Presented by Professor Angela Gallop, CEO Axiom International; Professor at the Centre for Forensic Science at Northumbria University Human Identification Solutions Conference – Madrid, Spain March 4, 2015

1. Human Identification Solutions (HIDS) Conference
Madrid 2-4 March 2015
Needles in Haystacks
- Finding DNA traces to test in
complex historic cases
Professor Angela Gallop
4 March 2015

2. My talk today
• Historic cases and additional challenges they
present
• Five of the UK’s most complex
and high profile cases and how
they were solved
• Lessons learned from each for the
future
• Particularly in relation to finding
DNA traces to test
• And ensuring quality and relevance of the results

3. Extra challenges with cold cases
• Finding ‘things’ to test
• Nature and condition of ‘things’
when they are found
• Discovering what original tests
covered and detail of results
• Shortcomings in Continuity and
Integrity
• Getting free enough rein
• Explaining why evidence originally
missed
Scientific
documentation
Admin

4. Cardiff prostitute – what happened
• Vicious knife attack on young prostitute in Cardiff in 1989
• Over 50 stab cuts, slit throat and cut wrists
• ‘Foreign’ blood identified at crime scene
• Said to match a female witness
• 1992 false confessions led to conviction of
The Cardiff Three
• Released on Appeal - 2 years later
• Successive subsequent attempts to obtain DNA profile
from remains of the ‘foreign’ blood all failed

5. Cardiff prostitute – how it was solved
• Developed full understanding of sequence of events
from blood patterns etc
• Focused on the ‘foreign’ blood
• Unearthed new samples to test
• Obtained full DNA profile –
forming a pattern on and around the body
• No match on DNA Database
but manual search identified
14 year old boy as of interest
• Profiled his family members until
found an uncle whose DNA matched

6. Cardiff prostitute - lessons learnt
• Make sure you really understand the crime
scene
• Be persistent in locating for items
to test
• Be imaginative about what to
test
• Don’t put things in the ‘too difficult’
box
• Leave unsolved case files in good order

7. Young black boy – what happened
• Young black boy stabbed in leg with broken bottle
in 2000
• In stairwell of block of flats in London
• Suspect brothers arrested 5 days later
• No forensic evidence found
• 2002 failed prosecution of 4 others
• No forensic evidence on them either
• 2002 Metropolitan Police commissioned
independent review of its performance

8. Young black boy – how it was solved
• Re-examined items from all previous suspects
• Revealed blood on clothes of
both suspect brothers
• Including 9mm stain on trainer
• DNA in blood matched boy’s
• Textile fibre embedded in blood
matched his jumper fibres
• Other fibre links found but risk
of cross contamination

9. Young black boy - lessons learned
• Don’t make assumptions about previous work
• Even if conducted by well trained scientists
working in quality assured and accredited
environment
• Don’t let DNA blind you to other
evidence
• Check for obvious potential
contamination routes at an early stage
• Don’t get caught up in any blame game
about previous investigations

10. Young mother– what happened
• Young mother stabbed to death on Wimbledon
Common in front of young son in 1992
• Lower clothing pulled down to expose intimate areas
of body
• 1993 suspect S. charged with murder
• 1994 suspect S. cleared after ‘honey trap’exposed

11. Young mother – how it was solved
• Examined items from victim - included body ‘taping’ on
which no DNA originally detected
• Re-testing revealed victim’s DNA and hint of male DNA
• Developed new enhancement technique
to improve results
• Combined with other DNA techniques
• Identified serial rapist and murderer
– suspect N.
• Further links involved:
– Paint matching N.’s tool box
– Footwear mark at scene

12. Young mother - lessons learned
• Be watchful for ‘dogs that don’t bark’
• Consider ramifications for other
cases – Operation Cube
• Develop new techniques when you
need to even if these take some time
• Complete their validation at the time
• Trust your common sense and
experiment

