identify a decaying carcass as a protected animal or confirm that a business is selling items made with bald eagle feathers or elephant ivory.

Scientists are trying to perfect a new, more accurate DNA test for bears and benefited from the Columbus Zoos controlled samples from a known family of animals. The reference data illustrate how genetic patterns change in a population over time. It could someday pin down criminals who harm polar bears, which are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act, on which the bears are listed as threatened.

Only an estimated 20,000 to 25,000 polar bears are living in the wild, and there are just 40 or so bears in 27 U.S. zoos that are members of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

Our polar bear database is fairly small, so the more samples we can get, the better, senior forensic scientist Mary Burnham Curtis said.

The zoo, meanwhile, was seeking a non-invasive way to determine the sexes of its baby bears. Because the 6-month-old animals are being raised by their mothers and not hand-reared by zookeepers, staffers would have had to put them under anesthesia to examine their genitals and make an official determination.

That seemed like an unnecessary risk for something that was just curiosity, not critical, said Randy Junge, the zoos vice president of animal health.

Luckily, we were able to help each other out.

Junge sent emails to diagnostic labs across the country seeking options, including the Fish and Wildlife forensic lab. Zoos work with the lab frequently to provide DNA samples to use as reference data - the Columbus Zoo has provided samples of rhinoceros horn in the past, for example - and some zoos serve as holding facilities for living animals that are considered evidence in ongoing criminal investigations.

Although the lab doesnt perform sex determination tests as a service to the public, its scientists are usually willing to work with zoos that provide DNA samples, Curtis said.

Columbus Zoo staff provided hair clippings and saliva swabs from all six of its bears.

Ultimately, test results confirmed what keepers suspected based on their observations: mother bear Ananas cub is female and mother bear Auroras twin cubs are male and female.

Ananas cub was recently named Amelia Gray in an online naming contest. The twins were named Nuniq and Neva by zoo staff. Nuniq is a derivative of Nanuq, the name of all three cubs father, who died in late April from liver cancer at age 29.

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DNA from zoo's polar bears used in fight against poaching - Washington Times

Alex Holloway, The Commercial Dispatch Published 3:30 p.m. CT June 11, 2017 | Updated 14 minutes ago

Mack Fowler, 72, was found dead in the summer of 1996, the first of a string of elderly people killed in the area that prompted authorities to wonder if a serial killer was at work. Therese Apel/ The Clarion-Ledger

Forensic Crime Lab director Austin Shepherd kneels down in his lab to point out an example of what a crime scene may look like and how he would typically collect data in this file photo. Shepherds practice of collecting DNA evidence led to the arrest in a cold case murder May 24, 2017.(Photo: Luisa Porter/Dispatch Staff)

COLUMBUS - When Austin Shepherd graduated from high school in 1997, his native city of Columbus was amid reeling from a string of violent murders that had already claimed two elderly victims.

By the end of the next year, three were added to that tally. Though the cases remained unsolved for the next two decades, Shepherds key contribution led to a break in one of the cases and brought a suspect into custody. For the forensic scientist who is director of the Columbus Crime Lab, it was the first step toward his goal to solve those five murders he had set for himself years before a goal that drew him back home in 2004 from his former position with the state crime lab.

U.S. marshals recently arrested 52-year-old David Murray in Jackson for the capital murder of Mack Fowler a 71-year-old stabbed to death in his home in July 1996. Authorities matched a DNA sample Shepherd had entered in 2006 to the Federal Bureau of Investigations Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) from the Fowler case with a swab of Murray Jackson police collected from his October 2016 aggravated assault arrest.

The moment was a personal triumph for Shepherd, who said he did a lot of fist-bumping and maybe a little dancing when he found out DNA evidence produced a match in the nearly 21-year-old case.

David Solomon Murray(Photo: Lowndes County Adult Detention Center)

I think all the way back to 1997 when I was graduating high school thinking how great it would be to be able to help out, and here we are in 2017 and its kind of like weve come full-circle, he said. Its, for me, a really fulfilling and rewarding experience and I know it was for a lot of people.

Still, Shepherd said, as a forensic scientist, his primary objective with any case is to produce good science. Murrays arrest, fulfilling as it may be for Shepherd and a city thats wondered for 20 years if Fowlers killer would ever be caught, may prove to be a testament to the strength of DNA as a forensic science tool.

