The case of an attempted rape in South Dakota two years ago has been reopened, thanks to work done at the State Forensic Lab.
Attorney General Marty Jackley says a DNA sample that was recently added to the database was a match to the 2022 attempted rape case. Once the investigating law enforcement agency was made aware of the match, he says the case was reopened. It’s currently pending and no further details are being released at this time.
South Dakota’s Forensic Lab is part of the Attorney General’s Office. It provides scientific services– those being Shooting Incident Re-construction, Biology, Fingerprints and Firearms and Toolmarks– to all law enforcement agencies in the state. The lab also oversees the state’s Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), a database made up of forensic and offender DNA samples managed by the FBI. Approved law enforcement agencies in all states participate in the CODIS program which allows for state and national searches of DNA profiles to occur.
Jackley says there are two main types of DNA profiles that are entered into CODIS: those developed from crime scene evidence, and those from known samples of individuals collected by state statute at the time of arrest or conviction. He says DNA profiles are developed from evidentiary items and if appropriate, are entered into CODIS. The database samples from offenders are entered as they are collected. Once a DNA evidence profile has been entered into CODIS, the system continually searches within its database samples to see if there’s a match.
Jackley says the State Forensic Lab sets the national standard, is one of the only state labs with contracts to complete FBI evidence testing and often handles the challenging cases from other states. He says the Lab handles about 2,000 cases each year.
Comments