In DNA We Trust
For those interested in the DNA evidence, the following is a nice
summary of a very complicated subject. The key takeaways are I think,
the Portuguese made a big mistake not at least ripping out the carpet of
the Scenic so that it could be fully and properly analysed. Secondly
the DNA found in the Scenic was 100 per cent compatible with Maddie. 2
of the 10 DNA loci (with 2 alleles each) were not possible to analyse
and on one of them there was a repeat allele making 15 of Maddie's
signature alleles possible to find in the sample all of these were
found but out of a total of 37 alleles found in the sample. This means
that the sample was from a mix of at least 3 and possibly 4 or 5
individuals. What this meant was back in 2007 it was never going to be
possible to conclusively conclude that Maddie must have been there,
despite the findings being 100 per cent consistent with that hypothesis,
because it was possible that the matching alleles were from some
combination of 3-5 other contributors. John Lowe at FSS concluded that
the matter was inconclusive, which was true, however he studiously
avoided giving any indication of an estimate of the probability that it
was Maddie's it might have been 99 per cent, he just didn't say and one
is forced to wonder whether this was the result of political
interference.
It is
precisely this type of scenario that TrueAllele is designed to resolve.
One inputs the DNA fingerprints both from the retrieved samples (which
ought to have been archived as a matter of standard operating procedure)
along with the DNA fingerprints of all the people known to have contact
with the car. The output should be a clear answer as to the probability
of the sample being from Maddie.
It is important to remember that there are two key pieces of additional circumstantial evidence. Firstly all the positive signals made by Eddie the cadaver dog and secondly the testimony of the Portuguese lawyer who described how she noticed that shortly after moving to their final villa, 60 days after the disappearance, the McCanns kept the hatch back of the Scenic wide open day and night for days on end. Team McCann countered this BEFORE this testimony became public with a claim that they had rotten meat (yet again!) and dirty nappies in the car. Hands up if anyone has EVER had to open the doors of their car to fumigate it for days on end? If you have on the other hand ever sniffed a dead corpse you will know exactly why it needed to be fumigated.
It is important to remember that there are two key pieces of additional circumstantial evidence. Firstly all the positive signals made by Eddie the cadaver dog and secondly the testimony of the Portuguese lawyer who described how she noticed that shortly after moving to their final villa, 60 days after the disappearance, the McCanns kept the hatch back of the Scenic wide open day and night for days on end. Team McCann countered this BEFORE this testimony became public with a claim that they had rotten meat (yet again!) and dirty nappies in the car. Hands up if anyone has EVER had to open the doors of their car to fumigate it for days on end? If you have on the other hand ever sniffed a dead corpse you will know exactly why it needed to be fumigated.
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