how much is enough?

The public is frequently left to statements from experts like Dr. Henry Lee in the most tragic of cases; the loss of children like JonBenet or 12 year old Nicolas Parisot. These homicides share a very few similarities with a remarkable difference in that if one is to accept Dr. Lee's statements as absolute conclusions, there is apparently no more forensic evidence to further learn what happened to Nicolas. Since I have never heard even a whisper of the same tone from Dr. Lee - - no more forensic evidence - - in the investigation of JonBenet's murder, I have to wonder how much more evidence is sitting untouched scientifically in an evidence room somewhere that would help solve this case - -

Henry Lee: Evidence in Parisot case taken as far as science will allow
Published in the Wilton Villager
By KARA O'CONNOR

"WILTON -- Scientifically, nothing more can be done with forensic evidence in the Nicholas Parisot homicide, according to Wilton Police....

Lee has assisted in more than 6,000 investigative cases, including the O.J. Simpson case, review of the JFK assassination and the death of JonBenet Ramsey, according to his website, www.drhenrylee.com.

"We know that Dr. Lee, the FBI and the state have all thoroughly looked over every bit of evidence we have," said Wakeman. "And Dr. Lee has concurred, along with the other labs, that there isn't anything more we can do with this forensic evidence."

Last June, Nichols Parisot's parents, Wilton residents Rick Parisot and Katherine Throckmorton, of 274 Nod Hill Road, filed a civil suit against Glenn and Barbara Knight, formerly of Wilton, and their 12-year-old son, claiming the "willful and malicious conduct" of the 12-year-old caused the death of Nicholas Parisot..." [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.

square one

In a conversation about junk science and subject matter experts lending far fetched opinions on high profile crimes, someone queried why Dr. Henry Lee, a Connecticut pathologist known as a blood spatter expert was brought into the investigation of the murder of JonBenet Ramsey.

I think Dr. Lee might have made his mark with blood splatter, perceived more as a forensic expert by the law enforcement community. I also firmly believe he, along with others, were mis-sound-bite-quoted in the media, Or inept police departments can confuse exploring a potential theory or scenario as fact.

Even worse when the media brings such information to the general public who apparently is unable to discern between junk and science, theory or opinion versus fact. Rumors permeate the public opinion unwittingly fueled by what has not been made public. The private information associated with JonBenet's investigation and the multitude of reasons experts like Dr. Lee place high value on the DNA as a component of the case will not be fully realized by the public until, when and if, there is a trial. But half-baked speculation and false assumptions will still reign in JonBenet's case because people in general often tend to take what they like and leave the rest,. One can't gossip about something one is not even aware of - or questions - and there is no fun in that. Angry, skeptical busybodies will always be happier implicating the Ramseys for something they did not do until the face of the killer is seen. Heck, just like the Ramsey persecutors, DNA value challengers could be seen as promoting the delusions of those like John Mark Karr (apparently still lobbing he is the child molesting killer even though his DNA is nowhere to be found at the scene). People can't "see" the DNA, nor can we as outsiders understand the details of what is sealed in volumes of information about the case that resides in Bouder.

I suspect this may have occurred to some degree with Boulder authorities way back when too, we do not know if sciences and methods Dr. Lee recommended to assist with the investigation were leveraged. Take what you like and leave the rest?

Looking closely, Dr. Lee's position on the Ramsey case hasn't really changed over the years and adds up all the way to the value of the unknown male DNA found in several places on JonBenet's clothing by skin cells, tissue and biologicals of the killer. His original questions about what the any DNA might have represented in the past - in a potential theory - were legitimate at that time in my opinion. But that was yesterday and a liftime ago in technology and biometric advances. Pondering and theorizing had to be done to get to today and now truly supports some unknown man killed JonBenet leaving his DNA and a few other things behind. The DNA is, in my most humble opinion, only one part of an answer that may someday, God willing, lead to a conviction.

