2nd DNA results out until May 15

Herald-Sun ^ | Apr 23, 2006 | KELLY HINCHCLIFFE

[TexKat]

DURHAM -- Results from the second round of DNA tests in connection with the Duke lacrosse rape investigation will not likely be available before May 15, District Attorney Mike Nifong said Saturday.

Nifong also denied an allegation by some defense attorneys that the second exotic dancer at the March 13 party where the rape allegedly occurred received special treatment from Nifong's office so she'd cooperate with the prosecutor.

Kim Roberts, 31, was arrested March 22 -- eight days after the lacrosse party -- on a probation violation from a 2001 conviction for embezzling $25,000.

The same day a grand jury indicted lacrosse players Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty, a judge agreed to a change so that Roberts would no longer have to pay a 15 percent fee to a bonding agent. Nifong signed a document saying he would not oppose the change.

Soon after the rape allegation was made, Roberts told defense attorneys that she doubted the story of her colleague who told police she was dragged into a bathroom and raped. But in an interview last week with the Associated Press, Roberts said she thinks some players -- she's not sure which ones -- are guilty.

"It seems she is receiving very favorable financial treatment [from prosecutors] for what she is now saying," said Bill Thomas, a defense attorney for one of the lacrosse players who has not been indicted.

Nifong said Saturday that wasn't his motive in agreeing to change Roberts' bond from secured to unsecured.

"It's consistent with local bonding policy," Nifong said, when asked why he supported the change.

Nifong, who faces two challengers in the May 2 Democratic primary, attended a meet-and-greet with supporters Saturday at Joe & Jo's Downtown Restaurant and Pub, where he fielded a few questions from The Herald-Sun.

Nifong ordered the second round of DNA tests from a private lab after initial tests by the SBI crime lab in Raleigh failed to find DNA from any of 46 lacrosse players tested on or in the accuser, nor any of her DNA in the bathroom in which she said she was raped, sodomized, beaten and strangled for 30 minutes by three men.

Some defense attorneys had said they expected the new DNA test results last week.

[snarkytart]

>>I saw the femaile defense attorney for one of the LAX captians on on TV last week saying that she thinks once Nifong does a complete inestigation he will know what the defense already knows and drop the case.<<

Sorry for all the typos.

[snarkytart]

I was thinking about that earlier. The 911 call from Kim was at 12:53. It took a minute and a half and she didn't mention the address for 30 seconds. The timeline has the police arriving at 12:55. Now, has anybody ever seen police respond to a call in 90 seconds? It seems like the 12:55 time got misreported. Maybe the call TO the police was 12:55 and they arrived at 1:10 or so.
______________________________

I think you are correct, the police obviously came later than 12:55am. Noway they were there in 90 seconds for a call over racial slurs when nobody was in harm.
Unless they were right around the corner.

[darbymcgill]

Could the police have arrived later than 12:55?

In this case P22, anything is possible... But in my opinion, if and that's a big if, if the times are correct on the pictures starting at 12:30 with the AV on the porch, then anything after that is irrelevant... There's no way she could have been raped after 12:30...

So that gets us to when did they get there.... If you believe they came together or not, it is pretty much the consensus that they started dancing at 12:00... Some say they danced for 4 minutes... The very believable KR says they danced for 10 minutes...

That get us to let's say 12:04 when the broom comment is made... They supposedly left the house, boys story, and Kim's story... Somebody went out and apologized, The girls then came back in the house.... So how long did all this leaving the house, talk about an apology, and then come back into the house take? 5 minutes? 10 minutes? Did they both go to the BR together before they got separated? All this activity just doesn't jibe with the documented activity of RS...

[mystery-ak]

All these tv pundits keep saying that they think the DA has something up his sleeve...whether dna,tox reports or a stoolie.......but one thing we all know is that the AV has had trouble in the past with booze and probably drugs....Kim keeps pushing these date rape drugs and she herself admits she wasn't with the AV the whole time...who's to say that the AV didn't take something she had with her.....

[Publius22]

I think you are correct, the police obviously came later than 12:55am. Noway they were there in 90 seconds for a call over racial slurs when nobody was in harm. Unless they were right around the corner.

Didn't the cab driver say he arrived around 1 am to pick up the second group of players?

[snarkytart]

Kim is completely unreliable at this point, and who cares what she thinks about what "might" have happened.

