LA prosecutor says biological evidence in cold rape, murder cases missing

Wednesday, April 3rd 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ A forensic specialist is trying to find out exactly what happened to as many as 6,000 biological samples gathered as evidence in unsolved rape and murder cases but have disappeared and likely been destroyed.

The missing evidence, which includes semen, blood, human tissue and saliva, involves cases investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

``Every one of these cases we can't solve now means a violent perpetrator remains on the street,'' said Lisa Kahn, the deputy district attorney in charge of the forensic science section.

The evidence probably was disposed of with the permission of investigators, police officials said.

``Did we lose 6,000 items? No. I doubt seriously the numbers would be anywhere near that high,'' said Peter Savala, who oversees the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's property and evidence facilities.

The cases were not under active investigation, but the statute of limitations for bringing charges in many of the rape cases had not yet run out. And murder cases have no statute of limitations.

While Kahn couldn't say how many cases might be cleared through use of the evidence, the numbers could be very large.

Los Angeles Police Detective Rick Jackson said such destruction sometimes occurs because of a lack of storage space.

Los Angeles County has three storage freezers for biological evidence, with plans to add two more, Savala said.

Prosecutors planned to generate a DNA profile from the samples, enter that profile in a database, then compare it with a database of known offenders.

A similar program in Virginia came up with 300 matches last year, Kahn said, while one in the United Kingdom, where DNA testing is extensive, makes 300 to 500 matches a week.

DNA matching as a prosecutorial tool has existed for more than 10 years, but Kahn said only evidence linked to a known suspect or a potential court case is routinely tested.

Most evidence samples still are not tested and matched because law enforcement officials don't think forensic science is a priority, said Kahn.

``That paper flow and the way it is handled needs to be revamped,'' she said. ``If you can say anything about LA County and LA City, we have been very efficient in destroying evidence.''