I'm told the link is not working any more.
Here's the article:
First DNA link possible in lacrosse case
By John Stevenson : The Herald-Sun
jstevenson@heraldsun.com
May 11, 2006 : 12:20 am ET
DURHAM -- Tissue found under the fingernail of an exotic dancer who claimed she was raped at a Duke University lacrosse party may match a player who was there, several well-placed sources said Wednesday.
Analyzing the tissue, scientists concluded it came from the same genetic pool and was "consistent" with the bodily makeup of one of 46 lacrosse players who gave DNA samples for testing, the sources said.
At the same time, scientists ruled out a possible match with any of the other 45 students, according to the sources.
If accurate, the fingernail tissue match would offer the first DNA evidence potentially linking the dancer and an alleged attacker.
But because a complete DNA pattern was not obtained from the tissue, it was not possible to match it with the nearly 100 percent certainty that DNA results usually offer, the sources added.
The dancer told police she clawed at three attackers as they raped and sodomized her for 30 minutes during the March 13-14 lacrosse house party at 610 N. Buchanan Blvd.
Police later recovered several stick-on acrylic fingernails from a trashcan, and the tissue in question was found under one of those nails, the sources said.
District Attorney Mike Nifong was said to be away from his office all day Wednesday and could not be reached for comment.
The State Bureau of Investigation did an initial round of DNA testing in the lacrosse case. But according to defense attorneys, the SBI found no DNA from the 46 lacrosse players in or on the dancer's body, on her clothing and belongings or under her fingernails.
But Nifong decided to hire a private laboratory to do additional testing. He has said he expects a final report from that lab by Monday.
A DNA expert said Wednesday that one way a DNA report sometimes says DNA is "consistent" with a particular person is when there's a partial DNA profile of fewer than all 13 genetic markers commonly used in testing kits.
In that case, the number of markers available determines the reliability of the match, said Theodore D. Kessis, owner of Applied DNA Resources in Columbus, Ohio.
"It really depends then upon how partial is that profile," he said in a telephone interview. "A lot of people are of the opinion, including myself, that if it's supposed to test for 13, it should get 13, and something less than 13 is starting to hinge on the reliability of the result.
"When you get down into the two or three partial match, you get numbers that might be 1 in 6, it might be 1 in 10, so what happens then is the question of what's the probative value of the report. ... People play the lottery on worse odds."
So far, two lacrosse players have been indicted on rape charges: Duke sophomores Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty.
The alleged victim reportedly picked those two out of a photo lineup and identified them with what she claimed was 100 percent certainty.
Nifong said earlier he was pursuing the possibility of another indictment, although reports indicated the dancer was able to identify a third person with only 90 percent certainty. WRAL-TV, citing a transcript of the photo identification session the dancer had with police, reported Wednesday that she indicated a fourth player also may have been involved in assaulting her.
Tissue found under the dancer's fingernails was consistent with the third man's DNA pattern, sources told The Herald-Sun on Wednesday.
In addition, the sources said a male pubic hair had been linked to the case. But because the hair lacked a root, no identifiable DNA was obtained from it, they said. The only thing that could be determined was that the hair came from a white man, the sources said.
They did not pinpoint where the hair was found. But when police investigate rape cases, they normally comb through the alleged victim's pubic hair to determine whether male hairs are intermingled.
On DNA from hair, Kessis agreed that a common method for extracting and analyzing DNA, called nuclear DNA, usually requires tissue from a hair root. Another method, however, called mitochondrial DNA, can obtain DNA from hair shafts through DNA sequencing. That method yields results that are "not quite as probative," with matching probabilities typically between 1 in 200 and 1 in 4,000 to 5,000.
In another development Wednesday, defense attorney Bill Cotter obtained a monthlong postponement of Finnerty's preliminary appearance in Durham County Superior Court. The appearance had been scheduled for May 18. But Judge Ron Stephens granted a delay until the week of June 19.
Cotter said he needed the delay because he had not yet received enough "discovery material" from the District Attorney's Office.
Although the lawyer declined to be specific, such material normally includes things like police notes, medical reports and statements made to officers by victims and suspects.
So far, Seligmann has not requested a postponement of his May 18 preliminary court appearance.
Finnerty and Seligmann are free under $400,000 bonds, paid by certified checks, as they await further developments in the case.
Only if it's from one she picked out, right?
And how could they prove it was from an attack, and not from, say, her grabbing his arm when he put her in the car?
Thanks for posting the article.....sounds like smoke and mirrors to me.