CSI Hamilton: How new DNA technology will solve crimes

She collected every little tiny bit" of ash from the bottom of the animal incinerator into a dust pan.

She wanted Tim Bosma's family to have all that was left of him.

As Hamilton Police Service's most senior forensics officer, Sgt. Annette Huys also hoped DNA testing could confirm these were Tim's remains.

Deoxyribonucleic acid. The recipe for humankind. The solver of crimes. The holy grail of conviction. Or exoneration.

Forensic DNA science in Canada is an evolving intersection of biology, the law and ethics. Even as some scientists perfect current DNA capabilities, others are forging further, finding new ways to analyze the basic human building blocks. These lab-coated pioneers are forcing police, lawyers, academics, politicians and human rights advocates to keep up.

The United States has plunged into uncharted and often controversial frontiers.

Just a few days ago, DNA cemented a new application in the U.S. as the Golden State Killer pleaded guilty to 13 counts of first-degree murder in California. Joseph DeAngelo - a former cop whose rape and murder spree spanned the 1970s and '80s - was the first person arrested thanks to police submitting crime scene DNA into a public genealogy database.

The 74-year-old is one of the most prolific predators in modern history and the DNA sleuthing in his case will change criminal investigations forever.

Canada is taking a measured approach to DNA advances. Some may see that caution as smart and careful. Others may be frustrated that killers and rapists are on the loose while we debate and discuss.

Should police use public genealogy databanks to access DNA profiles to solve crimes? Can reverse-engineered mugshots created from crime scene DNA point investigators toward innocent suspects? Will categorizing suspects by their ancestry lead to racial profiling?

Huys, who just recently left the forensics unit, is grateful her work allowed her to focus on science as she honed in on bones and fluids - and their underlying DNA.

I'm glad at scenes that we have a lot of work to do. It prevents me from dwelling on the horrible reality of why I am there."

Sometimes, she was powerfully reminded her work is ultimately about the human element." Like in February 2016, in the packed Hamilton courtroom where Tim's killers were on trial.

As she stepped into the witness box, Huys looked to the front row and saw Tim's family for the first time. She testified to sifting through that incinerator, called The Eliminator, cataloguing bone fragments.

Tim's mother fled the courtroom sobbing. Huys' heart broke for her, as she explained to the jury that two scorched bones were examined by forensic scientists. But the extreme heat they were exposed to made a DNA profile impossible.

Other DNA evidence, however, drew direct links between the victim and the murderers. For instance, a glove that had DNA belonging to Tim and one of his killers. Or the one in 18 quadrillion chance that blood on Tim's truck (found in a driveway connected to one of his killers) came from someone other than him.

After five days of giving evidence, Huys was done. In the courthouse hall, Tim's dad approached her.

I just want to thank you," said Hank Bosma. That must have been hard for you."

It was. Because forensic DNA is never just about science.

Three kinds of DNA

DNA is the genetic blueprint of life and is packaged into paired structures known as chromosomes. One from each pair is contributed by an individual's biological mother and the other by his/her biological father. With the exception of identical twins, no two individuals have exactly the same DNA." - Centre of Forensic Sciences (CFS)

Huys lists three kinds of DNA:

First, anything that oozes out of the human body."

Next, handler DNA." That is left behind when an ungloved person touches an object. A baseball bat found at a homicide might have a blood stain from the victim. But its grip may also have DNA from someone's hands. Scientists and police must work together to determine if the DNA on the grip came from a suspect.

Then there is wearer DNA." It is left inside clothing. Maybe a balaclava or gloves.

Wearer and handler DNA testing wasn't done when Huys started her career. Now, it's routine.

In courtrooms across Ontario, biologists from Toronto's CFS testify about Smarties.

The Smartie analogy goes like this: A Smartie candy weighs a gram. Now chop it into 1,000 equal-sized pieces. Then take one of those pieces and chop that into 1,000 pieces. Finally, take one of those pieces and cut it into 1,000 pieces.

