Three DNA profiles-1 woman, 2 men- were lifted off items recovered from the McStay graves, identified through a verified process, and all work done by accredited labs. Yet, the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s office has not run the DNA through CODIS.
The final analysis performed by True Allele is, by all accounts, CODIS ready. Riverside County just solved a cold case using a DNA profile generated by True Allele analysis for their case. Riverside County ran that profile through the database and found their suspect. He was convicted March 2019. People v. Torres. (Norma Lopez’s murder). And from what I gather, reading the media on this case, but for that DNA profile the suspect would never have been identified.
Riverside County is apparently solving cold cases with this technology. So I can’t figure out why San Bernardino County hasn’t run the DNA profiles from the graves through CODIS, yet.
It seems like the logical next step to me. The major expense has been taken care of. What possible harm could there be in entering the profiles into the state and national databases? Why would we risk letting anyone involved in this crime get away?
Prosecutor Says DNA Proves Man Abducted, Murdered 17-Year-Old Moreno Valley Girl
Dr. Perlin of True Allele testified at the Torres trial a few months prior to testifying on People v. Merritt.
True Allele: Kern County/Torres Case
General History and Overview of Probabilistic Genotyping
In early search warrants SBC investigators theorized that there had to be more than one person involved. And there is lots of evidence to suggest they were right.
Indicators that more than one person was involved in the McStay murders:
- Signs of life in the McStay home on the 4th, after the vehicle thought to be the killer’s is captured leaving on a neighbor’s surveillance.
- Two sets of tire tracks at the graves of different widths.
- Three DNA profiles extracted from items in the graves
- The overall complexity and many moving parts of the murders.
Justice Delayed: Will the McStay murders ever be solved? Is Chase Merritt a killer or an innocent man on California's Death Row? 