Hunting for twins

Hard-to-swallow cases involving suspects are likely to be soon to be dismissed after German experts announce new DNA tests.

At the end of 2012, a total of 6 women were sexually assaulted in Marseille, southern France. Evidence collected at the scene, including DNA, not only helped police to trace one but two unsuspecting suspects: twins Elwin and Yohan (they did not disclose). When asked to identify the attacker, the victims pointed to both people, although they could not determine who was the culprit. The police are trying to find a way to make the perpetrator plead guilty, but the two people in turn oppose the charges and no one has declared the culprit.

When Elwin and Yohan were arrested in February 2013, the media quoted sources of information that investigators have not yet identified who the perpetrators are, because the limited budget is not enough for legal tests. He is expensive. However, new developments in biomedical technology have opened another door to help identify suspects. Experts of Eurofins laboratory in Ebersberg (Germany) have confirmed that they are in the hands of tools that can solve the case.'The human genome contains 3 billion words / digit code,' the BBC quoted Georg Gradl, Eurofins' decoding expert. He said if the body grows, or the fetus is in the process of development, all three billion codes must be copied. In the process of processing complex decoding, there will be slight mutations arising.

Aftab and Mohammed Asghar, suspects in rape at Berkshire (UK) - (Photo: Mirror)

In standard DNA tests, only a small part of the code was analyzed, enough to distinguish between two normal people, but bundled in the case of twins with eggs. Gradl expert and colleague took samples from male twins and observed the sequence of 3 billion characters, eventually finding dozens of different points on DNA. When examining the DNA of a son of a person in the group, the scientists found five identical mutations between the father and the child, meaning the child inherited part of his mutation. Based on the collected results, they are confident they can distinguish twins, as well as their children. An equally important point is that the inspection time takes place within 1 month, not the whole year.

Currently, forensic hospitals and police departments from Europe, South America and the US have asked Eurofins to support about 10 different shifts. Gradl experts said rape and sexual violence involving twin perpetrators is more than expected. Usually the perpetrator leaves the sperm and luckily the German experts can tell what is the true culprit. Although he did not disclose how many cases he is undertaking, Gradl admits that the Marseille case is one of those cases that can be supported. In addition to the case in France, there is no shortage of cases in the world facing similar difficulties. An Argentine court has just halted a trial to find more evidence of impeachment, after the accused suddenly dumped the crime for his twin brother. In the United States, there are a few confusing cases. Sometimes based on tattoos or alibi, investigators were fortunate to identify the perpetrator, but there were times when both suspects were not convicted.

A case occurred in 1999 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, when a female student was beaten and forced. Five years later, police based on DNA to retrieve the suspect's identity as Jerome Cooper, but coincidentally this hand had twins named Tyrone, who also had a sexual assault.'Both deny , ' said police chief Jeffrey Hertel of the Grand Rapids Police Department, and at that time investigators had no way to identify the perpetrator. After more than a decade, the victims are still waiting to find a real culprit.

For the above cases, Eurofins' new analysis method is thought to be a good support in finding the culprit.