Transcripts for CNN Anderson Cooper 360 20130529 08:41:00 :

CNN Anderson Cooper 360 May 29, 2013 08:41:00

how did you feel about the fact that your kit had been sitting on the shelf for so many years? >> they have just let them stack up and stack up and stack up, and that's just unacceptable. >> reporter: you heard right. carol wasn't the only one. years earlier, dallas police sergeant patrick welsh discovered a huge backlog of rape kits, and started a sexual assault cold case program. how critical would you say the rape kits are in helping you solve these cases? >> they're vital to our investigations, no question about that. >> reporter: sergeant welsh turned to the team here at the southwestern institute of forensic sciences. he asked them to test every single untested swab sitting in their freezer. there were thousands of them dating back to 1970. not a single one had ever been processed. the sergeant says decades ago, law enforcement just didn't have the tools to solve these cases. dna technology wasn't available to them until the 1990s.

Related Keywords

Reporter , Kit , Shelf , Fact , Stack Up , Carol Wasnt The Only One , One , Cases , Sergeant Welsh , Rape Kits , Backlog , Dallas , Question , Cold Case Program , Investigations , Sexual Assault , Thousands , Freezer , Swab , Team , Institute Of Forensic Sciences , 1970 , Law Enforcement Just Didn T , Dna Technology Wasn T , Sergeant , Tools , 1990 ,

© 2025 Vimarsana