Vicki Blackburn and scientist Kirsty Wright call for Linzi Wilson-Wilde to resign as head of Queensland DNA lab
The mother of murdered woman Shandee Blackburn calls for the new boss of Queensland’s troubled DNA lab to resign and a CCC investigation to be ordered into her actions.
The mother of murdered woman Shandee Blackburn has called for the new boss of Queensland’s troubled DNA lab to resign and a Crime and Corruption Commission investigation to be ordered into her actions.
Vicki Blackburn, whose 23-year-old daughter was fatally stabbed in Mackay in 2013, and independent forensic scientist Kirsty Wright say they have lost confidence in Linzi Wilson-Wilde, appointed in January by the Palaszczuk government to fix the state’s strife-torn laboratory.
The Weekend Australian on Saturday revealed Professor Wilson-Wilde failed in an expert report to detail a catastrophic flaw in a DNA extraction method that has been blamed by Dr Wright for the failure to identify Shandee Blackburn ’s killer.
While Professor Wilson-Wilde reviewed the automated extraction method, known as Project 13, she did not mention in her report to Walter Sofronoff’s independent commission of inquiry last year that it had serious problems recovering DNA.
Ms Blackburn said she had lost trust in Queensland Health, Professor Wilson-Wilde and the DNA lab following the latest revelations. “Until all of this came to light in recent days, we had fully backed Professor Wilson-Wilde in the role but now we no longer have trust or confidence,” she said.
“I now have grave concerns about the DNA lab … I want the Crime and Corruption Commission to urgently investigate all of this because the evidence is very concerning and the different versions from Professor Wilson-Wilde and the government do not make sense.
“We do not want to see any more cover-ups.
“I back Dr Kirsty Wright 100 per cent because her findings are based on the evidence and I can see for myself that Professor Linzi Wilson-Wilde did not tell the DNA inquiry anything about the catastrophic collapse in DNA yield from 2007.
“If Professor Linzi Wilson-Wilde had told the inquiry about this catastrophic yield collapse, it would have changed the inquiry’s course dramatically and it would have had a direct impact on our knowledge of what happened in Shandee’s murder investigation and many other serious crimes.”
Professor Wilson-Wilde has strongly denied misleading the inquiry, and has insisted she said the entire Project 13 automated method was “flawed”.
But in her expert report, she did not address the yield issue, instead making a milder observation that verification was insufficient and not consistent with expected good practice.
Dr Wright, whose work with The Australian’s investigative podcast Shandee’s Story exposed the lab’s failures, said Professor Wilson-Wilde needed to resign, and the lab’s new advisory board should be stood down.
“There’s not one single word (in Professor Wilson-Wilde’s report) about the catastrophic yield failure; she talks about contamination but she missed the biggest issue of the entire inquiry,” Dr Wright said.
The automated method was used in some form between 2007 and 2016, and Dr Wright said every case from that period – an estimated 60,000 – needed to be retested, on top of the 30,000 already identified.
She said it was not good enough to re-examine the existing samples from that time, because the flawed method had failed to extract DNA, meaning they were probably useless.
Dr Wright said the original crime scene swabs from cases, including Shandee’s murder, needed to be used instead.
“If you go back to whatever sample is left, the failed method didn’t recover any DNA … so if you put that tube and retest it using the new method, it’s still going to fail and it’s going to be a huge waste of time and resources,” she said.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on Monday announced an extra $96.4m for the DNA lab, partly to pay for more office space, IT upgrades, new equipment and a renovation of the lab to avoid cross-contamination of samples.
Health Minister Shannon Fentiman strongly backed Professor Wilson-Wilde, praising her for overhauling the lab’s processes and hiring 27 new scientists.
Ms Fentiman said under the new leadership, the lab had already identified new DNA results in 218 cases, including identifying suspects in a homicide and four sexual assaults.
Ms Fentiman said Professor Wilson-Wilde strongly denied misleading the inquiry, and said she backed the scientist.
“Her evidence before the Commission of Inquiry was that Project 13 (the automatic processing of DNA extraction used by the lab in 2007) was flawed … since then a lot of procedures have changed,” she said. “She says categorically that she denies that she in any way misled the commission of inquiry and her evidence was very clear that this project was flawed.”
Ms Fentiman said Professor Wilson-Wilde had made sure cases from as early as 2007, and involving the Project 13 technique, were being retested, as part of the 30,000 identified.
“The community can have confidence that all of those cases that were part of that project that were flawed methodologies will be retested,” she said.
“The new way of working at the lab is already getting results.”
Ms Fentiman said despite concerns from Dr Wright, she was confident the lab had entirely overhauled testing procedures.
“Internationally and across the country, scientists are wanting to come and work in Queensland because of the work Professor Wilson-Wilde is doing,” she said. “I absolutely have confidence in her and the team in Queensland. All of those cases will be reviewed.”
Ms Fentiman said Professor Wilson-Wilde was “fulsome” in her evidence to the inquiry, despite information uncovered by The Australian and Dr Wright.
“I think there were quite a few catastrophes (identified by) the inquiry. We have seen a number of staff stood down and terminated from their employment, and Professor Wilson-Wilde has done an incredible job providing that expert evidence. She is now reviewing all of those cases, and is starting to get serious results in very serious cases,” she said.
Ms Fentiman said she and Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath had briefed Shandee Blackburn’s mother, Vicki, on the lab’s reforms on Monday. She also encouraged Dr Wright to apply for a place on the lab’s advisory board, once it was established by legislation.
There will not be a restriction on Queensland-based scientists applying for board positions, as had previously been flagged.
“I’d love to see (Dr Wright) apply. I want as many people in this field to apply as possible, because we are going to have a world-leading forensic science laboratory here in Queensland, that will be the envy of the world, ” Ms Fentiman said.
Dr Wright said she would not apply unless Professor Wilson-Wilde resigned and the board was stood down.
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