Famous Cases with Contaminated or Lost Evidence

Death of JonBenet Patricia Ramsey 

JonBenet Patricia Ramsey was born on August 6, 1990, in Atlanta, Georgia (Francis & Hussein, 2017) . She was the youngest daughter to John Ramsey and Patricia, who died in 2006. Her elder brother was called Burke and was born in 1987 (Conrad, 1999) . Her father, John Ramsey, was a businessman heading Access Graphics, a company with specialty in computer systems which eventually formed part of Lockheed Martin (Conrad, 1999) . Despite critical analysis, her death remains an unsolved murder in the history of the United States. Before the discovery of her body by John Ramsey, the family and the league of investigators from various investigative organizations found a handwritten note on the kitchen staircase. Content of the note detailed how the parents to JonBenet were to pay a ransom of 188,000 U.S. dollars to the kidnappers, and any attempt to contact the police, friends and the rest of the family members could result in the execution of their child. From the note’s request, John reported that the amount specified was almost identical to what he had received as Christmas bonus the previous year, meaning that the kidnappers must have been conversant with John's payment details. The length of the ransom note was unusually long, depicting a low probability of being written at the crime scene. D.N.A. analysis showed only fingerprints of Patsy and those from the investigative officers who had initially handled the ransom note. Succinct observation of the note, it was evident that the pen and the writing pad used in developing the ransom note was from the victim’s house. 

Contamination of the Evidence 

Solving the case of JonBenet's death has been a mystery due to a failed presentation of qualified evidence. The evidence presented from the scene was majorly marred with contamination and carelessness from both the parents of the victim and the investigative officers deployed. The first instance of negligence and contamination of potential evidence that could help identify the kidnappers occurred when both Patsy and the first F.B.I. Officers touched the note before the prints were taken for fingerprint matching. According to a report by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Patsy may have used this evidence contamination strategy to hide behind her heinous acts. According to Michael Baden, a certified forensic pathologist, the person behind the kidnapping must be an insider since the time the incident happened, both Patsy and Burke were home. 

Failure of an investigative officer called Rick French to open the basement door showed ignorance that curtailed the successful investigation of the death. The ignorance contributes immensely in contamination of the evidence, especially when John walks to the basement and comes out carrying the body of their dead daughter. Failure to notify the on-site investigator results in contamination of the crime scene and consequently losing the evidence. The victim had her mouth wrapped by duct tape, and her neck and wrist were tied together with a nylon cord. D.N.A. details taken from the victim's genitals showed a cloth was used to wipe off her private parts. An attempt to get rid of semen deposits from her parts resulted in destruction and contamination of evidence that could have helped to identify the perpetrators. 

Reports show that the officers delayed interviewing the family to the victim. Patsy and John (parents to JonBenet) were interviewed two hours after the incidence. Extended waiting time, provided enough room for potential perpetrators to design a befitting story. Burke was interviewed a few weeks after the incidence, making his response to the interview obsolete. 

These cascade of events prevented identification of the right perpetrators through contaminating evidence. 

O.J Simpson Murder Case 

Walklate (2016) stipulates that O.J Simpson Murder Case involved a former national football league player and a broadcaster famously known as Simpson. Simpson was charged for two murder accounts; his ex-wife, (Nicole Brown) and her friend called Ron Goldman. The fate of this case has never been determined owing to the missing evidence. The investigators of these case had all the reason’s to have Simpson prosecuted for murder but failed to do it due to lost evidence. From the reports and initial occurrences, it was depicted that both Simpson and his wife Nicole lived a controversial relationship that ended up with a divorce. The night of the killings Parker a taxi driver that had been sent to pick up Simpson noted a weird scenario while still stranded at the Ashford gate. Assuming this was okay, Simpson presented with increased agitation at the reception, which even Kaelin noted. While on their way to the airport, Simpson kept complaining about how it was hot despite being a chilly night. Despite Simpson having marks and cuts on his hands, Parker and airport officials could not notice it. He had concealed the evidence in the long sleeve shirt he was wearing. These concealing of evidence made him pass through the numerous security checks at the airport. At the airport, it was noted by Skip Junis that Simpson emptied one of the bags into a trash can. Investigators never found one of the bags he was carrying and believe that this is how the evidence disappeared. 

The staging of the two bodies was designed to aid Simpson to avoid being instigated in the murder of the victims. Furthermore, Simpson managed to escape the case by hiding the evidence that could be used to charge him against the murder of his ex-wife, Nicole and her friend Goldman. The evidence that he threw at the airport’s trash can may have aided in identifying him as the incident perpetrator. 

Amanda Knox 

On November 2, 2007, Amanda, an American college student found her bathroom, which she shared with Meredith Kercher in Perugia Italy, filled with blood this, according to Boyd (2013). The present state of the bathroom disturbed Knox’s peace of mind since she knew her roommate as a clean and organized lady. Previously, Knox had visited her boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito and spent a night there. Both Knox and Sollecito tried to open the door forcefully but failed, prompting them to notify the security. 

Thinking that the room had been robed, Filomena, the third roommate went back home after conversing with Knox. Filomena, thinking that they had been robbed, begun rummaging around, unknowingly contaminating the evidence ate the crime scene. Later on, both Knox and Sollecito were arrested and convicted for murdering Kercher owing to the D.N.A. samples matching Knox's found on the kitchen knife, weapon believed to be used to carry out the murder ( Gill, 2016) . A thorough search led to finding more D.N.A. that matched Guede, who had a companied the victim for a date the previous night of the murder. 

Later on, it was uncovered that the incidence was marred with numerous incidences of flaws in the forensic evidence collected. For instance, the investigative officers lacked crime scenes caps leading to possible contamination of the scene. Secondly, the F.B.I. officers did not change the gloves they were wearing throughout the entire search, depicting a high chance of evidence contamination through cross-contamination of objects at the crime scene. Lastly, it was also noted that despite the murder weapon containing D.N.A. of both Knox and Sollecito, it lacked the D.N.A. match to the victim’s blood. This had a profound impact on the resolution of the case. 

References

Boyd, M. S. (2013). Representation of foreign justice in the media: The Amanda Knox case.  Critical Approaches to Discourse Analysis across Disciplines ,  7 (1), 33-50. 

Conrad, J. (1999). Lost Innocent and Sacrificial Delegate. Childhood , 6 (3), 313-351. doi: 10.1177/0907568299006003003 

Francis, M., & Hussein, L. (2017). Off the Record: Re-enactment and Intimacy in Casting JonBenet. Film Quarterly , 71 (1), 32-41. doi: 10.1525/fq.2017.71.1.32 

Gill, P. (2016). Analysis and implications of the miscarriages of justice of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito.  Forensic science international: genetics ,  23 , 9-18. 

Skolnick, P., & Shaw, J. (2010). The O. J. Simpson Criminal Trial Verdict: Racism or Status Shield? Journal of Social Issues , 53 (3), 503-516. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1997.tb02125.x 

Walklate, S. (2016). The Crime of all Crimes: Toward a Criminology of Genocide. By Nicole Rafter (New York University Press, 2016. 297pp. $35). British Journal of Criminology , 56 (6), 1308-1310. doi: 10.1093/bjc/azw061