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Posted on 05/11/2006 9:17:59 PM PDT by TexKat
DURHAM, N.C. -- A Duke lacrosse player whose DNA may match tissue found under the fake fingernails of an exotic dancer who claims she was raped was identified in a photo lineup with 90 percent certainty, sources tell NBC-17.
The Durham Herald-Sun reported Thursday tissue found under the accuser's acrylic fingernail 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 paper cites several sources and said scientists also 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.
90 Percent Certainty
Now, NBC-17 has learned that the player is not one of the two already accused in the case -- Reade Seligmann, of Essex Fells, N.J., and Collin Finnerty, of Garden City, N.Y. He is, however, a player that the alleged rape victim picked out in a police lineup with 90 percent certainty.
The 27-year-old North Carolina Central University student told police she was beaten and raped by three lacrosse players while she performed at a March 13 team party. She said she clawed at the players in an effort to fight them off.
Never Applied?
Defense attorneys claim, however, that nothing about the reported possible DNA match means anything to the case if you look at the type of fingernails, where they were found, and if you look at a picture of the accuser's hand shortly after she arrived at the party.
According to defense attorneys, police found four stick-on acrylic fingernails in a trashcan at 610 Buchanan Street, the house where the party took place. The tissue connected to the possible DNA match was found under one of those fingernails.
But defense attorneys said the third player accused lived at the house and it is no surprise that trace amounts of his DNA could be found inside his own trashcan. They also said they don't believe the type of fingernails that were found -- the kind that are applied with an adhesive strip -- actually ripped off during an attack. They don't believe the fingernails were ever applied and they say they have pictures to prove it.
NBC-17 has seen a picture of the dancer's hand at the house when she performed her dance routine. It appears that long, fake fingernails were on some of her fingers in that photo, but not all of them.
Other photos show what defense lawyers believe is red fingernail polish on the walls of the house and on the railing outside the house. They believe the accuser was painting and applying her nails while at the party.
Defense attorneys admit that none of them have seen the DNA report the Herald Sun article is based upon, but they said if District Attorney Mike Nifong has the DNA report, their clients are entitled to see it.
Accuser's Father Responds
The accuser's father called reports of a DNA break in the case long overdue.
"I wasn't surprised to hear that. I feel like we should have learned it before," he said.
Kim Roberts, another dancer who performed at the party where the alleged attack took place, paid an emotional visit to the accuser's parents on Thursday.
"It was real emotional -- she was crying, my wife was crying. She said that she was sorry she left (outside) the house before my daughter did," the accuser's father said.
Authorities said they would know what the DNA shows by early next week.
I was reading up on this yesterday. Not only did it say that 13 markers are necessary, it continued: Conversely, if there aren't 13 markers, the guy is innocent. So almost simply doesn't cut it as possible...it eliminates the person.
Very interesting. All 13 locus parameters are required to pick an individual out of a large population. But in this case, we're picking one player out of a population of less than 50. Would the less than 13 locus parameters be enough for a unique match in a limited population?
Thanks for the ping, Oak!
I bet Brodhead now realizes to his horror the liability implications of Dean of Student Affairs Wasoliek's failure to inform the parents of the players on Mar. 14 that their sons may have been involved in an alleged felony and were likely to be approached by police.
You're probably right. They have been sitting around weighing whether it was worth trying to say that that DNA which came from someone living in the house showing up on a fake fingernail laying in the bathroom would not just be laughed away. They also had to balance that against who his parents are. Nifong promised 3 indictments and is going to give them 3. Does he need a new grand jury? I guess he is still not presenting exculpatory evidence to the grand jury. Why is that not illegal? It should be.
Well, at this point, I think it's a given that she couldn't originally ID the players but Nifong bought her story and promised her that the DNA result would let him know who to charge. When that didn't tell him anything he forced her to sit down and do the lineup.
______________
Yep..that's exactly as it happened.
Well, at this point, I think it's a given that she couldn't originally ID the players but Nifong bought her story and promised her that the DNA result would let him know who to charge. When that didn't tell him anything he forced her to sit down and do the lineup.
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Yep..that's exactly as it happened.
Can you imagine the blood pressure of the K Street lawyer when he found out Duke never told the parents and allowed the players to be interviewed without their lawyers present!?
My guess is: Dean Sue would have informed the parents but Brodhead told her not to call them. He didn't want them in the way while he closed down the lacrosse program and fired the coach that most of them came to Duke to play under. He could then throw these guys under the bus without their (some) powerful mommies and daddies getting in the way and could then show how sensitive he was to the racial politics of the city.
Dean Sue has been there for a long time, I am very surprised that she didn't contact each and every parent asap.
I imagine at least a few of the 18 grand jurors were surprised to learn of Seligmann's impressive alibi the day after they indicted him. If they were watching tv, they may have wondered why their dorm rooms were searched AFTER they were charged and not earlier.
Whoever presents Pancho Villa's evidence to them on Monday may find the group far less docile. At least I hope so.
They've raised it to a new level involving K street. I think I'll drop Libby Dole a line as a fellow alumni and see if she might want to contact the governor and ask about Nifong's behavior.
I've missed some of this coverage, but some reports keep stressing that the material is "tissue" and not just DNA.
Going on to stress that it is the tissue that makes it evidence against the person if IDed, consistent with HER story that she scratched someone. Seperating it, of course, from the liklihood that a fingernail in the bathroom wastebasket would pick up DNA from someone who lived in the house.
Being there and following this, are you hearing or reading anything that would be of interest on the nature of the material?
Oh, that would be delicious if Dear Sue can pin the tail of responsibility directly on the Brodhead.
That is an excellent idea. The damage this case is doing has got to concern the governor. Afterall, he named Nifong to the job.
What we're not getting is what markers are hits and what "should be" hits to make this unique to the boys. Each marker has to have some type of definition, yes??
"Would the less than 13 locus parameters be enough for a unique match in a limited population?"
Fair question....except for "unique match". SBI called it what it is, so NIFONG had to go "Doctor shopping". The standards the FBI uses assured he wouldn't shop his purported evidence to them!
Semantics.......for all we know, rhe "tissue" on the nail might actually be a bit of kleenex or bunwad this kid blew his nose into, and tossed it into the waste-basket where it adhered to the nail, LOL.
Report: DNA Match Found In Duke Lacrosse Case
UPDATED: 6:37 am EDT May 11, 2006
DURHAM, N.C. -- 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, the Durham Herald-Sun reported Thursday.
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, several sources told the newspaper. Scientists also 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.
Two lacrosse players have been charged in the case, which remains under investigation.
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 27-year-old North Carolina Central University student told police she was beaten and raped by three lacrosse players while she performed at a March 13 team party. She said she clawed at the players in an effort to fight them off.
Police later recovered several stick-on acrylic fingernails from a trashcan at the house where the party took place, and the tissue in question was found under one of those nails, the sources said.
Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong couldn't 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."
Tissue under the nail would be a good description. I'm sure all the boys were examined for scratches.....But I thought the scratch story came out later...just like the broomstick story. Any reference to her being banged up when she arrived at Duke's has disappeared....But I believe there were photos. AND she tripped and fell, too.
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