All language subtitles for catching.killers.s01e01.dna.profiling.web.h264-underbelly

[GUNSHOT]

Narrator: MURDER IS AS OLD
AS TIME.

SO IS THE QUEST
TO FIND THE KILLERS.

AND WHEN SLEUTHING
MEETS SCIENCE...

NEW FORENSIC TOOLS ARE BORN.

IN THE 1980s,
ONE CASE IN ENGLAND

WOULD REVOLUTIONIZE
CRIME FIGHTING.

Man: TWO 15-YEAR-OLD GIRLS,
LESS THAN THREE YEARS APART,

IN THE SAME GENERAL AREA...

Man: IT CERTAINLY LOOKED
AS THOUGH

THERE WAS ONE PERSON
RESPONSIBLE.

Narrator: THE BREAKTHROUGH...

DNA PROFILING...
A GENETIC FINGERPRINT.

Man: THE PREVAILING VIEW
WAS THAT DNA

WOULD NOT BE STABLE ENOUGH TO BE
USEFUL IN FORENSIC SCIENCE.

Narrator: BUT THE RESULTS
ARE TOTALLY UNEXPECTED.

Man: EVERY ONE OF THE COPS WERE
JUST BESIDE THEMSELVES

WHEN THAT GOT THAT INFORMATION.

THEY DIDN'T BELIEVE IT.

Man: IT WAS QUITE A BODY BLOW.

Narrator: TWO DECADES LATER,

DNA PROFILING IS PUT
TO THE ULTIMATE TEST...

TAKING ON ONE OF AMERICA'S
MOST NOTORIOUS SERIAL KILLERS.

Man: DNA BECAME THE CORNERSTONE.

[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS]

Narrator: WICHITA, KANSAS.

SPRING 2004.

A NEWSPAPER REPORTER RUSHES
INTO POLICE HEADQUARTERS.

HE HAS A LETTER HE KNOWS
OFFICERS NEED TO SEE.

Kenneth Landwehr:
IT'S A ONE-PAGE DOCUMENT,

AND IT BASICALLY HAS
THREE POLAROID PHOTOGRAPHS

AND A DRIVER'S LICENSE COPIED.

Narrator: THE PICTURES SHOW
A WOMAN LYING ON THE FLOOR...

AND A DRIVER'S LICENSE
FOR VICKI WEGERLE.

WICHITA INVESTIGATORS
KNOW THAT NAME WELL.

IN THE 1980s VICKI WEGERLE
WAS THE VICTIM

OF A HORRIFYING CRIME...

A COLD CASE THAT'S STILL OPEN
NEARLY TWO DECADES LATER.

Landwehr: VICKI WEGERLE
WAS MURDERED IN 1986.

HER BODY WAS REMOVED
BY EMS TECHNICIANS

PRIOR TO THE POLICE ARRIVAL.

SO WE HAD NO PHOTOGRAPHS
OF VICKI WEGERLE

AS SHE LAID AT THE SCENE.

Timothy Relph: THOSE WERE NOT
OUR PHOTOGRAPHS.

Narrator: WHICH CAN ONLY MEAN
ONE THING...

Landwehr: IT WAS OBVIOUS
THAT THIS WAS THE KILLER.

Narrator: WEGERLE'S HANDS
ARE BOUND,

A SCARF KNOTTED
AROUND HER NECK...

AND THERE'S SOMETHING ELSE.

Landwehr: THERE WAS A MONIKER

THAT WAS AT THE BOTTOM
OF THAT LETTER...

Narrator: A FAMILIAR
AND CHILLING SIGNATURE...

THE INITIALS "B.T.K."

Larry Hatteberg:
BTK STOOD FOR BIND...

TORTURE...

KILL.

Narrator: AUTHORITIES IN WICHITA
BEGAN HUNTING BTK IN 1974.

Landwehr: HIS FIRST HOMICIDE
WAS A QUADRUPLE HOMICIDE

THAT OCCURRED IN EAST WICHITA.

THE OTERO FAMILY WAS KILLED ON
THE MORNING OF JANUARY 15, 1974.

Relph: ALL FOUR
HAD BEEN STRANGLED.

THEY WERE BOUND,

AND THE YOUNGEST DAUGHTER
WAS HUNG IN THE BASEMENT.

Hatteberg: OVERNIGHT,
LOCKSMITHS RAN OUT OF LOCKS.

Narrator: THAT WAS ONLY
THE BEGINNING.

BTK STRUCK AGAIN AND AGAIN.

BY DECADE'S END,
HE'D CLAIMED SEVEN VICTIMS.

Hatteberg: ALL OF A SUDDEN
WE HAVE A SERIAL KILLER

IN WICHITA, KANSAS.

AND PEOPLE WERE SCARED TO DEATH.

Relph: IN WICHITA
BACK IN THE '70s,

YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO TEACH YOUR
CHILDREN ABOUT THE BOGEYMAN,

THEY WERE AFRAID OF BTK.

Narrator: BTK FED OFF THAT FEAR.

IN LETTERS HE BOLDLY TAUNTED
HIS PURSUERS.

Reporter: BTK BEGAN
TODAY'S LETTER WITH A QUESTION.

