The promise and perils of DNA evidence

February 10, 2009

LAPD to expedite DNA testing of backlogged rape kits

DNA evidence in more than 400 rapes and sexual assaults has gone untested even though detectives trying to solve the crimes have not identified any suspects, Los Angeles Police Department officials acknowledged Monday.

January 28, 2009

Wider scope of backlog in L.A. County sheriff's DNA testing is revealed

DNA evidence has gone untested in more than 800 rape and sexual assault cases even though detectives from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and other smaller agencies have no suspects in those crimes, authorities acknowledged Tuesday.

January 27, 2009

LAPD, union tangle over collection of officers' DNA

Since its arrival as a crime-fighting tool, Los Angeles police officers have aggressively used the power of DNA technology to solve countless cases.

December 26, 2008

DNA: GENES AS EVIDENCE

The danger of DNA: It isn't perfect

In 2004, a New Jersey prosecutor announced that DNA had solved the mystery of who killed Jane Durrua, an eighth-grader who was raped, beaten and strangled 36 years earlier.

November 25, 2008

DNA: GENES AS EVIDENCE

Tracing a crime suspect through a relative

Over nearly two decades, a serial killer has shot and strangled at least 11 people, often dumping their battered bodies in alleyways of Inglewood and Los Angeles.

November 13, 2008

L.A. County sheriff's officials acknowledge that genetic evidence in 5,635 rape cases may be untested

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, under pressure from county supervisors and watchdog groups to account for its handling of DNA evidence from sexual assault cases, acknowledged Wednesday it did not know whether genetic evidence from more than 5,600 rape cases had been examined.

November 9, 2008

As DNA test backlogs soar, U.S. cuts funding

Last summer, the Los Angeles Police Department was dealt a rude shock.

October 29, 2008

L.A. announces plan to reduce backlog of unexamined DNA evidence from violent crimes

Top city officials Tuesday unveiled a plan to help the Los Angeles Police Department's crime lab reduce its massive backlog of unexamined DNA evidence from violent crimes, but they acknowledged that the funding for the proposal was less than certain.

DNA databases blocked from the public

The National Institutes of Health quietly blocked public access to databases of patient DNA profiles after learning of a study that found the genetic information may not be as anonymous as previously believed. August 29, 2008

The verdict is out on DNA profiles

A discovery leads to questions about whether the odds of people sharing genetic profiles are sometimes higher than portrayed. Calling the finding meaningless, the FBI has sought to block such inquiry. June 20, 2008

California Supreme Court ruling allows 'rarity' statistic in DNA cases

Court permits the disclosure of the remote odds of finding genetic profiles similar to defendant's. June 17, 2008

Court weighs fairness of 'cold hit' DNA in '76 case

A killer says he lacked an adequate defense so long after the crime. May 9, 2008

The odds of justice can be long

Genetic evidence is widely viewed as ironclad. In 'cold hit' cases, however, the truth is often elusive. May 4, 2008

When a match is far from a lock

The odds of an error are greater than you might think in 'cold hit' cases, which tap databases to ID suspects. May 4, 2008

California offers police extra DNA tool

The state will search its database for relatives of unidentified suspects in hopes of developing leads. Critics voice privacy concerns. April 26, 2008