So far in this course, your study has been concentrated on the origin, developmental stages, and many uses of DNA to solve crimes. You have studied how various body fluids such as blood, saliva, and semen are tested, as well as identified the importance of DNA and nuclear DNA in DNA profiling. Below are several case studies that were solved using the procedures and analyses studied in class, and the application of the information obtained was used to solve the criminal investigation.
Choose only 1 of the cases listed below and explain how the physical evidence recovered from the crime scene was tested and analyzed to solve the crime.
Case Study 1
A man and his wife were on vacation in Paris. On the way back to the hotel, they were approached by two men with weapons who demanded their jewelry. A physical interaction occurred in which the robbers violently wrestled the man to the ground and removed his watch and rings while his wife tried to run away. The man and his wife were shot and killed. The bodies of the two victims were pulled into an alley. Multiple scratches were on the body of the male victim, and blood was also found on the female victim because the robbers tore the necklace, rings, and earrings off that she was wearing. The two men committing the crime both had previous records for assault and robbery. How were the men convicted of the crime?
Case Study 2
After 10 years of being free, a man was convicted of a rape after DNA evidence was allowed to be used. The female he raped was not able to make an identification, so the attorney had to get permission to do a DNA profile on the suspect. The suspect had lived as a neighbor of the victim, only a few houses away. This man was considered a family friend; however, after the rape incident occurred, he abruptly moved to another state. How was he convicted or exonerated?
Assignment Guidelines
Address the following in 4–5 pages:
What exactly is DNA profiling? Explain in detail.
How it is used to solve crimes? Explain in detail.
Regarding your selected case study:
What physical evidence would be retrieved from the crime scene?
Identify each item of physical evidence, and fully justify your decision to collect it as evidence.
What type(s) of DNA tests are required to investigate the crime you have chosen? Explain in detail, and fully support your argument.
What is the testing process for the technique(s) used to test each piece of evidence? Be specific, and explain in detail.
After analyzing the evidence, explain how the evidence exonerated or convicted the suspects.
