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The Queen v Colin Duffy and Brian Shivers (Northern Ireland)
Massereene barracks terrorist attack
Crime | On March 7, 2009, two British soldiers were killed by two gunmen outside Massereene Barracks in Northern Ireland. |
Evidence | An abandoned car was recovered, which allegedly was used as the gunmans' getaway car. |
DNA | Touch DNA data was recovered from the passenger side belt buckle, a cell phone in the center console and a matchstick outside the car. |
Match | The lab's manual analysis of the belt buckle's DNA data found a mixture of at least two people, in which one of the DNA profiles was consistent with the DNA of Colin Duffy. |
TrueAllele | On the same data, the computer's statistic connecting the belt buckle and Colin Duffy was 5.91 trillion. The computer's match statistic connecting Brian Shivers to the cell phone and matchstick was 6.01 billion and 1.1 million, respectively. |
Cybergenetics | On November 16, 2011 Dr. Mark Perlin testified at an admissibility hearing and trial in Northern Ireland about the computer's match statistic. |
Outcome | Mr. Shivers was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison, but Mr. Duffy was acquitted of the two murders. Brian Shivers conviction was later overturned on appeal. |
Media
- Northern Ireland shooting: 2 soldiers murdered Sky News via YouTube
- Colin Duffy in DNA link to soldiers' killings, court told Independent
- Brian Shivers guilty of Massereene soldiers' killings BBC News
- Brian Shivers: Real IRA Massereene murder convictions quashed Metro
- Computer DNA evidence interpretation in the Real IRA Massereene terrorist attack Evidence Technology
- Touch DNA and the Massereene Barracks attack investigation Allegheny County CLE
- The Massereene Touch DNA Evidence International Symposium on the Forensic Sciences of the Australian and New Zealand Forensic Science Society