Issues in Biotechnology:
The Way We Work With Life
Dr. Albert P. Kausch
life edu.us
Forensics
Lecture 32
Part I. DNA-Based Forensics: The Real Story
© life_edu
Issues in Biotechnology:
The Way We Work With Life
Dr. Albert P. Kausch
Kimberly Nelson
OnCampus Live
BCH 190, MIC 190, AFS 190, NRS 190, PLS 190
OnLine BCH 190
A Sweeping General Survey on Life and Biotechnology
A Public Access College Course
The University of Rhode Island
Issues in Biotechnology:
Biotechnology, Our Society and Our Future
life
edu.us
Issues in Biotechnology:
The Way We Work With Life
Dr. Albert P. Kausch
life edu.us
BCH 190
Section II.
The Applications of
Biotechnology
A Sweeping General Survey on Life and Biotechnology
© life_edu
The University
of Rhode Island
Issues in Biotechnology:
The Way We Work With Life
Dr. Albert P. Kausch
life edu.us
Forensics
DNA-based Forensics: The Real Story
The National Forensic Debate:
Public Safety vs. The Right of Privacy
Trace Evidence
Issues in Biotechnology:
The Way We Work With Life
Dr. Albert P. Kausch
life edu.us
Forensics
Lecture 32
Part I. DNA-Based Forensics: The Real Story
© life_edu
The Rhode Island
State Crime Lab:
Forensic Examinations
Dennis Hilliard, Director
Amy Duhaime
Criminalist III
Rhode Island State Crime Lab
Issues in Biotechnology:
The Way We Work With Life
Dr. Albert P. Kausch
life edu.us
Forensics
Lecture 32
Part I. DNA-Based Forensics: The Real Story
© life_edu
The Rhode Island
State Crime Lab:
Forensic Examinations
Dennis Hilliard, Director
Amy Duhaime
Criminalist III
Rhode Island State Crime Lab
Connecticut State
Forensic Science
Laboratory
Michael Adamowicz, Criminalist
Carll Ladd, Lead Criminalist
Forensic Biology
Biotechnology Stocks Project
Time to cash in (or out) as the case may be!!!
$100,000.00!!!!!!!
What happened to your
Invested in Biotech. Stocks this Semester?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Select and Research five Biotech companies.
Print out the current stock quote and annual chart.
Invest chosen amounts in each. Calculate shares in each.
Monitor Stock.
Print out the stock quote and annual chart Weds.
Calculate gains and losses. Submit report.
To whom much is given,
much is required Luke 12:48
Once you know, you cannot unknow
Kausch, The Abandon
In much wisdom there is grief
in much knowledge there is pain
Ecclesiastes 1:18
Now that you know, know that you now
Kausch, The Abandon
Issues in Biotechnology:
The Way We Work With Life
Dr. Albert P. Kausch
life edu.us
Forensics
DNA-based Forensics: The Real Story
The National Forensic Debate:
Public Safety vs. The Right of Privacy
Trace Evidence
I typically watch TV:
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
0-2 hrs/day
2-3 hrs/day
3-5 hrs/day
5-10 hrs/day
over 10 hrs/day
50
40
30
20
10
0
1
2
3
4
5
The average American watches TV:
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
0-2 hrs/day
2-3 hrs/day
3-5 hrs/day
5-10 hrs/day
over 10 hrs/day
I typically watch TV:
4 hrs X 365 = 1460 hrs/yr
1460 hrs/yr ÷ 16 hrs waking hrs/day = 91.25 days/yr
91.25 days/yr over 50 yrs = 4562.5 days or 12.5 yrs
Does watching TV
influence teenage sexual
behavior?
Does watching TV
influence teenage violent
behavior?
Children And TV Violence 2012
Hundreds of studies on the effects of TV violence on
children and teenagers have found that children may:
• become “immune” or numb to the horror of violence
• gradually accept violence as a way to solve problems
• imitate the violence they observe on television; and
• identify with certain characters, victims and/or victimizers
Children And TV Violence 2008
• Nearly 2 out of 3 TV programs contain some violence,
averaging about 6 violent acts per hour.
• The average child who watches 2 hours of cartoons a day
may see nearly 10,000 violent incidents each year, of which
the researchers estimate that at least 500 pose a high risk for
learning and imitating aggression and becoming
desensitized to violence.
Center for Communication and Social Policy, University
of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), National Television
Violence Study, Executive Summary, Volume 3 2008.
Longitudinal Relations Between Children’s Exposure to TV
Violence and Their Aggressive and Violent Behavior in Young
Adulthood: 1977–1992
L. Rowell Huesmann, Jessica Moise-Titus, Cheryl-Lynn Podolski, and Leonard D. Eron
University of Michigan
Developmental Psychology 2003 The American Psychological Association, Inc.
2003, Vol. 39, No. 2, 201–221
ABSTRACT
Although the relation between TV-violence viewing and aggression in childhood has been clearly
demonstrated, only a few studies have examined this relation from childhood to adulthood, and these
studies of children growing up in the 1960s reported significant relations only for boys. The current
study examines the longitudinal relations between TV-violence viewing at ages 6 to 10 and adult
aggressive behavior about 15 years later for a sample growing up in the 1970s and 1980s. Follow-up
archival data (N 450) and interview data (N 329) reveal that childhood exposure to media violence
predicts young adult aggressive behavior for both males and females. Identification with aggressive TV
characters and perceived realism of TV violence also predict later aggression. These relations persist
even when the effects of socioeconomic status, intellectual ability, and a variety of parenting factors are
controlled.
Forensic DNA Testing is
Nothing
Just
ing like CSI!
Forensic Science:
the application of natural
sciences to matters of
the law.
Physical Evidence Analysis
• Is concerned with the recognition,
identification, comparison,
individualization, interpretation and
reconstruction of evidence.
