I don't remember seeing this posted here ...
South Louisiana Serial Killer Workshop to Be Presented at the American Academy of Forensics Science (AAFS) Annual Meeting
SARASOTA, FL -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 02/16/06 -- DNAPrint Genomics, Inc. (OTC BB: DNAG) today
announced that Dr. Matthew Thomas, Senior Scientist, is a scheduled speaker
at the South Louisiana Serial Killer Workshop at the AAFS Annual Meeting on
February 20, 2006 in Seattle, Washington. Dr. Thomas will explain DNAPrint
Genomics' role in focusing investigation efforts towards the correct
suspect, Derrick Todd Lee, in the South Louisiana Serial Killer case. Dr.
Thomas's presentation will explain the science behind the DNAWitness(TM)
product and demonstrate the process that resulted in test results
reflecting Derrick Todd Lee's 85% Sub-Saharan African ancestry. This
information was instrumental in focusing investigation efforts on
appropriate suspects. The refocused investigation resulted in an arrest
less than two months after DNAPrint Genomics provided the information and
the suspect was ultimately convicted.
The American Academy of Forensic Sciences is one of the world's largest and
most renowned organizations of forensic scientists, with nearly 6,000
members in 57 countries. The annual meeting involves presentation of
scientific papers and workshops designed to keep forensic scientists on the
cutting edge of solving crime. One such workshop at this year's meeting
involves a very complex, multifaceted investigation, which culminated in
the apprehension and conviction of a serial killer. The experts involved in
the case, including an investigator, several scientists, the profiler and
legal experts, will come together to share their expertise and learning
experiences, in the hopes of educating attendees so they can solve similar
crimes more efficiently in their home jurisdictions.
In 2002 and 2003, murders of six victims were linked to a single assailant
in Southern Louisiana. Multiple agencies were involved in the
investigation and eventual prosecution of the cases, culminating in the
death penalty sentence of Derrick Todd Lee in 2004. The hunt for the
serial killer generated considerable media coverage, and resulted in wide
sweeping effects to policy, legislation and funding. A variety of
approaches were taken in the forensic investigation and prosecution of the
crimes, including a blending of new technologies and trusted older
techniques. The investigative use of databases generated unique leads when
applied to the field of physical matching and comparison. A variety of DNA
analytical methods, techniques, and applications were employed to link
crimes together, eliminate suspects, implicate Lee, and bring novel
investigative information to the serial killer task force, including
ancestry determination which demonstrated that he was 85% African.
"The successful outcome of the Louisiana Serial Killer case in 2003 was a
milestone for our DNAWitness forensic technology and brought nationwide
attention to DNAPrint's capabilities in helping to solve complex crimes,"
stated President and Chief Executive Officer Richard Gabriel. "Since that
time, DNAWitness or Retinome(TM) technologies are currently being utilized
in more than 100 cases worldwide. Retinome(TM) provides an accurate
inference of iris (eye) color from the measurement of proprietary single
nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) distributed throughout the human genome and
is a further advancement of DNAWitness technology. We are proud of our role
in this investigation and we believe that there are many cases that would
benefit from the application of our forensic technologies."
