This thread has been locked, it will not receive new replies. |
Locked on 05/13/2006 11:52:58 AM PDT by Admin Moderator, reason:
New thread here |
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.
NOT good news.
But if it was a stick on nail and it was found in the bathroom (am I right in thinking a trashcan?) it is possible the nail still had a bit of sticky on the back.
If he picked it up off of the floor, something could have stuck. My, oh my, anything in that trash can could have stuck to residual sticky.
I would ask if she was fighting to breathe and the nail came off, was there any blood on the nail? (Although the sticky on those nails wouldn't be enough to draw blood)
Scenario:
Dancer demands $800.00 for dancing at party.
LAX player is holding $800.00 in hand but only shuffles out $400.00 and tells her to get lost.
Dancer takes a swipe at remaining $400.00 and scratches LAX player's hand.
Even a 100% positive DNA "tissue" match only tells us that the two individuals were at the same location. We already knew that.
Hmmmm, maybe the LAX players has some physical injury and should press assault charges on the dancer...
Why didn't the other nails have the same material on them if she was clawing at somebody with them?
This is such a nightmare.
Wonder if they are the ones who were able to pull in Bennett for the alumni...
hee hee hee---
I love the smell of Nifong's rotting flesh in the morning.
Exactly what is Bennett doing?
Did you tell your family "It must be grissle"
LOL!
"My client is a proud Duke alumnus who has a strong interest in protecting the civil liberties of all U.S. citizens/resident aliens and has no connection to the Duke lacrosse team," Boyd wrote in an e-mail message
Sort of restiores my faith in the human condition.
.. .. See # 31 for the new allegation of the day
Mrs. Murphy stated it as FACT.
Exactly. A friend had to post the poor guys bail.
For a crime that was confessed to and that someone has been convicted of..
If I understand correctly, he was hired by alumni-sort of a watchdog. He is not representing the players, but the intrests of the (?)alumni.
He is watching the process.
The N&O concludes there was no intimidation of witness (my title). . What a POS Paper.
http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/438757.html
_____________
Honestly Oak, this article is not bad at all.
They were kind of balanced for once, and even ended the article saying the arrest angered the Triangle and the country.
Good point, but even a better one is that tiny amount of DNA that it picked up in the trash does not match anyone.
Still..there is no seminal fluid in or on her.
We don't know this, do we? There may have been tons of seminal fluid on her. Just no matches with any of the lacrosse players. Given her occupation, it would not surprise me if she were covered in seminal fluid.
When the heck did she ever say she left the house before the AV did? Ever?
Sheriff's Office has 'polite' request
Michael Biesecker and Benjamin Niolet, Staff Writers DURHAM - After weeks in the media spotlight, sheriff's officials told the news media to stay off the floor of the Durham County courthouse on which Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong's office is located.
A visit to the sixth floor of the Durham County Judicial Building by a reporter from The News & Observer on Thursday morning was followed by an e-mail message sent to the newspaper and other media outlets by Maj. Lucy Zastrow of the county Sheriff's Office.
"This is a friendly reminder to everyone who is employed by or representing any media to please stay off the 6th floor of the Judicial Building," Zastrow wrote. "There are no exemptions to this request. This request is in place until further notice."
Zastrow said in an interview that reporters seen on the floor would be asked to leave by a uniformed deputy.
For more than a month, national and regional reporters have flocked to the sixth floor when new developments have surfaced in an investigation into a reported rape at a Duke University lacrosse team party. On April 17, when a grand jury indicted two of the team's players, scores of reporters staked out the sixth floor from 8:30 a.m., when the building opened, until after 5 p.m., when the courthouse closed.
Chuck Kitchen, the Durham County attorney, said Zastrow's e-mail message was never intended to selectively ban media representatives. That would be illegal, he said.
"They don't have that authority," he said of the Sheriff's Office. "The courthouse is a public building, open to the public."
Kitchen said that, by his interpretation, the e-mail message was intended to convey that the media shouldn't congregate in the courthouse halls, blocking access for others, creating a fire hazard or a disturbance. If that were to occur, Kitchen said, a sheriff's deputy could ask members of the media to move.
Nifong said he had talked to Zastrow about keeping television cameras from stalking him every time he leaves his office. Reporters have followed Nifong to a water fountain and to the bathroom.
"It was just shameful," Nifong said. "It makes it a circus up here."
After the county attorney called Zastrow, she clarified her request:
"You're not welcome on the sixth floor. I am trying to be polite about it," Zastrow said. "[The e-mail message] was just asking the media to be courteous. There's a difference between the law and a request. It was never meant to be a threat. If you don't leave when asked, nothing will happen."
DURHAM, N.C. -- More than 4,000 Duke students will graduate this weekend, but this year, the ceremony will be different. Due to the lacrosse rape investigation, there are some strict rules surrounding the event.
http://www.herald-sun.com/durham/4-733878.html
On Thursday, Elmostafa referred all questions to his lawyer, Thomas Loflin, who couldn't be reached for comment.
http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:MXOb1EMFLHsJ:www.newsobserver.com/news/durham/durham/story/2253387p-8633469c.html+%22Thomas+Loflin%22+durham&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=7&client=firefox-a
Published: Mar 26, 2005
Modified: Mar 26, 2005 3:35 AM
Durham lawyers in a tax tangle
A husband-wife legal team known for passionate advocacy faces fiscal charges
A nail with DNA in a dirty old bathroom basket is not DNA from under her fingernails. It's simply not the same thing.
AND, if your nails fell off, that means you stop scratching?? If she said she scratched them when they examined her, swabs would have would have been taken at that time. She still had her own nails. Wonder how long THEY are??
Where's HER DNA all over the rug....Hair, clothing fibers, her body fluids?? Rape doesn't stop mother nature.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.