5-Nov-2023

TrueAllele exoneree Chris Tapp died this month

TrueAllele exoneree Chris Tapp died from an accident on November 5th. Tapp had been wrongfully convicted and spent over twenty years in an Idaho prison. He was 47 years old.

In 2017, Cybergenetics helped the Idaho Innocence Project conclusively demonstrate that Tapp and two other suspects hadnʼt left their DNA on the victim's sweatpants. But our pro bono TrueAllele computing showed that the victim, her consensual partner, and an unknown assailant were on the clothing. In fact, this unknown assailant had appeared on every tested post-conviction DNA evidence item.

Tapp was released in 2017 based on the new exculpatory evidence. His murder conviction was vacated in 2019. His untimely death this month further cut short the life of an innocent man who spent decades behind bars for a crime he didnʼt commit. Cybergenetics has helped exonerate over ten wrongfully convicted men.