2018/10/17

Forensic Magazine October 16, 2018: DNA Contamination Cases Prompt Probe, Turnover at Major Forensic Lab

The some 4,000 nanograms of DNA in a sample matched a 31-year-old person who was suspected of a crime in Kentucky.

But there was a problem: that same DNA profile ended up in a tiny 2 ng sample analyzed right at the same time, “right next door” in the laboratory—resulting in CODIS “hits,” since the person was already on file in the national database.

It remains to be officially determined how the DNA profile ended up in that second sample at Sorenson Forensics laboratory in Utah earlier this year.

But the genetic mix-up was not a solitary event at the well-known forensic DNA laboratory. It is one of six contamination incidents that have been counted in a widespread recent internal audit at the lab. The Texas Forensic Science Commission, a watchdog agency, has an investigative panel looking into the incidents, and the operations at Sorenson. But already Sorenson, one of the biggest forensic operations of its kind in the nation, has changed virtually its entire management structure under a new CEO—with a stated commitment to “perfection over production,” according to the new leadership.

Though the results of the six contamination cases were reported to the clients, none made it to the courtroom, according to Sorenson.

But the TFSC investigation continues. more