Criminalistics:
Study and evaluation of the recognition,
identification, individualization, and
evaluation of physical evidence using the
methods of the natural sciences in
matters of legal significance.
Physical evidence examination can:






Link a suspect with the victim
Link a person to a crime scene
Link an object to a crime
Disprove or support witness testimony
Identify a person
Aid in the Reconstruction of a crime
Chain of Custody
The chain of custody begins when the
evidence is located at the scene even before it
is collected and does not end, until the case
has been adjudicated in court and all appeals
have been exhausted.
Forensic Science Lab Services
Criminalistics
• Forensic Biology
Serology
DNA
• Trace Analysis
• Chemistry
• Instrumentation
Identification
 Latent Print Section
 Questioned
Documents
 Imprints
 Firearms
 Toolmarks
 Forensic Photography
*Crime Scene Reconstruction
How Does DNA Forensic Testing
Help
Help an Investigation?
By Providing Important
Linkages:
 Link suspect to victim
 Link suspect to scene
 Link victim to scene
Forensic DNA Evidence
Circumstantial Evidence
Was a person there?
Patterns
Patterns?
Patterns are the basis of DNA Identification
DNA Profiles, Marker D10S28
C V D E1 E2 E3
C
Patterns in DNA markers can link
a suspect to a crime scene
C = Control
V = Victim
D = Defendant
E = Evidentiary sample
Issues in Biotechnology
If you flip a coin six times and get heads on all six
flips, what is the probability of getting heads on
the next toss?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
1/2
1/100
1/1000
1/10,000
1/1,000,000
40
30
20
10
0
1
2
3
4
5
Murder at Rodman Dam, 1988
• In July 1987 Randall Scott Jones and Chris Reesh,
both in their teens, went target shooting with a 30/30
hunting rifle at the Rodman Dam Recreation Area in
Florida. While they were shooting, Jones’ pickup
truck became stuck in a sand pit. A fisherman
suggested they ask a couple in a pickup parked
nearby for help. Jones and Reesh approached the
truck, where Kelly Lynn Perry and her fiancé
Matthew Brock were sleeping. The two men
debated whether or not to wake them to ask for
assistance.
Murder at Rodman Dam, 1988
• The following morning, fishermen found the bodies
of Perry and Brock in the woods adjacent to the
recreation area. Police investigation revealed that
they had been shot with a 30 caliber bullet and Perry
had been sexually assaulted. Their pickup was
reported stolen.
Murder at Rodman Dam, 1988
• In August, Jones was arrested in Mississippi, found
driving Brocks pickup. Reesh was arrested the next
day in Palatka, Florida, after Jones told police that
they were together that night in July. Both were
indicted on counts of first degree assault and sexual
battery.
Murder at Rodman Dam, 1988
• A semen sample E(vs) retrieved from Perry’s body,
and blood samples from Reesh, S1, and Jones, S2,
were compared at a laboratory that specialized in
DNA testing. The resulting DNA evidence indicated
which man was guilty of rape.
Murder at Rodman Dam, 1988
• DNA results
Who is most
likely guilty of
the rape?
A. Chris
Reesh
B. Randall
Jones
Murder at Rodman Dam, 1988
• Using the DNA results and other evidence, officials
identified Jones as the rapist and were able to piece
together the events of the crime.
• Without waking the couple in the pickup, Jones shot
both Perry and Brock in the head at close range. He
and Reesh then dragged the bodies into the woods
nearby. They towed Jones’ truck with Brock’s
pickup and left with both trucks.
• Later, Jones returned to the crime scene, moved the
bodies further into the woods, and raped Perry.
Murder at Rodman Dam, 1988
• A representative from the DNA lab testified that the
chance of another person having the same DNA
fingerprint as Jones was one in 9,390,000,000,
about twice the earth’s population.
• After deliberating only 15 minutes, the jury convicted
Jones of murder and rape. The judge sentenced
him to a double death sentence, making this the first
case involving DNA evidence in the U.S. legal
history in which the death sentence was handed
down. Reesh was sentenced to six years in prison
and twenty years probation.
DNA
Uses for DNA Analysis






Criminal Investigations
Paternity Cases
Genetic Disease Diagnosis
Identifying Endangered Animals
Identifying Remains from War
Identifying Accident Victims
DNA
Hereditary material of all living organisms
Found predominantly in the cell nucleus
Organized into chromosomes
Humans-46 chromosomes
23 maternal & 23 paternal
Polymer-individual units called nucleotides
Structure-double helix
Watson and Crick, 1953
Forensic Identification:
Basic Principles
Each of us is genetically unique
If enough genetic variation is tested, each
of us can be uniquely identified
DNA is found in nearly all cells (blood,
semen, hair, etc.)
DNA from an evidentiary sample can be
matched with DNA from a suspect to
implicate or exonerate
DNA Casework
1. Forensic Analysis (Criminal)
132 labs conducting DNA analysis in 49 states
~ 40,000 cases/year received
~ 25,000 analyzed
~ 80% sexual assaults
2. ~ 30% of the time the suspect is excluded by
DNA
3. ~ 300,000 paternity cases per year
Sources of Biological Evidence
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Blood
Semen
Saliva
Urine
Hair
Teeth
Bone
Tissue
Other Possible items for DNA Testing:
1. cigarette butts
2. gloves, bandanas, ski masks, baseball caps
general clothing
3. condoms (inside vs. outside)
4. stains on furniture, pillows, sheets
5. hair clips, lipsticks
6. letters, envelopes, and stamps
7. plant and animal sources of evidence
PCR
Gel Electrophoresis:
the separation of molecules,
DNA, RNA and proteins
by charge and size
Electro refers to the energy of
electricity. Phoresis, from the
Greek verb phoros, means “to
carry across.” Thus, gel
electrophoresis refers to the
technique in which molecules
are forced across a span of gel,
motivated by an electrical
current.
