Articles Posted in DNA

The US Supreme Court held that taking DNA from those arrested for “serious” offenses is constitutional and is in the same vein as taking fingerprints and photos of arrestees. In Maryland v. King, the Defendant was arrested on a felony and a DNA swab of his mouth revealed he was the previously unknown assailant in a…

The Orange County District Attorney has been resolving criminal cases by having the Defendant give their DNA in exchange for dismissals of usually minor cases. This program in Orange County has only been in effect for the last couple of years and had generally been very beneficial to Orange County Defendants facing minor criminal charges…

On Friday August 19 the “West Memphis Three” were released after new DNA evidence was considered. The case was from a 1993 crime, where three eight year old boys were killed and their mutilated bodies found in a ditch. The three men had spent 18 years behind bars; Damien Echols had been sentenced to death…

Los Angeles Police Department is trying to piece together a mystery from decades ago. The bodies of two infants were found wrapped in newspapers from 1935 and 1937, in a trunk forgotten in a basement of a Westlake Apartment building. There are no signs of trauma on the bodies from an autopsy report; one is…

DNA evidence has solved a 36 year-old-case in Santa Ana. In 1974 the body of a woman was found without clothes and with traces of grease near a Cadillac dealership. The victim, Frances E. Esqueda, had been strangled with her slip. No arrest was made during the investigation. This year, cold case detectives submitted evidence…

If you were an avid fan of Seinfeld or if you enjoy watching syndicated Seinfeld reruns, then you will probably remember the famous episode called “The Bookstore.” This is episode 173 from the 9th season, which aired originally April 9, 1998.  Like all Seinfeld episodes, this episode had numerous plotlines, but who can forget when Jerry discovers…

Many times when we are watching television news or a crime drama we hear the phrases petty theft or grand theft. In most states the value of the stolen item(s) will determine what crime will be charged. In California the most common theft charge is Petty Theft (Penal Code Section 488); this can only be…

The LA Times and Orange County Register report that the Orange County crime lab and new DNA database will be reviewed in order to examine if there is a level of bias and to check productivity. John Moorlach a member of the Board of Supervisors commented that “if we’re doing all right they way it…