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"Reformers have for years recommended that all forensic labs be independent from law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies' and this is a key reform promoted by The Justice Project (2008). But fixing these problems is only half the answer' because half of the wrongful convictions attributed to misleading forensic evidence involved deliberate forensic fraud' evidence tampering' and/or perjury.
From "The Elephant in the Crime Lab," by co-authored by Sheila Berry and Larry Ytuarte; Forensic Examiner; Spring, 2009;
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STORY: "Court rules Kofoed's evidence tampering did not sway outcome in Nebraska child murder case," by reporter Joe Duggan, published by The World-Herald on August 14, 2018.
GIST: Ivan Henk will remain locked up for killing his 4-year-old son after the Nebraska Supreme Court said he failed to prove that planted blood evidence prompted him to plead guilty. Henk argued that being told that the boy’s blood had been found in a dumpster in Bellevue influenced his decision to plead guilty. It was later determined that the blood evidence had been fabricated by David Kofoed, Douglas County’s former crime lab director. In Friday’s opinion, the high court said that to show a constitutional violation, Henk had to prove that he would not have pleaded guilty if not for the falsified evidence. Instead, Supreme Court Judge William Cassel listed several other reasons Henk had previously given for agreeing to a plea bargain. Among them was that he wanted to prevent news media from reporting about his confession, in which he told investigators that he had decapitated the boy. “With this record, the district court was not clearly wrong in finding that there was ample evidence that Henk would have accepted the plea offer, regardless of the blood evidence from the dumpster,” Cassel wrote. Henk, now 40, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder for the 2003 killing of Brendan Gonzalez and is serving a life term in prison. A 30-day search for the boy’s remains in the Sarpy County landfill was unsuccessful. Kofoed was convicted of felony evidence tampering in connection with a double-homicide investigation in 2006 in Murdock, Nebraska, that implicated two innocent men. He served prison time for the offense."
The entire story can be found at:
http://www.omaha.com/news/crime/court-rules-kofoed-s-evidence-tampering-did-not-sway-outcome/article_5e703bf4-485a-5031-acee-b8e2caaa31eb.html
Read Death Penalty Information Centre report at the link below: (March 2010)..."David Kofoed, CSI Director of Douglas County, Nebraska was convicted last month of planting evidence during a murder investigation, casting doubts on the legitimacy of other cases on which he worked. Kofoed's work came into question after a 2006 investigation into the murder of Wayne and Sharmon Stock. The victims' nephew was one of the leading suspects in the murder, despite the lack of physical evidence tying him and an accomplice to the killing. The victims' nephew confessed to the police, but he retracted his confession the next day. A day later, Kofoed claimed to find a drop of blood from one of the victims in a car that was linked to the suspects, though it had already been examined by another forensic investigator. The two suspects were charged with murder but were released several months later when prosecutors determined the confession was unreliable and didn't fit the facts in the case. A man and woman from Wisconsin later pleaded guilty to the crimes and are now serving life sentences."
https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/csi-director-convicted-planting-evidence-murder-investigation
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. 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 found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/c
GIST: Ivan Henk will remain locked up for killing his 4-year-old son after the Nebraska Supreme Court said he failed to prove that planted blood evidence prompted him to plead guilty. Henk argued that being told that the boy’s blood had been found in a dumpster in Bellevue influenced his decision to plead guilty. It was later determined that the blood evidence had been fabricated by David Kofoed, Douglas County’s former crime lab director. In Friday’s opinion, the high court said that to show a constitutional violation, Henk had to prove that he would not have pleaded guilty if not for the falsified evidence. Instead, Supreme Court Judge William Cassel listed several other reasons Henk had previously given for agreeing to a plea bargain. Among them was that he wanted to prevent news media from reporting about his confession, in which he told investigators that he had decapitated the boy. “With this record, the district court was not clearly wrong in finding that there was ample evidence that Henk would have accepted the plea offer, regardless of the blood evidence from the dumpster,” Cassel wrote. Henk, now 40, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder for the 2003 killing of Brendan Gonzalez and is serving a life term in prison. A 30-day search for the boy’s remains in the Sarpy County landfill was unsuccessful. Kofoed was convicted of felony evidence tampering in connection with a double-homicide investigation in 2006 in Murdock, Nebraska, that implicated two innocent men. He served prison time for the offense."
The entire story can be found at:
http://www.omaha.com/news/crime/court-rules-kofoed-s-evidence-tampering-did-not-sway-outcome/article_5e703bf4-485a-5031-acee-b8e2caaa31eb.html
Read Death Penalty Information Centre report at the link below: (March 2010)..."David Kofoed, CSI Director of Douglas County, Nebraska was convicted last month of planting evidence during a murder investigation, casting doubts on the legitimacy of other cases on which he worked. Kofoed's work came into question after a 2006 investigation into the murder of Wayne and Sharmon Stock. The victims' nephew was one of the leading suspects in the murder, despite the lack of physical evidence tying him and an accomplice to the killing. The victims' nephew confessed to the police, but he retracted his confession the next day. A day later, Kofoed claimed to find a drop of blood from one of the victims in a car that was linked to the suspects, though it had already been examined by another forensic investigator. The two suspects were charged with murder but were released several months later when prosecutors determined the confession was unreliable and didn't fit the facts in the case. A man and woman from Wisconsin later pleaded guilty to the crimes and are now serving life sentences."
https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/csi-director-convicted-planting-evidence-murder-investigation
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. 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 found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/c
