famous cases where evidence was mishandled

They lose lives. Copyright 2022 Crime Museum, LLC - All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy |. To read about times when forensics worked much better, check out Top 10 Murder Mysteries Finally Solved Using Forensics and 10 Notorious Historical Murders Solved Using Early Forensics. Two years later, having been convicted only of kidnapping, Bundy was preparing to stand . Famous cases Bill Miner. Coworkers at the medical examiners office had to work around the clock double-checking the fired technicians findings. Drunk Police Officer. Photos were taken of critical evidence without scales in them to aid in measurement taking. The officer who arrested Oscar Pistorius on the night Reeva Steenkamp was killed last year testified Friday that police at the crime scene mishandled evidence, including a ballistics expert who. But, when an agent like Matthew Lowry is caught getting high on heroin that he stole from an FBI crime lab, that credence suffers greatly. A criminalist collects, documents, preserves, and examines the physical evidence at a crime scene, which could be something as huge as a bus, or as tiny as a pollen grain; criminologists, on the other hand, study why crimes occur, how they can be prevented, and the effects they have on a society. But, after spending two and a half years of a 17- to 44-year sentence behind bars for burglary and arson, Shirley Kinge was released. Defense attorneys were quick to argue that lax procedures by the forensics team could have led to the degradation or cross-contamination of blood evidence. During the trial, all of the missteps of the forensic team came to light, including the possibility of evidence tampering (and obvious evidence mishandling), as well as the glaring absence of evidence security. Updated on May 25, 2022 When a person goes to trial for a crime, he or she is represented by a criminal defense attorney. Gerald M. LaPorte Westend61, Getty Images (see reuse policy). The chance that blood found on Simpsons sock could be from someone other than Nicole Brown was 1 in 21 billion. Deaver said bloodstain pattern analysis is a "visual examination" and since he did not see blood on the shirt it was not tested. All we do know is that forensic fails can be deadly. Grigson cited Willinghams tattoo of a skull and serpent and some of his music posters as evidence that he was a sociopath. When detectives arrived at OJ Simpsons home to inform him of the death of his ex-wife, they noticed blood on Simpsons white Ford Bronco. Her case has never been solved. Key points: Kelly says she was told police no longer have forensic evidence from her rape kit The detectives who took over Fuhrmans shift apparently were never aware of the print and eventually, it was lost or destroyed without ever being collected. Authorities suspected something might be amiss when Massachusetts forensics chemist Annie Dookhan somehow managed to process a large volume of samples in a relatively short time. A final eyewitness named Marvin Simpson came forward five days after the murders identifying four completely different men as the killers, but the police failed to investigate these claims. He spent 26 years in jail before a group called The . The millionaire who gunned down the high-society architect. 4.1 Kimberly Long. In the months that followed, investigators revealed a pattern of malfeasance and unprofessionalism that would tax and tarnish Delawares criminal proceedings. Investigators exhumed seven bodies that Erdmann had testified about. B efore he became a true-crime celebrity, forensic scientist Henry Lee took the stand at a wildly bloody murder trial in Connecticut. The grim implications of such a callous disregard for the law were clear: In order to improve the Sapphire units image, these three men were willing to deny victims justice and permit violent predators to roam free among the vulnerable. Defense attorneys became suspicious because Erdmann seemed to be able to supply prosecutors with whatever testimony they needed, without the proper testing to back up his reports. The following are ten cases where shocking forensic fails bungled the case and allowed murderers to walk away from justiceor sent innocent people to prison. In 2004, the Indiana Court of Appeals overturned the conviction and ordered a new trial. During the third trial, the defense presented evidence that the initial blood splatter expert had falsified his credentials and had no history of working with blood splatters. In that moment, Lowry single-handedly torpedoed the prosecutions of at least 28 alleged drug offenders, many of whom are thought to be part of dangerous gangs, and he potentially compromised an additional 150 cases. He was sentenced to death and currently sits in prison on death row. The consequences of that complacency have been devastating for Massachusetts. On November 2, 2007, American college student Amanda Knox returned to her flat in Perugia, Italy. In 2014, a group of police officers was apprehended after executing a vicious extortion plot that involved kidnapping, threats, and even holding criminal suspects out of windows. Photograph: Stefano Medici/AP. Going in, the public were already influenced by Simpsons likeability and star power as a pro football player and beloved celebrity. But the evidence of his wrongdoing, along with the actions of other Brooklyn officers, was enough to throw out 400 different drug cases and secure the release of over two dozen people wrongfully arrested on drug charges. Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] - The Snail-Flavoured Ginger Beer. But a small number of cases around the country have . Another witness named Paula Graya woman with an IQ of 55 who would later recant her testimony, thereby facing perjury chargesadded Verneal Jimerson to the attackers. At least 140 people have been released from death row during that time because of forensic evidence which was tainted, flawed, or outright false. After various appeals and retrials, students from the Northwestern University Medill School of Journalismincluding award-winning NPR journalist Laura Sullivanpresented new evidence in 1996. Theyd been stabbed multiple times. The theft proved pointless, however, when police discovered that all of the information on the servers involved old cases that had already been tried in court. The defense team stated that EDTA was found in the samples of blood that were collected at the crime scene. Forensic scientists can be part of the solution. Over her career, Dookhan completed as many as 60,000 analyses, making her partly responsible for an estimated 11,000 criminal convictions. For example, the Innocence Project aims to free the staggering number of innocent people who remain incarcerated, and to bring reform to the system responsible for their unjust imprisonment. Founded in 1992 by Peter Neufeld and Barry Scheck, it has helped to free 350 people on DNA evidence and identified 149 alternative perpetrators as of June 2017. This case is documented as the first to establish the modern law of negligence. Two people were convicted and imprisoned for that brutal affair: Michael Kinge and his mother, Shirley. Sometimes it's forensic evidence and sometimes it's merely re-examining clues, but cold cases do occasionally get solved. The overwhelming evidence of lab misconduct has already resulted in the dismissal of 200 drug cases and reduced sentences in 60 more. She found the bathroom she shared with her roommate, Meredith Kercher, covered in blood. Advocates from the Innocence Project are now working with the Department of Justice to develop a set of evidence storage guidelines that will hopefully be standardized across the nation in the future.[6]. This inability to understand key evidence made the evidence essentially useless; even some seasoned lawyers found the scientific testimonies to be incomprehensible. He listed one cause of death as pneumonia, even though a suspect later confessed that hed shot the victim in the head. And a big part of the problem could be pinned on the man running the show: Chief Medical Examiner Richard Callery. In reality, not all blood spatter can be seen with the naked eye. Erdmann later admitted that he had thrown the head away. Separate pieces of evidence were bagged together instead of separately, causing cross-contamination. A Canadian Pacific . Items were photographed without being labeled and logged, making it difficult, if not impossible, to link the photos to any specific area of the scene. The issue is whether the Sixth Amendment right of confrontation is violated when statements from a child who is unavailable to testify at trial are . One of the most renowned cases involving problems with the chain of evidence was the O.J. The BTK Killer You can't talk about criminal cases and digital forensics without mentioning the infamous BTK killer case. The son of a Sunday school teacher, a long-time law enforcement officer, and an honors graduate of the FBI Academy, Lowry was not exactly the spitting image of drug addiction. There was about 1.5 mL of O.J. Because the police department did not have proper collection documents regarding Simpsons blood, it was argued that the police planted Simpsons missing blood on critical evidence and in critical areas of the murder scene. Wet items were also packaged before allowing them to dry, causing critical changes in evidence. Changing that initial perception was going to be tough. Even before the shoddy evidence testing began, samples were often contaminated via a leaky roof. Both Knox and Sollecito were arrested and charged with Kerchers murder due to trace amounts of Knoxs DNA found on the kitchen knifethe presumed murder weaponand Sollecitos DNA found on Kerchers bra clasp. grimm's geometric stacker famous cases where evidence was mishandled Six out of ten of the nations forensic laboratories have been badly burned by arsonists, with thousands of pieces of evidence ending up lost or damaged. The newer mitochondrial testing of hair is more expensive, but it does exactly match hair to a suspect through DNA. Still, Robert Lowery, vice president of the Missing Children's Division at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, points to other high-profile missing children's cases as support for the belief that cases like . One of the drug thieves, James Woodson, was hired despite allegations that he had stolen evidence from the New Castle Police Department in Delaware. Although serial killer Ted Bundy was responsible for an estimated 30-plus murders, there was little physical evidence to connect him to the crimes when he was arrested in 1975. When evidence is misplaced, improperly processed, or inadequately stored, everyone loses. 