"HOW MANY DO I HAVE TO KILL

BEFORE I GET A NAME
IN THE PAPER?"

Hatteberg: HE LIVED
ON PUBLICITY.

Narrator: LOCAL POLICE
JOINED FORCES WITH THE FBI

IN A NATIONWIDE MANHUNT.

THEY STUDIED EVERY POSSIBLE
CLUE, SEARCHING FOR ANY LEAD.

NO DETAIL WAS TOO MINOR.

Relph: THERE WAS
A LOT OF WORK DONE

TO DETERMINE THE TYPE OF PAPER,
THE COPIERS,

AND EVEN DOWN TO THE TYPEWRITER
THAT WAS PROBABLY USED

TO TYPE OUT THE FIRST
COUPLE OF NOTES.

Narrator: FOR DECADES,
CRIME SOLVERS HAD RELIED

ON FINGERPRINTS...

THE ONLY SUREFIRE EVIDENCE
UNIQUE TO EACH INDIVIDUAL.

BUT BTK WAS CLEVER.

HE'D LEFT NO PRINTS
AT ANY OF HIS CRIMES.

BUT AT THE WEGERLE
AND OTERO CRIME SCENES

HE DID LEAVE A CLUE...

SEMEN...

A MIX OF BODILY FLUIDS DESIGNED
TO NURTURE SPERM CELLS.

SOME SEMEN CONTAINS ANTIBODIES

THAT CAN REVEAL
A MAN'S BLOOD TYPE.

THAT COULD BE USEFUL
IF BTK HAD A VERY RARE TYPE,

LIKE AB NEGATIVE.

OF THE EIGHT COMMON BLOOD TYPES,

ONLY 1% OF PEOPLE
ARE AB NEGATIVE.

IF BTK WAS LIKE MOST AMERICANS,
HE WAS TYPE A OR TYPE O...

ONE OF MANY, MANY MILLIONS.

BUT BTK'S SEMEN DID NOT REVEAL
A BLOOD TYPE...

AND BTK KEPT ON KILLING.

THEN, IN THE MID '80s,
BTK VANISHED.

Hatteberg:
HE STOPPED HIS KILLING

AND HE STOPPED
HIS COMMUNICATION.

Landwehr: BASICALLY BTK
WOULD BECOME A COLD CASE,

BECAUSE THERE WOULD BE
NO ACTIVITY.

HE MUST BE IN PRISON,
HE MUST BE DEAD,

OR HE'S MOVED ON
TO ANOTHER LOCATION.

Narrator: NOW, 25 YEARS LATER,

THE MACABRE LETTER TURNED OVER
TO THE WICHITA POLICE

PROVES BTK IS BACK...

POISED TO SLAY AGAIN.

Hatteberg:
NOW A WHOLE NEW GENERATION
OF PEOPLE WERE TERRIFIED.

Narrator: BUT NOW POLICE HAVE
AN AMAZING NEW WEAPON...

A FORENSIC TOOL THAT CAN TURN

ALMOST ANYTHING
THE HUMAN BODY PRODUCES...

FROM HAIR TO SKIN CELLS
TO SEMEN...

INTO IDENTIFYING EVIDENCE
AS ROCK-SOLID AS A FINGERPRINT...

DNA PROFILING.

LONG BEFORE IT REACHED
THE CRIME LAB,

DNA, OR DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID,
FASCINATED SCIENTISTS.

THEY REALIZED IT IS LIFE'S
BASIC BUILDING BLOCK.

IN THE EARLY 1900s,

GENETICISTS FRIEDRICH MIESCHER
AND FREDERICK GRIFFITHS

PROVED THAT DNA DECIDES
THE CHARACTERISTICS

ONE GENERATION PASSES
TO THE NEXT.

IN 1953, RESEARCHERS
JAMES WATSON AND FRANCIS CRICK

USED X-RAYS TO SHOW
WHAT DNA LOOKS LIKE...

THE FAMOUS DOUBLE HELIX.

NEARLY 30 YEARS AFTER
WATSON AND CRICK'S DISCOVERY,

DNA WAS USED FOR THE FIRST TIME
TO PROVE PATERNITY.

BUT IT WASN'T UNTIL THE 1980s

THAT DNA WOULD CATCH A KILLER
FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME.

NOVEMBER 1983.

LEICESTERSHIRE, ENGLAND.

A TYPICAL MONDAY EVENING
FOR A TYPICAL TEEN.

Joseph Wambaugh: LYNDA MANN WAS
A PRETTY, BRIGHT, TOP STUDENT

WHO WENT TO SCHOOL
IN THE VILLAGE OF NARBOROUGH.

ON A COLD NOVEMBER NIGHT IN 1983

SHE WAS TAKING A SHORTCUT
AFTER BABYSITTING

ON A FOOTPATH CALLED
THE BLACK PAD.

Narrator: THE NEXT MORNING,
A MAN IS RIDING TO WORK.

David Baker: AS HE CYCLED
UP THIS PATH,

HE SAW THE BODY OF A GIRL.

Narrator: IT'S LYNDA MANN.

Baker: SHE HAD BEEN STRANGLED,
POSSIBLY WITH HER OWN SCARF...

