 |
| Henry 'Hank' Skinner |
DNA testing of evidence in the Henry Skinner triple murder case hit yet another snag this week as prosecutors admitted that a blood-stained windbreaker – termed "perhaps the key piece of evidence" by the killer's lawyer – cannot be found.
In a motion laying out terms of a joint agreement to begin testing filed late Tuesday, the state and Skinner attorney Rob Owen identify 40 items to be submitted for testing. Among them are clippings from a victim's fingernails, vaginal swabs, and knives found at the scene of the 1993 New Year's Eve Pampa murder.
Prosecutors in Tuesday's filing concede that the windbreaker, collected from the scene by the Pampa Police Department, has not been found.
"According to the state, every other single piece of evidence in this case has been preserved," Owen said in an email. To date, the state has offered no explanation for its failure to safeguard evidence in this case."
Owen said the jacket, which appears to be stained with perspiration and blood, may have been worn by the assailant. Owen said that, since the trial, a witness has identified the jacket as one worn by Busby's uncle.
That man, now dead, reportedly was seen stalking [the female victim] at a party shortly before her murder.
Skinner has endeavored for more than a decade to obtain DNA testing of seemingly important evidence gathered at the crime scene.
Source: Houston Chronicle, June 13, 2012
