dream confession

In a plea for DNA testing like that which cleared JonBenet's parents after 12 years of persecution, the family of convicted killer Ryan Ferguson is using the media to turn up political pressure to check for genetic material on evidence from the 2001 murder of much loved family man and Tribune Sports Editor Kent Heithol. Ryan's conviction is based on the now infamous 'dream confession' by Ryan's high school buddie. Ryan's family convinced that a lack of Ryan's DNA on the clothing combined with no other physical evidence would help to exonerate their son - -

Watch CBS News Videos Online


Ferguson makes DNA plea
Published in the Columbia Daily Tribune
By Brennan David

"The family of Ryan Ferguson and his attorneys are challenging the Boone County prosecuting attorney to allow them to perform “touch DNA” analysis on the clothing of slain Tribune Sports Editor Kent Heitholt.

The family wants the state to release or agree to escort the evidence to the Bode Technology laboratory in Lorton, Va., for touch DNA analysis.

Experts say the technique can help develop fresh leads in unsolved cases and is most widely known for clearing the family of JonBenet Ramsey in the 1996 murder of the 6-year-old Colorado girl.

Gregory J. Davis, professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, told USA Today in 2008 that, “In select cases, this has the potential to find a person’s DNA when it couldn’t be found before..."[read more]

in the clouds

In 2008 when the Ramseys were cleared as suspects in the murder of their daughter JonBenet, DNA processes were used to pinpoint the yet to be identified man that left his skin cells, biological and tissue behind at the crime scene. The reactions by many was that the forensic method used to isolate the skin cell DNA was too new to be relied upon. Bolstered by an in sundry list of contentions and challenges from professionals and the public alike who were taken back by advances in DNA technology, in reality, this has been around since the time the murder was committed back in 1996.

Like discovery and advances in DNA technology other science disciplines are exploding through shared data and technology. A natural progression will be how these advances will be applied to forensic investigation, perhaps already in play with evidence types or known circumstances associated with JonBenet's murder - -

A Deluge of Data Shapes a New Era in Computing

Published in the New York Times

by John Markoff

"In a speech given just a few weeks before he was lost at sea off the California coast in January 2007, Jim Gray, a database software pioneer and a Microsoft researcher, sketched out an argument that computing was fundamentally transforming the practice of science.

Dr. Gray called the shift a “fourth paradigm.” The first three paradigms were experimental, theoretical and, more recently, computational science. He explained this paradigm as an evolving era in which an “exaflood” of observational data was threatening to overwhelm scientists. The only way to cope with it, he argued, was a new generation of scientific computing tools to manage, visualize and analyze the data flood..."[...read more]

sign of the times

In the past year the professional forensic science associations have called for strengthening of forensic practices in an effort to thwart junk science or shoddy practioners so that scientifically reliable, replicable and tested forensic methods are used in investigations and the courtroom. I have been puzzled at how this could happen in what might be a reasonable time frame given the nature and structure of the organizations and their memberships, practical application of standards at a local level aside. Could it be a trend that would quickly place objective, validated and contemporary forensic methods into the hands of local investigators and the legal community come from creation of and greater access to 3rd party facilities?

In June of this year, Bode Technology Group, the lab that continues to be invaluable with 911 victim DNA analysis and performed the touch DNA process on JonBenet Ramsey's clothing, opened the first independent forensic lab in the US. Today, Dr. Henry Lee, who assisted with the investigation of JonBenet's murder, is celebrating a groundbreaking ceremony for the new home of the forensic science institute that bears his name--

School has red-letter day

Published in the New Haven Register

by Abbe Smith

"WEST HAVEN — It was a big day at the University of New Haven Friday with the dedication of the new $43 million “green” dormitory and the groundbreaking for the much-anticipated Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensic Science...