AND HAD CLEARLY BEEN
SEXUALLY ASSAULTED.

THERE WAS A FULL SEARCH MADE
OF THE CRIME SCENE

AND THE SURROUNDING AREA.

Narrator: OFFICERS COMB
THE SCENE FOR CLUES...

BLOOD, THREADS, BITS OF FABRIC...

ANYTHING THAT MIGHT TAG
THE KILLER.

Baker: THERE WAS EVIDENCE
OF SEMEN ON THE BODY.

Narrator: AND THE POLICE
PROMPTLY PUT THE SEMEN SAMPLE

TO THE TEST.

AND ANTIBODIES PRESENT
IN THE SEMEN

REVEAL THAT THEIR KILLER
HAS TYPE "A" BLOOD.

BUT IT'S NOT MUCH HELP.

TYPE "A" IS ONE OF THE MOST
COMMON BLOOD TYPES IN THE WORLD.

IN ENGLAND ALONE, 1 IN 10 MALES
HAVE TYPE "A" BLOOD.

Wambaugh: THAT NARROWED IT DOWN

TO SEVERAL MILLION PEOPLE
IN ENGLAND AT THE TIME.

Narrator: SO BLOOD TYPE ALONE IS
USELESS FOR THE INVESTIGATORS.

AND SCIENCE CAN DO NO MORE
TO FIND LYNDA MANN'S ATTACKER.

FOR THREE YEARS
THE INVESTIGATION SPUTTERS...

UNTIL A NEW SHOCK LEAVES
LEICESTERSHIRE REELING.

SOMEONE SEXUALLY ASSAULTS AND
MURDERS ANOTHER YOUNG WOMAN...

DAWN ASHWORTH.

AND THE ATTACK IS EERILY SIMILAR
TO LYNDA MANN'S.

Wambaugh: TWO 15-YEAR-OLD GIRLS,
LESS THAN THREE YEARS APART,

IN THE SAME GENERAL AREA.

Wambaugh: IMMEDIATELY
THE LEICESTERSHIRE CONSTABULARY

CONCLUDED THAT PROBABLY
THE KILLER OF LYNDA MANN

WAS ALSO THE KILLER
OF DAWN ASHWORTH.

Narrator: THREE YEARS AFTER
LYNDA MANN IS MURDERED

IN LEICESTERSHIRE, ENGLAND...

A GIRL THE SAME AGE
IN THE SAME AREA

SUFFERS THE SAME AWFUL FATE.

Wambaugh: DAWN ASHWORTH,

ANOTHER VERY PRETTY, BRIGHT,
WELL-LIKED STUDENT

FROM THE NEARBY VILLAGE
OF ENDERBY,

WAS WALKING ON A FOOTPATH
ONE EVENING.

Narrator: DAWN NEVER COMES HOME.

A FRANTIC SEARCH ENDS
IN GRIEF AND HORROR.

Baker: SHE HAD BEEN STRANGLED.

ALSO... HAD BEEN
SEXUALLY ASSAULTED.

Narrator: AGAIN, INVESTIGATORS
FIND SEMEN...

AND AGAIN THEY EMPLOY THE ONLY
FORENSIC TEST THEY HAVE.

THE RESULTS SHOW DAWN'S KILLER
HAS TYPE "A" BLOOD.

THE SAME AS LYNDA MANN'S
MURDERER.

Baker: IT CERTAINLY LOOKED
AS THOUGH THERE WAS ONE PERSON

RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MURDER
OF BOTH GIRLS.

Narrator: BUT SUDDENLY
IT LOOKS LIKE INVESTIGATORS

WON'T NEED A HELPING HAND
FROM SCIENCE...

WHEN A LOCAL TEENAGER
NAMED RICHARD BUCKLAND

STARTS TALKING ABOUT THE CRIME
AMONG HIS FRIENDS.

POLICE BRING HIM IN
FOR QUESTIONING.

Wambaugh: HE SAID THAT
HE HAD SEEN DAWN ASHWORTH

ENTER 10 POUND LANE
ON THE NIGHT SHE DISAPPEARED.

HE DESCRIBED A FEW THINGS
ABOUT THE CRIME SCENE

THAT THEY FELT HE
SHOULDN'T KNOW ABOUT.

Baker: AND HE COULDN'T ACCOUNT
FOR HIS MOVEMENTS SATISFACTORILY

ON THE 31st OF JULY.

Richard Buckland:
NO, NO, I DIDN'T KILL HER.

Narrator:
AFTER HOURS OF GRILLING,
BUCKLAND BREAKS DOWN.

Wambaugh: HE CONFESSED
TO THE MURDER OF DAWN ASHWORTH.

Narrator: AND WHEN THEY MENTION
THE LYNDA MANN KILLING,

THEY'RE WAITING FOR BUCKLAND
TO OWN UP TO HER DEATH.

Baker: HE TOTALLY DENIED
ANY INVOLVEMENT

IN THE MURDER OF LYNDA MANN.

Narrator: WHICH IS NOT
WHAT THEY THOUGHT THEY'D HEAR.

Baker: WE WERE FIRMLY CONVINCED

THAT IF HE HAD MURDERED
ONE GIRL,

THEN HE WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR
THE MURDER OF THE OTHER GIRL.