One of those segments measures 1/billionth of a gram and that amount of DNA can be detected, analyzed and profiled. In the most urgent cases - such as a serial predator at large - results can be available in 24 hours.

That tiny amount of DNA could be enough evidence to put someone in prison for life on a first-degree murder charge.

DNA: a breakthrough in the courtroom

DNA was discovered in 1953 and was first used in a homicide trial in Britain in 1986. Canada's initial attempt to use DNA in a criminal case failed.

In 1988, samples taken from seven victims of what appeared to be a serial rapist in Alberta were insufficient to be tested by the clunky new technology that required substantial amounts of blood, semen or saliva and could take 10 weeks to process.

The accused, James Parent, was acquitted on all counts. (Though 20 years later DNA would convict him of another sexual assault.)

In 1989, DNA got another chance in the courtroom. Paul McNally, a suspect in the rape of an Ottawa woman, denied he was responsible. Yet he agreed to supply hair, blood and saliva samples to police.

Testing showed he was almost certainly the contributor" of semen found on the victim's nightgown.

When the trial judge ruled the DNA results were admissible, McNally changed his plea to guilty.

DNA was on its way to becoming a mainstay of the Canadian judicial system.

In 1995, new federal legislation granted Canadian police the right to obtain DNA from offenders convicted of serious crimes. It became mandatory for criminals convicted of murder and sexual assault, for instance, to submit DNA samples. Five years later, the RCMP established the National DNA Data Bank (NDDB). It has now assisted in more than 62,000 criminal investigations.

The NDDB says its goals are to link crime scenes across jurisdictional lines, help identify or eliminate suspects and determine whether a serial offender has been involved in certain crimes."

Offenders entered into the databank are part of the Crime Offender Index. DNA from crime scenes is entered into the Crime Scene Index.

The two categories are constantly and automatically compared. Matches - or hits" - are reported to the investigating police officer.

The type of investigation most frequently assisted by the NDDB - by a long shot - is break and enters. The databank has had upwards of 28,000 offender hits for break-ins. DNA is routinely collected from break-ins and from those convicted of breaking into houses. For murders, that number is 4,028.

In 2018, two new criminal DNA indexes were added. The Victims Index holds DNA profiles from victims of crime and could help police link crime scenes and subsequently identify serial offenders."

For instance, rape kit swabs from a series of victims could discover the same offender is responsible.

The newer and less used Voluntary Donors Index consists of DNA profiles voluntarily submitted by any person, other than a victim, and may be used to advance a criminal, missing persons or human remains investigation." Volunteers are typically people with a missing loved one or a relative suspected in a crime.

As the NDDB was becoming established, it took more than three years to reach the milestone of 1,000 offender hits. Now, the NDDB takes less than three months to achieve each additional 1,000 offender hits.

As more DNA profiles are added to the databank, more matches are made in less time," says the NDDB's latest annual report.

There are more than 401,546 offender profiles in the NDDB.

Offender DNA is collected from those convicted of a wide array of offences that include murder, manslaughter, aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault, child pornography, robbery and assault. An offender profile entered into the NDDB for a less serious offence may assist a much more serious investigation. In 2018-19, offender profiles entered due to assault assisted with 551 murder investigations and 1,250 sexual assaults.

On the trail at a murder scene

At a homicide scene, the collection of DNA evidence is a joint effort between major crime detectives and forensics officers of the Hamilton Police Service.

They all talk about the need for a narrative" - a basic understanding of what happened before, during and after the death.

Did witnesses see the suspect drink from a bottle of water and toss it aside before the stabbing took place? Did the suspect use a spoon before the shooting?

We like to get a narrative before forensics goes in, so they don't seize 30 water bottles or every spoon in the house," says Staff Sgt. Dave Oleniuk, a former homicide detective. But we also have to keep an open mind. You have to follow the evidence."

When a homicide happens, the call goes out to whichever one of the unit's three staff sergeants is on deck to be the major case manager. He will then contact the divisional staff sergeant to find out what is happening at the scene which is being controlled by uniformed officers.

