Page 31 - Touch Dna News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

This time though, something different happened. a prosecutor unfamiliar with the case agreed to take a fresh look. his name is matt murphy, and he noticed one thing right away. >> the first thing you see when you look at the file is a big rejection from really good lawyers who reviewed it individually and as a group. >> reporter: which means they tried very hard to make a case and they couldn't do it? >> they tried very hard. that's right. and they figured, based on their review, that they couldn't do it. >> reporter: and some of the reasons were apparent from the get-go -- >> when you look at...

"yeah, we found javier's profile on her sock, on the back of her knee, and under her right armpit." >> reporter: "did we tell you?" no, we didn't tell you. how long had they known that? >> a couple of months, at least. >> and they, what, forgot to call? >> i think the examiner who had been doing it was waiting for additional results and didn't realize that she hadn't notified us. >> so the idea of touch-dna paid off? >> it did. >> reporter: but not quite the way they had all hoped. unbelievable that you would get touch-dna evidence back that long after the fact. >> right. >> but bad news, it d...

>> reporter: to daron wyatt, it felt more like fate. and just months later, in january 1997, his lieutenant suggested daron apply to the homicide unit. >> so i ended up putting in for that job and being selected. >> reporter: it wasn't long before he cracked open the doors that housed the homicide files. >> and i open the cabinet and i see the torrez case. and i remembered the incident with debbie from about a year earlier. so i pulled it out and i started reading just on free time, just reading it a little bit. >> reporter: by then, the cathy torrez case had been cold for a good three years. ...

"yeah, we found xavier's profile on her sock, on the back of her knee, and under her right armpit." >> "did we tell you? no, we didn't tell you." how long had they known that? >> a couple of months, at least. >> and they, what, forgot to call? >> i think the examiner who had been doing it was waiting for additional results and didn't realize that she hadn't notified us. >> so the idea touch -- so the -- so the idea of touch dna paid off? >> it did. >> reporter: but not quite the way they had all hoped. >> unbelievable that you would get touch dna evidence back that long after the fact. >> righ...

Done on big samples like blood spatter. but in the years since analysis became possible for touch-dna the microscopic calling cards many of us leave behind just by putting our hands on something. if sam and xavier did place cathy's body in the car's trunk maybe, thought larry, there would be touch-dna on her clothes. >> search for dna in the areas that might be grabbed. especially areas that might be grabbed that don't have blood on 'em from cathy. >> so you looked, what, on the ankles and under her arms? >> ankles,rms, i thinknder >> daron wyatt sends out the evidence for touch dna, you optim...