Narrator: CONSTABLE BAKER
IS DETERMINED

TO BRING CLOSURE TO BOTH CASES.

HE'S CERTAIN RICHARD BUCKLAND

KILLED BOTH LYNDA MANN
AND DAWN ASHWORTH.

STRUGGLING TO MAKE A CASE,
BAKER HAS AN UNUSUAL IDEA.

HE HAS NO CLUE
HOW MUCH THIS IDEA

WILL CHANGE THE COURSE
OF HISTORY.

SINCE WATSON AND CRICK
FOUND THE DOUBLE HELIX IN 1953,

DNA AND ITS MYSTERIES HAD DRAWN
GENERATIONS OF SCIENTISTS.

AND RESEARCHERS AT
THE LEADING EDGE OF DNA SCIENCE

WERE WORKING RIGHT
IN CONSTABLE BAKER'S BACKYARD.

Baker: I WAS AWARE AT THAT TIME
THAT DR. ALEC JEFFREYS

HAD BEEN WORKING
AT LEICESTER UNIVERSITY

IN RESPECT OF DNA TESTS

INVOLVING PARENTAGE
OF IMMIGRANTS.

AND ONE OF THE THINGS
THAT STUCK IN MY MIND

WAS THE FACT
THAT HE'D ESTABLISHED

THAT A YOUNG ASIAN CHILD
WAS IN FACT THE OFFSPRING

OF PEOPLE WHO CLAIMED
TO BE HIS PARENTS

QUITE FIRMLY THROUGH DNA.

Narrator: DR. JEFFREYS KNEW
HUMAN DNA IS MOSTLY IDENTICAL.

John Butler: AND WELL OVER 99%
OF OUR DNA

IS THE SAME BETWEEN PEOPLE.

THAT ALLOWS US TO HAVE TWO EARS,
TWO EYES, A NOSE,

FOUR FINGERS AND A THUMB
ON EACH HAND.

Narrator: BUT JEFFREYS
WANTED TO KNOW MORE

ABOUT THAT OTHER ONE PERCENT.

IN 1984 HE DISCOVERED
A PATCH OF DNA

THAT WAS UNIQUE
TO EACH INDIVIDUAL...

A SORT OF DNA FINGERPRINT.

AND WHEN CONSTABLE BAKER
THINKS ABOUT JEFFREYS' WORK,

HE HAS A QUESTION...

IF DNA CAN PROVE PATERNITY,
CAN IT ALSO PROVE

WHETHER RICHARD BUCKLAND KILLED
DAWN ASHWORTH AND LYNDA MANN?

IT'S A LONG SHOT.

SEMEN DECOMPOSES QUICKLY,

SO BAKER'S THREE-YEAR-OLD
EVIDENCE SAMPLES

MIGHT NOT BE NEW ENOUGH.

THEY'VE ALSO BEEN THROUGH
THE MILL OF FIELD RECOVERY...

POLICE STORAGE...

AND UNSCIENTIFIC HANDLING.

THE SAMPLES ARE
ANYTHING BUT FRESH...

WHICH MEANS THEY MIGHT ALL BE
COMPLETELY USELESS.

Peter Gill: SO THE POSITION
WE WERE IN IN 1985

IS THAT THERE WAS A VERY
INTERESTING TECHNIQUE THERE,

BUT WE ACTUALLY HAD NO CLUE

WHETHER IT WAS
GOING TO BE USEFUL

IN FORENSIC SCIENCE AT ALL.

IN FACT, WHEN I DISCUSSED THIS
WITH OTHER SCIENTISTS,

THE PREVAILING VIEW WAS THAT DNA
WOULD NOT BE STABLE ENOUGH

TO BE USEFUL
IN FORENSIC SCIENCE.

Narrator: BUT THE POLICE
ARE WILLING TO TRY ANYTHING.

THEY GIVE THE LAB
THE CRIME SCENE SAMPLES.

THESE RESEARCHERS
MAY KNOW DNA...

BUT THEY'VE NEVER USED IT
TO SOLVE A CRIME.

THE RESULTS OF THIS REAL-WORLD
EXPERIMENT ARE ANYBODY'S GUESS.

FIRST TECHNICIANS
EXTRACT THE DNA

BY DISSOLVING THE EVIDENCE.

AT THAT TIME THEY NEEDED
A SAMPLE AS LARGE AS A QUARTER

TO GENERATE A DNA PROFILE.

THEN JEFFREYS HAS TO PINPOINT
THE DNA FRAGMENTS

THAT ARE UNIQUE TO THEIR OWNER.

TO DO THAT, HE USES A TECHNIQUE
CALLED RFLP...

RESTRICTION FRAGMENT LENGTH
POLYMORPHISM.

Gill: AND WHAT THIS DOES
IS THAT IT CUTS THE DNA

INTO SECTIONS OF VARIOUS SIZES.

Narrator: TO GET
THE DNA PORTRAIT HE NEEDS,

JEFFREYS HAS TO SORT
THE FRAGMENTS BY SIZE.

THEN THE SAMPLE GOES
ONTO ONE END OF A GEL PLATE.

