Dna To Be Retested In Yates Case Suspension Of Crime Lab Scientist Could Cast Doubt On Serial Killer Evidence

A lab scientist who analyzed the DNA of serial killer suspect Robert Lee Yates Jr. has been placed on leave by the Washington State Patrol after he admitted lying to attorneys in a recent King County rape trial.

Dr. John Brown - who was suspended from the state crime lab in Seattle on May 19 - spent two weeks in April comparing Yates’ DNA to samples found at crime scenes of women Yates is accused of killing.

Brown’s suspension will result in some DNA tests in the Yates case needing to be redone, said Daryl Brender, manager of the crime lab in Spokane.

It may also offer a wedge for Yates’ defense attorney, Richard Fasy, to question the reliability of the crime lab’s work.

“We’re certainly going to follow up on this,” Fasy said Friday. “This puts into question any DNA testing that is attributable to Dr. Brown.”

Defense attorneys are also expected to take a comprehensive look at all the testing procedures used at the state crime lab.

Yates, 48, has been charged with eight murders in Spokane as well as attempted murder and attempted robbery. He is the main suspect in eight other unsolved killings in Western Washington and Spokane.

Last week, Yates pleaded not guilty to all charges in Spokane County Superior Court.

State Patrol Capt. Eric Robertson would not discuss the internal investigation concerning Brown or when it may be finished. Robertson said the integrity of the crime lab is not a problem.

Sheriff’s Capt. John Simmons said Friday that Spokane homicide investigators will stay in touch with the crime lab in Seattle and see what steps, if any, need to be taken.

Questions about Brown’s work came to light recently during a Seattle rape trial that hinged on DNA.

In November 1997, Brown performed a DNA test that exonerated the main suspect in the case, according to a Seattle newspaper.

During a peer review process, Brown discovered that he made an error and decided to conduct a second DNA comparison. That follow-up test identified the suspect, Craig Barfield, as the man who raped a Seattle woman in March 1997, The Seattle Times reported.

But problems arose when Brown told lawyers the first test - which eliminated Barfield - never took place.

Defense attorneys in the case said Brown wrote a draft report about the first test but destroyed it later.

The Times reported that Brown admitted in court he lied about the first test to cover a mistake.

A jury took less than one hour to convict Barfield but only after King County prosecutors sent the DNA to a private California lab for testing.

Brown was just one of three crime lab scientists certified to perform a specialized DNA test called short tandem repeat (STR).

The STR test is considered by prosecutors and law enforcement officials as the strongest type of DNA evidence in high-profile cases.

Retesting the three DNA samples Brown worked with in the Yates case won’t pose a significant burden to the investigation, Brender said Friday.

But Brown’s suspension means Spokane investigators will be unable to use the Seattle crime lab at a time when they have more than 300 pieces of evidence that requires DNA testing, Brender said.

Brender also said the loss of Brown and the Seattle crime lab for STR testing may cause investigators to send some Yates DNA evidence to outside labs for analysis.

If that occurs, the county and state would face significantly higher costs than if the tests were done at the state lab, Brender said.

Spokane County commissioners recently gave the serial killer task force $65,000 to perform some evidence tests at private labs.

Each sample tested at a private lab using the STR method costs about $1,000, Brender said.

It would cost far less if all or most of the work occurred inside the state crime labs, he added.