Unusual Use of DNA Aided in Serial Killer Search {MAJOR surprise from NY Times)

NY Times ^ | June 3, 2003 | NICHOLAS WADE

[Pharmboy]

In what appears to be the first use of DNA to extract details of a criminal suspect's appearance, investigators in the case of the Louisiana serial killer shifted their focus away from white suspects after an analysis of tissue from one of the crime scenes determined that the killer was probably black, the developer of the genetic test says.

DNA evidence has come into widespread use to identify individuals, but the identifying pieces of DNA are not part of the genes and have no influence on a person's physical makeup. Experts have long recognized that as knowledge of the human genome advances, other information could be extracted from DNA samples, including physical traits like race.

The developer of the test used in Louisiana, Dr. Mark Shriver, a geneticist at Pennsylvania State University, said investigators had been searching for a white man, based on profiling information suggesting that most serial killers are white.

But then they sent DNA samples to DNAPrint Genomics, a company in Sarasota, Fla., that owns the rights to Dr. Shriver's test. Of 20 samples tested, Dr. Shriver said, only one was linked to the suspect, and the company was not told which. It typed the crime scene sample as being 85 percent African ancestry and 15 percent American Indian.

The suspect arrested in the case, Derrick T. Lee, is black. Dr Shriver said he did not know whether Mr. Lee had any Indians among his ancestors.

The scientific director of the company, Dr. Anthony Frudakis, said he had a confidentiality agreement with the task force that investigated the serial killings and could not comment. He referred callers to the Baton Rouge district attorney, who did not return phone calls seeking information about the case.

Barry C. Scheck, director of the Innocence Project at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University, which uses DNA evidence to reverse false convictions, said the possibility of obtaining physical indicators like skin and hair color and height from forensic DNA samples was being actively explored in Britain. But Mr. Scheck said he had not heard of the technique being used in the United States.

Mr. Scheck said that he was not familiar with the DNAPrint Genomics test, but that he had used DNA markers from a single gene to argue that a person was more likely to be one race than another.

Dr. Barry Duceman, director of biological sciences at the New York State Police forensic investigation center, said a suspect's sex was often determined from DNA. As far as cases where other physical characteristics were concerned, Dr. Duceman said, "This is the first that I'm aware of."

Dr. Shriver said he had identified markers, meaning specific units or short sequences of DNA, that are more often found in people from one continent than another. If enough markers are used, a researcher can say with reasonably high confidence to which of the major continental races — African, Caucasian, East Asian or American Indian — a person belongs, as well as the percentage of each ancestry in the case of people of mixed race.

"My prediction is that the test will become more utilized," said Dr. Mark Batzer, a population geneticist at Louisiana State University, where the killer's last victim, Carrie Lynn Yoder, was a graduate student.

[Pharmboy]

This is a most interesting development. The NY Times has been telling us for years that there is no such thing in biology that is defined as race.

Riiiight...

[patriciaruth]

Talk about a reliable witness--the perp's own DNA describing what he/she looks like

Science is revolutionizing crime detection. But like modern medicine, it is not that affordable yet.

[Lancey Howard]

Incredible piece (if you believe it's true) coming from the New York Times.

And this....
The suspect arrested in the case, Derrick T. Lee, is black. Dr Shriver said he did not know whether Mr. Lee had any Indians among his ancestors.
....truly boggles the mind. "Indians"?! Since when did that paragon of Democrat political correctness, the New York Times, forget that "Native Americans" is the politically correct term?

[KeyWest]

It will only be a matter of time until it will be "racist" to ID someone's DNA by race in crimes. And if homosexuality is genetic, homophobic.

[Pharmboy]

A PING comin' at ya...

[aruanan]

The suspect arrested in the case, Derrick T. Lee, is black. Dr Shriver said he did not know whether Mr. Lee had any Indians among his ancestors.

If someone is American black whose ancestors had been here since at least the mid-1800s or whose ancestors married American blacks who had been here since then, it would be very unsusual for him not to have some American Indian ancestry.

[Pikachu_Dad]

THE TIMES IS LYING!!! AGAIN !!!

I live down near Baton Rouge. They only shifted their investigation to Mr. Lee after they found that his DNA matched the DNA on one of the victims.

Mr. Lee was arrested on unrelated charges, and they did a DNA test on him. When the DNA was found to match, that is when the switched to look at him.

Now HERE is the RACISM. "investigators had been searching for a white man, based on profiling information suggesting that most serial killers are white."

They might have found the killer sooner if they were not so focused on pinning it on a white man.

To cover for their racism being uncovered, the initially reported that they were looking for a 'light skinned' black man.

Mr. Lee is NOT 'light skinned'.

[teeman8r]

genes show a physical characteristic only defined as race as a means of classification... there is only one human race with differing characteristics...

there are better reasons to hate people than just the color of their skin, like the ignorance so many tend to show in addressing others.

[teeman8r]

does submission to a dna test violate a persons constitutional right not to self-incrimination....

if they use it to match to other crimes, it appears to me to be so... along with fingerprinting...

jmt, teeman

[Pharmboy]

The only ones to hate here are the fabricators at the NY Times. Race is a construct based on geographic isolation during human evolution; it is reflected in physical differnces among groups of humans and in their DNA. The Times has been denying this for years.

[Pharmboy]

Profiling is only OK when it is whites that are being profiled (/sarcasm).

But, to be sure, the vast majority of serial killers are white and for them to be looking for a white guy did make sense--until the genetic analysis said AA.

[Pikachu_Dad]

So you buy into the claim that "the vast majority of serial killers" are white.

Horse hockey. Go get your brain unwashed.

And the last two high profile cases were both African American.

[aculeus]

According to the NY Observer Harold Raines is Dead Editor Walking ... which may explain why this anti-PC article got printed.


http://www.observer.com/pages/frontpage5.asp

[Poohbah]

So you buy into the claim that "the vast majority of serial killers" are white.

84% of American serial killers are white.

If 84% isn't a "vast majority," pray tell what is a "vast majority?"

[Roscoe]

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/johnleo/printjl20021104.shtml

[Pharmboy]

No--I think that is true about the majority of serial killers being white. From Eddie Gein to John Wayne Gacy...check it out. http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/notorious/index.html

[Pikachu_Dad]

That percentage is similar to the percentage of whites in the overall population. There is no significant statistical increase based on race.

1) Race is NOT an indicator for this kind of crime.

2) They had no valid basis for claiming the suspect was of any race.

3) By making the false claim, they ignored the requests of the Zachary police department to look into this suspect. Only the dedication of this force to obtain his DNA and to get the test rushed resulted in his being identified and caught.