Dr. Lee has made concise observations about the underlying challenges that have contributed to lack of movement in solving JonBenet's case, and nothing has changed. And nothing will until an objective investigation in pursuit of fair justice starts at square one-

"Police arrived at 6:10 a.m. and from that point forward, the case was to drag on for years as a stormy mixture of tragedy, investigative ineptness, controversy, accusations of incompetence and alleged cover-up...."

dialectic

Forensics Under Fire: Are Bad Science and Dueling Experts Corrupting Criminal Justice?

by Jim Fisher

"...In Forensics Under Fire, Jim Fisher makes a compelling case that problems in the practice of forensic science allow offenders to escape justice and can also lead to the imprisonment of innocent people. Bringing together examples from a host of high-profile criminal cases and familiar figures, such as the JonBenet Ramsey case and Dr. Henry Lee who presented physical evidence in the O. J. Simpson trial, along with many lesser known but fascinating stories, Fisher presents daunting evidence that forensic science has a long way to go before it lives up to its potential and the public's expectations. "

body of evidence

Retired mental health counselor and forensics expert, Carol Farsloff stresses patience for the public as CSI teams gather evidence in the Little Caylee case, reminding readers of the ransom note analysis process in JonBenet's murder investigation--


Forensics Exam, Exhibits, Key to Determining Caylee’s Killer
by Carol Forsloff

"Forensic work requires that the evidence be gathered, prepared and exhibited properly, for the best resolution of a case...

Whether it is a handwriting exemplar from Patsy and John Ramsey in the Jon Benet Ramsey case, or remains collected at a crime scene, such as those where Caylee Anthony was found, evidence handling and presentation is sometimes the key to a final decision. No one watching the jury trial of O.J. Simpson could forget the too-tight gloves found or the shoe prints examined by Henry Lee. So it is critical that everyone be careful and close-lipped about the information. That’s because insertion of speculation from news media or leaks to either side from one or the other can be disastrous for the effective prosecution or defense of a case...."

game change for casey anthony

It might have stared with the O.J. Simpson trial back in 1995 and rolled into the vicious murder of JonBenet. And it’s happening again with the toddler that is coming to be known as 'Little Caylee'.

People are grasping onto it, all the latest information, speculating the appropriate punishment for the alleged perpetrator that many assume is the child's pretty young mother. The black glove has been replaced by a pizza box. Another horrendous report of the use of duct tape to silence an innocent child, the waiting for DNA results.

The heartbreaking story of the fate of 'Little Caylee' has the public firmly in its grasp. Now comes the discovery of the body of a baby discarded as a dream team is assembled for the mother's defense that contains names associated with some of the high profile cases that went before hers--

Casey Anthony’s dream team
By itsamysterytome

"Apparently The Casey Anthony dream team is a force to be reckoned with. Jose Baez has been busy gathering a group of individuals who’s profiles are even more famous than his client.

Dr. Henry Lee:
World famous forensic scientist has worked on many high profile cases including OJ Simpson and JonBenet Ramsey.

Lee is known for finding the tiniest clues. He has even solved a murder without a body. Over the past 40 years, Lee assisted in the investigations of more than 6,000 cases, including war crimes in Bosnia and Croatia, the suicide of President Clinton’s former White House attorney, Vince Foster, review of the JFK assassination, and the death of JonBennet Ramsey.

Dr. Werner Spitz:
He has served on committees investigating the deaths of President John F. Kennedy, Jr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mary Jo Kopechne, who drowned after the car driven by Senator Edward Kennedy plunged off the Chappaquiddick Bridge. He has also served as an expert witness in numerous high-profile cases including the California Night Stalker, the Preppy Murder Trial in New York, and the wrongful death suit against OJ Simpson. He has been an advisor in the investigation of the Jon Benet Ramsey case. He is the author and editor of the textbook, Medicolegal Investigation of Death, now in its third edition and considered to be the authoritative textbook in this specialty, worldwide."