TECHNICIANS APPLY
ELECTRICAL CURRENT,

AND ELECTRICITY PULLS THE
FRAGMENTS THROUGH THE GEL.

Gill: THE GEL ACTS
EXACTLY LIKE A SIEVE,

AND THE SMALL FRAGMENTS ARE ABLE

TO TRAVEL QUICKLY
THROUGH THE GEL,

AND THE LARGE FRAGMENTS
TRAVEL SLOWLY.

AT THE END OF THE PROCESS
WE HAVE AN X-RAY FILM

WHICH EFFECTIVELY HAS
A BARCODE ON IT.

Narrator: IT MAY LOOK
LIKE RANDOM SPLOTCHES,

BUT THAT BARCODE IS UNIQUE.

IN ALL THE WORLD, IT BELONGS
TO ONLY ONE PERSON.

FOR A CENTURY,
FINGERPRINTS HAVE BEEN

THE PLATINUM STANDARD
OF IDENTIFICATION,

NO TWO AMONG BILLIONS
EVER FOUND TO MATCH.

IF SCIENTISTS CAN ACHIEVE
THE SAME WITH DNA...

A SUBSTANCE THAT RECURS
IN EVERY CELL OF EACH ORGANISM...

A REVOLUTION WILL BE UNDER WAY.

AND SOON THE RESULTS ARE IN.

THE DNA FROM THE LYNDA MANN
AND DAWN ASHWORTH CRIME SCENES

ARE AN EXACT MATCH.

Gill: THE TWO MURDERS,

THEY HAD BEEN COMMITTED
BY THE SAME INDIVIDUAL.

Narrator: BUT THEN THE STORY
TAKES AN UNEXPECTED TURN.

THE DNA PORTRAIT
DOESN'T MATCH THAT

OF THE ONE AND ONLY SUSPECT...

RICHARD BUCKLAND,

WHO EVEN CONFESSED TO THE DEATH
OF LYNDA MANN.

Gill: HIS DNA PROFILE DID NOT
MATCH THE CRIME STAIN PROFILE

FROM EITHER OF THE TWO MURDERS.

Narrator: DESPITE
HIS TORMENTED CONFESSION,

BUCKLAND DIDN'T KILL A SOUL.

Wambaugh: EVERY ONE OF THE COPS
WERE JUST BESIDE THEMSELVES

WHEN THEY GOT THAT INFORMATION.

THEY DIDN'T BELIEVE IT.

Baker: IT WAS QUITE A BODY BLOW.

WE VERY MUCH DOUBTED
THE EVIDENCE

WITH WHICH WE WERE
BEING PRESENTED.

WE WANTED TO BELIEVE IN IT,

BUT ON THE OTHER HAND
IT WAS TELLING US

THAT BUCKLAND WAS NOT THE PERSON
WE THOUGHT HE WAS.

Narrator: ON NOVEMBER 1, 1986,

THE COURT CONVENES IN THE CASE
OF RICHARD BUCKLAND.

Man: THE CROWN PROSECUTION
SERVICE HAVE BEEN KEPT INFORMED

THROUGHOUT THE SCIENTIFIC
INVESTIGATIONS

AND HAVE DECIDED THAT THE
PROCEEDINGS AGAINST MR. BUCKLAND

SHALL BE DISCONTINUED.

Narrator: THE MOMENT TURNS
FORENSIC SCIENCE ON ITS HEAD.

THE VERY FIRST USE
OF DNA PROFILING

DOESN'T CONVICT THE SUSPECT;

IT EXONERATES HIM.

Gill: IT'S VERY POIGNANT,
I THINK,

THAT THIS VERY FIRST CASE WAS
USED TO EXONERATE AN INDIVIDUAL

WHO WOULD OTHERWISE HAVE STOOD
QUITE A GOOD CHANCE

OF BEING CONVICTED OF A CRIME
THAT HE HAD NOT COMMITTED.

Narrator: BUT IF BUCKLAND
DIDN'T DO IT...

WHO DID?

Baker: SOMEWHERE OUT THERE

WAS SOMEONE RESPONSIBLE
FOR THE MURDER OF TWO GIRLS.

Narrator: NOW POLICE HAVE A TOOL
FOR MAKING THEIR CASE...

A DNA PROFILE.

THE ONLY THING MISSING
IS THEIR SUSPECT.

IN WICHITA, KANSAS, BTK WAS
TORTURING AND KILLING PEOPLE

LONG BEFORE DNA PROFILING
CAME INTO EXISTENCE.

BUT NOW INVESTIGATORS
HAVE SCIENCE ON THEIR SIDE...

AND OLD EVIDENCE
WITH NEW POTENTIAL.

Landwehr: ONE PIECE OF EVIDENCE
THAT WE HAD IN ALL THESE CASES

WAS THE DNA.

Narrator: BY 2004,
CRIME FIGHTERS

HAVE HONED DNA PROFILING
TO A FINE ART.

LABS DELIVER PROFILES
MUCH MORE QUICKLY.

BUT THE DNA IN WICHITA HAS SPENT
NEARLY 30 YEARS ON THE SHELF.

AND INVESTIGATORS
WORKING THE BTK CASE

DON'T KNOW IF THEIR EVIDENCE
HAS STOOD THE TEST OF TIME.