Tools of the Trade
The eppendorf tube
and the pipetman
are the standard stock
and trade in the daily
work of a molecular
biologist
What is a Gel?
Agarose is a long chain of sugar molecules,
a polymer, derived from algae
used in electrophoresis to separate molecules
Two types of gel:
• Agarose (horizontal type)
• Polyacrylamide (vertical type)
How are Gels Loaded and Run?
Applications of Gel Electrophoresis
• DNA Fingerprinting
• DNA Recombinant Technology
• Forensics
• The Human Genome Project
DNA carries a net negative charge; it is
negatively charged because the
phosphates (red circles) that form the
sugar-phosphate backbone of a DNA
molecule have a negative charge.
The gel matrix acts as a sieve for DNA molecules. Large
molecules have difficulty getting through the holes in the
matrix. Small molecules move easily through the holes.
Because of this, large fragments will lag behind small
fragments as DNA migrates through the gel.
As the separation process continues, the
separation between the larger and smaller
fragments increases.
• Molecular weight markers are often electrophoresed with
DNA.
• Molecular weight markers are usually a mixture of DNAs with
known molecular weights.
• Molecular weight markers are used to estimate the sizes of
DNA fragments in a DNA sample.
What are some of the DNA technologies
used in forensic investigations?
Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP)
PCR Analysis
STR Analysis
Mitochondrial DNA Analysis
Y-Chromosome Analysis
Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism
(RFLP)
RFLP is a technique for analyzing the variable lengths of DNA fragments that result
from digesting a DNA sample with a special kind of enzyme. This enzyme, a
restriction endonuclease, cuts DNA at a specific sequence pattern know as a
restriction endonuclease recognition site. The presence or absence of certain
recognition sites in a DNA sample generates variable lengths of DNA fragments,
which are separated using gel electrophoresis. They are then hybridized with DNA
probes that bind to a complementary DNA sequence in the sample.
RFLP is one of the original applications of DNA analysis to forensic investigation.
With the development of newer, more efficient DNA-analysis techniques, RFLP is
not used as much as it once was because it requires relatively large amounts of
DNA. In addition, samples degraded by environmental factors, such as dirt or mold,
do not work well with RFLP.
PCR Analysis
PCR (polymerase chain reaction) is used to make millions of exact copies of DNA
from a biological sample. DNA amplification with PCR allows DNA analysis on
biological samples as small as a few skin cells. With RFLP, DNA samples would
have to be about the size of a quarter. The ability of PCR to amplify such tiny
quantities of DNA enables even highly degraded samples to be analyzed. Great
care, however, must be taken to prevent contamination with other biological
materials during the identifying, collecting, and preserving of a sample.
STR Analysis
Short tandem repeat (STR) technology is used to evaluate specific regions (loci)
within nuclear DNA. Variability in STR regions can be used to distinguish one DNA
profile from another. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) uses a standard set
of 13 specific STR regions for CODIS. CODIS is a software program that operates
local, state, and national databases of DNA profiles from convicted offenders,
unsolved crime scene evidence, and missing persons. The odds that two
individuals will have the same 13-loci DNA profile is about one in one billion.
Mitochondrial DNA Analysis
Mitochondrial DNA analysis (mtDNA) can be used to examine the DNA from
samples that cannot be analyzed by RFLP or STR. Nuclear DNA must be
extracted from samples for use in RFLP, PCR, and STR; however, mtDNA
analysis uses DNA extracted from another cellular organelle called a
mitochondrion. While older biological samples that lack nucleated cellular
material, such as hair, bones, and teeth, cannot be analyzed with STR and
RFLP, they can be analyzed with mtDNA. In the investigation of cases that
have gone unsolved for many years, mtDNA is extremely valuable.
All mothers have the same mitochondrial DNA as their daughters. This is
because the mitochondria of each new embryo comes from the mother’s
egg cell. The father’s sperm contributes only nuclear DNA. Comparing the
mtDNA profile of unidentified remains with the profile of a potential maternal
relative can be an important technique in missing person investigations.
Y-Chromosome Analysis
The Y chromosome is passed directly from father to son, so the analysis of
genetic markers on the Y chromosome is especially useful for tracing
relationships among males or for analyzing biological evidence involving
multiple male contributors.
PCR
The Polymerase Chain Reaction
Let’s Take a Break
PCR
The Polymerase Chain Reaction
Repetition of this cycle will cause repeated replication of the target
 THERE ARE MILLIONS OF DIFFERENT GENES OR
SEQUENCES WITHIN ANY DNA SAMPLE (BLOOD,
TISSUE, PLANT, ETC.).
 A SPECIFIC SEQUENCE IS SELECTED TO BE
AMPLIFIED (RED ABOVE). THIS SEQUENCE CAN BE ANY
GENE OF INTEREST OR A NON-CODING MARKER
REGION OF DNA.
IN ORDER TO COPY THE SEQUENCE OR GENE, A
SHORT SEQUENCE ON EITHER SIDE OF THE
SECTION MUST BE KNOWN. THIS REGION (BLUE
ABOVE) WILL SERVE AS A PRIMER ATTACHMENT
SITE TO COPY THE DNA TARGET SEGMENT.
IN ORDER TO AMPLIFY A SPECIFIC FRAGMENT OF DNA,
SEVERAL THINGS ARE NEEDED, INCLUDING PRIMERS
AND DNA POLYMERASE.
AN ENZYME WHICH COPIES DNA, PRIMERS ARE SHORT
PIECES OF DNA OR RNA DESIGNED TO PAIR WITH
GENOMIC DNA AT A SPECIFIC ATTACHMENT SITE FOR
THE MAIN PURPOSE OF HELPING THE DNA
POLYMERASE BIND AT THE DESIRED SECTION.
WITHOUT A SHORT PIECE OF DNA(OR
RNA) TO ATTACH TO, DNA POLYMERASE
CAN NOT COPY A DNA STRAND.
