"Compromised, Contaminated, Corrupted" The defense stated the DNA evidence against Simpson was not reliable. They said the police compromised the evidence by committing several mistakes when collecting it including occasionally not changing gloves between evidence items, using one swatch to collect blood from three drops of blood on the Bronco dashboard, packaging the swatches of blood evidence using plastic bags, not paper bags as recommended, and storing them in a police van for up to seven hours unrefrigerated. This resulted in 100% of the "real killers" DNA being lost. They argued that Simpson's blood found on the evidence samples resulted from contamination in the LAPD crime lab with the reference blood in all but three exhibits. The remaining three exhibits that could not be explained by contamination were planted by the police. Although evidence of mistakes made during collection were shown at trial, no evidence of their contamination or corruption claim was presented. The contamination claim was dependent on all the blood in the case being 100% degraded and the real killer's DNA lost. If that did not happen, contamination would only produce a mixture of Simpson's DNA and the killer's. The contamination claim likewise would spread EDTA to the evidence samples which could be tested for as it was a preservative found in the reference vials of Simpson and the two victims. The contamination claim was also limited to just the LAPD crime lab as it was not alleged at the two consulting labs, the state department and Cellmarks diagnostics, where most of the DNA testing was done. The defense also declined to test the samples themselves for the “real killer's” DNA or for EDTA. Once the prosecution began showing evidence the samples were not completely degraded and no EDTA was found in levels seen from the reference vials, the defense's reasonable doubt theory became increasingly more dependent on the claim the evidence was corrupted by a police conspiracy to frame Simpson. The jury was receptive to it. was retained by Simpson's defense team to discredit the DNA evidence. Blake is a world-renowned forensic scientist who pioneered the establishment of PCR testing as a reliable forensic science. The prosecution had tried to retain Blake before learning the defense had already done so. All of the DNA experts were familiar with Blake and Gary Sims, who ran the state department lab, was one of his students. He was slated to testify but was dropped from the witness list on March 30, 1995. After concluding his review of the case, he informed the defense that his testimony is not likely to be helpful. His review found nothing negative to say about the tests from the State Department and Cellmark Diagnostics, concluding those results are likely valid and If he testified he would have to turnover his reports stating the reasons why he reached that conclusion. He was subsequently replaced by microbiologist, Dr. John Gerdes.
John Gerdes Dr. John Gerdes During direct examination he testified "The LAPD crime lab has a substantial contamination problem. It is chronic in the sense that it doesn't go away." Gerdes testified that because of the LAPD's
history of contamination, he would not consider any of the PCR results, in this case, valid because they were done by the LAPD. He testified that both the state department and Cellmark diagnostics had made cross-contamination errors in the past too. He testified their PCR results are not valid either because the evidence they tested went "through the LAPD" for packaging and shipping. The three RFLP matches he admitted were valid. Prior to his cross-examination, the prosecution felt his testimony was unreliable and pandering to defense, noting the only three DNA tests he said were valid were the same three the defense claimed were planted. They claim the reason Gerdes said that is because earlier he said RFLP results are not susceptible to contamination because the amount of DNA needed for that test is too large but the defense claimed those three exhibits were planted. Now the prosecution had a new RFLP match to Goldman's blood in the Bronco that couldn't be explained by contamination or fraud, so Gerdes made that claim instead. During cross-examination Gerdes admitted having no experience or training in forensic evidence gathering or forensic DNA testing and had never done any of the tests whose results he was criticizing at trial himself or at his lab. He has testified in 23 trials; consistently for criminal defendants charged with rape, murder or both, claiming the DNA evidence against them was unreliable because of contamination. When Judge Ito instructed Gerdes to narrow his testimony to facts about this case during cross, journalist noted his demeanor changed as his contamination claim became more dubious. He claimed it was possible for 100% of the "real killers" DNA to degrade so every molecule was gone in the seven hours they had spent unrefrigerated in the police van but then admitted that scientists had gotten analyzable DNA for PCR tests from mummies and even fossils. He also admitted that contamination for the results at Cellmark's and the state department could only have occurred at the crime scene since LAPD packaged and ship most of the evidence they tested directly there. He finally admitted there was no evidence cross-contamination occurred in this case and he was only testifying to "what might have occurred and not what actually did occur". During the civil trial, Gerdes testified again. This time he was only allowed to testify about confirmed contamination in this case and admitted "There's no direct evidence of contamination in any of the test results that I looked at in this case."