13. Coastal Path Murders – what happened
• Couple shot at close range on coastal path in 1989
• Bodies hidden in undergrowth
• 2006 suspicions emerge about convicted
serial thief and armed robber, suspect C.
• And potential links with murder of two other people and
multiple rape/sexual assault at gunpoint
• Clothing and jewellery in local hedgerows

14. Coastal Path Murders – how they were solved
• Started with unsuccessful search for ‘foreign’ DNA on victims,
then switched to textile fibres
• Found matches between fibres on victims and glove in
hedgerow
• Then myriad of other fibre links between victims, suspect C.’s
home and hedgerow
• And then fibre links with the two other
victims and sex assault cases
• Victim’s blood on gun linked to
suspect C.
• Then victim’s blood on suspect C.’s
shorts
• Then victim’s daughter’s blood on suspect C.’s shorts!!!

15. Summary of forensic evidence

16. Coastal Path - lessons learned
• Beware of DNA straightjackets
• Other evidence can guide you to
DNA
• And enrich your understanding of the
crime and a suspect’s likely involvement
• Balance close working relationships with
police and independence
• Accept truth is sometimes stranger than
fiction
• Don’t be put off if prosecutors find
evidence ‘inconvenient’

17. Black teenager – what happened
• Young black teenager stabbed to death in London in 1993 by
gang of white youths
• Suspects identified after 2 weeks
• Failed private prosecution in 1996
• Independent Police inquiry for IPCC
• Public Inquiry in 1998/9 – Metropolitan Police described as
‘institutionally racist’
• Continuing investigation including forensic science
• 2004 Crown Prosecution Service says insufficient evidence
to prosecute
• 2005 double jeopardy scrapped

18. Black teenager – how it was solved
• Noticed red fibres on victim’s clothing which could have
come from own shirt
• Found 2 types of similar fibres on suspects D.
and N.
• Then found 2 more fibre types on them
matching other items of victim’s clothing
• And then blood in packaging of suspect D.’s
jacket containing 5th matching fibre type
• Then found blood on the jacket itself
• Found hair matching victim’s on suspect N.’s
jeans
• Investigated potential for results due to cross contamination

19. Summary of forensic evidence
Suspect N. Suspect D.

20. Black teenager - lessons learned
• Don’t make assumptions about loss of evidence
with time
• Don’t focus just on outer clothing for
transferrable traces
• Take debris inside packaging very
seriously
• Recognise evidence can be missed
however diligent and quality controlled
the search
• Focus investigations into potential for contamination
to make them manageable

21. Investigating Historic Contamination
• Availability and Opportunity
• Use a separate scientist working independently
• Take each strand of evidence and
– Explore its history since seizure of the relevant item
– And the history of the potential source of evidence
– Work out the nature and number of transfer steps required for
unwittingly transfer of the evidence
– And likelihood of each of these steps occurring
– To estimate overall likelihood of contamination as explanation for
the evidence
• Sitting in court to listen to relevant evidence

22. Critical success factors
• Challenge historic expectations
• Don’t make assumptions about previous work
• Always start at the crime scene – however long ago
• Be imaginative about searching for things to test
• Be tenacious about finding them
• If you find 1 type of evidence, there may well be others
• Beware of the ‘too difficult box’
• When things don’t stack up, find out why
• Recognise when you’re on to something and look deeper
• Keep inventing new techniques and approaches
• Make sure they are covered within your quality management system
• Recognise truth is sometimes stranger than fiction
• Explore potential for alternative explanations involving contamination

23. “Those who cannot remember the
past are condemned to repeat it”
George Santayana

24. Human Identification Solutions (HIDS) Conference
Madrid 2-4 March 2015
Needles in Haystacks
- Finding DNA traces to test in
complex historic cases
Professor Angela Gallop
4 March 2015

25. Speaker was provided travel and hotel support by Thermo
Fisher Scientific for this presentation, but no remuneration.