NUCLEOSIDE TRIPHOSPHATES, THE BUILDING BLOCKS
OF DNA ARE ALSO NEEDED.
EACH NUCLEOSIDE TRIPHOSPHATE CONSISTS OF:
 A BASE (ADENINE, THYMINE, CYTOSINE
OR GUANINE).
 A SUGAR AND THREE PHOSPHATES.
PCR REQUIRES SEVERAL CYCLES OF AMPLIFICATION. EACH CYCLE CONSISTS OF
THREE TEMPERATURE CHANGES.
 THE STARTING TEMPERATURE (95 C) SEPARATES THE DNA STRANDS.
 A LOWERED TEMPERATURE (50-60 C) ALLOWS PRIMERS TO BIND TO
COMPLEMENTARY SEQUENCES IN THE DNA.
 A SLIGHTLY HIGHER TEMPERATURE (72 C) ALLOWS DNA
POLYMERASE TO ATTACH TO THE PRIMERS AND COPY THE DNA
STRANDS (EXTENSION).
DNA STRANDS ARE SEPARATED BY HEATING @ 94o C.
THE TEMPERATURE IS LOWERED TO 54oC TO
ALLOW PRIMERS TO PAIR WITH
COMPLEMENTARY DNA SEQUENCES.
MAKING NEW DNA MOLECULES:
 DNA POLYMERASE ATTACHES TO THE PRIMERS @ 72 C.
 DNA POLYMERASE ADDS NUCLEOSIDE TRIPHOSPHATES
TO THE PRIMERS TO COPY THE DNA STRANDS.
COPYING IS COMPLETED FOR EACH STRAND.
THE PROCESS IS REPEATED IN THE NEXT CYCLE.
THE TEMPERATURE IS RAISED AGAIN TO SEPARATE
THE DNA STRANDS.
THE TEMPERATURE IS LOWERED TO ALLOW PRIMERS
TO ANNEAL. DNA POLYMERASE ATTACHES TO
THE PRIMERS AND DNA IS COPIED TO MAKE
4 STRANDS OF DNA.
STRs Are Used in Identity Testing
“Short
Tandem
Repeat
sequence”
...atatatacaacttactaccatata
ccgattacgatcgaattataccgcgga
cgtagtaatgacgatgaagtaactata
tatatatatatatatatatatatatat
atatatatatatatatatatatatata
tatatatatatatatatatatatatat
atatatatatatatatatatatatata
tatatatatatatatatatatatatat
atatatatatatatatatatatatata
tatatatatatatatatatatatatat
atactacctaccagggaggagata...
CODIS 13 Core STR Loci with Human
Chromosomal Positions
TPOX
D3S1358
D8S1179
D5S818
FGA
CSF1PO
TH01
VWA
D7S820
AMEL
D13S317
D16S539
D18S51
D21S11
AMEL
THE PROCESS OF COPYING DNA STRANDS IS REPEATED
32-35 TIMES. WITH EACH AMPLIFICATION CYCLE,
THE NUMBER OF COPIES OF THE DNA SEQUENCE IS
DOUBLED UNTIL MILLIONS OF COPIES HAVE BEEN
MADE.
Over 1 million copies are generated in
32 cycles of this chain reaction
These copies can easily be detected
by gel electrophoresis. The size of the
DNA fragment should be that of the target
sequence
What is CODIS? Combined DNA Index System
CODIS is a computer software program that operates local, State, and national
databases of DNA profiles from convicted offenders, unsolved crime scene
evidence, and missing persons. Every State in the Nation has a statutory provision
for the establishment of a DNA database that allows for the collection of DNA
profiles from offenders convicted of particular crimes. CODIS software enables
State, local, and national law enforcement crime laboratories to compare DNA
profiles electronically, thereby linking serial crimes to each other and identifying
suspects by matching DNA profiles from crime scenes with profiles from convicted
offenders. The success of CODIS is demonstrated by the thousands of matches
that have linked serial cases to each other and cases that have been solved by
matching crime scene evidence to known convicted offenders.
The missing persons index consists of the unidentified persons index and the
reference index. The unidentified persons index contains DNA profiles from
recovered remains, such as bone, teeth, or hair. The reference index contains DNA
profiles from related individuals of missing persons so that they can be periodically
compared to the unidentified persons index. All samples for this index are typed
using mtDNA and STR DNA analysis (if possible) to maximize the power of
advancing technology.
PCR Copies DNA Exponentially
through Multiple Thermal Cycles
Original DNA target region
Thermal cycle
In 32 cycles at 100% efficiency, 1.07 billion
copies of targeted DNA region are created
Laboratory PCR Instrument
INPUT:
Sample DNA, PCR enzymes,
primers, individual nucleotide
building blocks (and maybe
fluorescent labels)
OUTPUT:
Specific DNA fragments amplified
millions of times for easy visualization
With sizes that vary between individuals
Multiplex PCR
• Over 10 Markers Can Be
Copied at Once
• Sensitivities to Levels Less
Than 1 ng of DNA
• Ability to Handle Mixtures
and Degraded Samples
• Different Fluorescent Dyes
Used to Distinguish STR
Alleles with Overlapping Size
Ranges
Available Kits for STR Analysis
• Kits make it easy for labs to just add DNA
samples to a pre-made mix
• 13 CODIS core loci
– Profiler Plus and COfiler (PE Applied Biosystems)
– PowerPlex 1.1 and 2.1 (Promega Corporation)
• Increased power of discrimination
– CTT (1994): 1 in 410
– SGM Plus™ (1999): 1 in 3 trillion
– PowerPlex ™ 16 (2000): 1 in 2 x 1017
Identity Testing Using PCR
Analysis of four different sections of
the DNA
Possible conclusions:
S = size standards
V = victim’s DNA
1 = suspect #1 blood
2 = suspect #2 blood
3 = suspect #3 blood
E = evidence #1
S = size standards
A. Suspect 1 DNA was
at the scene
B. Suspect 2 DNA was
at the scene
C. Suspect 3 DNA was
at the scene
D. None were at the scene
E. Multiple suspects
were at the scene
F. Data is inconclusive
S V 1
S = size standards
V = victim’s DNA
1 = suspect #1 blood
2 = suspect #2 blood
3 = suspect #3 blood
E = evidence #1
S = size standards
2 3
E S
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
A complete match!