Henry Lee Dr. Henry Lee, director of the Connecticut State Forensics Science Laboratory, testified on August 23–25 and August 28. During cross-examination Lee stated Dr. Gerdes cross-contamination theory was "highly improbable".
Contamination allegations Brown-Simpson crime scene A total of nine
blood stains were collected from the
crime scene. The defense only contested the incriminating five blood drops that matched Simpson – items 48–52. Gerdes testified that those stains are all contaminates. He then admitted there was no direct evidence of contamination for any of those evidences samples except for item 52. Coincidentally, item 52 had the lowest probability of error with the chances being only 1-in-9.7 billion. Gerdes claimed that Yamauchi "handled" Simpson's reference vial prior to testing that evidence sample but admitted afterwards that he actually handled a sterile control swatch first after the reference vial and that tested negative for contamination but he claimed it was a "false negative". Gerdes then admitted that if the evidence sample contained the "real killer(s)" blood and was contaminated with Simpson's blood the result should be a mixture of both blood types but claimed that 100% of the real killers blood had "vanished" from the evidence samples after being stored in the evidence van without being refrigerated. He then admitted that the
serology results that Matheson provided, which don't rely on DNA, proved it wasn't a contaminate because they also matched Simpson and only showed a single persons blood was present.
Brown-Simpson back gate A total of three
DNA evidence samples were collected from the Bundy back gate. Two were collected on June 13, 1994, while the third was collected on July 3, 1994. Gerdes claimed that the two collected on June 13 were contaminates. He admitted there was no direct evidence that
cross-contamination had occurred from the reference vials to the evidence samples and conceded that the serology results matched the
DNA results, proving they weren't contaminates. He admitted that the sample collected on July 3 could not be a contaminate as well because the volume of DNA was too high but the defense claimed that sample was planted by the police.
Simpson's Bronco A total of eleven
DNA samples were collected from the Bronco. Eight were collected by the
LAPD crime lab on June 13 and three were collected by the State Department Crime lab on July 29. Both collections returned matches to Simpson, Brown and Goldman. Gerdes only contested the incriminating matches to the victims blood in the Bronco and claimed those results were due to
cross-contamination from the reference vials. When prosecutors responded that the matches from the second collection by the State department validated the ones by the LAPD because they were the same and collected from the same spot in the Bronco, Gerdes claimed that the second collection results can't be trusted allegedly because the "Bronco had been broken into" in which case Judge Ito interjected and stated "no it hasn't". Ito then ordered Gerdes to admit that the results from the second collection prove the results from the original one were valid and that both victims blood was in the Bronco which was very significant because
Ron Goldman never had an opportunity within his lifetime to be in Simpson's Bronco.
Simpson's bedroom sock A total of six
DNA samples were collected from the socks in Simpson's bedroom with matches to Simpson and Brown found. Only Brown's blood was incriminating and Gerdes admitted that the volume of DNA on that sample was too high to be attributed to contamination but the defense claimed that blood was planted by the police.
Rockingham glove A total of ten
DNA samples were collected from the glove found on Simpson's property with matches to Simpson, Brown, and Goldman. The victims' blood on that glove wasn't incriminating but Simpson's blood on that glove was so the defense only disputed that sample. Gerdes claimed it was also due to cross-contamination from the reference vial. Yamauchi conceded that when he opened Simpson's reference vial to withdraw a blood sample for testing purposes that he observed some aerosolized blood on the tissue paper he placed over the stopper when he opened the vial and noticed that some had gotten on his gloves which is why he changed them afterwards. The last thing he did after testing was put his initials on the wrist area of the glove where Simpson's DNA was found. However, Yamauchi maintains unequivocally that he did change his gloves after handling the reference vial which is standard policy. It's also untenable that only the last spot on the glove would be where Simpson's blood was found since Yamauchi touched at least nine other spots on the glove first prior to the wrist area and none of the other spots on the glove had Simpson's DNA. Lastly, Simpson's blood on the glove did not contain any traceable amounts of
EDTA, which proves it did not come from the reference vial.
