Germany's most wanted.

[Baby Huey]

The most wanted criminal in Germany is a female serial killer, whose crimes include the murder of a policewoman, 13 other murders and 40 other crimes in total.

After years of getting no closer to catching the killer, the police have now come up with the theory that the DNA samples they have found at crime scenes linking all these cases may have come from a woman working at the factory that makes the DNA testing kits.

Doh!

www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1888126,00....

It makes you realise there is a potential for huge balls-ups with the blind faith that is put into DNA evidence.

[Baby Huey]

Does nobody care!?!?

[extvr]

No

[AMLK]

A very expensive cock up!!! Surprised it wasn't this country.

[paul.deitch]

they just might might not have discovered it yet?

[Pints]

article said:

"The things were double-packaged, we thought they were the Mercedes of cotton swabs."

Just wondering what "the Mercedes of cotton swabs" are exactly. Not as good now as they were in the eighties?

[AlexKP]

This is a monuental cock-up and shows very clearly the danger of relying too heavily on one specific evidential technique.

The Germans are usually very thorough though, and I am surprised at this.

[anonymous-user]

Ah but what if the lady at the factory is the one wot did it?

Edited by anonymous-user on Saturday 28th March 10:57

[JMGS4]

According to a report in our local german rag, the supplying company was not even told that the swabs they manufacture had to be DNA sterile, or for what they were to be used.
The cotton buds were stuck on in China, the sticks came from Malaysia, and the kits all put together in Germany, and then irradiated, which apparently kills bacteria etc but not DNA (and supplied for use in swabbing for bacteria and virusses (virii?) in health inspections for restaurants or similar)...so the general feckup was pre-ordained....no wonder that DNA reliability scepticism is rife!!!

[eldudereno]

Quite unbelieveable that these dna swabs were already contaminated, suppose the Germans just expected them to be dna sterile.

[Neil_H]

Baby Huey said:

After years of getting no closer to catching the killer, the police have now come up with the theory that the DNA samples they have found at crime scenes linking all these cases may have come from a woman working at the factory that makes the DNA testing kits.

Sorry but.....

[Deva Link]

Kraut Cop said:

The things were double-packaged, we thought they were the Mercedes of cotton swabs

I can see where they went wrong.

Lucky escape for the lab worker - in Britain they'd have probably have been convicted and be in jail now.

Edited by Deva Link on Saturday 28th March 11:25

[speedy_thrills]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

As a tool DNA testing can be useful but it's not like CSI where the results are always 100% conclusive for or against.

I was reading that in the U.S. the FBI have stopped independant testing of their system because some reporter tested it and got several "acceptable" matches for crime scenes to his and his co workers DNA .

[Baby Huey]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Edited for German accent.

[Jsys]

It makes you wonder why it was only one worker though. Surely there'd be more than one worker who'd come up in their results.

[philthy]

Deva Link said:

Kraut Cop said:

The things were double-packaged, we thought they were the Mercedes of cotton swabs

I can see where they went wrong.

Lucky escape for the lab worker - in Britain they'd have probably have been convicted and be in jail now.

Sadly, I fear you may not be far from the truth?

[Alexj800]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

They are not some sort of master race you know. They are just people like you and me. No more intelligent and just as fallible.

[mattviatura]

Unt while ze Britishers vill be laughing at ze DNA smokescreen ve vill be ramping up ze secret Messerschmitt production. Hans, pass me some more wurst mwuhahahaha

[AlexKP]

Alexj800 said:

anonymous said:

[redacted]

They are not some sort of master race you know. They are just people like you and me. No more intelligent and just as fallible.

Er... yeah. Thanks for pointing that out. I had no idea they weren't aryan supermen....