Case Study:
State vs. Michael DeCorso
Homicide (no DNA)
Rape: DNA in semen samples from two
teenage female victims
DNA Profiles, Marker D10S28
C V D
E1 E2 E3
C
C = Control
V = Victim
D = Defendant
E = Evidentiary sample
Population frequency of
defendant’s genotype =
1/50
DNA Profiles, Marker D4S139
C V D
E1 E2 E3
C
C = Control
V = Victim
D = Defendant
E = Evidentiary sample
Population frequency of
defendant’s genotype =
1/90
DNA Profiles, Marker D5S110
C V D
E1 E2 E3
C
C = Control
V = Victim
D = Defendant
E = Evidentiary sample
Population frequency of
defendant’s genotype =
1/10
DNA Profiles, Marker TH01
C V D
E1 E2 E3
C
C = Control
V = Victim
D = Defendant
E = Evidentiary sample
Population frequency of
defendant’s genotype =
1/70
The information from each gel can
be combined to tell us how common
the DNA profile is in the general
population
1/50 x 1/90 x 1/10 x 1/70 = 1/3,150,000
Random match probabilities
Year Case
No. of
loci
Match
probability
1996
State v. DeCorso
4 RFLPs
1/3,000,000
1997
State v. Higgins
5 RFLPs
1/400,000,000
1999
State v. Butterfield
9 STRs
1/215,000,000,000
1999
State v. Troyer
9 STRs
1/200,000,000,000
CODIS with 13 Markers - Probability of an identical match greater
than all the people who have ever been born in the history of the earth
Forensic applications of
DNA based technologies
•
Fingerprinting
OJ Simpson
•
Identification
•
Paternity
•
Crime Solving
•
World wide
data base
Dramatic Growth In DNA-Based Forensics
Doesn’t Translate Into Very Many Job
Opportunities
One set of
22 autosomes
(plus X)
One set of
22 autosomes
(plus X or Y)
Paternity Testing
Three children: The father claims he is not the father of the third child
Note: There are two alleles* for each
genetic marker
USE OF NON-HUMAN DNA
PERFECT DNA MATCH
WITH CAT STRS
(NY TIMES INTERNATIONAL
APRIL 24, 1997)
1994 HOMICIDE
PLASTIC BAG FOUND IN SHALLOW GRAVE WITH BLOODY
JACKET AND TRACE HAIRS
HAIRS BELONGED TO SUSPECT’S CAT, SNOWBALL
DOG DNA CONTRIBUTES
TO MURDER CONVICTIONS
SEATTLE, 1996 - DOUBLE MURDER, 2 SUSPECTS
COUPLE TORTURED AND SHOT ALONG WITH PET DOG
DID BLOOD ON SUSPECT’S CLOTHING MATCH THE DOG?
1 IN 3 BILLION MATCH PROBABILITY IN RANDOM CANINE
POPULATION
FORENSIC PLANT DNA
DNA MARKERS FOR PLANTS CAN BE USED TO LINK
EVIDENCE TO A CRIME SCENE
GRASS STAINS LINKED TO LAWNS
VEGTABLE DNA LINKED TO RESTAURANTS
RARE OR UNUSUAL PLANTS LINKED TO VEHICLES
MARAJUANA
The CT CODIS Database collects two types of samples;
(1) Convicted Offender Samples that include all Felony
Convictions (since 03/01/04) and, (2) Forensic Unknowns
that include any DNA profile from an evidentiary sample
that does not match the victim or an elimination known.
There are currently 10,793 offenders in CT Database and
over 1,500 offender samples are added per month.
Currently there are how many felons on the CT database?
(A)
(B)
(B)
(C)
(E)
1 out of 50 males in CT
1 out of 500 males in CT
1 out of 1000 males in CT
1 out of 10,000 males in CT
none of these answers is correct
25
20
15
10
5
0
1
2
3
4
5
CASE STUDY
Renee Pellegrino
Renee Pellegrino
• Renee Pellegrino’s found June 25, 1997,
murder victim.
• Renee Pellegrino was an accomplished scholar
with a law degree, had become addicted to
crack cocaine and turned to prostitution. She
was 40 years old and pregnant when her naked
body was discovered in a cul-de-sac off
Waterford Parkway South, CT.
Renee Pellegrino
She had just been released from a three-week
prison stay when she was apparently picked up
by her killer in downtown New London on June
25, 1997, murdered and left naked on Parkway
South.
She had been strangled, and the killer had left her
body in what the judge described as an
“extreme” manner.
Renee Pellegrino
Cold Case
Dickie Anderson 2012
Charged
Police make arrest in Pellegrino cold case
June 1, 2010
13 years later
• Police charged Dickie E. Anderson Jr., 40, with murder in the
41-year-old Pellegrino’s death.
• The arrest was the result of a cold-case investigation into
Pellegrino’s death, which occurred on a dead-end street in
Waterford. The state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner
ruled that Pellegrino had been strangled.
• Anderson, who was 27 at the time of the crime, was arrested as
a result of an investigation conducted by the Southeastern
Connecticut Cold Case Unit. The arrest warrant has been
sealed.
Dickie Anderson 2012
Charged
Police make arrest in Pellegrino cold case
June 1, 2010
Dickie Anderson 2012
Charged
Police make arrest in Pellegrino cold case
June 1, 2010
Police used a combination of evidence to build the case
against the man accused in the 1997 murder of Renee
Pellegrino, including DNA, inconsistent statements
Dickie E. Anderson Jr. made to police over the years
and his own admission that he was with Pellegrino
shortly before her body was discovered in Waterford.
