Archive for the ‘DNA Detective’ Category

Tue, May 6th, 2014

This week we are shooting our new Crime Scene Awareness Training DVD in and around Cape Town. With the support and co-operation of SAPS, the FSL, the NPA and of course the DNA Project team, we will be chatting to forensic scientists, CSI’s, prosecutors and crime scene experts. This training DVD will cover actual cases and will gather information around the issue of how we can all help secure and protect valuable forensic evidence on a crime scene.

We are extremely grateful to our amazing funders, The Change a Life Trust for funding this critical project as well as the ever generous Tim Hancock Trust for assisting us when we almost didn’t have enough funds to go ahead with the production! We will be sharing the week with all of our DNAP followers as we take you through the journey with us: from crime scene to courtroom.

Watch this space, share, like and educate – crime scene awareness and the importance of preserving evidence on a crime scene is one of the biggest challenges in South Africa – and one in which we can all be part of resolving.

Vanessa & The DNA Project Team

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Crime Scene Science infographic

Thu, Apr 17th, 2014

The following is an interesting infographic highlighting some of the various modern forensic methods which may be used to help solve a crime — from DNA profiling to forensic entomology.

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Posted in Crime Scenes, DNA Detective, Infographic | 3 Comments »

TEDTalks – The problem with eyewitness testimony

Thu, Apr 10th, 2014

TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference.

In the following TEDTalks video, Scott Fraser, a forensic psychologist who studies how humans remember crimes and bear witness to them, discusses how fallible eyewitness testimony can be and suggests that even close-up eyewitnesses to a crime can create “memories” they couldn’t have seen.

Why? Because the brain abhors a vacuum.

It’s a topic of particular interest that not only illustrates the subjective nature of eyewitness testimony, but also indirectly highlights the issue of how valuable crime scene evidence is to an investigation as the information gathered at a scene can help to either prove or disprove what a witness may have “seen” and “remembered”.

Please note: In the original version of this talk, Scott Fraser misspoke about available footage of Two World Trade Center (Tower 2). The misstatement has been edited out for clarity. To view the original video, please click here.

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Tags: eyewitness testimony, Scott Fraser, TEDTalks
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DNA Bill Panel Discussion

Thu, Feb 13th, 2014

Date: 13 February 2014

Time: 12:00 – 14:00

Venue: Melrose Arch African Pride Hotel

1 Melrose Square

Melrose Arch

Johannesburg, GAU 2196, ZA

+27 11 214 6666

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Tags: DNA Bill, DNA Project, TEARS, Vanessa Lynch
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DNA Act passed, mandatory DNA collection for serious crimes on the cards

Fri, Jan 31st, 2014

The path has been cleared for South Africa to have its own extensive DNA database for use by the South African Police Service (SAPS) in the investigation of crimes, writes Irma Venter for the Engineering News, 30 Jan 2014.

The DNA Act has been signed by President Jacob Zuma and published in the Government Gazette, bringing to fruition a decade of work for Vanessa Lynch and her colleagues from The DNA Project.

An attorney by training, Lynch formed nongovernmental organisation The DNA Project to pursue the goal of establishing a DNA database within SAPS.

Matching a human being’s distinct genetic blueprint, their DNA, found on a crime scene, to an extensive database of offenders may seem like a simple exercise. Done in almost every crime series on television, and at law enforcement agencies in numerous countries around the world, it is hard to believe this has not been a reality in South Africa.

However, Criminal Law (Forensic Procedures) Amendment Act, No 37 of 2013, now, finally, changes this.

There are “busy times ahead, but so exciting”, says Lynch.

The SAPS does currently have a DNA database, but it is populated by a mere, roughly, 180 000 profiles.

Prior to the new Act, there was no legislation regulating DNA collection by the SAPS, which meant it had no mandate to take DNA samples from those arrested for serious crimes, or from convicted offenders.

However, the new Act enables the establishment, regulation, administration and maintenance of what will be called the National Forensic DNA Database of South Africa.

It will make it mandatory for DNA samples to be collected by specially trained police officers from those arrested and convicted of serious offences.

If SAPS increases the number of profiles on its database, it will increase the chance of finding a match and linking a DNA profile found at a crime scene to a suspect, or, at the very least, deriving criminal intelligence therefrom.

