Trial and Error

Sep 24, 2012

There’s a potentially major development in one of the most high profile abduction- murder cases in Maine’s history. Recent DNA testing of several items of clothing found at the crime scene where 12-year-old Sara Cherry was killed in 1988 shows the presence of an unknown male or males. The DNA profile of the man convicted of the crime, Dennis Dechaine, is now being sent to a lab. The results could either help Dechaine, or place him at the scene …

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Duration | 3:10

Defense attorney Steve Peterson of Rockport is calling the so-called “touch DNA” findings one of the most significant developments in the case in nearly 20 years. Evidence from the crime scene has recently been subjected to advanced DNA testing by a lab in Texas. Peterson says the technique involves scraping skin cells from material. Previous attempts to swab the items for DNA were unsuccessful.

Steve Peterson: “We’ve gotten the preliminary results back from Orchid Cellmark and for the first time…we have now detected male gender DNA on the bra, the shirt and one end of the scarf that was the ligature in the case.”

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By Susan Sharon
MPBN Staff Writer