1 The Central Park 5. Vendors camped at the site, selling balloons and soft drinks to the hundreds of visitors trampling around the crime scene. Simpson case can be found here. Since no one could tell which tests were real, which ones were fake, or which ones shed personally contaminated, all of Dookhans results became suspect. While some of those men were exonerated, the exact number of cases influenced by Zain is unknowable. Inside one of them, the server was discovered. Items were photographed without being labeled and logged, making it difficult, if not impossible, to link the photos to any specific area of the scene. In 2002, the facility was closed due to unacceptably shoddy lab work and, in 2008, an internal affairs probe uncovered evidence of cheating on lab proficiency tests, resulting in a second closure. With the rate of laboratory malfeasance far outpacing the capacity of authorities to address it, we may never fully ascertain just how many lives were ruined or potentially lost thanks to the Houston Police Departments forensic infractions. A sample of 300 of his autopsy reports was examined by a panel of experts, who ruled that one-third of his patients had never been autopsied. When she testified on the witness stand to voice her certainty of a defendants guilt in a drug case, no one suspected that she was sometimes adding cocaine to evidence samples to produce incriminating results. In the face of brazen inaction by Scotland Yards sex crimes investigators, a drastic rejiggering of the force followed. The bulk of Lowrys offenses entailed checking out drugs stored at the FBI lab as trial evidence, and returning them with altered weights after days, and sometimes months, of delay. Theres no shortage of crime-fighting TV shows where protagonists brandish the latest forensic science techniques. Autopsy reports indicated that most of Kerchers injuriesbruising and cuts near the genital regionwere sustained as a result of being restrained during the sexual violence. Beyond poor evidence collection techniques, sloppy maneuvering at the scene caused more bloody shoe prints to be left behind by LAPD than by the perpetrator. On April 27, a woman in eastern Brooklyn called the police. A bloody fingerprint at Nicoles house was noted by a policeman but overlooked by the forensics team. During Camms trial, the prosecution stated that Camm had dual motives: a $750,000 life insurance policy and alleged infidelity. Defense attorneys and organizations like the Innocence Project are pushing for standardized use of DNA tests on hair, as well as more accurate testimony about how hair can be similar, but not necessarily matched. Instead of attempting to cover up this hairy forensic fail, the FBI and all legal organizations involved admitted their mistakes and took full responsibility for preventing them in the future. STORY HIGHLIGHTS. How many criminals are walking free due to untested rape kit backlogs? John Vasquez, who worked in evidence management for 25 years, admitted that during his career, hed seen unlabeled evidence tossed into a closet, a hand grenade stored in a glass jar, boxes of corrosive chemicals leaking onto other boxes of evidence, and forensic samples stored in a clerks office next to employees food and drinks. The mess-ups: A review of 88 of his cases found that 65 had incomplete documentation, 32 had administrative errors, and in eight cases, evidence had been misplaced. Around midnight on November 29, 2012, a . Fingerprint evidence that tied her to gasoline cans used in the arson had been planted by New York State Troopers. On Monday, Rudy Guede, who has also been convicted and jailed for the 2007 murder, repeated his claim that the pair had carried out the killing. 6 captivating court cases that had Americans glued to their screens 1. From the beginning, there were issues involving evidence collection. O.J. On Tuesday, Matheson unveiled scientific evidence suggesting that Simpson's blood type matches a drop found on a "trail of blood" near the body of his ex-wife, and that her blood type was on a. His parents were both charged and convicted of murdering Gabriel due to signs of abuse. Jamie founded Listverse due to an insatiable desire to share fascinating, obscure, and bizarre facts. All the while, she outpaced her colleagues in productivity, sometimes by a factor of three. Rebuffing scientists who had presented evidence of false applications of DNA analysis, Attorney General Jeff Sessions stated, I dont think we should suggest that those proven scientific principles that weve been using for decades are somehow uncertain and leaving prosecutors having to fend off challenges on the most basic issues in a trial (Washington Post, April 2017). She told them that just before sunrise, at 5:50 a.m., her ex, John, confronted her on the street with a gun. They added that a trace of Sollecito's DNA on Kercher's bra clip, the vital piece of evidence linking him to the murder scene, could have got there by contamination, as the defence team said at the trial. No one knows how many innocent men and women have been put to death because of faulty forensics or inaccurate experts. Wrongfully convicted suspects, grieving family members, and the victims of violent criminals who should have been behind bars all suffer because of this ongoing forensic storage fail. The murder victim, Raveesh Kumra, was a 66-year-old investor who lived in Monte Sereno, a Silicon Valley enclave 10 miles and many socioeconomic rungs away. October 31, 2014. For example, the police didnt wear caps or change gloves as they collected items, allowing cross-contamination of the objects in the room. He has been a guest speaker on numerous national radio and television stations and is a five time published author. The world watched every detail of the case on Court TV, which highlighted the many mistakes of forensics investigators as an epic fail. Additionally, a Dutch forensic expert found Boneys DNA under Kim Camms fingernails and her DNA on his sweatshirt, two pieces of evidence which sealed his conviction. According to an examiners study, at least 90 percent of trial transcripts in their Microscopic Hair Comparison Analysis Review contained erroneous statements. 