Dickie Anderson 2012
• Over 13 years a case was built using
DNA, inconsistent statements Anderson
had made, and his admission that he was
with Pellegrino shortly before her body
was discovered in a cul-de-sac off
Parkway South, CT.
Dickie Anderson 2012
• This is not a trick question
• “If you had to vote right now in this case,
guilty or not guilty, what would you vote?”
(A) guilty
(B) not guilty
(C) can’t vote; I don’t know the facts of the case
Dickie Anderson 2012
• This is not a trick question
• “If you had to vote right now in this case,
guilty or not guilty, what would you vote?”
This is a common question during jury selection, and many people are tempted
to respond, incorrectly, that they can’t vote because they don’t know the facts of
the case.
The correct answer, as supplied by a woman in New London, CT who was
eventually selected to serve on the panel, is “not guilty.”
Dickie Anderson 2012
In a second case against, police charged Anderson with
killing 29-year-old Michelle Comeau of Norwich in
1998. Anderson was previously charged with the
murder of Renee Pellegrino. The Comeau case did
not involve DNA.
Both of the women had been working as prostitutes and
were victims of strangulation. Police found Comeau’s
body dumped along an access road to the Norwich
Industrial Park near Dodd Stadium in May, 1998.
Anderson has acknowledged he knew both victims.
He told police he had been with Pellegrino on the night
she disappeared from downtown New London.
Dickie Anderson 2012
• Pellegrino had been strangled, and her killer had
posed her naked body. In May 1998, police found
Comeau’s body dumped along an access road to the
Norwich Industrial Park near the Norwich-Franklin
town line. She too had been strangled. The state
claims her killer was in the process of posing her
naked body in a similar manner but was interrupted
and left the scene. Anderson’s DNA was found on
Pellegrino's body, but there is no DNA evidence to link
him to the Comeau case. He knew both women and
admitted to having sex with them on the day they were
killed.
Dickie Anderson 2012
• One inmate reported that Anderson admitted to killing
“Renee” and said several times that he would have
never done it if he had known Pellegrino was
pregnant. She was 17 weeks pregnant when she
died, according to the state Office of the Chief Medical
Examiner.
• Police also spoke with former girlfriends of Anderson
who told them he was rough during sex. One woman
said Anderson threatened her and said he had gotten
away with killing somebody. The woman said
Anderson said he fought with a prostitute who kept
asking him for money, and that he hit and killed the girl
in Bates Woods in New London.
Dickie Anderson 2012
• The police also interviewed a girlfriend who broke up
with Anderson in 2000. She recalled that twice
Anderson choked her so hard he left red marks on her
neck, the warrant says. She turned over to police a
picture of her injuries that she said a friend had taken.
• Another former girlfriend, whom Anderson was
convicted of strangling in 2008, said the two had
argued about her getting a job and that Anderson
threw her to the floor and began choking her. She
said if police did not break into the apartment and
physically remove Anderson from her, she thinks she
would have died.
Dickie Anderson 2012
• Dickie Anderson Jr., a self-confessed “trick artist” who
told police he often traded crack cocaine for sex with
prostitutes, was connected by witnesses to both of the
women he is accused of killing.
• In 2008, the state forensic laboratory had notified
police that DNA taken from Pellegrino’s body matched
a DNA sample that had been taken from Anderson.
The laboratory also found DNA on Pellegrino from an
unknown source.
Dickie Anderson 2012
• Anderson’s previous convictions include:
• Jan. 2007, third-degree assault
• November 2005, violation of a protective order
• September 2005, second-degree failure to appear in
court, second-degree threatening, second-degree
criminal mischief
• May 2003, violation of probation, evading responsibility,
second-degree failure to appear in court, third-degree
assault
• July 2002, interfering with a police officer
• March 1999, second-degree assault
Dickie Anderson 2012
Dickie Anderson 2012
• This is not a trick question
• “If you had to vote right now in this case,
guilty or not guilty, what would you vote?”
(A) guilty
(B) not guilty
(C) can’t vote; I don’t know the facts of the case
Dickie Anderson 2012
Dickie Anderson 2012
• Anderson convicted of one of two murders
• Jury decides he killed Pellegrino in Waterford cold case;
mistrial declared in deadlock over second prostitute
murder
The Death Penalty
States With and Without the Death Penalty 2012
STATES WITH THE DEATH PENALTY
Alabama
Louisiana
Pennsylvania
Arizona
Maryland
South Carolina
Arkansas
Mississippi
South Dakota
California
Missouri
Tennessee
Colorado
Montana
Texas
Delaware
Nebraska
Utah
Florida
Nevada
Virginia
Georgia
New Hampshire Washington
Idaho
North Carolina Wyoming
Indiana
Ohio
Kansas
Oklahoma
ALSO
Kentucky
Oregon
- U.S. Gov't
- U.S. Military
STATES WITHOUT THE DEATH PENALTY (YEAR
ABOLISHED IN PARENTHESES)
Alaska (1957)
Connecticut**
(2012)
Hawaii (1957)
Illinois (2011)
Iowa (1965)
Maine (1887)
Massachusetts
(1984)
Michigan (1846)
Minnesota
(1911)
New Jersey
(2007)
New Mexico*
(2009)
New York
(2007)#
North Dakota
(1973)
Rhode Island
(1984)***
Vermont (1964)
West Virginia
(1965)
Wisconsin
(1853)
ALSO
Dist. of
Columbia (1981)
The Death Penalty
Capital punishment in Rhode Island
The Cheshire, Connecticut, home invasion murders
occurred on July 23, 2007, when a mother and her two daughters were
murdered during a home invasion in Cheshire, Connecticut. The Hartford
Courant referred to the case as “possibly the most widely publicized crime
in the state’s history.” In 2010, Steven Hayes was convicted of the murders
and sentenced to death. His accomplice, Joshua Komisarjevsky, was found
guilty on October 13, 2011, and sentenced to death on January 27, 2012.