More: Arrest made in Columbus cold case tied to string of elderly murders

Shepherd said DNA analysis as with any other type of forensic analysis always starts with collection.

He said its best to collect a whole piece of evidence whenever possible, but thats not always doable. It isnt reasonable, for example, to expect a police department to have space to store a refrigerator with blood splatter on it. In those instances, investigators collect samples for analysis.

Any time you have a personal crime or a violent crime, DNA is going to be a viable option, Shepherd said. In those, we at least look for it 90 percent of the time. Those other 10 (percent), we still have evidence that could have DNA on it, but the fact that DNA from the bad guy is there may not offer us anything as far as the case goes.

DNAs usefulness is circumstantial, Shepherd said. For example, he said a sample taken from a convenience store countertop in an armed robbery investigation might not say anything more than a person was one of many whod been at the store at some point.

Its always good to try for it, but what Im saying is its much like fingerprints if the person is supposed to be there or they had the item in their possession, then you would expect to have their DNA on it, he said.

More: Man's head found on Jackson porch

Still, Shepherd said DNA is particularly useful for sexual assaults, homicides, some armed robberies and home invasions. He said it all depends on the circumstances.

Even sometimes in armed robberies at stores and stuff like that, depending on where its at your DNA could exist here and that would be fine, he said. But maybe behind the counter on the safe handle -- your DNA probably shouldnt be there.

Deedra Hughes, DNA technical leader and CODIS administrator for the Mississippi Crime Lab in Pearl, said DNA is also collected from all convicted felons and, more recently, anyone arrested for a felony offense or violent crime. Those samples are entered into the state and national databases.

Murray, who former police Chief Pete Bowen said was never considered as a suspect after Fowlers death, might never have been found if for two matched DNA samples.

DNA is very powerful data, Shepherd said. Its very powerful evidence.

The CODIS system, created in 1998, contains samples from State DNA Index System databases and the National DNA Index System. In Mississippi, according to the FBIs website, the system had aided 527 investigations as of April.

Once a sample is collected, its sent off for analysis. Shepherd said CPD sends samples to the state crime lab or to private labs.

The state crime lab serves every county in Mississippi and is the only lab out of the states network that can perform DNA analysis. Shepherd said it costs $100 to send a sample for testing to the state crime lab. Depending on the backlog, he said, it can take up to six months to get results. Private labs can work faster he said they can have results back in a month or two but are more expensive.

Hughes said the lab has seven DNA analysts who look at samples collected from crime scenes. The states four labs have workers that do serology analyzing samples to see if they contain physical evidence such as blood, semen or epithelial cells. Each lab can have 50 to 100 cases at a time, Hughes said.

Not every sample is the same, Hughes added. Some, such as bodily fluids, are easier to work with, compared to trace samples that require more intensive testing methods.

Blood and semen have a lot of DNA, she said. Touch DNA, when its just a small number of cells in cases like that, we do have to use a different type of extraction technique to be more sensitive and get whatever out of it we can.

How long analysis takes depends on the case. Hughes said sexual assault cases receive priority treatment. Serology can take 30 to 45 days, and DNA analysis can take up to another 45 days.

Once an analysis is complete, samples that meet the FBIs eligibility guidelines are entered into the CODIS system. For criminal cases, the samples have to be from a perpetrator or attributed to a crime scene. Victims DNA is not entered to the system. Hughes said the FBI audits labs stringently to make sure guidelines are followed.

If the analysis produces an immediate match, the lab notifies the investigating agency. Otherwise, it remains on the database in hopes of one day producing a hit.

The CODIS system, as a whole, contains samples from offenders, arrestees, unidentified human remains, missing persons and relatives of missing persons.

In April, according to the FBI, the system contained 110,058 offender profiles; 1,903 arrestee profiles; and 1,290 forensic profiles for Mississippi.

Hughes said the state lab can search the state database system daily and uploads samples every day to the national database. The national database runs searches twice a week.

Mississippi 16th Circuit District Attorney Scott Colom said DNA analysis is one of the best tools available in the criminal justice system, especially for sexual assaults and violent crimes.

