‘Offenders could still be out there’: Report slams DNA lab bungle

Thousands of criminals may have got away with murder, rape, sexual assault and other crimes because of a DNA testing bungle, a bombshell inquiry has found.

Thousands of criminals may have got away with murder, rape, sexual assault and other crimes because of an arbitrary line in the sand for forensically testing DNA in Queensland, a bombshell inquiry has found.

Queensland’s high threshold for testing, double the number of cells than required in New South Wales, meant that for four years, Queensland Health’s Forensic Scientific Service ignored DNA samples where “either a full or partial profile,” could have been found.

Retired Court of Appeal president Walter Sofronoff KC is leading the inquiry and in interim findings released on Tuesday found that certain statements put forward by the lab between February 2018 and June this year were, “untrue,” and need to be rectified without delay.

Commissioner of the Inquiry Walter Sofronoff. Picture: Jack Tran

“First, the absence of DNA evidence when it was actually available might have resulted in a line of investigation by police being unnecessarily weakened or abandoned,” the report said.

“Second, a prosecutor might have decided not to commence criminal proceedings or might have decided to discontinue proceedings because of the absence of such evidence when it might have been obtained.

“Also, a prosecutor might be inclined to accept a plea of guilty to a lesser offence because of the absence of such evidence which, if it had been obtained, would have sustained a conviction for a more serious offence.

“I am of the opinion that the practice of putting forward these untrue statements as true expert evidence is a profound issue for the administration of criminal justice, for the integrity of police investigations and for decisions made by victims of crime.

“The belief in the truth of these statements should not be permitted to continue for a day longer.”

Acting Assistant Commissioner Marcus Hill said the crimes related to the DNA samples included homicide, rape and robbery, declaring authorities were unsure how many cases could be implicated.

“It could be 1000, it could be 9000 – nobody really understands that,” he said.

“Worst case scenario, there could be people that are offenders that are still out there.

“(But) we already have the DNA evidence that links an offender to a crime scene and they can be prosecuted on that.

“It’s a complex picture, and it’s a complex set of data that we’ve got to go through to really understand what we’re dealing with.”

Acting Assistant Commissioner Marcus Hill. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Dan Peled

Victims of these crimes may never be granted justice, which Health Minister Yvette D’Ath admitted would be “traumatising” as the massive task of attempting to rectify the blunder begins.

Ms D’Ath said statements submitted to court relating to an “extraordinary amount of investigations” which stated the samples were insufficient for further testing or that there was no DNA present “were incorrect”.

“If those samples had gone on to further concentration, as was happening before 2018 and as has been happening since June 2022, there is a likelihood that some will find either partial or full DNA,” she said.

“It’s extremely serious and can lead to the potential miscarriage of justice.”

Health Minister Yvette D’Ath. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Dan Peled

Mr Sofronoff said the “chance of conviction is forever lost” in some cases because the “ignorance of truth” led to cases being squashed.

“In cases in which ignorance of the truth led to an actual acquittal, the laws of double jeopardy would, in most cases, preclude useful re-examination of the evidence,” the Commissioner said, declaring immediate action be taken to rectify the systemic errors.

The commission of inquiry into forensic DNA testing was launched in June after The Australian’s podcast Shandee’s Story. The investigation into the murder of Shandee Blackburn in 2013 raised concerns about the forensic examination procedures in Queensland.

Queensland Police Service has established a task force to identify and review evidentiary samples for additional DNA testing and Professor Frank Gannon has been enlisted by the Palaszczuk government to oversee reissuing of statements of identified cases and further test identified samples to provide those results to police.

QUESTIONS OVER EVIDENCE

How many crimes:

Unsure. Police have said “it could be 1000, it could be 9000”. The massive task now is identifying which samples were found to have “insufficient” DNA or “no DNA detected”.

What sort of crimes:

Authorities say the forensic bungle relates to murder, rape, all other sexual assault, and robberies.

What time period:

DNA tested between February, 2018, and June, 2022.

What next:

Every witness statement issued in that four-year period which stated the DNA sample was “insufficient” or “no DNA detected” be identified immediately. Each of these statements will be reclassified as incorrect and further testing of the samples will occur.

And then:

The interim report recommends the Queensland government provide additional funds to the public bodies to ensure adequate resources are supplied to investigate to resolve any miscarriages of justice.

Double jeopardy:

The report says the “chance of conviction is forever lost” in some cases because the “ignorance of truth” led to an actual acquittal.

What caused the review:

The inquiry was announced after issues relating to DNA procedures were raised in The Australian’s podcast Shandee’s Story, about the murder of Shandee Blackburn in Mackay in 2013.