In the late afternoon of July 22, 2007, Jennifer Petit and her
daughter Michaela went to a local grocery store in Cheshire.
They picked up food for the evening meal which would be
prepared by Michaela. They, along with Jennifer’s other
daughter Hayley, would be killed several hours later in a home
invasion.
Home invasion
As Jennifer Hawke-Petit and 11-year-old Michaela Petit shopped at a local supermarket,
unbeknownst to them, they had been targeted by Komisarjevsky, who followed them home,
and planned to later rob the family by home invasion. Anticipating their deeds, Hayes and
Komisarjevsky exchanged text messages that were later introduced in court. Hayes first
messaged Komisarjevsky: “I'm chomping at the bit to get started. Need a margarita soon”.
Hayes then texts: “We still on?” Komisarjevsky replies “Yes”. Hayes’ next text asks,
“Soon?”, to which Komisarjevsky replied with “I’m putting the kid to bed hold your
horses”. Hayes then asserts “Dude, the horses want to get loose. LOL”.
According to Hayes’ confession, the two men planned to rob the house and flee the scene
with the family bound and unharmed. Hayes attributed the outcome of the spree to a
change in their plan. Upon their early morning arrival, they found William Petit sleeping
on a couch on the porch. With a bat Komisarjevsky had found in the yard, he bludgeoned
William and then restrained him in the basement at gun point. The children and their
mother were each bound and locked in their respective rooms. Hayes says he and
Komisarjevsky were not satisfied with their haul, and that a bankbook was found which
had an available balance. Hayes convinced Jennifer to withdraw $15,000 from her line of
credit. A gas station’s video surveillance shows Hayes purchasing $10 worth of gasoline in
two cans he had taken from the Petit home. After returning to the house, and unloading the
gas, he took her to the bank. The prosecution later entered this as evidence of
premeditation.
Home invasion
The bank surveillance cameras captured the transaction which shows Hawke-Petit
in the morning of July 23 as she informed the teller of her situation. The teller
then called 911 and reported the details to police. Hawke-Petit left the bank, was
picked up by Hayes, who had escorted her there, and drove away. These actions
were reported to the 911 dispatcher and recorded in real time. The teller stated
that Hawke-Petit had indicated the assailants were “being nice”, and she believed
they only wanted money.
The Cheshire police response to the bank tellers “urgent bid” began with assessing
the situation and setting up a vehicle perimeter. These preliminary measures
employed by the police exhausted more than half an hour and provided the time
used by the assailants to conclude their modified plan.
Home invasion
During this time, Hayes and Komisarjevsky escalated the aggravated nature of
their crimes. Komisarjevsky sexually assaulted the 11-year-old daughter,
Michaela. Komisarjevsky, who had photographed the sexual assault of the youth
on his cell phone, then provoked Hayes to rape Hawke-Petit. While Hayes was
raping Hawke-Petit on the floor of her living room, Komisarjevsky entered the
room announcing that William Petit had escaped. Hayes then strangled HawkePetit, doused her lifeless body and parts of the house including the daughters
rooms with gasoline. The daughters, while tied to their beds, had both been
doused with gasoline; each had her head covered with a pillowcase. A fire was then
ignited, and Hayes and Komisarjevsky fled the scene. 17-year-old Hayley and 11year-old Michaela both died from smoke inhalation.
Home invasion
William Petit had been able to free himself, escape his confines, and call to a
neighbor for help. The neighbor indicated that he did not recognize Petit, due to
the severity of Petit’s injuries. In court testimony, William Petit stated that he felt
a “jolt of adrenaline” coupled with a need to escape upon hearing one of the
perpetrators state: “Don’t worry, it’s going to be all over in a couple of minutes”.
Petit then told the jury, “I thought, it’s now or never because in my mind at that
moment, I thought they were going to shoot all of us”.
Hayes and Komisarjevsky fled the scene using the Petit family car. They were
immediately spotted by police surveillance, pursued by police, apprehended, and
arrested one block away.
The whole invasion lasted seven hours.
The scenario was revealed in a confession by Hayes just hours after the killings.
Detectives testified that Hayes exuded a strong stench of gasoline throughout the
interrogation. Each perpetrator was said to have blamed or implicated the other
as the mastermind and driving force behind the spree. There were even attempts
to blame William Petit as an accomplice. A diary kept by Komisarjevsky was
entered into evidence which also blamed William. This account called him a
“coward” and claimed he could have stopped the murders had he wanted to.
Joshua A. Komisarjevsky
Born
(1980-08-10) August 10, 1980 (age 31)
Conviction(s)
Capital felony, murder, sexual assault,
kidnapping, and arson
Penalty
Death sentence
Status
Convicted of 17 out of 17 charges,
including 6 capital felonies
Steven J. Hayes
Born
(1963-05-30) May 30, 1963 (age 49)
Homestead, Florida, U.S.
Conviction(s)
Capital felony, murder, sexual assault
Penalty
Six consecutive death sentences plus 106
years
Status
Convicted on 16 counts; sentenced to death
on six counts of capital felony
Children
A son and a daughter
The Death Penalty
The Death Penalty
(A) for
(B) against
The Hollow Men
T. S. Eliot
Mistah Kurtz—he dead. A penny for the Old Guy
I.
We are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men
Leaning together
Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!
Our dried voices, when
We whisper together
Are quiet and meaningless
As wind in dry grass
Or rats’ feet over broken glass
In our dry cellar
Shape without form, shade without colour,
Paralyzed force, gesture without motion;
Those who have crossed
With direct eyes, to death’s other Kingdom
Remember us—if at all—not as lost
Violent souls, but only
As the hollow men
The stuffed men.
