Continued Release of Documents Corroborating Unreliability of Forensic Evidence
In an effort to substantiate the
allegation I have made in this blog and in court appeals, I have started
compiling record proof that the physical evidence in this case has been
mishandled, contaminated and tampered with. The previous posting detailed the
mishandling of the #19 blood sample. In this update I will address a hair root
known as “Q4.1” that played a pivotal role in my wrongful arrest and
conviction.
Facts and Documents Relating to
Q4.1 Hair Root.
1.
After Corey Parkers' body was discovered November
27, 1998, Evidence Technician James Choate began collecting potential evidence
from the scene. Of particular importance, Choate collected a pair of blue
panties found balled up next to the victim. The panties were sent to the FBI
laboratory in Washington DC.
2.
An FBI technician examined the underwear noting
that it was “saturated in blood”.
3.
The panties were labeled “Q4”. Several hairs and
fibers were removed from the panties and were mounted on a microscope slide
also labeled Q4. The slide was then sent to FBI Trace Analyst Max Houck.
4.
Houck examined the Q4 slide under a microscope
and noted it contained several human head hairs. All but one of the hairs had
been dyed an artificial brown color and were microscopically the same as Corey
Parkers hair. These hairs had blood on them.
5.
The one odd hair was a brown Caucasian hair with
a “follicular tag” commonly referred to as a root. Houck opened the slide and
cut the root from the hair to be tested for DNA. This single undyed hair did
not have blood on it. The root was labeled “Q4.1”
6.
FBI DNA analyst Anthony Onorato received the
Q4.1 hair root and was asked to compare the DNA profile from my spit collected
out of rain puddle (Q28), to any profile he obtained from Q4.1
7.
On August 2000, Onorato issued a report stating
that Q4.1 yielded a partial, mixed DNA profile, and that my DNA was a “major
contributor” to the mixture.
8.
It was later learned that this DNA soup
contained DNA from up to 5 or more different people.
9.
After my arrest it was discovered that the FBI
had destroyed / consumed the Q4.1 hair root in testing and failed to take any
pictures of it. Thus it could never be retested.
10.
Years later it was also discovered that the Q4.1
hair root was tested at the same time, and in the same place, just millimeters
apart from Q28, my spit sample. The 2 specimens were tested simultaneously at
all stages. This is a gross violation of laboratory protocol designed to
prevent contamination.
11.
In 2015 FBI analyst Anthony Onorato shocked my
attorney when he admitted he was NOT the
examiner who conducted the DNA testing of Q4.1, even though he led everyone to
believe he had for over 14 years.
12.
Onorato informed council that another analyst
named “Mackenzie” performed the testing and that he no longer works for the
FBI. The FBI refuses to help my lawyer locate Mackenzie and Onorato refuses to
write an affidavit
13.
In addition, Onorato conceded that Mackenzie
tested Q4.1 and Q28 simultaneously, including placing the samples in a water bath
overnight. Onorato admits that if this type of handling caused contamination,
there would be no way to tell, and the safe guards in place at the time would
not have detected it.
14.
The Q4.1 hair root was the only hair root associated with any hair found at the crime
scene. The state theorized that it was yanked out during the murder. A single
forcibly removed hair is inconsistent with that theory because more than one
hair would be pulled out during a struggle.
15.
Former FBI analyst Max Houck left the FBI to
become the Director of Forensic Sciences at the University of West Virginia.
From there Houck became the Director of the National Laboratory in Washington
D.C. Mr. Houck has since been forced to resign amidst numerous testing blunders
that have placed his reputation and credibility in doubt.
***Next post –
Hair & Microscope Slides Evidence
