PUBLISHER'S NOTE: "Earlier this month, The Austin American-Statesman ran a story about the decision of a judge to recommend a new trial for Areli Escobar, who had been convicted and sentenced to death in the 2009 sexual assault and stabbing of his neighbour, a young 17-year-old high school student, on basis of bungled DNA lab crimes lab work. before reading that story (link below) it would be useful to read the following analysis published by "Austin criminal and DWI Lawyer, on October 19, 2017, under the heading, "Is poor lab work going to cost a man his life?"
"On Wednesday, in the state’s most superior criminal court, a closer look into Areli Escobar’s case was ordered. Escobar was convicted and sentenced to death in the 2009 sexual assault and stabbing of his neighbor, a young 17-year-old high school student. Nearly a decade later, Escobar’s defense lawyer is calling for a reconsideration of the work that was done by the Austin police crime lab, which Escobar is saying ruined his case. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ordered an examination of the claims that the police crime lab produced false or misleading conclusions from DNA evidence in the 2009 case. The claims are against tests that were conducted on the shirt, jeans, and shoes that connected Escobar to the murder. Along with this, after the trial, there was a discovery of poorly trained analysts, reports of cross-contamination of samples and questionable analytical methods. All of these factors lead to the possibility that the DNA evidence for Escobar’s trial is inaccurate. How can mistakes like this be made when a man’s life is at stake? DNA evidence is one of the most incriminating factors in murder cases. A jury would be almost certain to convict a defendant if their DNA matches what is found on the murder scene. In this case, Areli Escobar is sitting on death row because his DNA was found at a crime, yet years later it comes out that the lab was done incorrectly. An innocent man could be put to death because of this miscalculation. However, we are not saying Escobar is innocent. Rather we are wanting for the right to a fair trial where a person is innocent until proven guilty. An American citizen should not be imprisoned yet alone put on death row due to poor lab work being completed. This case is a prime example of why a good defense attorney is needed if you are ever in any legal trouble."
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Now into the Jan. 8, 2021 American-Statesman story on the Escobar case which I am now following:
STORY: "Concerned over DNA evidence, judge recommends new trial to Austin man on death row for 2009 slaying," by reporter Katie Hall, published by the Austin American-Statesman on Jan. 8, 2021. (My thanks to 'Forensic Resources: North Carolina office of indigent defence services' for bringing this story to our attention. I love this high quality site. It's practical and informative. Check it out at: https://forensicresources.org...HL);
QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Mr. Escobar has maintained his innocence from the beginning to today," said his attorney Carlotta Lepingwell. "Now that we all know the truth about the APD lab, we have seen a mountain of evidence to support what Mr. Escobar has maintained since day one. This is a tragic and painful case, but Areli Escobar and the people of Travis County deserve a fair and just prosecution, based on reliable evidence."
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GIST: "A Travis County state district judge has recommended that an Austin man on death row get a new trial, after his attorneys raised concerns that a former Austin crime lab technician incorrectly analyzed DNA evidence collected in the case.
The recommendation comes as local attorneys review Travis County convictions that involved DNA evidence after a state audit highlighted problems at the lab. Control over Austin's crime lab was transferred from the Austin Police Department to the Texas Department of Public Safety when the audit revealed that lab techs were improperly analyzing DNA samples.
Areli Escobar — a 41-year-old who was convicted on May 13, 2011, of sexually assaulting and killing 17-year-old Bianca Maldonado and injuring her son — may get a new trial, if the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals agrees with Judge David Wahlberg's recommendation.
"Mr. Escobar has maintained his innocence from the beginning to today," said his attorney Carlotta Lepingwell. "Now that we all know the truth about the APD lab, we have seen a mountain of evidence to support what Mr. Escobar has maintained since day one. This is a tragic and painful case, but Areli Escobar and the people of Travis County deserve a fair and just prosecution, based on reliable evidence."
After the DNA lab takeover, the Travis County district attorney’s office sent more than 1,000 legally required notifications to defendants whose cases might be affected by the fact that officials had called the DNA evidence into question. Those defendants could then contact the Capital Area Private Defender Service’s Forensic Project if they wanted to have their cases reviewed.
The Forensic Project is not handling Escobar's case because the Texas office of capital and forensic writs is representing him. Officials with the Forensic Project declined to comment on whether they are seeking retrials in other cases, citing their policy against commenting on pending litigation.
A Travis County jury convicted Escobar of capital murder after hearing testimony that, in May 2009, Maldonado was stabbed 46 times, beaten and sexually assaulted before dying of blood loss at her Decker Lane apartment, where Escobar also lived. The LBJ High School student was alone with her 1-year-old son, who was injured but survived.
The attack happened not long after Maldonado's mother and sister left for a job delivering the Austin American-Statesman, investigators said.
Escobar's fingerprint was found on a lotion bottle near Maldonado's body, and experts at the trial said that DNA evidence likely linked Escobar to the killing.
During the trial, analysts testified that Maldonado could not be excluded as the source of blood found on shoes witnesses said Escobar wore the night of the killing and on a car witnesses said he had been driving.
However, issues with the DNA evidence in Escobar's case arose even before his trial. Nine months before his trial, the Austin police DNA lab requested that DPS conduct additional testing on a stain on a shirt and a stain on a doorknob lock. Three days after the jury had already convicted Escobar of capital murder, then-DPS Analyst Jody Koehler reported that she was unable to find any DNA profiles from the stain.
"Had counsel for Mr. Escobar been in possession of Ms. Koehler's report when it was first issued on May 16, 2011, counsel for Mr. Escobar could have utilized the report as mitigating evidence in the punishment phase of Mr. Escobar's trial, as well as moving for mistrial and/or filing a motion for new trial based on new evidence," Wahlberg wrote in his Dec. 22 recommendation.
Instead, Escobar's attorneys did not receive a copy of Koehler's report until 2017, Wahlberg wrote. This amounted to suppression by the prosecution of evidence favorable to Escobar, which violated his Fourteenth Amendment right to due process, Wahlberg wrote.
"This case provides troubling indications that under the former DA the prosecutors committed grave misconduct in seeking to defend the indefensible conviction of Mr. Escobar," Lepingwell said. "The former DA’s office manipulated office policy to avoid disclosing exculpatory information about the evidence used to convict Mr. Escobar."
The Travis County DA's office was under the leadership of Rosemary Lehmberg in 2011. Officials with the DA's office, which is now under the leadership of newly sworn-in DA José Garza, declined to comment on the case.
DPS is contracted to operate the Austin DNA crime lab through August 2023. Officials have not decided what form the lab will take after the contract expires.
The lab could be run by Austin and Travis County government, Austin police, or simply operate as an independent government entity, Austin’s Assistant City Manager Rey Arellano told Travis County commissioners in October."
The entire story can be read at:
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