Moreover, DNA profiles can also serve to exonerate convicted persons, as well as assist in the identification of missing persons and unidentified human remains.

SAPS last year estimated the cost of implementing the Act, over a three-year period, at R1.26-billion, of which the bulk will be operational costs, at around R900-million.

Implementing the Act will require the training of police officers, as well as the appointment of additional forensic analysts.

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It’s official: The #DNABill has finally been passed into Law!

Tue, Jan 28th, 2014

Government Gazette, Vol. 583, No. 52 Cape Town, 27 January 2014 No. 37268
It is hereby notified that the President has assented to the following Act, which is hereby published for general information:—

Act No. 37 of 2013: Criminal Law (Forensic Procedures) Amendment Act, 2013

I have waited so long to read those words, so when this notice popped up into my Inbox this morning, I quite literally froze! Ten years since we started the DNA Project, five years of pushing it through Parliament and then one day, the news quietly slips into my Inbox. No fanfare, no sound of champagne corks, no fireworks, just the barely inaudible ‘ping’ from my Inbox that I have new mail. Yet the impact of this news is groundbreaking, and as it slowly dawns on me that we are on the brink of changing the way in which we can now fight crime in this country and hold criminals accountable for their actions, it also dawns on me that it has been at great cost to all the lives that have been lost and damaged as a result of crime in South Africa. For all those victims of crime, this Act symbolises hope and most importantly another nail in the lid of what I hope will one day be the coffin of crime in our country.

Roll on the new DNA Act 37 of 2013!

The first official copy of the DNA Act in the Government Gazette

Thank you to everyone who has played such a significant role in fighting for this important law to be passed. The promulgation of this Act is a collective victory and we must continue to fight to ensure that it is effectively implemented.

with thanks

Vanessa Lynch & The DNA Project Team

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8,000 Men Asked to Provide DNA for 1999 Murder Case in The Netherlands

Mon, Oct 15th, 2012

September 2012
(The following article first appeared in DNA Forensics: News and Information about DNA Databases)

During a press conference in Drachten, in Friesland, a Northern province of The Netherlands, the public prosecution’s office announced that approximately 8,000 men have been asked to provide DNA samples to help solve the 1999 murder of Marianne Vaatstra, a 16-year-old girl. Miss Vaatstra’s body was found in a field in her town, Zwaagwesteinde. All of the men that were asked to give a DNA sample live within three miles of where the murder occurred, an area that encompasses 12 villages. Law enforcement officials also stated that no person asked to give their DNA will be forced to comply. This is the largest DNA Dragnet of its kind ever undertaken in the Netherlands.

The Dutch television crime journalist Peter R de Vries, made a recent documentary about the Vaatstra murder. De Vries became well-known in the United States through his documentary about the disappearance of the 18 year-old American student Natalee Holloway in Aruba in 2005. De Vries was able to secretly video tape Joran Van der Sloot, confessing to another man that he had killed Natalee Holloway.
De Vries produced a TV-documentary this past May giving information about a Playboy cigarette lighter found in Miss Vaatstra’s bag which contained DNA traces that matched the traces found on the schoolgirl’s body. Tips following the broadcast showed the lighter was on sale in the local area at the time, including in the village of Zwaagwesteinde where she lived.

Marianne Vaatstra

After the press conference, Marianne’s father, Mr. Bauke Vaatstra made an emotional appeal for men to take part in the investigation. “This is the last means of finding Marianne’s killer,” he said. “Please give your DNA.” The National Forensic Institute in The Netherlands, is also carrying out further research in the Dutch national DNA database to try to find relatives of the probable killer. Law enforcement is looking at Familial DNA, as they suspect that the real killer will not come forward to give a DNA sample.

Read related articles here.

Posted in Crime Scenes, DNA Detective, DNA Project, In the Media, Latest News | 4 Comments »

‘I was bored, so I raped’

Tue, Jun 19th, 2012

Of the 37 783 prisoners released under the presidents special remission in the spirit of Freedom Day, 47 are already back in jail and facing charges including murder, attempted murder and rape reports Botho Molosankwe

A prisoner who benefited from President Jacob Zuma’s special remission of sentences was re-arrested after he broke into a woman’s house and raped her – because he was bored.

