Recent content by Ralph

Based on the article, that is her lawyer's argument - they questioned her for 15 hours before she was read her rights.

Thanks for finding the dates (saves me from having to look :-) ) The warrant in question was dated 10/16 and I would guess that the analysis of his known buccal swab was done at the same time that the one from the Fairfax case was done, which would put it after 10/21 when that buccal swab was...

The thing is, I believe the cigar tip was tested before he was in custody, before they had his buccal swab. It was tested as his known sample so yes it needed to be something that one would expect to have only his DNA on. There isn't anything in the article that gives a timeframe for when it...

I think you are misunderstanding this - but it is very understandable considering how poorly worded it is. The reason it is poorly worded is because it was taken from the warrant that LE wrote and they were attempting to quote the forensic science report and they appear to have done it badly...

Blood and semen can be identified but going back to the wording quoted above ... sample of the majority of the interior of the shirt... sounds like there was no stain just a random swabbing of the inside of the shirt.

Based on the wording quoted in that article (BBM), the "wooden tip from a cigar butt" was used as JM's known DNA sample - what is referred to as a surreptitiously collected sample. This was probably before he was arrested and an "official" buccal sample was collected.

I'm still not sure exactly what you are referring to. The appendix contains results for 16 regions of the DNA - not 13. JM matches at 15 of these 16 regions, the only one (D7S820) he doesn't match at has inconclusive results. That is not an elimination. The article you linked to is...

One region is inconclusive for the fingernail scraper - it's difficult to know why this region was inconclusive...it could have been a failure of a control sample at that region or the results at the region didn't meet the requirements to report out. The other 15 regions all match. The way...

I'm sorry but you are completely misunderstanding all of this. The initial link was made between the Fairfax case and the MH case through CODIS. That is the only use of CODIS in this case. Once JM was arrested, his known DNA standard was collected (Item 120 - buccal swabs in the Certificate...

That's not true. You can't get the death penalty unless the victim is dead. Attempted capital murder is 20 years to life but not the death penalty.

A DNA profile is simply a series of numbers. Typically, there are 13 regions of the DNA tested (called loci). At each of these regions, there is one or two numbers. All of these number make up a DNA profile for a sample. Most cases involve a direct comparison - you develop a DNA profile from...

Yes - if they have to do DNA on skeletonized remains, it can take a week or more.

Exactly. The medical examiner's office is responsible for identifying hundreds (or more) bodies every year and each one is someone's daughter, son, mother, father, etc. They all deserve the same care and respect. The ME has a procedure in place for the identification of remains and it has to...

The OCME is responsible for making the identification - law enforcement has nothing to do with it. OCME will have an odontologist they work with that will compare dental records to the remains. If for some reason, the teeth were not intact (many times the lower jaw is removed and scattered due...

Same problem with tissue under fingernails - very small quantity to begin with, exposed to the environment, foreign tissue decomposing simultaneously with victim tissue. My opinion...best chance for foreign DNA would be from semen. Sperm cells are some of the toughest cells in the body -...