The thing you want to do when youre dealing with victims and people accused of crimes is to make sure the right person is prosecuted and convicted, he said. ...If its collected properly, properly analyzed and properly stored, the results are as close to certainty as we can get in the criminal justice system. Its an absolutely critical tool to finding out the truth.

DNA, while very useful, isnt a common tool. Colom said drug cases make up about a third of the districts cases, and DNA isnt any help for those. He said the evidence also isnt very helpful for property crime. But for violent crime cases, he said it only comes into play about 15 percent of the time.

Colom pointed out that DNAs usefulness cuts two ways both for producing convictions and exonerating the innocent. Both, he said, are crucial functions for providing justice for everyone.

As a district attorney and a prosecutor, my job is to do justice, he said. To the extent that anybody has been wrongfully prosecuted or wrongfully convicted, if DNA can exonerate them, thats just as good as me being able to convict somebody. I take the duty of providing justice seriously, and that means not only protecting the rights of the victim, but also protecting the rights of the accused.

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Solving cases in his DNA - Jackson Clarion Ledger

Over the years, DNA has become one of forensic science's most powerful tools. Over the years, DNA has become one of forensic science's most powerful tools. Related Content

(CNN) - This summer marks 30 years since one of the biggest advances in criminal investigations, DNA profiling, identified a killer.

Every cell within every living creature contains DNA material. That material carries instructions that dictate everything from how tall you'll be to what diseases you may develop, and it's unique to you. Forensic scientists can find it in biological material left on a crime scene or body, like hair, saliva or even skin tissue.

Through DNA profiling, also known as DNA fingerprinting, scientists analyze that material and create a chart on which variations show up at different locations. These are visualized as peaks and are translated into numbers that can be matched with the DNA of other suspects or with material from missing people.

Over the years, DNA has become one of forensic science's most powerful tools, helping to identify suspects and victims, convict the guilty and exonerate the innocent. DNA science and technology have grown so advanced that a mere touch can link someone to a crime scene.

"When I told people in 1977 in high school that I wanted to be a forensic scientist, they literally thought I was talking about voodoo and witchcraft," said Jenifer Smith, director of the District of Columbia's Department of Forensic Sciences and a former FBI special agent. "What DNA did in the late '80s and early '90s was sort of bring a more objective science ... cool technology, molecular biology. It gave almost this credence to forensics, because now, it looks more like a science."

Dwight E. Adams was the first FBI official to testify on DNA evidence in the United States and helped oversee the FBI's establishment of DNA profiling rules and guidelines for labs across the country. He called DNA "the single greatest advance in forensic science."

"The technology has improved tremendously since 1988 when it would take us 6 weeks to perform one test," Adams wrote in an email. "Now, laboratories are performing the test in about 24 hours and able to work with samples that we could only dream about in the early days."

Still, forensic science and DNA profiling aren't foolproof.

During his years in the White House, President Obama implemented several initiatives to improve forensic evidence gathering. In a 2017 Harvard Law Review article, he said they were sparked by lingering concerns from a 2009 National Academy of Sciences report, along with a rash of "high-profile exonerations of wrongfully convicted individuals that indicated that testimony exceeded the scientific capabilities of the technique."

"Contrary to the perception of TV dramas, forensic science disciplines are subject to varying degrees of uncertainty and misinterpretation," Obama wrote.

Forensic evidence pinning a suspect to the scene of a crime can be powerful in the courtroom. But scientists agree that when investigators testify about that evidence, they haven't always emphasized to the jury that science can make mistakes, such as DNA contamination in labs or DNA transferred from one crime scene to another.

One of Obama's initiatives launched a review of FBI testimony in cases. Another brought together scientists, law enforcement officials, judges and lawyers to create the National Commission on Forensic Science. Both of these initiatives were ended in April by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who said the Trump administration would seek its own path toward improving criminal investigations under a new task force.

Some investigators said that over the years, funding has not kept up with the demand for evidence analysis, and labs are overwhelmed.

"Forensic science has been dealing with a resource problem," said former investigator John M. Collins Jr., whose Forensic Foundations Group works to educate lab technicians.

Indeed, crime labs around the country now process over 3 million requests per year, one-quarter of which is DNA profiling, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Here are a few notable cases in which DNA evidence made a mark.

