Silent Witness - Volume 3, Number 5, 1997

First Mitochondrial DNA Case: Tennessee v. Ware

written by by Kim Herd, Senior Attorney and Angela Hart, Staff Attorney

APRI's DNA Legal Assistance Unit

In the early morning hours of October 1, 1994, the body of four year-old Lindsey Green was found next to the defendant, Paul Ware who was passed out, drunk and nude in the little girl’s laundry room. Earlier that evening, the victim was left in the care of Paul Crum, a friend of the child’s mother. Subsequently, the severely intoxicated defendant arrived at the house and was let in by Mr. Crum. When the mother returned later that evening, she discovered her daughter’s body. The child had been violently raped both vaginally and anally. The cause of death was asphyxia from the weight of the defendant’s body on the small girl’s chest. There was neither blood nor semen found on Ware or the girl. However, a small red hair was discovered five inches down the child’s throat. Investigators also recovered ten pubic hairs from the girl’s bedsheet. The FBI forensic laboratory performed mitochondrial DNA testing on the hairs recovered, and found them to be consistent with samples taken from the defendant. The DNA tests excluded Mr. Crum and others who were possible suspects in the case. Largely on the basis of this evidence, the jury convicted the defendant and sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

This is the first case in which results of mitochondrial DNA analysis were admitted in a criminal trial in the United States. The mitochondrial DNA analysis process is based on PCR amplification. DNA is extracted from the sample (in this case the shaft of a hair) and is purified and amplified using the PCR amplification process. The amplified product is then tested at a set of loci determined to be highly variable from person to person. Traditional DNA analysis methods analyze DNA found in the nucleus of cells. Nucleated cells are found in materials such as epithelial cells, blood, semen, and skin cells that may be present in urine or saliva, as well as follicle material attached to hair shafts. The new technique allows scientists to analyze DNA in the mitochodria, the fluid around the nucleus of the cell. Thus mitochondrial analysis can be performed on materials such as hair shafts, bones, teeth, urine and saliva, the cells of which do not have a nucleus. Mitochodrial DNA is passed on from mother to child without any contribution from the father. It has been used since 1991 to identify skeletal remains of Vietnam veterans. Since that time, scientific studies have confirmed its validity and reliability.

CODIS Update

by Dawn Herkenham, Federal Bureau of Investigation

CODIS, for Combined DNA Index System, enables state and local forensic laboratories to exchange and compare DNA profiles electronically, thereby linking serial violent crimes to each other and identifying suspects by matching DNA from crime scenes to convicted offenders. Briefly, this is how CODIS works --- a semen stain is identified on the clothing of a sexual assault victim. The forensic laboratory analyzes the evidence and produces a DNA profile. This crime scene DNA profile is then searched against the convicted offender index. Matches in the convicted offender index provide investigators with known suspects. If there is no match in that index, the DNA profile may be searched against the forensic index. A match in the forensic index associates the case with the other cases nationwide, which may or may not identify a suspect. The leads generated from the forensic index allow investigators in multiple jurisdictions to coordinate their respective investigations.

Today, CODIS software is installed in 60 state and local forensic laboratories representing 31 States and the District of Columbia. Case-to case hit result from a match made within the forensic index – and links DNA evidence found at different crime scenes. There have been 127 case-to-case hits to date. Case-to-offender hits result from matches made between the forensic and convicted offender indexes and provide investigators with the actual identity of a suspect. There have been 76 case-to-offender hits in CODIS.

To participate in CODIS” convicted offender index, a State must have a DNA database law authorizing the collection, analysis and entry of DNA profiles from specified offenders in the DNA database. Since 1989, 46 States have enacted DNA database laws. Massachusetts, Vermont, Nebraska, and Rhode Island have DNA proposals pending before their Legislatures.