'Fresh evidence needed' for Dando breakthrough
Police in the UK will need fresh evidence or an arrest that reveals new links to another case to make a breakthrough in catching Jill Dando’s killer, an expert in forensic medicine said today.
Anthony Busuttil, Professor Emeritus of Forensic Medicine at Edinburgh University, said that officers are likely to have reviewed the evidence they hold on her murder at least once already.
“A cold case review is triggered if there is a no suspect within a month or if there is an appeal.”
Barry George has twice appealed his conviction.
“Another review might take into consideration why the evidence failed to provide a conviction but I very much suspect that there will not be another review.”
“Assuming that all the evidence they had was gone through with a fine-tooth comb there is nowhere else they can go.”
Instead, he said, police will be hoping for new evidence.
In the nine years since Mr George’s conviction advances have been made in the analysis of DNA samples.
“The only new forensic technique available to the police is DNA analysis. Infinitesimally small quantities are needed now to produce a match. I would imagine that the clothing will be looked at very closely indeed.”
“A breakthrough could come with new suspects, they might come in from other cases, if somebody is arrested in another case and circumstantial evidence links them to this one.
“The other way is through a confession or someone telling police they have heard a confession. Criminals are being caught every day and there is a chance that one might say something in interview or say, ”you’ve been barking up the wrong tree.“
“It is not an impossibility that something will turn up and given the high profile of the case people’s memory might be jogged and they could come forward with something new.”
