One morning in October 2010, just as I was about to leave the house, I received a call from a detective in Campsie (a suburb of Sydney). He told me that a sample of blood found at the scene of my rape in 1999 had matched a DNA sample from a person who was in jail.
After more than 11 years since the rape to hear that someone had been found who might be responsible for it was something that I had definitly not expected.
The information seemed implausible to me and it took some time to consider that I might now find out who the rapist was.
The detective stated that the 'person of interest' whose DNA had matched the blood sample was currently in jail for having raped another woman one year before he raped me.
He had originally been arrested for property crimes (breaking into houses and theft) and on an initial cold case test his DNA had matched with the 1998 rape.
The use of DNA analysis for assisting in crime detection began with the ability to 'type' the DNA in 1984. In 1986 the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) process allowed even small samples of DNA to be analysized.
This information comes from a fascinating book by Norah Rudin and Keith Inman called "An Introduction to Forensic DNA Analysis" 2nd edition. It has some great information about DNA analysis and how it all works and is speckled through with case examples.
In my case both the blood sample from the crime scene and samples from the sexual assault kit examination which I underwent, would have gone into a database of crimes and these would be matched against a database of DNA taken from individuals, generally prisoners. In Australia we have the National Criminal Identification DNA Database where the samples are stored. (1)
DNA is contained in the nucleus of cells and can be found in almost all body fluids and organs. It does deteriorate and more rapidly when in certain conditions but it is not possible for one persons DNA to deteriorate so much that it becomes another persons DNA, so as long as the sample taken is still viable it should be an accurate match. (2)
The Campsie detective asked me if I wished to go ahead with prosecuting the person who had been identified.
(1) "Wiley Encyclopedia of Forensic Science" 2009 editors in chief Allen Jamieson and Andre Moenssens John Wiley and Sons Chichester ENG
(2) "An Introduction to Forensic DNA Analysis" 2002 2nd ed. Norah Rudin & Keith Inman
CRC Press
"A child's Forgotten mornings when he walked with his mother Through the parables Of sunlight And the legends of the green chapels." Dylan Thomas "Poem in October" 1946
"It is such a secret place, the land of tears." Ch.7 'The Little Prince' Antoine de Saint Expupery Picture by arupendu from flickr
"The cruellest lies are often told in silence" Robert Louis Stevenson Virginibus Puerisque 1881
"The quality of mercy is not strained It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath" Shakespeare Merchant of Venice act 4 sc.1
"People need to be free to behave and associate with others" Australian Law Reform Commission Review of Australian Privacy law 1.36
"We need to turn the question around to look at the harasser, not the target. We need to be sure that we can go out and look anyone who is a victim of harassment in the eye and say, "you do not have to remain silent anymore". Anita Hill The New York Times 1992
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