DNA delays

Federal grants may grease wheels of justice

It has been said that the wheels of justice turn slowly, and a backlog in Maryland of DNA analyses has certainly contributed to the plodding pace of prosecution.

Hopefully grants totaling nearly $500,000 will speed things up a bit.

U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski announced on Tuesday that the Maryland State Police will receive $351,000 and Anne Arundel County $132,000 to reduce forensic DNA sample turnaround time. Awarded through the National Institute of Justice within the U.S. Department of Justice, under the Forensic DNA Backlog Reduction Program, the money may well result in more timely imprisonment of violent criminals.

The arrest last week of 19-year-old Thomas Lance Krenn in the bludgeoning death of his aunt, Rose Marie Leyh, was based largely on lab results. Investigators said the suspect’s DNA matched that of saliva from a bite mark on the victim, with further evidence collected from the victim’s clothing and beneath her fingernails.

The Maryland State Police Forensic Sciences Division in Pikesville — commonly referred to as the crime lab — processes evidence in all sorts of cases submitted by dozens of police departments across the state.

In 2008, the crime lab analyzed 13,947 chemicals, 648 firearms, 2,245 fingerprints, conducted 1,003 toxicology cases and 278 cases involving microscopic examination of trace evidence that could include such items as flammable liquids, debris from clothing, paint chips, glass and fibers.

The crime lab analyzed 549 blood serum samples, compared to 318 the previous year. The Forensic Sciences Division also maintains Maryland’s DNA database.

In the Leyh case, numerous DNA samples were collected from several individuals and submitted for analysis, and that’s where the bottleneck really hits home. The homicide probe became a top priority within a month of her death. With the investigation nearly spanning Memorial Day to Labor Day, the grants couldn’t have come at a better time.