In 1986, authorities in Leicester, England, were investigating the rapes and murders of two young women. A suspect confessed to the crime involving one woman but not the other. Convinced the two crimes were linked, investigators sought the help of Dr. Alec Jeffreys, a geneticist who developed techniques to visualize bands of DNA in his lab.

With Jeffreys' help, authorities analyzed the DNA of hundreds of men living near the crime but found no match. But the analysis also cleared the man who had confessed. In 1987, authorities found that local baker Colin Pitchfork had avoided taking the test. His sample was a match for both killings, and under pressure from DNA evidence, he confessed to the crimes.

In 1989, Gary Dotson became the first person exonerated because of DNA testing. He'd been behind bars for over a decade after a woman accused him of rape in 1977.

Investigators used blood-type and hair analysis to convict him, but he appealed for years, until DNA testing could be applied to material still held from the case. DNA cleared him, and he won his release. Testing linked the evidence to the accuser's then-boyfriend, and the woman admitted she'd made up the rape.

DNA science was slowly becoming more precise. And a few years after Dotson's release, in 1994, the FBI expanded its Combined DNA Indexing System, known as CODIS, which allows law enforcement officials and crime labs to share and search through thousands of DNA profiles. It also sets guidelines for collection and analysis of DNA. It's helped in more than 350,000 investigations.

In the 1995 trial of star athlete O.J. Simpson, a huge television audience followed along as the defense picked apart forensic evidence gathered by the state, particularly a bloody sock, knife and glove. The defense team raised questions about whether the DNA could have been contaminated.

Ultimately, those questions made a difference: Simpson was acquitted in the June 1994 killings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman.

The case helped civilians understand that DNA and forensic science could be flawed. Marcia Clark, the prosecutor in the case, has said police mishandling of the evidence and shoddy forensic collections created a distrust of the Los Angeles Police Department.

Simpson is imprisoned in Nevada in a separate case and is up for parole this year.

Early on, scientists needed significant amounts of DNA in order to analyze it, which prevented its use in many cases. But that changed over time.

Starting in 1982, authorities in Seattle searched fruitlessly as a serial rapist and murderer killed dozens of women and buried their bodies along the Green River in Washington state. Many were prostitutes 16 to 36 years old.

The case went cold, but in 2001, authorities were able to review old evidence using a technology called PCR, or polymerase chain reaction. PCR takes tiny amounts of DNA, previously nearly impossible to analyze, and copies it over and over. Authorities matched DNA from the victims' bodies to one of their prime suspects, Gary Ridgway.

Under pressure from DNA and other forensic evidence, Ridgway confessed to 48 counts of murder. (The story is being retold by HLN's "Beyond Reasonable Doubt.")

After the 2007 killing of 21-year-old British student Meredith Kercher in Italy, American Amanda Knox and her boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, were convicted of murder in 2009. But there was an outcry from scientists and investigators in the United States. They were suspicious of DNA collection throughout the crime scene and questioned, among other things, the finding of Sollecito's DNA on a small part of Kercher's bra.

After years of legal back and forth, Knox's and Sollecito's murder convictions were overturned in 2015. Another man, Rudy Guede, was convicted in Kercher's death and remains in prison.

As DNA technology became more sensitive, its uses expanded and demand grew -- but the tests can't always keep up.

"What happened in the Amanda Knox trial, in that investigation, is symptomatic of another issue, and that is that both the public and prosecutors have been pressuring ... and I suppose defense attorneys, the whole system ... is pressuring labs into pushing the envelope of what these tests can do," said Dan E. Krane, a biology professor at Wright State University who's reviewed cases for defense teams for decades, including the Knox case. "The crux there, the central issue, is ambiguity."

Forensic analysts give a statistical analysis of whether DNA can pinpoint the suspect in the case, but Krane and many others argue that analysts could go further to explain the possibility of error to the jury. DNA's presence on a scene, Krane said, does not indicate when or how it got there.

There's work to do on educating jurors and the public about DNA's limitations, but, Krane said, it remains "the gold standard of forensic science. It doesn't mean that there isn't room to improve that gold standard, but all the rest of forensic science, and I mean everything -- fingerprint, hair and fiber, handwriting, blood spatter, gunshot residue, you name it -- everything else needs to aspire to have that same sort of scientific rigor that is now in play for DNA profiling."

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The shifting science of DNA in the courtroom - WFMZ Allentown