Motion says lab withheld DNA findings

Lawyers in the Duke rape case say evidence helps their clients and damages the accuser

A laboratory hired by the prosecution in the Duke lacrosse case found DNA from unidentified men in the accuser's body and underwear but none from the defendants, according to a defense motion filed Wednesday.

DNA Security of Burlington in May produced a report to Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong that made no mention of finding the genetic material.

Wednesday's motion raised questions about whether Nifong and DNA Security withheld evidence favorable to the defense. It also cast further doubt on accounts given by the accuser, who told nurses and police that her attackers ejaculated and did not use condoms. The tests revealed no DNA evidence from any of 46 lacrosse players then suspected in the case.

"This is strong evidence of innocence," said the motion, which was signed by attorneys for all three defendants. "There is not a single mention of this obviously exculpatory evidence in the final DNA Security report."

Defense lawyers for months pressed Nifong in court to release all test documents from DNA Security. The evidence in Wednesday's motion was contained in thousands of DNA Security papers that a judge in October ordered Nifong to give to the defense.

Defense lawyers, citing the state's open file discovery law and the U.S. Supreme Court requirement that prosecutors surrender all helpful evidence, asked for more lab records, including analyses, notes, e-mail and logs of phone calls. They also asked that Brian Meehan, director of DNA Security, be questioned under oath. A hearing is scheduled for Friday in the case.

Nifong could not be reached Wednesday. Meehan said he could not answer questions without reviewing his file.

Three former Duke University lacrosse players, Dave Evans, 23, of Bethesda, Md.; Collin Finnerty, 20, of Garden City, N.Y.; and Reade Seligmann, 20, of Essex Fells, N.J., are charged with rape, kidnapping and sexual offense. The players have said that they are innocent and that the accusations are lies.

The News & Observer typically does not identify the complainant in sexual assault cases. The woman has been unreachable since April.

Genetic material

The accuser, then an escort service worker, was one of two women hired to dance at a lacrosse team party in March. The accuser said three men gang-raped her in a bathroom over a 30-minute period. She told nurses that she was raped anally, orally and vaginally, that one or more men ejaculated, and that her assailants did not wear condoms.

DNA Security found that the genetic material taken from the accuser did not match the defendants, their teammates or anyone who submitted DNA to police in this case, according to the motion.

Early on the morning of March 14, a few hours after the party, a Duke Hospital doctor and nurse examined the woman and collected standard rape kit evidence: panties, hair and swabs of the woman's orifices.

On March 28, the laboratory at the State Bureau of Investigation tested the rape kit items and found no evidence of semen, blood or saliva, according to SBI records.

Additional testing

After meeting with Nifong on April 4, Investigator Michele Soucie called DNA Security to inquire whether the laboratory could do additional evidence testing, according to Soucie's handwritten notes.

Meehan said his lab could perform Y-chromosome testing, which is more sensitive than the SBI tests, according to her notes. The tests isolate cells containing a Y chromosome from the sample, thereby analyzing only male DNA. The lab would test the swabs and panty samples for DNA and look for matches with the 46 players who were then suspects, the accuser and any other DNA samples collected from her boyfriend and other acquaintances.