Odd

Some of the DNA Oddities

The DNA tests that claimed to have implicated Stuart in the Krystal Naab murder case were actually tenuous, at best. Dr. Dan Kane, a DNA expert who was called to testify at Stuart’s trial, actually felt the DNA in Stuart’s case should have been more likely to exonerate him, rather than convict him.

One very odd-seeming fact is that the samples that were labeled as Krystal’s reference sample were also found to contain her boyfriend Brad’s sample, her brother Curtis’s and Stuart’s. If this sample was Krystal’s reference sample, no other samples should have been present, indicating that somehow along the line, the samples had been mixed. It is also notable that in the second test, Stuart, not Krystal, was the profile present across the whole test. If it was Krystal’s standard, hers should have been the profile present across the entire test. Again ... what was tested was supposed to be Krystal's standard for reference, but Stuart's was the profile identified all across the board. Krystal’s, boyfriend and brother, as well as Krystal, were in more than half of the alleles. Shouldn't the victim have been the only person profiled all across if it was her standard? Why were Stuart’s identified across the entire standard sample instead of Krystal’s? This would imply that in the second test, they were most likely testing Stuart against his own standard.

The original was stated to be a match of 1:52,000. That means a match of one person for every 52,000 non-related Caucasians. These numbers, while sounding impressive to those not familiar with DNA lingo, are actually ridiculous. Most experts are not even remotely comfortable until the odds are more like 1,000,000 to 1.

A new test was eventually performed, but by then, the mix-ups and fumbles had long since turned this angle of the case into a joke. When looking at DNA strands, what is observed in attempting to compare for a match are called alleles. Alleles are defined as, “One member of a pair or series of genes that occupy a specific position on a specific chromosome.” By isolating this section on a strand of DNA and comparing the similar position on a second strand, consistencies or inconsistencies can be observed. There are known places on a strand of DNA where different people’s samples will show inconsistencies when compared to each other. The usual amount of alleles that need to be present for an accurate comparison is 10. In the Krystal Naab murder case, the lab did not have enough alleles on the sample to do a complete test; only five were present. One of those was not even clear enough to be seen.

On the second test, the lab could see the samples had not been sealed. Standard procedure would have been for them to refuse the samples and question the validity of any testing. This was not done.

In the original test, they claimed the blood was co-mingled so therefore, they were not able to find any of Stuart’s blood. Yet, after Krystal’s body was completely washed and they searched again, they suddenly were able to find something they considered to be valid for testing? On the second test, they ‘just happened’ to be able to find a pristine sample with no tinges of co-mingled blood in it.

In the fall of 1995, a judge requested the samples be brought down from Springfield lockup to Vandalia. This was to be for a hearing in December. It was never sent back to Springfield, but rather kept in the courthouse. It was reported to have been floating around from place to place around the building, finally landing in the basement. During that time, the courthouse was being renovated. People were milling all over the place around the building (and consequently, the evidence), and no chain of custody was kept on the evidence.

In 2002, a judge ruled to grant us access to the evidence, so two lawyers traveled down from Chicago to gather the evidence needed for another test. Ms. Hudson, one of the lawyers, reported, that the evidence was in deplorable condition. When it reached Cellmark Labs, most of the evidence was unsealed, and cross contamination could have easily been a problem. Dovie, Stuart’s mother, later read a report that stated unidentifiable debris could be observed throughout the evidence, (most likely from the renovation that took place during the time the evidence had been floating around).

Why did Cellmark test this and claim to have come up with a valid profile? Were they not familiar enough with this kind of evidence to know that this could create a problem with any test?

Dovie Heaton-Bergen says, “Most people do not understand these tests. Stuart's was one of the first trials involving DNA, and big mistakes were made when the evidence was gathered, simply because no one knew much about DNA testing back then. Dr. Allen who performed the test, felt original test could have been calculated at 100 times too high. It could actually have been as small as 1:5,200. This would mean that every 52 people tested would have matched their results. Several thousand people in the area could have tested with the same results as Stuart’s test had produced.

