Houston police are reviewing if DNA testing in connection with thousands of sexual assault cases that were dropped could have led to potential suspects and arrests.
FILE - Houston Police Chief Troy Finner speaks, Feb. 18, 2024, in Houston . Houston police said Thursday, April 11, 2024, they were still reviewing if DNA testing done in connection with thousands of sexual assault and sex crime cases that were dropped over manpower issues could have led officers to potential suspects and possible arrests.
All the DNA testing in these cases resulted in 95 with matches to suspects in the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS, database.Purdue’s Zach Edey is the overwhelming choice for 2nd straight AP Player of the Year awardFinner said police are reviewing those 95 matches and conducting additional investigations. Many of those cases involve either victims who don’t want to move forward or whom officers have not been able to contact, or suspects who have already been charged.
Finner said the investigation, expected to be completed by the end of the month, will provide answers to who created the internal code and why officers continued to use it even after he ordered his command staff in November 2021 to stop using it after learning of its existence. Finner said he learned on Feb. 7 that the code was still being used, prompting the probe.
“Let’s move forward to do whatever we can to expedite investigating these cases, look at our processes, look at who did what, when,” Finner said. “But I hear the frustration. We all are frustrated. This is Houston, this is HPD and I expect better.”
Houston Police DNA Testing Sexual Assault Cases Dropped Cases Potential Suspects Arrests
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