Aussie police plan mass DNA tests
Australian police are planning mass voluntary DNA tests for thousands of young to middle-aged men in the eastern city of Bundaberg as part of their investigation into the murder of British backpacker Caroline Stuttle.
The body of Miss Stuttle, 19, of York, was found on April 10 in Bundaberg, 220 miles north of the Queensland state capital Brisbane. Police believe she was robbed and fell or was pushed from a 30ft bridge. She died of head and spinal injuries.
Insp Jeff Oliphant said police would do a mail drop next week asking men living on the city’s north side to voluntarily provide a cheek swab for DNA testing.
Bundaberg has a population of 45,000, and police estimate several thousand men could fall into the testing category. Police are not giving a specific age range.
The decision follows test results on what police believe was saliva found on the city’s Burnett Bridge where Miss Stuttle died.
A man seen shadowing her beforehand was walking in the direction of the city’s north, prompting a decision to target that area, Oliphant said.
‘‘He may be a totally innocent person walking across the bridge but we’ve just got to try and do something to . . . identify whose sample that is,’’ he said.
Australia’s first mass DNA testing - of 600 men - was at Wee Waa in New South Wales state in 1999. It resulted in the conviction of a man for the rape of a 91-year-old woman.
Although voluntary, the mass DNA screening prompted criticism from civil libertarians. They said anyone who refused to give a sample would immediately be under suspicion.