The $9.4 million facility, expected to be completed in fall 2010, will house a forensic crisis management command center, an interactive forensics museum, a crime scene learning center, laboratories and classrooms. The institute will have on hand state-of-the-art forensic equipment including ground-penetrating radar for locating buried bodies, a high-intensity laser for bullet-trajectory reconstruction and portable instruments for chemical and biological analysis...

Speakers at the ceremony stressed that the institute’s greatest asset is Lee, himself, an internationally renowned forensic scientist who has assisted in the investigation of thousands of crimes, including the O.J. Simpson case, the John F. Kennedy assassination, the murder of JonBenet Ramsey in Boulder, Colo., and the Chandra Levy murder investigation...[read more]

About the Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensic Science

The Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensic Science links scholars, forensic scientists, the legal community, and professional practitioners of many fields in addressing the scientific and social issues confronting forensic science and the criminal justice system throughout the world.

forensic lab game changer

Have been meaning to post this PR from Bode Technology, the company that did the touch DNA analysis on JonBenet Ramsey's clothing. This may present an easy to access opportunity for investigators to clarify any pertinent unresolved questions and access to cutting edge technology for JonBenet's case. Great minds, great company--

GlobalOptions Group’s Bode Technology and Integrated Forensic Laboratories Announce the Creation of the Nation’s First and Only Independent Crime Laboratory System

"NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Jul. 28, 2009– GlobalOptions Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: GLOI), a leading provider of domestic and international risk management services, announced today that its Bode Technology unit (Bode) and Integrated Forensic Laboratories, Inc. (IFL), have finalized a landmark agreement. Together, Bode and IFL have created the nation’s first and only independent criminal forensic testing laboratory system.


Criminal forensic testing in the United States has been historically dominated by publicly-funded laboratories, including city and county labs, state lab systems, and federal lab systems. A number of concerns regarding many unaccredited crime laboratories have been raised by The National Academy of Science’s Committee on Identifying the Needs of the Forensic Science Community in a report, “Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward.”


“We are pleased to create an independent, private crime laboratory system offering law enforcement agencies another choice for their forensic services requirements,” said Howard Safir, CEO of Bode Technology and former New York City Police Commissioner. He also noted: “The forensic services we offer in our laboratories including DNA analysis, forensic biology, blood alcohol content testing, fingerprinting, firearms and toolmark analysis, drug chemistry, and fire debris, analyses are performed using processes accredited by American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board.”

“We believe that offering law enforcement agencies an additional option to process crime scene evidence will speed up the processing of samples and ensure the work is performed with qualified personnel and procedures” stated Barry Watson, President of Bode Technology. “We offer many of our services with turn-around times of a few weeks and options to perform many services in a few days, helping to speed justice for victims of crime.”

“IFL is excited to form this new lab system with Bode Technology. Bode is a national leader in forensic DNA testing and related products,” said Ron Fazio, IFL’s President. “Together, we can bring an unprecedented new independent, accredited, criminal laboratory testing option for all members of the justice system.”..."


Source: GlobalOptions Group, Inc.
Lippert/Heilshorn & Associates
PR:
Jules Abraham, 212-201-6639
jabraham@lhai.com
or
IR:
Jody Burfening, 212-838-3777
jburfening@lhai.com

it's all about the DNA

Looks like Chandra Levy's parents finally may have answers and Gary Condit will be relieved of suffering from erroneous vilification in the welcome news of enough evidence to convict in Chandra's brutal murder 8 years ago.

Perhaps rumblings are correct about involvement of those heroes over at Bode Technology Group. Surely you may remember, that’s the firm that has been so instrumental in 9/11 victim identifications and last year found JonBenet's killer's full DNA profile in skin cells on her nightclothes--

Gary Condit's mother: 'It has always followed our family'
CNN

"...Although police never named the former California congressman as a suspect in Chandra Levy's murder -- his mother said he was branded for life with a scarlet letter....

A CNN source close to the investigation said the suspect is Ingmar Guandique, a Salvadoran laborer, and investigators have reportedly recently collected and retested DNA...."