"Captain David Clayton would not comment on whether the results identify a new suspect. He said the bedding includes sheets, a pillow case, and a comforter taken from the crime scene.
The items were originally examined by the State Bureau of Investigation, and then sent to Lab Corp for additional analysis.
Clayton said he received a preliminary report on the results July 13th.
The crimes involved two sisters, age 13 and 15. Joseph Abbitt was convicted in 1995 of the crimes. He spent 14 years in prison before he was cleared last year with the help of DNA evidence."
REPORTER CHELSI ZASH; WFMY NEWS;
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BACKGROUND; Joseph Abbitt was wrongly convicted for the 1991 rapes of two girls for which another man was wrongfully convicted and spent 14 years in prison. A Forsyth County jury convicted Joseph Lamont Abbitt in 1995, and Judge Todd Burke of Forsyth Superior Court sentenced him to two consecutive life sentences, plus 50 years. The N.C. Court of Appeals upheld the convictions in May 1996. Abbitt contacted the N.C. Center on Actual Innocence in 2005 and after DNA testing of remaining evidence, it was determined he was not the attacker. Last September, a Forsyth County judge vacated the life sentences.
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"Winston-Salem, NC -- Winston-Salem Police have preliminary DNA results from bedding in a 1991 rape case that sent an innocent man to prison," the WFMY News story by reporter Chelsi Zash published earlier today begins, under the heading, "DNA Samples From Bedding Tested To Find Rapist After Wrongful Conviction."
"Captain David Clayton would not comment on whether the results identify a new suspect," the story continues.
"He said the bedding includes sheets, a pillow case, and a comforter taken from the crime scene.
The items were originally examined by the State Bureau of Investigation, and then sent to Lab Corp for additional analysis.
Clayton said he received a preliminary report on the results July 13th.
The crimes involved two sisters, age 13 and 15. Joseph Abbitt was convicted in 1995 of the crimes. He spent 14 years in prison before he was cleared last year with the help of DNA evidence.
In April, investigators sent DNA of a potential suspect to LabCorp. Those results turned up false in the case. Clayton said the same thing happened with a subsequent sample.
Clayton is meeting with the District Attorney's office about the results from the bedding.
The North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence also has the results, according to Clayton.
Clayton says more details about the results should be released in the next two weeks.
Abbitt has not received a pardon from the governor. His attorney, Chris Mumma, previously said charges against a new suspect would help Abbitt's case for a pardon."
The story can be found at:
http://www.digtriad.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=145281&catid=57
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be accessed at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith
For a breakdown of some of the cases, issues and controversies this Blog is currently following, please turn to:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2010/07/new-feature-cases-issues-and.html
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;