Shelly Steadman:
SOME OF THE EVIDENCE THAT
WAS INITIALLY SUBMITTED

INCLUDED CLOTHING

AND THE FINGERNAIL SCRAPINGS
FROM VICKI WEGERLE.

Narrator: THE '80s-ERA METHOD
THAT CLEARED RICHARD BUCKLAND

WAS VERY SLOW
AND REQUIRED LARGE SAMPLES.

NOW TECHNICIANS NEED ONLY
A FEW BITS OF GENETIC MATERIAL

BECAUSE SCIENTISTS
HAVE FOUND A WAY

TO HARNESS DNA'S EXTRAORDINARY
ABILITY TO REPLICATE ITSELF.

Steadman: IT'S ACTUALLY
A REACTION

THAT OCCURS IN YOUR CELLS
NATURALLY.

WHENEVER YOU SLOUGH OFF
SKIN CELLS, FOR EXAMPLE,

YOU'RE REGENERATING CELLS
CONSTANTLY.

EVERY CELL THAT YOU HAVE
HAS THE DNA IN IT.

AND IN ORDER TO REPRODUCE
THE CELLS,

YOUR BODY MAKES COPIES
OF THAT DNA.

Narrator: BY GETTING DNA
TO COPY ITSELF,

TECHNICIANS CAN MANIPULATE
A SHRED OF EVIDENCE

TO POWER MANY TESTS.

THEY DO THIS USING A PROCESS
CALLED PCR...

SHORT FOR
"POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION."

Steadman: THE MAIN ADVANTAGES
TO PCR

ARE THAT YOU CAN OBTAIN
A DNA PROFILE

FROM A SAMPLE THAT'S 10
TO THOUSANDS TIMES SMALLER.

Narrator:
THE DNA SAMPLES ARE HEATED
TO A VERY HIGH TEMPERATURE.

HEAT PULLS
THE DNA STRANDS APART.

WHEN THE PIECES COOL,

AN ENZYME CALLED POLYMERASE
MAKES COPIES OF THEM...

UNTIL THAT SHRED OF UNIQUE DNA
IS BIG ENOUGH TO ANALYZE.

THAT'S HOW PCR WORKS
WITH FRESH DNA,

CAREFULLY HANDLED
BY TRAINED SCIENTISTS.

BUT THAT MAY NOT BE
THE CASE HERE.

THE POLICE FEAR THE BTK SAMPLES
ARE TOO DEGRADED.

IT CAME FROM A CRIME SCENE.

IT'S OLDER THAN SOME
OF THE LAB WORKERS.

SO OFFICERS WAIT...

ANXIOUS FOR AN ANSWER...

AND STEADMAN PROVIDES ONE...

MORE THAN 20 YEARS AFTER THE
EVIDENCE CAME INTO POLICE HANDS.

Steadman: WE WERE ABLE
TO DETECT QUALITY PROFILES

FROM THE SAMPLE
THAT WAS COLLECTED

FROM JOSEPHINE OTERO'S SOCK,

AS WELL AS THE FINGERNAIL
SCRAPINGS FROM VICKI WEGERLE.

Narrator: FINALLY POLICE HAVE
A GENETIC SNAPSHOT OF BTK.

BUT STEADMAN HAS DONE
ALL SHE CAN.

Steadman: AT THAT POINT
THE DNA TECHNOLOGY ITSELF

HAD DONE EVERYTHING THAT
IT COULD TO SOLVE THIS CRIME.

WE NEEDED TO FIGURE OUT
WHO THIS PROFILE MATCHED.

Narrator: THEY HAVE ONE HOPE...

CODIS.

CODIS STANDS FOR
"COMBINED DNA INDEX SYSTEM"...

A DIRECTORY OF DNA TEST RESULTS
FROM OFFENDERS.

FOR YEARS,
LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES

HAVE BEEN BUILDING
THIS DATABASE.

BY 2004, CODIS CONTAINS

MORE THAN A MILLION AND A HALF
PROFILES.

AND INVESTIGATORS HOPE
BTK IS IN THERE.

Steadman:
SO WE ENTERED THE SAMPLES
INTO THE DNA DATABASE

TO BE COMPARED TO SAMPLES

THAT WERE PREPARED
BY OTHER LABORATORIES.

Narrator: BUT CODIS IS NO HELP.

Landwehr: WE KNEW THAT
OUR KILLER WAS ONE PERSON,

AND WE KNOW THAT WE HAVE
NO OTHER UNSOLVED CASES

THAT HAVE BEEN SUBMITTED TO
CODIS COME UP WITH THE SAME DNA.

Narrator: AND THAT'S
ALL THEY KNOW.

UNLESS BTK KILLS AGAIN,
OR IDENTIFIES HIMSELF,

POLICE HAVE NO WAY
TO GET ON HIS TRAIL.

IT'S NOVEMBER 1986
IN LEICESTERSHIRE, ENGLAND.

FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER,
POLICE HERE

JUST USED DNA PROFILING
IN A CRIMINAL CASE.

BUT INSTEAD OF FINDING
A KILLER...