The man had been free for only two weeks when he re-offended.

The man, who was released from a prison in Wepener, Free State, on May 8, allegedly committed the housebreaking and rape offences on May 22.

According to the Department of Correctional Services, the man said he had committed the crimes because he had nothing to do.

The man, who cannot be named as he has yet to plead, is one of the 37 783 prisoners who were released from various prisons across the country following Zuma’s special remission of sentence to certain categories of prisoners.

However, within a month of their early release, 47 are already back behind bars and facing charges of murder, attempted murder, rape, robbery, assault, kidnapping, theft, stock theft, possession of drugs, possession of stolen goods and housebreaking.

The re-offenders, when asked why they had committed the crimes so soon after their release, blamed boredom, homelessness, hunger, poverty, drug addiction and unemployment.

Another man, who had initially been arrested for assault, committed murder just after being released. The Limpopo, man had been out for only two days.

“He is alleged to have gone home and found his girlfriend with another man. A fight broke out and he is alleged to have killed the girlfriend’s lover.

One man who was serving time for attempted murder when he was released was re-arrested on charges of committing the same offence.

Another man, who was on parole for housebreaking and theft, was arrested just a few hours after being granted his freedom. Khumalo said that as part of his parole conditions, correctional services officials used to check on him periodically at home.

On May 9, they told him that he was now a free man and would no longer be getting visits from them. A few hours later, the man was behind bars for housebreaking and theft, again.

Khumalo said that although the prisoners were released out of a gesture of humanity, those who had re-offended had spat in the face of the government that had released them.

“And other departments are affected too. The police have to hunt them and take them to police stations. The Justice Department has to invest time and effort to bring the suspects to book and sentence them. And we, as Correctional Services, have to update our records,” Khumalo pointed out.

Correctional Services is expected to conduct pre-release assessments and run pre-release preparation programmes.

Presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj said Zuma had “noted what had happened and would take that into consideration as we move forward”.

__________

The DNA Project cannot help but surmise how many more of the 37, 783 ex-cons released may be committing more crimes – but we have no way of detecting them because we have no legislation which mandates that all arrestees or at the very least convicted offenders, have their DNA profile entered onto a national DNA database. Instead, because of the delay in passing this vital legislation, these criminals have been released with little opportunity to protect the public when they return to crime. DNA Databases have been proven to not only identify the most violent criminals, but have also served to exonerate those wrongly arrested and convicted. If these individuals who had been released had had their DNA taken and entered onto the database, they would be identified at an earlier stage and more reliably than ever before. So, because of the fact that we have to wait until the DNA legislation is passed, South Africans have just been given 37,783 more reasons to ask the Portfolio Committee on Police to finally pass the DNA database legislation.

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Touch DNA: Useful in Solving ‘Volume’ Crimes

Thu, May 24th, 2012

What is Touch DNA?

Touch DNA is a forensic method for analysing DNA left at the scene of a crime. It is called “touch DNA” because it only requires very small samples, for example, skin cells left on an object after it has been touched or handled.Touch DNA analysis only requires seven or eight cells from the outermost layer of human skin.(Wikipedia)

This relatively new forensic technique of using “touch DNA” is being employed in several countries to help solve those crimes which have previously been too difficult or impossible to solve. This new technique is mostly used for investigating property or high volume crimes and involves testing evidence such as an object or broken glass for “touch DNA” – microscopic skin cells containing DNA that naturally rub off when an object, such as a cell phone or steering wheel, is touched.

Even gloves don’t let them get away with it!

Touch DNA technology can even be used if the suspect was wearing gloves at the time of committing the crime because there’s a high likelihood that the skin cells were transferred onto the gloves when the perpetrator was putting them on. Property and other nonviolent crimes are often overlooked in South Africa due to the fact that no violence was involved or due to a lack of physical evidence. Or so it seems….. However, the SA Forensic Science Lab recognises that not only do criminals have a ‘career path’ which often starts with less serious crimes, but more violent criminals also dabble in other types of crimes, such as housebreaking. This is why they advocate for the use of Touch DNA in South Africa. The rationale behind collecting DNA from ‘volume’ crimes would be to include these DNA profiles onto a DNA database where the chance of a match to a known suspect would be increased.