[darbymcgill]

Did the driver say that he didn't see the women? Isn't it possible that they were still there?

The driver did see the woman and 20 guys milling around... He said he heard her yelling at the boys and he stated he saw her get in a white car and leave...

[RecallMoran]

ping me too please.

Duke '85

[SirJohnBarleycorn]

I wonder why Bissey hasn't given any reports of players leaving the scene. After all that had happened, you'd think he might have noticed.

He did. I recall reading one of the articles in which he gave his account and he said that after the women drove away, he heard one of the guys saying repeatedly "let's go guys" and they all cleared out. He then said the cops arrived a short time later, that the house was dark and it appeared no one was around.

[Publius22]

In this case P22, anything is possible... But in my opinion, if and that's a big if, if the times are correct on the pictures starting at 12:30 with the AV on the porch, then anything after that is irrelevant... There's no way she could have been raped after 12:30...

I see your point but I wouldn't go so far as to say everything after 12:30 is irrelevant. I think the point of an accurate timeline is to help us better understand what happened that night.

[Locomotive Breath]

Well the funny thing is that everyone involved is acting exactly as you would expect from their own inner natures. They can't help themselves.

The 19-21 year-old lax team rents the house and has loud rowdy parties with at least the occasional stripper and they don't take care of the place. Exactly what you'd expect and reasonable from their point of view.

The more mature neighbors who have regular jobs want the neighborhood quiet and keep their places up and worry about property values. Exactly what you'd expect and reasonable from their point of view.

The strippers have made a continuing series of mistakes in life including substance abuse problems and having children they can't support and are hiring themselves out as strippers and who knows what else. They see a chance to play the victim and cash in. Exactly what you'd expect and reasonable from their point of view.

The DA sees a chance for fame and glory and needs to get elected and hops right on the case without thinking about alternative explanations for the night's events. Trapped in a web of his own deceit he can't extricate himself. Exactly what you'd expect and reasonable from his point of view.

Gutless university president would rather be in his books or some diversity commission and throws the team under the bus in an attempt to make it go away. Exactly what you'd expect and reasonable from his point of view.

All these have collided and that's why we have this mess. This is almost a classic Greek tragedy.

[sissyjane]

The post of this whole mess.

We have a winner!!

[Publius22]

All these have collided and that's why we have this mess. This is almost a classic Greek tragedy.

Great post, LB! I think you're absolutely on the money with that analysis. The only point of difference is that I would say it's classic Tom Wolfe. :)

[SirJohnBarleycorn]

Didn't the cab driver say he arrived around 1 am to pick up the second group of players?

I'm more inclined to question the cab driver's recollection of the time. I don't know if he actually checked his logs on that time or was just estimating off the top of his head.

He said that he got the call to back to the house at 12:29. Reade Seligmann entered his dorm door at 12:41.

It would not take 20 minutes to go from Seligmann's dorm back to the house. 10 minutes or less.

He picks Seligmann up at 12:19, and then has time to drive him to the ATM, through the Cook-Out drive-through and then to west campus in time for Reade to enter his dorm at 12:41.

If he dropped Seligmann off and went straight back, he should have been there before 12:50.

[darbymcgill]

I think you are correct, the police obviously came later than 12:55am

For a while, early on in this fiasoc I was very concerned about the timeline after 12:30... To me, now it doesn't matter... The AV stated that she was grabbed into the BR after they came back into the house folowing the apology about the broom... KR said that after they came back into the house, the two of them were seperated and she doesn't know what happened to the AV after that....

We have fairly good documenteation of the AV after 12:30... so in my mind the primary focus is on when they stopped dancing, either 12:04 per the photos or 12:10 (KR: "we danced for 10 minutes) and 12:30 when we see the AV on the back porch.

With all of the things that were supposed to have happened between the time they stopped dancing and 12:30, it would seem difficult a 30 minute rape to occur...

But that's just my opinion....

[Locomotive Breath]

You are right and that's what he writes. : )

[SirJohnBarleycorn]

You can add the Drive-By Media to your list, along with the big name race hustlers. Doin' what comes natural.

[Dukie07]

I second that!

[Locomotive Breath]

Very good and you are right.

[darbymcgill]

but I wouldn't go so far as to say everything after 12:30 is irrelevant.

Of course you're right that it's important for validating other witnesses, etc. But I'm trying to figure out when and if there was sufficient time for the accused to have committed the crime for which they were charged...