1. Who recognizes, identifies, individualizes and evaluates
physical evidence using the methods of natural sciences in
matters of legal significance?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
detectives
criminologists
criminalists
criminals
local police
2. The CT CODIS Database collects two types of samples; (1)
Convicted Offender Samples that include all Felony
Convictions (since 03/01/04) and, (2) Forensic Unknowns
that include any DNA profile from an evidentiary sample
that does not match the victim or an elimination known.
There are currently 10,793 offenders in CT Database and
over 1,500 offender samples are added per month.
Currently there are how many felons on the CT database?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
1 out of 50 males in CT
1 out of 100 males in CT
1 out of 1,000 males in CT
1 out of 10,000 males in CT
none of these answers is correct
3. CODIS stands for:
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
combined DNA Index System
combinatorial Operations for DNA Identification Systems
criminalists for DNA Indexing Systems
none of these answers are correct
4. PCR is used in plant genetics, animal cloning, drug
discovery, cancer research and forensics.
(A) false
(B) true
(C) only when a plant geneticist thinks his collaborator stole
his work
(D) only when forensic analysis involves plant material from
a crime scene
5. DNA analysis is now a common and widely accepted
forensic tool used to analyze evidentiary DNA.
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
true
false
only in less than half the states
only used on convicted felons
6. In the national debate about the use of forensic DNA analysis
and the building of DNA databases (such as an all felon database
vs. an all arrestee database of a general public database) there are
two competing views. One view holds that DNA testing and the
building of databases is a matter of public safety: DNA solves
crimes; only criminals should fear DNA testing or databases. The
opposing view holds that:
(A) there are privacy concerns, maintaining that DNA information
is different where there is significant potential for abuse
(B) misused DNA evidence has obviously exonerated guilty
people citing the OJ Simpson trial, no one is looking for the
criminal of that crime
(C) that the PCR approach to DNA testing is not accurate or
reliable
(D) DNA databases will be far too costly to maintain or use
7. Considering the National debate on DNA forensic
databases which of the following is not an issue?
(A) constitutionality of taking DNA samples from arrestees
and suspects
(B) practical/financial considerations of expanding DNA
databanks
(C) what happens to the sample after profiling?
(D) post-conviction DNA testing. >150 exonerated-August
2004
(E) accuracy of the DNA testing protocols
8. (STR) technology is used to evaluate specific regions (loci)
within nuclear DNA. Variability in STR regions can be used
to distinguish one DNA profile from another. The Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI) uses a standard set of 13 specific
STR regions for CODIS. CODIS is a software program that
operates local, state, and national databases of DNA profiles
from convicted offenders, unsolved crime scene evidence,
and missing persons. The odds that two individuals will have
the same 13-loci DNA profile is extremely unlikely. STR
stands for:
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
Standard Temperature Reactions
Statewide Tracking Reliabilities
Short Tandem Repeats
Starwars Tracking Reactions
9. There was a homicide in 1994. A plastic bag was found
in the shallow grave of the victim with a bloody jacket and
some trace hairs were recovered. What techniques would be
best used to match the hairs to the suspect’s cat, snowball?
(A) PCR providing a perfect match with cat STRs
(B) all of these techniques together provide the best case
(C) PCR of the blood from the jacket to tie the DNA of the
suspect to the jacket
(D) scanning electron microscopy of the trace evidence
showed that they were those of a cat
10. Research on how the principles of biology and evolution
are involved with criminal behavior is in its infancy. The
principal mechanism of evolution, which includes two
processes that operate together: chance variability and
selection, is called:
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
natural selection
ingenuity
conjugation
predation
intelligent design
11. DNA databases are controversial because:
(A) because of the conflict between public safety and civil
liberties
(B) they have not proven useful to solving crimes
(C) they use crime genes to evaluate unsuspected criminals
from the pubic
(D) they have been too expensive or computationally too
difficult to manage on a large scale
12. There was a double murder in Seattle in 1996 and
preliminary investigation came up with two suspects. A
couple had been tortured and shot dead along with their pet
dog. There was blood on one of the suspect’s clothing. The
blood on the clothing could be best matched with that of the
dog by doing what?
(A) looking for matching dogs hairs at the crime scene
(B) finding no dog blood on the second suspect
(C) using PCR on both samples with known molecular
makers for dogs
(D) obtaining the records from the local veterinarian
13. What are the odds of two people’s DNA matching one
another given the nationally used 13 CODIS core of STR loci
used by state and federal forensics experts?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
over 1 in a billion
1 in 3 million
1 in 700,000
1 in 7,000
less than 1 in 90
14. Which of these items could be a source for possible DNA
forensic testing:
(A) all of these items can be used for DNA testing
(B) cigarette butts
(C) general clothing: including gloves, bandanas, ski masks,
baseball caps
(D) condoms (inside vs. outside)
(E) a bloody knife
15. How does forensic testing help in a criminal
investigation?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
by linking a suspect to a victim
by linking a victim to crime scene
by linking a suspect to crime scene
by any or all of the answers
16. You are a prospective juror for a trial which you have
read about in you local newspaper. You are asked, “If you
had to vote right now in this case, guilty or not guilty, what
would you do?” What should be your response according to
the law in the United States?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
guilty
not guilty
not enough evidence
none of these answers
17. Renee Pellegrino was an accomplished scholar with a law
degree, had become addicted to crack cocaine and turned to
prostitution. She was 40 years old and pregnant when her
naked body was discovered in a cul-de-sac off Waterford
Parkway South, CT. on June 25, 1997 murdered. In 2008,
the state forensic laboratory had notified police that DNA
taken from Pellegrino’s body matched a DNA sample that
had been taken from Dickie Anderson Jr. The DNA
evidence:
(A) proved that Dickie Anderson was guilty
(B) showed that Dickie Anderson was not guilty
(C) provided circumstantial evidence that linked Dickie
Anderson to the crime
(D) not enough evidence
(E) none of these answers