Two points re: DNA registry of convicted felons. We've all heard of rape kits backlogged because there is no funding to test them. I read that in SC, the legislature passed laws about automatic DNA collection from people who were arrested and it was 3 years after the law passed that the collection actually started due to funding issues. So I'm wondering if anyone knows what's going on in Indiana with regard to this? Could an offender slip through the cracks, especially if non-compliant on probation, registry, etc, due to state-wide backlogs on testing felons?
My second thought on DNA. This article changed my views on DNA evidence and its infalliability. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/06/a-reasonable-doubt/480747/ I know it's probably the last thing anyone wants to read right now while we are all busy sleuthing, as it's longform, but it really goes into detail about the hazards of DNA amplification and the techniques that are currently used. If the sample from Delphi is complicated by admixture, by submersion in water, by attempting to "clean up" the bodies or crime scene...LE might not have much DNA to work with. I'm hoping otherwise, though.
Having said all of that, maybe the oft-speculated twist in the Delphi case is that there is unmatched female DNA at the CS. There is definite precedent for female partners to go along and participate in male offenders' crimes. I would hope that LE takes a good look, but as the wife was able to do a phone interview with the Colorado Springs Gazette (and provide the info that she was no longer in Colorado Springs) I'm guessing she was not detained for very long?
My second thought on DNA. This article changed my views on DNA evidence and its infalliability. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/06/a-reasonable-doubt/480747/ I know it's probably the last thing anyone wants to read right now while we are all busy sleuthing, as it's longform, but it really goes into detail about the hazards of DNA amplification and the techniques that are currently used. If the sample from Delphi is complicated by admixture, by submersion in water, by attempting to "clean up" the bodies or crime scene...LE might not have much DNA to work with. I'm hoping otherwise, though.
Having said all of that, maybe the oft-speculated twist in the Delphi case is that there is unmatched female DNA at the CS. There is definite precedent for female partners to go along and participate in male offenders' crimes. I would hope that LE takes a good look, but as the wife was able to do a phone interview with the Colorado Springs Gazette (and provide the info that she was no longer in Colorado Springs) I'm guessing she was not detained for very long?
