SEARCH ... FAQs The FBI Laboratory's COmbined DNA Index System Program Stephen J. Niezgoda Jr. and Barry Brown Ph.D. Federal Bureau of Investigation - A CODIS SUCCESS STORY
THE CODIS CONCEPT EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT CURRENT STATUS ... FIGURES A CODIS SUCCESS STORY On a Friday afternoon in March 1989, Debbie Smith, whose husband, Robert, is a police officer, was abducted from her home by a man she had never seen before. Mrs. Smith's assailant forced her from her kitchen to the woods behind her home. He proceeded to rape her. Before leaving the scene of the crime, the rapist threatened Mrs. Smith, saying he knew where she lived and he would kill her if she ever told anyone what had happened. The local police department developed a suspect in the case, and sent a sample of his blood, along with the evidence, to their forensic crime laboratory. A conventional serology exam excluded the suspect. However the examiner instructed the investigating officer to preserve the evidence; there was a new examination based on DNA that could possibly solve this crime sometime in the future. Five years later, in 1994, the county where Debbie and Robert Smith resided experienced an outbreak of sexual assault and rape crimes. The police developed a suspect in this case, and sent a sample of his blood to the laboratory. The police also resubmitted the evidence from Debbie Smith's case, thinking the same subject may be responsible. This time, the laboratory performed DNA analysis. Again, the suspect was excluded. But now, the laboratory had developed a DNA profile of the man who raped Mrs. Smith. | |
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