Dueling DNA experts at rape trial

The trial of a 52 year old man who is charged with holding two separate women captive at his home featured two dueling DNA experts, with cross examination from both sides painting each other as hired guns only out for the money.

Dennis Hisle, 52, is accused of kidnapping, forcible confinement, and rape of two victims, one in December 2004, and one in May 2005. He faces life in prison in convicted of all counts.

Sperm cells found on the vulva of victim Sandra H. showed a statistical probability of roughly one in 6.3 quadrillion, or 6,300,000,000,000,000, people having the same results - or DNA profile - as Hisle's, said Watkins, adding there are only about 7 billion people on Earth.

A test of a sample taken from a hand towel that victim Karin R. spit into after she said she submitted to oral sex with the defendant also contained Hisle's sperm, Watkins said.
Watkins testified at length about the painstaking procedures employed in her lab to avoid errors. She said she used extremely conservative estimates in all her tests.

She admitted she referred to a portion of a swab of one victim's vulva as having no sperm in her report, but that she also noted "very few sperm" were seen in the sample under the microscope in the first stage of review.

Defense analyst Elizabeth Anne Johnson questioned Watkins' results Wednesday, particularly those derived from Sandra H.'s vulva sample.

According to Johnson's calculations, the swab contained about 1,400 sperm. Johnson said it is unusual to find that high quantity and quality of material in a sample thought to have no or very few sperm.

To further establish doubt, Johnson said she reviewed the crime lab's records of contamination. In those reports, she found an unrelated case handled by Watkins on Nov. 17, 2005 where Watkins documented her contamination of one test sample with another sample of DNA.

Johnson said that the victim's DNA results and Hisle's results were handled within hours, potentially compromising the test results.

In the Hisle case, records showed Watkins conducted tests of the vulva samples from victim Sandra H. within hours of testing samples from the hand towel from victim Karin R., which contained "a great deal of (Hisle's) sperm," Johnson said.

Hisle's trial continues Friday.