DNA lab error: ‘Dead son switched at birth’

A contamination scandal at Queensland’s troubled DNA lab resulted in a mother being wrongly told her deceased son must have been switched at birth.

DNA lab inquiry commissioner Walter Sofronoff KC. Picture: Jack Tran

A contamination scandal at Queensland’s troubled DNA lab resulted in a mother being wrongly told her deceased son must have been switched at birth.

Flawed processes led to tests excluding a mother and father from being the biological parents of a young man whose skeletal remains were located in Brisbane’s south, despite other evidence overwhelmingly suggesting it was their missing son.

Coroner Christine Clements concluded that the remains had to be their son, and released the bones to the family despite the DNA exclusion.

Ministerial briefing documents detailing the family’s extraordinary efforts to confirm his identity after the remains were found almost 20 years ago have been obtained by a $6m public inquiry into the lab, sparked by The Australian’s podcast Shandee’s Story.

It shows serious problems at the lab date back two decades, lending weight to the need for a complete overhaul of forensic DNA services in the state as inquiry commissioner Walter Sofronoff KC prepares a final report.

The documents reveal the mother refused to accept the “possible explanation that her baby was switched at birth”.

When the family sought from the lab the raw DNA data to show to one of Australia’s leading DNA experts, Barry Boettcher, they were told to submit a Freedom of Information application.

Following further communication with the coroner, a second round of DNA testing was organised, and reaffirmed the results of the original tests.

The mother then “approached the attorney-general for approval to exhume the remains and proceed with additional testing”, the documents state.

Then-state coroner Michael Barnes told the lab’s then chief scientist, Vanessa Ientile, that the mother was “adamant the baby she bore was not ‘switched’ with another baby before she was discharged from hospital”.

It was only during a detailed review of the case in 2006 by forensic scientist Kirsty Wright and her colleague Tim Gardam – more than three years after the remains were found – that it was discovered a bandsaw was suspected of having cross-­contaminated samples.

The contamination led to the wrong DNA profile being assigned to the remains, and to the mother and father being incorrectly excluded as the parents.

New DNA testing confirmed the remains were those of their son. A femur was the first bone to be found, in the riverside suburb of Dutton Park.

While the inquiry documents do not reveal the date of the discovery, news reports from the time indicate it was in September 2002. A skeleton was located in the same suburb, along with personal effects including clothing. News reports indicate this was in August 2003.

The Weekend Australian was unable to contact the man’s family, and has chosen not to name him. The man was aged 24 and was found in mangroves on the banks of the Brisbane River.

His loving family had searched for him for more than two years.

When there was a delay in releasing his remains, his father raised concerns about being unable to lay him to rest. “I know that’s my boy they found out there in the mud in August because (he) lived near there, he was last seen there and my sons identified his Blundstone boots and gaiters,” the grieving dad said of his youngest son.

“But six months later the police still have the bones and I can’t lay my son to rest. They say they are still doing DNA tests but they won’t tell us where the bones are and it’s tearing us apart.”

His son had a history of suicide attempts and there was no suggestion of foul play. “We just want to bury him and put an end to all the suffering,” the father said.

Dr Wright and Mr Gardam found it was probable that biological material from a “contaminated mortuary bandsaw” was behind the bungle, the documents state.

Experienced forensic scientists expect the surfaces of bones may be contaminated from handling so use rigorous cleaning and testing processes to ensure the integrity of their results.

It appears flawed processes in the lab resulted in the repeated failure to obtain the correct DNA profile until the review by Dr Wright and Mr Gardam.

When the two scientists meticulously examined the bones, all outer surfaces were carefully cleaned and edges removed.

The bones appeared to be of good quality, and likely to yield the DNA profile of the donor of the remains, they found. “Furthermore, the white powdery material from within the femur and tibia (previously used to try to identify the remains) was of such a degraded and poor quality that it could not have yielded the DNA profile of the donor of the remains’” the scientists stated.

A 2006 ministerial briefing note written by Ms Ientile says an amended DNA report would be released to the state coroner.

“It is recommended that the minister note potential media issues, actions already taken to prevent reoccurrence of these circumstances and recommendations,” the note states.

“All coronial cases where remains are unidentified and DNA testing has been performed will be reviewed immediately to eliminate cross-contamination issues.

“Detailed procedures for sampling, testing and cleaning of equipment within the mortuary and forensic biology have been implemented and will be reviewed.”

The inquiry’s final days of public hearings are scheduled for Thursday and Friday next week.