The case manager usually has his investigative team meet at the station for a briefing, along with forensics officers, so all the key players hear the same thing," says Oleniuk. That information will have come from the first officers at the scene - who are also brought into the briefing - and other witnesses.

That information will also be used to obtain a search warrant, guide the forensics unit in collecting evidence and help homicide detectives decide who to interview.

After the briefing, detectives and forensics officers are ready to work the scene.

It's really hard to do a scene if you have no idea what's happened," says Huys. Sometimes it's super obvious."

If someone is shot in their driveway, there is no need to do forensics inside the home, she says.

Which was a good thing in the case of mobster Angelo Musitano, the target of a hit outside his Waterdown home. His family did not co-operate with police.

Sometimes, reading a scene isn't obvious and a bit of a story" is needed to focus the collection of evidence and know what to seize, what to swab, where to fingerprint," says Huys.

She references The Sandbar, an infamous former downtown crack house. It was the site of two killings and was rife with fluid stains and filth.

Oh my God. Where do we start?" Huys wondered when called there for a homicide.

Even if an arrest has been made, the forensics team still processes the scene because evidence gathered will be used to support the arrest in court. Even a murder/suicide gets the full treatment because there is only one chance at a crime scene.

The forensics team may need to bunny suit up" in protective white disposable jumpsuits - depending on the situation - and extensively videotape and photograph the scene, before anything is touched," says Huys. They document any outdoor portion of the scene first, then the most direct path to the body.

Forensics officers adjust to environmental conditions. An outdoor scene must be covered and processed quickly in rain or snow. A body in a hot apartment must be removed as soon as possible.

Officers hone in on bullet casings and visible blood spots. Then they look closer for hair and fibres.

We work in layers," says Huys. We start with the obvious and then deconstruct a scene."

At a shooting, that could mean cutting holes in walls to retrieve bullets. It might involve spraying chemicals to find traces of blood after a cleanup effort.

If the unit's blood spatter expert, Mark Miller, is required, he takes his own pictures and collects his own swabs.

Huys seizes smaller items to process in her lab at the station because it's a controlled environment." Vehicles are towed to a secure area for the same reason.

The deceased is also a crime scene, says Huys. A forensics officer attends the autopsy examination to continue collecting evidence.

It is impractical to expect the forensics team to collect every single thing from a scene and have the CFS process it all. Instead, forensics officers consider what tests are available and which samples will produce the best results. They decide to send the entire bloody shirt or just swabs from it.

We always overdo the number of items we send and CFS pares it down for us," says Huys. Police package each item separately and seal and label it. Items are sent by courier or are delivered by officers.

Exhibits not tested are stored at Central Station in the property branch. Wet items - like a bloody shirt - are properly dried in a locker.

While the CFS expedites tests for cases with an ongoing public safety concern, the volume of material going through the centre means police typically receive test results within two months.

In 2019, Hamilton police submitted 966 DNA samples to the NDDB. That resulted in 164 crime scene index hits - matches to the databank - and 199 offender hits.

The CFS automatically checks DNA profiles it generates with the NDDB.

Hamilton's forensic unit

Hamilton police has 12 full-time forensic investigators. They are the only members allowed to process homicide and sexual assault scenes, while lesser trained Scenes of Crimes Officers can collect forensic evidence at break and enters, for example. Each full-time forensic investigator has at least five years on the job, is qualified as a sergeant, has undergone nine weeks of forensics training at the Ontario Police College and is ready to make a seven-year commitment to the unit while continuing to take forensics training courses.

Despite the popularity of forensics crime TV shows, not many cops race to be forensics officers. It takes a lot of training and education, and testifying in court is a tremendous responsibility because that evidence can be critical to the outcome of the case.

The forensics unit is crammed into a space at the 1970s era headquarters that was never intended for that purpose. Chief Eric Girt has said risk of cross-contamination of DNA evidence is very real.

