Forensic court cases - Forensic DNA Testing in Northern CA | Serological

DNA exonerates man after 38 years of wrongful imprisonment

Elizabeth Ahrens — Sat, 29 Oct 2022 03:00:32 +0000

SERI DNA Analyst II, Mallory Pagenkopf, worked on this case brought to SERI by Mehul Anjaria from MBA DNA Consulting, LLC in collaboration with the Loyola Law School Project for the Innocent. Following testing by Ms. Pagenkopf, it was determined That Mr. Hastings was not a contributor to the DNA results obtained from the oral swabs. The DNA profile instead hit to another offender profile that had been uploaded into CODIS. Read about Mr. Hasting’s innocence here.

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Kristin Smart Murder Trial

Elizabeth Ahrens — Fri, 30 Sep 2022 02:40:00 +0000

SERI Senior DNA Analyst, Angela Butler, testified on her analysis of the soil samples dug up from Ruben Flores’ yard. In the end, Paul Flores was convicted of first degree murder of Kristin Smart. Read about Butler’s testimony here. If you are further interested in the case, there is a podcast that chronicles the investigation and the trial called “Your Own Backyard” where Butler is mentioned.

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DNA Analysis 101

Elizabeth Ahrens — Wed, 01 Dec 2021 20:00:58 +0000

At trial, senior Forensic DNA Analyst, Angela Butler, breaks down the process of how to discern the likelihood ratios of people’s DNA on evidence. Read about it in her testimony here.

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SERI’s Mallory Pagenkopf testifies on DNA from the Carla Walker Case

Elizabeth Ahrens — Mon, 23 Aug 2021 16:00:36 +0000

SERI analyst, Mallory Pagenkopf, testifies in the Carla Walker case on Monday, August 23 . The very next day, Glen McCurley confesses to the 1974 cold case murder and pleads guilty. See his confession here.

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Rapist’s DNA Does Not Lie

Elizabeth Ahrens — Wed, 28 Jul 2021 19:00:17 +0000

SERI analyst, Erin Laurie, took the stand and testified to her findings of the evidence in this 2019 case. Read about the case here.

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Innocence Project: DNA Tests Performed at SERI Help Exonerate Man Who Spent 26 Years in Prison

Elizabeth Ahrens — Tue, 12 Jun 2018 22:53:05 +0000

Blood samples from a 1991 crime scene were analyzed by SERI, which later proved DNA did not match that of the person convicted of the murder. Read the full story here.

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Santa Maria Times: Phillip Hopper testifies for defense in murder trial.

Seri Admin — Fri, 01 Sep 2017 15:20:00 +0000

“Forensic serologist Phillip Hopper from the Serological Research Institute kicked off Thursday’s testimony for the defense, confirming that traces of a third-party’s DNA were detected in three out of the five small cut pieces of the towel that were sent to his lab…”

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Ex-Teacher Sentenced to 46 Years to Life

Elizabeth Ahrens — Fri, 17 Mar 2017 21:35:52 +0000

SERI Senior DNA Analyst, Angela Butler, testified in this dramatic case. Read about it here.

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Berkeleyside: SERI analyst matches DNA evidence to suspected shooter

Seri Admin — Thu, 17 Mar 2016 15:04:22 +0000

SERI’s analyst found that DNA from an evidentiary blood sample matched suspect Brandon Wallace. The analyst provided expert testimony for the prosecution in court. Wallace was ultimately sentenced to 118 years for the shooting. Read the full Berkeleyside article here.

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NBC Chicago: SERI consults regarding wrongful conviction.

Seri Admin — Wed, 15 Jan 2014 15:46:22 +0000

SERI provided consultation regarding the original wrongful conviction of Larry Gillard, demonstrating the Chicago lab should have excluded Gillard when they first tested the evidence. This information helped Gillard secure a settlement in a wrongful conviction civil suit. Read the full NBC Chicago article here.

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