2015/06/04

WWLP June 2, 2015: More than $100K needed for test to ID identical twin rapist

Traditional DNA testing can't confirm which twin raped a student in 1999

Police say a cutting-edge DNA test could identify which identical twin was the stranger who raped a student 16 years ago in downtown Grand Rapids, but sticker shock is delaying justice.

The test could cost as much as $160,000, making it by far the most expensive forensics test ever in Kent County, police and prosecutors told Target 8.

Police say they are considering applying for a federal grant to pay for it.

The student, then 26, was walking to her car after a night class at Kendall College of Art and Design downtown when she was attacked in November 1999.

Traditional DNA tests identified the suspect as Jerome Cooper, of Twin Lake, but police later learned he has a twin brother, Tyrone. The identical twins have identical problems: Both have histories of sexual assault and neither had an alibi.

Both are now free. They have denied the attack.

The problem is that traditional DNA tests can’t pinpoint which man is the attacker because identical twins have the same basic DNA. more