THE TEST EXONERATES
THE LONE SUSPECT

IN THE MURDERS OF LYNDA MANN
AND DAWN ASHWORTH.

Baker: WE WERE THEN FACED WITH
"WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO NOW?"

Narrator: INVESTIGATORS FEEL
THAT SOMEONE IN THEIR AREA

MUST MATCH THEIR DNA PROFILE.

SO THEY PUSH THE BOUNDARIES
OF THE REVOLUTIONARY NEW TOOL.

Baker: IT WAS DECIDED THEN
THAT WE WOULD USE THE DNA

AND WE WOULD BLOOD TEST
EVERYBODY

THAT LIVED IN
THE THREE VILLAGES.

Narrator: IN A WORLDWIDE FIRST,

POLICE LAUNCH A DNA DRAGNET
ACROSS LEICESTERSHIRE.

OFFICERS ASK ALL MALE RESIDENTS
AGES 17 TO 34

TO PROVIDE A BLOOD SAMPLE.

SINCE THEY KNOW THE KILLER'S
BLOOD IS TYPE "A,"

ANYONE WITH ANOTHER BLOOD TYPE
IS HOME FREE.

Gill: THAT WAS ABLE TO ELIMINATE

THREE QUARTERS
OF THESE SUSPECTS,

LEAVING 1,000 INDIVIDUALS TO BE
ANALYZED BY DNA PROFILING.

Narrator: IT'S STILL
A MASSIVE UNDERTAKING.

Gill: IN THOSE DAYS IT WOULD
TAKE US MAYBE TWO WEEKS

TO GENERATE A DNA PROFILE.

IT WAS A VERY ARCHAIC METHOD,
VERY, VERY LABOR INTENSIVE,

VERY LENGTHY, VERY EXPENSIVE.

AND AT THE TIME,

THERE WAS ONLY A HANDFUL
OF PEOPLE IN THE WHOLE WORLD

WHO WERE ABLE TO RUN
THIS TECHNIQUE.

Narrator: FORENSIC SCIENCE HAS
GIVEN INVESTIGATORS ANSWERS...

BUT NOT THE ONES
THEY WERE LOOKING FOR.

NOT ONE OF THE PROFILES

MATCHES THE KILLER OF LYNDA MANN
AND DAWN ASHWORTH.

THEN, A LUCKY BREAK!

OUT OF THE BLUE,
A WOMAN PHONES THE POLICE.

Baker: SHE'D BEEN
IN THIS PUBLIC HOUSE

WITH A PARTY OF PEOPLE
FROM HER WORK.

AND DURING THE CONVERSATION
ONE OF THE PARTY,

A MAN NAMED KELLY,
CAME UP WITH THE FACT

THAT HE HAD TAKEN
THE BLOOD SAMPLE

FOR SOMEBODY ELSE.

Narrator:
OFFICERS QUESTION KELLY,

AND HE SAYS A FRIEND
PAID HIM 200 POUNDS

TO TAKE THE TEST IN HIS PLACE.

Baker: HE WAS A MAN NAMED
PITCHFORK.

Narrator: COLIN PITCHFORK IS 27.

A BAKERY WORKER
AND A FATHER OF TWO,

HE LIVES IN NEARBY LITTLETHORPE.

Baker: QUITE CLEARLY IF KELLY
HAD GIVEN PITCHFORK'S BLOOD,

THERE WAS TROUBLE AFOOT.

Wambaugh: THEY CHECKED
PITCHFORK'S RECORD;

FOUND OUT THAT HE DID HAVE
A RECORD FOR INDECENT EXPOSURE.

Narrator: ON SEPTEMBER 19, 1987,
POLICE ARREST PITCHFORK AT HOME.

AFTER THREE FRUSTRATING YEARS,
POLICE MAY HAVE THEIR MAN.

TO PROVE IT,
THEY DEMAND A DNA SAMPLE

FROM PITCHFORK HIMSELF.

DNA RESULTS HAVE ALREADY SHOWN

THAT ONE MAN COMMITTED
THESE CRIMES.

IS THAT MAN COLIN PITCHFORK?

Baker: HIS WAS A COMPLETE MATCH

WITH THE SAMPLES LEFT BEHIND
ON LYNDA MANN AND DAWN ASHWORTH.

Gill: THE PROBABILITY
OF A CHANCE MATCH

WAS ONE IN MANY MILLIONS.

Narrator: IN 1988,
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY,

A COURT USES DNA TEST RESULTS
TO CONVICT A SUSPECT.

COLIN PITCHFORK IS SENTENCED
TO LIFE IN PRISON.

Baker: WE REALIZED
THAT THIS WAS SOMETHING

WHICH WAS GOING TO GO WORLDWIDE.

IT WAS A TECHNIQUE
WHICH COULDN'T BE IGNORED.

Gill: THE IMPACT
OF THE PITCHFORK CASE

ACTUALLY LAID THE GROUNDWORK

TO THE WHOLE OF THE FUTURE
OF DNA PROFILING.

Narrator: DNA PROFILING
ROCKED LAW ENFORCEMENT.

NOW ALMOST ANY TRACE
A CRIMINAL LEFT

COULD LEAD TO IDENTIFICATION.

