DNA transfer: Informed judgment or mere guesswork?

Abstract

With the advances of analytical sensitivity, it is now possible to detect a DNA profile from minute quantity of DNA. It opens new investigative avenues (in cold cases for example), but also new interpretative challenges. Here, forensic scientists deal with items bearing DNA cellular material from areas showing no visible stain and have limited means to identify the nature of the body fluid involved. Such DNA cells can be considered as trace evidence that can be exchanged for reasons connected to the alleged facts under investigation (generally a direct transfer) but also following alternative and versatile ways (through secondary or tertiary transfer) that have no connection to the facts under investigation. The trace becomes an ubiquitous material that can be found for unconnected reasons. In addition, and especially with trace quantities of DNA, the debate in court is less focused on the issue of the source of the DNA (often the parties will not dispute it), but on the mechanisms whereby the biological material has been transferred (Taroni et al., 2013). In other words, the well-known territory of source level DNA statistics (see Buckleton et al., 2005 for example) does not help with the interpretation process, but the forensic scientist is invited to assess how likely it would be to observe this amount of DNA given various transfer mechanisms. The review by Meakin and Jamieson (2013) led them to conclude that the quantity of DNA or the quality of the profile cannot be used "to reliably infer the mode of transfer by which the DNA came to be on the surface of interest". © 2013 Champod.