DNA used to crack 72 Metro cold cases

State DNA labs will inform Metro Detroit police departments by next week that they have linked 72 cold cases -- including murders, rapes and lesser crimes -- to known criminals in the state's justice system.

The genetic links, found in 43 percent of the cases the Detroit Police Department forwarded to the lab under a federal grant, mark an unusually high success rate that could lead to new charges in six homicides and almost 40 sex offenses dating to 1976. Lab officials declined to identify the cases pending notification of local police.

The success rate is "fantastic," said Julie French, who oversees the state's DNA database. "Case-to-known offender comparisons usually average out at only about 30 percent at best, and that's considered good.

"What this means is we can notify the department that definite matches have been made with known offenders. Some may even be in prison now. Where it goes from there is up to them."

The state DNA lab began notifying departments of the positive identifications last week. The evidence comes from a federal DNA grant program that gave Detroit $370,000 in 2004 to solve old cases. The 2004 grant money is just now being disbursed for use.

Forensic lab workers sifted through blood, hair and other biological evidence left at crime scenes in 367 active Detroit cases. Of those, they identified 171 genetic profiles of suspects. Those profiles were then run through the Combined Offender Data Information System (CODIS), a database of more than 210,000 convicted offenders maintained in Lansing by the Michigan State Police, and matches were made with known criminals in 72 cases.

Although the original 367 submissions came from Detroit, a number of hits came from suburban jurisdictions. Of the 72 cases where a suspect was identified, 11 matched up with crimes committed in Oakland, Wayne and Washtenaw counties.

DNA is genetic material that's unique to each person and can be found in all types of cells, including hair, skin, blood and saliva.

Oakland County assistant prosecuting attorney Paul Walton has handled more than 30 cases -- from break-ins to murders -- involving DNA identifications. He said the CODIS match is enough for probable cause for a warrant and he has never seen one reversed.

"It's good enough to go into court with and in many cases, the defendants enter a plea before that point," Walton said. "Of course you want to have a complete investigation that points to the person and have it solid, backed up with DNA evidence."

Glen Hall, forensic lab manager for the Detroit police lab, said while lab workers were excited by the results, it's important the results are scrutinized carefully to ensure accuracy. Once the initial genetic profile is established, the federal grant requires that investigators be notified within 30 days of any matches with known criminals. During that time, the DNA matches are tested again and verified before notification begins.

Once investigators are notified, they'll get another sample from the suspect and that, too, will be tested, Hall said.

"It's a check and balance system from when you first get a matched offender's name," said Hall of the 30-day turnaround. "Once the (state) lab makes a confirmation it can take a couple weeks for them to process it to us and then we file reports that can take another week or two."

Hall said the pool of unsolved cases includes those with no known suspects. In other cases there are suspects but no DNA sample collected or on file. Hall said all of the "hits" are ongoing investigations until someone is criminally charged and convicted.

More than 425 other unsolved Detroit cases are being processed under 2005 and 2006 federal grants, Hall said.

Ruth Ballard, professor of biology and director of the forensic program at California State University at Sacramento, said it's important to verify DNA quickly so a suspect can't commit more crimes. But more importantly, she said, agencies often lack the resources to put the evidence to use.

"Even though a match is reported it doesn't mean that local law enforcement follows up," Ballard said. "It's outrageous. Law enforcement doesn't have enough money or resources to follow through."

Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said underfunding of state police labs in Michigan and labs elsewhere across the nation have caused such backlogs -- eight to 14 months in the processing of evidence -- that federal grants were needed to reduce caseloads. In 2004, the state of Michigan, which processes 50,000 convicted felons annually, had a 10-year backlog of more than 74,000 cases, eventually reduced by outsourcing via $7 million in federal grants since 2002.

Since 2001, every convicted felon in Michigan has had to submit to a DNA test, a swab sample of their saliva, for the database. There are 210,576 convicted offenders and 6,764 unknown profiles in Michigan's database.

The CODIS database has provided crucial evidence to police in 2,214 cases across Michigan since 2001, French said. State labs average about 50 hits each month involving convicted offenders.

"Every sample doesn't reach the level of a genetic profile," French said. "You can test a sample but then find it doesn't meet the federal requirements for eligibility into the database, for a number of reasons."

The average screening of a DNA sample takes six months, sometimes longer, said Capt. Mike Thomas, who supervises the forensic crime division. It was unclear Monday whether that was the reason the results from the 2004 grant are just coming in.

"Some cases are given a higher priority," Thomas said. "If your suspect is already in prison, there is not as much a rush as if he is putting the public at risk."

Thomas said Michigan ranks fourth in the nation in receiving federal funding as part of a DNA initiative designed to reduce backlogs of DNA analysis. Michigan, which has the sixth largest database in the nation, has received more than $20 million in federal grants since 2002 to send DNA samples to private labs.