A need for a larger, purpose-built forensics unit is a main reason behind construction of the service's new $26-million Investigative Services Division building.

The two-storey, 63,000-square-foot building bound by Rebecca, Mary, Wilson and Catharine streets is expected to be completed this year.

It will have four labs (one for processing crime scenes, one for evidence from the accused, another for the victim and one for other purposes) to avoid contamination. All align with CFS protocols. It will also have three forensic exam bays for vehicles.

The building will bring all of ISD under one roof, a testament to the close working relationship forensics has with detectives.

The coach officer tapped to teach rookie Huys the job back in 1997 doubled as a Scenes of Crime Officer (SOCO), armed with fingerprinting kits and cameras to collect basic evidence from simple crime scenes.

They weren't together long before the SOCO got called to a break-in.

I knew immediately that was what I wanted to do," says Huys, who had no science background. It was just amazing we could find fingerprints or other evidence to find out who did it."

DNA collection isn't reserved for violent crimes. It is gathered from break and enters as well. Huys says a surprising number of thieves eat or drink something in the home," potentially leaving behind their genetic profile. Or it might be gleaned from blood left at the point of entry" - a broken window, for instance.

Huys needed to move up the ranks to become a first-class constable and pass her sergeant's exam before she could go into forensics.

You have to learn to be a police officer first," she says. Knowing your way around a crime scene and understanding what to look for is as important as knowing how to get a fingerprint.

By 2001, Huys was a SOCO officer, having undergone two weeks of training at the Ontario Police College.

She then applied to be a forensics officer and in 2003 was accepted - the first woman to hold the job in Hamilton.

Minutes into her first forensics shift, she got a call from dispatch telling her she was needed at a murder scene.

Huys thought it was a prank.

I laughed and hung up."

It was no joke. A small-time drug dealer was killed in his kitchen in front of his girlfriend and child.

If you have seen media images of forensics officers working a scene in Hamilton, then you have probably seen Huys. She has worked three or four homicides a year and has been on some of the city's most notorious cases.

Centre of Forensic Sciences

You have to know what you're looking for in order to find the CFS.

The building that takes up an entire city block in North York has signs indicating it is home to Ontario's Chief Coroner and Ontario's Forensic Pathology Service, but there is nothing to alert passersby that since opening in 2012 this is also one of the biggest and most renowned forensic sciences headquarters in North America.

CFS is one of three public forensic labs in Canada. Its scientists include experts in biology - which includes the DNA Unit - chemistry, documents, firearms and tool marks and toxicology.

Science - on its own - isn't particularly effective in a courtroom, says Anthony Tessarolo, director of the CFS.

A jury can be easily overwhelmed by scientific evidence," he says.

A scientist needs special training to be understood by the court.

The so-called CSI Effect" leads to a perception within the public that forensic science is the most critical piece of a case that cracks it open," says Tessarolo. While it can be an important part of the investigation, many cases don't have a critical forensic science element, he says.

Last year, CFS worked on 22,300 cases. Yet its scientists testified just 465 times. They may not be called to the stand if their evidence isn't strong enough or it is not corroborated. Or it may be uncontested by the Crown and defence.

Half of the cases in which scientists were called related to impaired driving and involved testimony from toxicologists.

Ontario averages 200 homicides a year - virtually all have some sort of forensic analysis. In less complicated cases, that analysis may be done all at once. In ongoing cases, analysis can stretch over years.

When CFS biologists take the witness stand, they never talk about a DNA match."

Instead, they talk about random match probability." This is the likelihood that one person in the world, chosen at random, would have the same DNA as the crime scene sample. The scientists talk in terms of likelihood in the quadrillions and quintillions. That is to say, there are not enough people on Earth to make the likelihood of a random probability match a possibility.

CFS doesn't measure success in terms of clearance rates or verdicts. Though it is usually brought into cases through the police and Crown's office, CFS is an independent agency with no skin in the game, apart from delivering good science.