Police conspiracy allegations The defense conspiracy allegation of planted evidence primarily focused on three exhibits initially: the blood on the Bundy back gate, the blood on the sock from Simpson's bedroom and the glove found at his Rockingham estate. However, by the end of the trial the defense would eventually claim that virtually all of the blood evidence was planted by the police.
Barry Scheck was the principle attorney who made all of the blood planting claims.
Witnesses Fredric Rieders Dr.
Fredric Rieders, During cross-examination the claim was immediately debunked when the prosecution gave Rieders a fax copy of the EPA article he referenced during his testimony and had him read it out loud to the jury demonstrating he misread it and it does say "parts-per-million" of EDTA is normally found in blood. Rieders then claimed it was a typo, but the prosecution produced a certified copy directly from the EPA, confirming the PPM units of measure. The defense called Rieders again on August 14. During redirect he clung to his claim the EDTA came from the reference vials, denied that PPM of EDTA could be found in unpreserved blood and denied that it was still used in food. During re-cross-examination, the claim was debunked again. This time, Agent Martz tested his own unpreserved blood and found PPM of EDTA, disproving Rieders' claim. Then Dr. Rieders admitted that the EDTA results from Martz's unpreserved blood were similar to the evidence blood drops in question and not even close to levels from Martz's persevered blood from a purple top tube, which had more than a hundred times more EDTA than the evidence samples. The prosecution also produced an article from the FDA showing that not only is EDTA still used in food (which Rieders denied), it is found in the French fries and Big Mac that Simpson ate approximately one hour before the murders. He admitted Agent Martz was correct that he could not identify EDTA from a presumptive test and the identification test was inconclusive, meaning this could not even be EDTA at all. Rieders also admitted that another witness was hired by the defense to conduct another identification test of the samples for EDTA, Dr. Kevin Ballard, to confirm the defenses claim but then declined to have him testify to what the results were. Dr. Rieders would testify to the same claim at the civil trial on December 20, 1996, but admitted during cross-examination "this might not be blood from a purple top tube" and that the results could be false positives as Martz would later demonstrate. The claim of EDTA on the sock coming from Nicole Brown's reference vial was conclusively disproved by Dr. Cotton who showed the DNA in the reference vial was more degraded than the DNA on the sock, proving it could not have come from that vial.
Roger Martz FBI Special Agent Roger Martz This apparent turnaround during direct examination stunned the defense and when they accused Martz of changing his demeanor during the lunch break he admitted he had because he realized he was not being entirely truthful in his testimony before because he was only giving "yes" and "no" answers. During cross-examination, Martz narrated his answers and stated EDTA is also used in food and detergents and not just blood test tubes. Martz demonstrated this by testing some of Nicole Brown's clothing that did not have blood on it and found EDTA was present. Martz then tested his own unpreserved blood and found EDTA was present there as well. Martz then compared EDTA levels in his own unpreserved blood to the evidence samples and showed they were similar. He then compared both of those results to his preserved blood in a blood test tube and showed they were not even close. Martz said that environmental conditions would not affect EDTA because it is a stable substance (one evidence sample was outside on the back gate at Brown's home) and demonstrated this by testing some preserved blood that was over a year old and showed the EDTA level was still the same as his own preserved blood taken only a few days prior. Martz also stated that, although the presumptive test mentioned by Dr. Rieders was positive, the identification test for EDTA was inconclusive, meaning he could not positively identify EDTA was present.
Henry Lee Dr. Henry Lee, director of the Connecticut State Forensics Science Laboratory, testified on August 23–25 and August 28. Dr. Lee did not support the defense's claim of police fraud, but several of his answers gave the appearance he did. He testified that bloodstains on the console of the Bronco were consistent with a smearing motion which the defense said was evidence it was planted there by police. Lee also said he agreed with blood spatter expert Herbert MacDonell that the blood splatter on sock suggested the blood soaked through while no one was wearing it which the defense claimed was evidence the blood was planted on the sock. The defense implied that Lee's statement "something's wrong" with the DNA evidence item 47 due to a wet transfer stain in the case meant Lee supported their allegations that the police had "tampered" or planted it. During cross-examination Lee admitted that the smearing stain does not prove that blood stain was planted. He also admitted that the transfer stain on the socks could also be produced if Simpson had touched the socks or during the swab for the
phenolphthalein test for blood. Lee also admitted that the item 47 doesn't incriminate Simpson because it belongs to Brown and was found at the crime scene and admitted the claim the police "Tampered" with it or planted it to frame Simpson was nonsensical. FBI shoe-print expert William J. Bodziak testified on September 15 that what Lee thought were a second set of shoe prints were actually just impressions left in the concrete from when it was poured. Dr. Henry Lee testified again during the civil trial but stated clearly "I never meant to imply there was scientific fact to show that any LA police officer planted or did anything, cheating, with any evidence when I said 'somethings wrong'. I did not testify to that."
