DNA COMPROMISED – Murder Case Turns Ugly!

DNA May Be Compromised in High-Profile Murder Case

Four college students were murdered in November.

Two others were in the home at the time of the slaying, but were not injured.

Law enforcement is keeping many of the details of the crime quiet.

Experts think DNA testing might prove to be difficult.

(NewsReady.com) – It’s been weeks since the murders of four University of Idaho students rocked the nation. The four young people, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, and Kaylee Goncalves, were stabbed to death in a home off campus while they were sleeping in the early morning hours of November 13. A massive investigation is underway, and several agencies are involved, including the Moscow Police Department, Idaho State Police, and the FBI.

Despite the heavy law enforcement manpower, authorities have failed as of yet to arrest a person or persons of interest. Experts are now saying it might be difficult to sort out the DNA evidence.

A Lot of Evidence

According to Newsweek, the police have removed more than 100 pieces of evidence from the home. They were taken to the Idaho State Police crime lab, where investigators are trying to extract anything that might lead them to a suspect, including DNA evidence.

Experts told the news agency it might prove a little tricky to get the forensic evidence and narrow it down because of the nature of the living conditions at the home. The three women who were murdered lived in the home with two other female roommates. Chapin was the boyfriend of one of the girls, and it isn’t clear if the others were also dating anyone.

Witnesses have said the students regularly had people over at the house, meaning there was a lot of foot traffic. Further, there were reportedly other people in the home when the phone call was made to 911. Those people likely left traces of DNA there and possibly on the victims if they were touching them in an attempt to wake them up. That means there is potential for a lot of foreign DNA in the home that might not necessarily belong to the killer.

“A Big Obstacle”

Joseph Scott Morgan, a forensics expert at Alabama’s Jacksonville State University, said the police will have to consider all of that, and “it’s a big obstacle for the investigators to overcome.”

Ultimately, it could take a while for police to sift through all of the DNA evidence to try to find a suspect. And still, they might not ever be able to isolate the genetic profile of the suspect(s), but that is not clear yet.

Joseph Giacalone, a retired police sergeant and professor, told Newsweek how law enforcement needs “a little bit of breathing room.”