10-May-2017

Cybergenetics testifies for acquitted defendant in Pittsburgh double homicide

Joshua Huber fatally shot two people on April 15, 2016 in his Etna, PA apartment. The Commonwealth charged first-degree murder, while Huber claimed self-defense. Based on Cybergenetics TrueAllele® results, defense attorney Bob Andrews told the jury his client's DNA was on the wall, and under the fingernails of both victims, indicating a struggle. Initially deadlocked, the jury acquitted Huber.

When the county crime lab's DNA mixture interpretation was inconclusive, the District Attorney's Office asked Cybergenetics to reinterpret the lab's data. The company's TrueAllele computer pinpointed whose DNA was (or wasn't) on which evidence items. The prosecutors shared the TrueAllele results with Andrews, who then retained Cybergenetics for the defense.

Cybergenetics has assisted Allegheny County in almost sixty criminal cases. After testifying for the prosecution in a dozen trials in the county, this was the first time Cybergenetics testified for the defense. Expert witness Dr. Mark Perlin said, "TrueAllele found DNA match results helpful to the court. The computer doesn't take sides."