As testing went on and so-called “experts” argued back and forth, the numbers they quoted just kept going higher and higher…one calculation even moving into the trillions. When looked at with those kind of numbers, that is more people than are in the world…dead and alive. These big numbers are useless. When I studied math in ancient times, we were told to bring the numbers down to the lowest common denominator. Well, try that and you will find that tests performed on thousands of people would have produced the same results.”

The DNA testing in this case was error-ridden … sloppy … full of half truths and whole lies. The fact of the matter is, Stuart’s so-called “match” was not a match at all! Other DNA at the scene was never accounted for.

Other Oddities

• A bloody palm print was found on the phone. The police never matched it to anyone. It did not match Stuart, Krystal, Curtis or anyone in their family. Shouldn't the police have been very concerned about identifying a bloody palm print? 
• Don Sheafor states in interviews that "there was just too much blood" and that it was an impossibility to separate all the co-mingled blood enough to test. This may or may not have been accurate at the time of the crime. It is MORE than inaccurate now. DNA can most definitely be separated out to figure out whose DNA is represented in the blood evidence. Why has no one done this? Why, in all these years, have the scissors not been tested? The bloody palm print on the phone? The saliva on the drinking cups that were left in the kitchen? The places on Krystal's clothing where her killer would have likely grabbed her with cut hands? Why has none of this ever been done? 
• When Krystal's brother Curtis was initially interviewed and asked if he knew anyone who drove a white Dodge pickup truck, he answered no. Yet he had full knowledge of Krystal's relationship with her boyfriend, Brad Riley, who owned such a pickup. Later, he mentioned Stuart Heaton (someone he had not interacted with in a great while) as owning that type of truck. 
• Jim Calvert, the arresting officer, was found dead in his wife's workplace's parking lot. She was inside ... dead as well. It was ruled a homicide/suicide. Jim was left handed, yet he was shot behind the right ear. His death occurred shortly after speaking publicly about the fact he felt Stuart had been railroaded and the police had not done all they could do in the investigation. 
• Jim said Stuart had none of the deep cuts on his hands they were told to look for in a suspect. 
• Another person was known to have had a social relationship with Krystal and Curtis Naab. He had been driving a white Dodge pickup. He had a history of violent behavior. He had been seen with the victim around the time of the crime. He was never fingerprinted or questioned as a suspect. The police never took his palm print, hair or blood. It has been stated in signed affidavits that this individual did, indeed, have cuts present all over his hands. Why was he never questioned as a suspect? 
• There were alibi witnesses who could attest that Stuart had not been at the Naab home during the time the white Dodge had been spotted in Krystal's driveway. They were never called to testify at Stuart's trial. 
• The motive for the crime was slated as rape, yet the medical examiner reported she had not been sexually assaulted prior to the crime. Doesn't this collapse the prosecution's entire case? The medical examiner's statement means the prosecution could not establish a motive. 
• Krystal was about 8 weeks pregnant, yet the paternity was never established, nor that route explored as a connection to a motive. 
• Other much more likely suspects than Stuart surrounded the situation, but they were never considered to be suspects. 
• Although he had supposedly (according the police) stabbed Krystal 81 times, Stuart's fingerprints were nowhere to be found at the scene. Her blood was not in his truck, anywhere on his clothing or under his fingernails. His hair was not found at the scene. There was absolutely no real forensic evidence to put Stuart anywhere near the Naab trailer. 
• Dr. Allen had co-authored an (unpublished at that time) article with other scientists. That article refuted his own testimony he had given at Stuart's trial. This article was never mentioned at Stuart's trial. (Mentioned in CBS news story at the 2-minute mark. Click here to view.) 
• The police, claiming it as "standard office procedure," destroyed the handwritten investigative statements given by witnesses. There is no way to know what each person said in their exact statements. All we are left with are summary statements the police assembled based upon the handwritten statements.