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18-Sep-2014
TrueAllele Used in New York Court for the First Time
Cybergenetics DNA mixture analysis helps convict serial rapist
PITTSBURGH, PA, September 18, 2014
Cybergenetics TrueAllele® Casework made its first appearance in a New York courtroom last week, interpreting by computer DNA mixture evidence that had eluded manual forensic analysis.
Serial rapist Casey Wilson left his DNA on a glove, along with DNA from victims. The NYS police crime lab developed a DNA profile from the glove. However, the mixture data was too complex for them to make comparisons.
A Cybergenetics TrueAllele computer in hours separated the complex data into three genotypes. TrueAllele compared these genotypes with Wilson and the victim to calculate match statistics. Cybergenetics scientist Dr. Mark Perlin testified at the Elmira trial that "a match between the glove and Wilson was 31 million times more probable than coincidence."
Chemung County District Attorney Weeden Wetmore stated the "DNA evidence connecting the defendant to the crime was significant." In under an hour, the jury convicted Wilson of multiple counts of first degree rape and sexual assault. Wilson faces up to 40 years in prison.
Tens of thousands of DNA mixture items are unreported by crime labs – DNA evidence that TrueAllele can successfully resolve. Taxpayers expect this DNA to help solve rapes and homicides, but the data are not used. TrueAllele helps convert such discarded data into powerful information that can identify criminals, exclude innocent suspects, and prevent further victimization.
TrueAllele is the most thoroughly tested DNA analysis method available, with seven peer-reviewed validation studies. The NYS Forensic Science Commission approved TrueAllele for use in the NYS police DNA laboratory. The NYS lab coauthored two validation papers, and is poised to join other states that now operate their own TrueAllele system.
Dr. Perlin's August keynote address on TrueAllele at an international forensics meeting is viewable on Cybergenetics website or YouTube, along with other talks and papers. Investigators needing more than "inconclusive" DNA results use Cybergenetics for informative TrueAllele analysis of their lab's evidence data.