DNA lab inquiry: Rape victim’s pain after lab’s refusal

A woman who was abducted and raped broke down in tears when police told her that her alleged attacker’s DNA had been discovered in vaginal swabs that Queensland’s forensic laboratory initially refused to test.

Inquiry commissioner Walter Sofronoff. Picture: Jack Tran

A woman who was abducted and raped broke down in tears when police told her that her alleged attacker’s DNA had been discovered in vaginal swabs that Queensland’s forensic laboratory initially refused to test.

Scientists at the government lab chose not to test samples taken from the woman immediately after her attack because they fell below an unusually high testing threshold. But as suspicions grew about testing bungles at the lab, aired in The Australian’s podcast series Shandee’s Story, police demanded the samples be tested.

The lead investigator, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told a commission of inquiry into the state’s DNA testing on Thursday he was unaware police could ask the lab to rework samples.

The woman alleged a man abducted and raped her, ejaculating in her vagina in late 2021. He then took her to a unit, held her against her will and was “physically violent”, counsel assisting, Joshua Jones, said.

“After moving her around to a number of different places, eventually the complainant was able to run away from the accused,” he said.

“A relative took her immediately to police, the complainant was taken to a hospital where a doctor performed a sexual assault investigation kit.”

Four samples collected in the rape kit, including a vaginal swab, were deemed as “insufficient DNA for further processing” by the lab. But when properly tested earlier this year, they all returned profiled matching the accused offender, who had denied any sexual contact with the woman.

The only reason the samples were tested was because police suspected they were missing out on crucial evidence late last year, after grave concerns were raised in Shandee’s Story.

The inquiry also heard from a Detective Sergeant who was involved in a homicide investigation after a missing woman was found dead, bound with duct tape and cable ties. Police took forensic samples from a condom wrapper torn in two, pliers and a pair of shorts found at the scene and submitted them to the DNA lab.

Several samples were “insufficient for further processing”, including a swab taken from the victim’s calf and another from the waistband of the shorts.

When later tested, both matched the accused killer.

When police agreed to the new testing regime in 2018, Superintendent Dale Frieberg acknowledged in an email to Queensland Health she understood that investigating police officers could still ask for samples below the threshold to be tested.

A note was placed on the police database, QPRIME, to tell officers they could request further testing, but no other steps were taken by senior police to educate frontline investigators about the major change in forensic testing.

Asked by counsel assisting the inquiry, Michael Hodge, if police should have included better training about what the thresholds meant, she agreed: “There’s always room for improvement.”

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