A disposable vacuum collection system used for the forensic collection of liquids, fibers, powders, cellular material, blood, urine, and saliva. The Nib attachment allows the vacuum device to collect Touch DNA samples and other trace evidence

This type of technology could be used effectively in hijackings as there will be a large number of physical clues left behind in a vehicle if employing ‘Touch DNA’ as a methodology to collect evidence from these types of crimes.

Collecting the best samples

In order to take advantage of touch DNA, it is also important for the CSI to collect the right samples. This technique can be used on samples taken from guns, steering wheels, cell phones, glass, plastic, wood, cloth, fabric, to name a few. It does however require discretion inso far as focusing on the places a suspect is likely to have touched. Eg, in the case of a hijacking, taking samples from the entire dashboard would not be prudent. Instead, the CSI should focus on processing the steering wheel; the door and the door handles; the rear view mirror; the gear stick; the controls for the windows, the stereo and the air conditioner.

If the crime scene is indoors, observe the scene. Did the suspect try to cover up by washing his hands? If so, tell the CSI to take samples from the faucet and sink surfaces. Look for bathroom or kitchen towels or discarded paper towels. (BUT DON’T TOUCH THEM!) Tell the CSI to remember to process the doors and windows that a suspect may have used to enter or exit the property/crime scene. Ensure that any clothing that may belong to the suspect is tested for touch DNA too. Finally, look for any items that are out of place—chances are, the suspect was the one who moved them!

If you are a non essential, non forensic person (in other words EVERYONE OTHER THAN A QUALIFIED CRIME SCENE INVETIGATOR!), keep out of the crime scene and take notes should you have observed anything which the CSI may be able to use to assist in his or her investigation of the crime scene.

Remember as always DNA CSI!

Vanessa Lynch

Please contact Maya Moodley at maya@dnaproject.co.za should you wish to benefit from a free DNA Awareness workshop in your area.

Posted in Crime Scenes, DNA Detective, DNA Project, Forensic Career | Comments Off on Touch DNA: Useful in Solving ‘Volume’ Crimes

Criminal Foiled By Discarded Water Bottle

Wed, Oct 5th, 2011

I came across the below story yesterday when reading about interesting cases in the quarterly Forensic DNAResource Report. It caught my eye not because I think catching a petty thief in the USA is a particularly serious offence – but because at the scene of my father’s murder in Johannesburg, SA, the perpetrators who shot my dad just prior to breaking into our family home, had been drinking brandy and coke in the garden out of an old coke bottle. This bottle, which contained valuable DNA evidence as to who was present at the crime scene when my father was killed, was later discarded by the police. When I asked why they had done that, they said to me that ‘we do not have the technology in this country to uplift DNA evidence from the bottle’. This is not only untrue, but illustrates the tragedy of destroying valuable evidence from a crime scene which could ultimately have convicted the people who murdered my father. There was only one chance to collect and preserve that evidence, and it was lost. Forever. We can never go back – and as such, that crucial link to my father’s killers, lost with it.

This is why I am so passionate about creating crime scene awareness in South Africa. We need to all become forensically aware and prevent this type of thing from happening over and over again. The rationale behind this objective is that without the proper preservation and collection of valuable DNA and other forensic evidence left at a crime scene, the opportunity to link the perpetrator to the crime committed, will be lost.

Don’t let it happen. Ask us how you can be part of the solution. If you or your community/group/workforce are interested in receiving DNA Awareness training or know of any group who would benefit from this information, please contact us via maya@dnaproject.co.za and she will send you the necessary information.

Here is the story:

Police: Year-old Boca Grande burglary solved

July 28, 2011

Charlotte County Sheriff’s detectives say they have solved a year-old case thanks to a DNA match of the burglar who left behind a bottle of water.

A home in Boca Grande on the Charlotte County side was burgled in June 2010. Police say the burglar entered through a second-story window and stole televisions, three dirt bikes and a Volkswagen Euro Van. The van was recovered in Sarasota County but the three dirt bikes were not recovered.

Crime scene technicians located fingerprints and found a bottle of water in the home. On July 13, police say the water bottle tested positive for Eric William Griffith, whose details were already on the database.

Detectives arrested Griffith at his home Tuesday and charged him with burglary, grand theft motor vehicle and grand theft.

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