Fraud allegations Brown-Simpson crime scene Scheck implied that Vannatter could have planted Simpson's blood at the crime scene when he returned later that evening to Simpson's home to deliver his blood reference vial to Dennis Fung but the crime scene is actually at Nicole Brown's home. Scheck then suggested that another police officer could have "sprinkled Simpson's blood at the crime scene" but the prosecution demonstrated that the blood was photographed being there prior to Simpson's blood being drawn by the nurse.
Bundy back gate Scheck claimed that one drop of blood on the back gate at
Nicole Brown's
Bundy Drive home was planted by the police. As evidence, they offered the blood contained EDTA, a preservative found in purple top tubes used for blood draws, it was collected several weeks later on July 3, rather than on June 13, and 1.5 mL of Simpson's donated reference blood was unaccounted for. The officer who planted it was not named by the defense but Vannatter was implied. The prosecution countered that the EDTA levels found in the blood was consistent with that found normally in unpreserved blood and not even close to the levels found in blood preserved in a purple top tube. A different photograph of the gate on June 13 shows the blood was already there and the claim of some of Simpson's reference blood missing from the vial was refuted during rebuttal by the nurse who drew it who clarified he believes he only drew the amount the records show was used for testing. Scheck then claimed that the results from the second Bronco collection were unreliable because the car had been burglarized (not true) but the DNA matches are the same before and afterwards, disproving that claim. Scheck then produced two witnesses who claimed there was no blood in the impounded Bronco implying it was planted afterwards but the prosecution produced photographs of the blood in the impounded Bronco, disproving that claim.
Simpson's bedroom sock Scheck claimed that blood found on a sock in Simpson's bed was planted there by Detective Vannatter. As evidence, they offered that Vannatter did have possession of Nicole Brown's autopsy blood briefly prior to booking it into evidence and the blood contained EDTA, a preservative found in the reference vial of Nicole Brown autopsy blood. The claim was refuted by the defense's own witness, FBI special agent Roger Martz who showed the level of EDTA in that blood drop is consistent with unpreserved blood and not even close to the levels that would be seen in blood from a purple top tube. The prosecution also countered that no blood was ever claimed to be missing from Nicole Brown's reference vial and that the records show Detective Vannatter booked the reference vials from the victims immediately into evidence right after receiving it from Deputy Medical Examiner Dr. Irwin Golden. Dr. Cotton conclusively refuted that claim by showing the blood in the reference vial is substantially more degraded than the blood on the sock, proving it did not come from that vial.
Rockingham glove F. Lee Bailey claimed that the bloody glove found at Simpson's Rockingham estate was planted by Detective
Mark Fuhrman who said he found it there. No physical or eyewitness evidence ever surfaced supporting that claim. The only reason given at trial for believing that it was planted was of Fuhrman having
perjured himself when claiming he had never used the word "
nigger" in the last ten years. The glove contained DNA from Simpson and both victims, and since the blood did not contain
EDTA, the possibility of it coming from the reference vials was ruled out. Thus, if Fuhrman planted the glove at Rockingham from the crime scene, Simpson's blood would have to have been at the crime scene, contradicting his claim of being home on the night of the murders. Fuhrman's DNA was also not found on the glove, thus supporting his claim that he did not plant it. The prosecution argued that Fuhrman did not plant the glove because he did not know if Simpson had an airtight
alibi that night.
LA County Deputy District Attorney Vincent Bugliosi concurred with the prosecutor's argument, noting as well that Fuhrman did not know whose blood was on it at the time either. == Acquittal and aftermath ==