We're not tied to what becomes of that in the courtroom," says Tessarolo. Success is instead measured on how quickly the test results were available, adherence to the lab's strict standards, the rate of errors and whether or not testimony was provided in an objective, clear way.

The centre regularly trains Crowns, judges and sometimes defence lawyers on new science.

It also re-examines cold cases using new technology unavailable at the time of the crime.

Hamilton police keep exhibits for homicide cases forever, says Huys.

With unsolved cases, she would reopen them with fresh eyes and relook at evidence."

The challenge is to think ahead when collecting evidence to what testing might be available in the future.

Four years ago, the CFS alerted police the centre was now able to disentangle" mixed DNA samples, according to Tessarolo. It uses software to deconvolute complex mixtures" of DNA.

Help in Hamilton homicides

But in 2013, Hamilton homicide detectives had to turn to an American DNA lab to profile mixed DNA in an effort to advance the stalled Jay Page murder case.

Investigators theorized that Jay, 29, was stabbed by more than one person in his Grosvenor Avenue South apartment in 2004.

Jay was six-foot-eight and police believed it would take more than one killer to subdue him.

Police sent mixed DNA sample data taken from the scene and processed by the CFS to a private computer lab in Pittsburgh called Cybergenetic to separate out profiles of the killers. But there was a glitch: Canadian laws prohibited DNA profiles from somewhere other than a Canadian accredited lab from being checked against the NDDB. That roadblock was devastating to Jay's family.

It meant investigators needed to match the lab generated DNA profile against a known suspect, either by obtaining a DNA warrant, convincing the suspect to volunteer a sample or using plain clothes officers to gather cast-off DNA" from a suspect - seizing his coffee cup, for instance.

In the end, it was a straight-up DNA profile and an elaborate undercover operation that led to an arrest, and not the work by Cybergenetics.

A jacket stolen from Jay's apartment the night of the murder was found in a flower box behind City Hall. Wearer DNA inside the jacket matched that of Richard Bennett, who worked with Jay at a Burlington factory. Bennett admitted his involvement in the murder to an undercover cop.

In 2017, Bennett pleaded guilty to manslaughter. He said he was one of four men who burst into Jay's apartment at gunpoint expecting to find a stash of marijuana. There was none.

One of the other men - whom Bennett said stabbed Jay - died before the case was solved. No other arrests have been made.

The ability to separate mixed DNA may be especially useful in rape cases where a vaginal swab contains a mix of the victim's DNA and semen.

Last year, Huys resent exhibits from the unsolved Audrey Gleave homicide scene back to CFS to take advantage of the new mixed DNA testing.

Audrey, a retired high school teacher, lived alone in her Lynden home for 37 years before being killed in her garage in December 2010.

Anyone entering the DNA Unit at the CFS - even the maintenance guy who changes a light bulb - must first give a DNA sample.

This is a safeguard against contamination.

The reality, says Tessarolo, is that once a year or so, there is contamination of evidence in the white, sparse, meticulously cleaned unit where 80 biologists wear disposable paper lab coats, hair nets, masks and gloves.

The good news is, when there is contamination, the lab is able to explain it by comparing the contaminated sample to the DNA of every person authorized to enter the unit.

You're never going to prevent every event," says Tessarolo. It's inevitable. We focus on detecting it."

Once it is detected, the lab investigates to determine how the contamination happened. Was it insufficient cleaning? An error in handling? Once the problem is identified, steps can be taken to lessen the chance of it happening again.

Science helped to convict him, science exonerated him. We will never know if Guy Paul Morin would have been exonerated had DNA testing not been available." - Justice Fred Kaufman in his 1998 inquiry into Morin's wrongful conviction for murdering his nine-year-old neighbour, Christine Jessop.

This quote is one of Tessarolo's favourites. Ironic, since the CFS bore much of Kaufman's blame for errors related to Morin being wrongfully convicted.

It's a good reminder of the power science has."

Susan Clairmont is a Hamilton-based crime, court and social justice columnist at The Spectator. Reach her via email: sclairmont@thespec.com