1. jails are located at 550 N. Flower St. in. Frank Lee Smith, for example, died of cancer on death row, after serving 14 years for a rape and murder he did not commit. [5] Bloody shoe prints matching O.J.s size and pattern were found at the scene of the crime, yet no one could locate his shoes to prove that they were an exact match. A civil court awarded the plaintiffs a total of $6.5 milliona gesture which is more symbolic than practical in light of Kofoeds inability to pay the fine. Simpson that led to his acquittal? Experts dispute key evidence concerning alleged murder weapon and Sollecito DNA on Meredith Kercher's bra, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, Amanda Knox arrives for the appeal hearing in Perugia, Italy. Supervisors might never have caught the mistakes if not for the fact that the technician in question applied for a new training program. Defence lawyers argued that it was to be expected that Knox would have used the knife while visiting Sollecito, her boyfriend at the time of the killing. While he has not been charged yet, he has been suspended while the authorities investigate these allegations. California. The errors came to light when lawyers from the Innocence Project and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers got together with members from the Department of Justice and the FBI to ensure more thorough testing and testimony. 130796. That first edition attempted to be a comprehensive collection of case law and materials that provided guidance on how electronic information While walking along the outside of the house, Mark Fuhrman uncovered a matching bloody glove to one found at the crime scene. For Zains many victims, exoneration and compensation are the only justice possible. But, in at least one other instance, he failed to submit marijuana and guns seized during a crime, and there is some cause to believe that he may have been involved in the displacement of $130,000 confiscated during an FBI search. Hearn said Pinholster, 58, is the only known example of evidence destruction in a case of a living death row inmate convicted in L.A. County. An additional 500 convictions are slated to be challenged with thousands more in the works. This article explores five fascinating cases of fraud in forensics to underscore the importance of using scientifically valid and reliable methods in this growing career field. The family of four was bound and gagged, a 15-year-old female raped and tortured, and the whole family shot in the head before their home was set on fire. Ironically, the work of a man determined to secure criminal convictions, regardless of innocence, may allow an apparently guilty man to go free. Conspiracy theorists helped spread the rumor that a racist cop had killed both Nicole and Ron to frame O.J. And, from what is known, its clear that Zains dissembling reach was tremendous. In 2009, the convictions were reversed by the Indiana Supreme Court. 10 Examples of Police Intimidation Cases: Wrapping Up. O.J. After the police refused, Romanellis friend broke through the door to uncover Kerchers bloody and partially naked body. The DNA traces on the knife, which were discovered by police in Sollecito's kitchen, appeared "unreliable in as much as [they were] not supported by scientifically validated analytic procedures", the experts' report said. Blood was also found in O.J. Coleman is an author, screenwriter, university student, and tarot reader. Boney ultimately claimed it was Camm who murdered the family. In hindsight, one might characterize the scandal as a logical offshoot of the very system which condemns its criminality. In 2003, Kofoed linked Ivan Henk to the murder of four-year-old Brendan Gonzales with what was likely a manufactured blood sample that prompted Henks arrest and eventual guilty plea. Nearly everyone in the town of New Brunswick, New Jersey, seemed to know that Reverend Edward Wheeler Hall and choir singer Eleanor Reinhardt Mills were in love. The carnage disturbed Knox, who described her roommate as neat and tidy. Knox had spent the night with her boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, and she attempted to get into Kerchers room, which was locked. In fact, she didnt even have the masters degree she claimed to have earned. Police misconduct is any action done by a police officer that is illegal, inappropriate, or against police policies. "Not only should we not always trust the machine, we can't always trust the person that interprets the machine." Dror and Nina Sunde at the University of Oslo, Norway, gave 53 digital forensics. To buttress law enforcement accusations, Kofoed planted traces of blood which tied the suspects to the murder scene, ultimately securing a guilty verdict in court. In an article called " 8 Famous Faces Who Were Falsely Accused Of A Crime" has a case of a man named Dewey Bozella, who is a boxer, was accused of murdering a elderly woman in her apartment at the age of 18. A state forensic analyst claimed that Camms t-shirt had been stained with the wifes blood in patterns suggesting he was the perpetrator. In Fuhrmans book, he stated that at one point he was even accused of killing Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman himself.

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