What to Know
- Delaware officials are investigating why 1,600 criminal DNA samples languished for years without being entered into national databases
- The samples were found in 2014, just after the Commission of Forensic Science assumed responsibility for the state medical examiner's office
Delaware officials are investigating why 1,600 criminal DNA samples, some more than a decade old, languished for years without being entered into a national database.
The Department of Safety and Homeland Security, which oversees the Division of Forensic Science, says the investigation began this week.
But a member of the Commission of Forensic Science, which oversees the division, called for an independent review, noting that the mistake was kept secret for years.
A worker found the samples in 2014, just after the newly created division assumed responsibility for the state medical examiner's office following an evidence-tampering scandal.
The News Journal of Wilmington reports that the samples included that of convicted sex offender Kili Mayfield, who was charged this year with three rapes, two occurring while his DNA sample sat untested.