Gill: WE CAN GET DNA PROFILES
FROM ALL KINDS OF BODY FLUIDS...

BLOOD, SEMEN, SALIVA.

WE CAN GET DNA FROM
DEAD SKIN CELLS, FOR EXAMPLE.

SO IT'S AN EXTREMELY POWERFUL
METHOD AND TECHNIQUE.

Narrator: IN 1993,
DNA HELPS IDENTIFY THE REMAINS

OF RUSSIA'S LAST CZAR
AND HIS FAMILY...

75 YEARS AFTER THEY WERE
EXECUTED BY REVOLUTIONARIES.

DNA ALSO GIVES HOPE TO THOSE
WRONGLY ACCUSED AND CONVICTED.

IN 1993, DNA UNSHACKLES
KIRK BLOODSWORTH,

THE FIRST DEATH ROW INMATE
SET FREE BY SUCH EVIDENCE.

AND EVEN WHEN DNA
FAILS TO NAIL O.J. SIMPSON

FOR KILLING HIS EX-WIFE
AND A FRIEND,

IT'S NOT THE SCIENCE
THAT'S QUESTIONED,

BUT RATHER THE HANDLING
OF THE EVIDENCE.

BY 2004, POLICE
IN THE U.S. ALONE

HAVE USED DNA IN AT LEAST 20,000
CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS.

AND IN WICHITA, KANSAS,
OFFICERS ON THE BTK CASE

HOPE TO ADD AN ENTRY
TO THAT LIST.

BTK WAS MURDEROUSLY METICULOUS.

NONE OF THE EVIDENCE HE LEFT
COULD LINK HIM TO HIS CRIMES...

AT THE TIME!

BUT NOW THE POLICE
HAVE BTK'S DNA!

UNFORTUNATELY,
THEY DON'T HAVE A SUSPECT,

SO THEY CAN'T TRY IT
FOR A MATCH.

THEY FEAR HE'LL KILL AGAIN.

SO THEY DO AS BRITISH POLICE DID

IN THE PITCHFORK CASE
IN THE 1980s...

RUN A DNA DRAGNET.

DNA SAMPLING IS NO LONGER
A MATTER OF NEEDLES AND BLOOD.

THE SCIENCE HAS EVOLVED SO MUCH

THAT ORDINARY SALIVA
DOES VERY NICELY.

Relph: SO WE SWABBED POLICEMEN,
WE SWABBED NEWS PEOPLE.

WE SWABBED AUTHORS OF BOOKS.

ANYBODY THAT IN THE PAST HAD
DEMONSTRATED A KNOWLEDGE OF BTK,

THEY WERE SWABBED ALSO.

DNA BECAME THE CORNERSTONE.

Landwehr: WE TOOK 1,326 SWABS
IN THAT 11 MONTHS.

Narrator:
WHEN MEN WON'T GIVE SAMPLES,
OFFICERS SHADOW THEM.

Steadman: SO WHAT THEY WOULD DO
IS FOLLOW THOSE INDIVIDUALS

UNTIL THEY DISCARDED
SOME BIOLOGICAL MATERIAL,

FOR EXAMPLE, A CIGARETTE BUTT
ON THE STREET,

AND THEY WOULD COLLECT IT

AND SUBMIT THOSE SAMPLES
TO OUR LABORATORY.

WE WOULD GET BATCHES
OF 25, 50 SAMPLES AT A TIME

AND JUST STAY HERE
AS LONG AS WE COULD

TO PROCESS AS MANY AS WE COULD.

WITH EVERY BATCH THAT CAME
OFF OF THAT ANALYZER

WE WOULD JUST HOPE THAT
SOMETHING IN THERE WOULD MATCH.

Narrator: THE LAB CHECKS EVERY
SAMPLE AGAINST BTK'S PROFILE...

AND NOTHING.

Steadman: YOU BEGIN TO WONDER

IF YOU'RE GOING TO WORK
ON THIS CASE

FOR THE REST OF YOUR
ENTIRE CAREER.

I MEAN, IT WAS LIKE
IT WAS NEVER GOING TO END.

Narrator: PRESSURE IS MOUNTING.

BTK COULD KILL AGAIN.

DNA ALONE MAY NOT
BRING HIM TO GROUND.

SO THE AUTHORITIES APPEAL
TO HIS WARPED EGO.

Hatteberg: THE ONE THING
BTK LIKED WAS PUBLICITY.

HE LIVED ON PUBLICITY.

Narrator: AND LOCAL MEDIA
PLAY ALONG.

Landwehr: WE HAVE ASCERTAINED
THAT IT ALSO IS FROM BTK...

I WOULD DO A TOTAL
OF 22 PRESS RELEASES

IN THE NEXT 11 MONTHS,

BASICALLY TALKING TO BTK
TO TRY TO KEEP HIM TALKING

AND BE INTERESTED
IN OUR INVESTIGATION.

Narrator: THE TACTIC WORKS.

Landwehr: THE FEDERAL BUREAU
OF INVESTIGATION HAS CONFIRMED

THAT A LETTER RECEIVED
BY KAKE TV

AND TURNED OVER TO
THE WICHITA POLICE DEPARTMENT

ON WEDNESDAY, MAY 5,

IS AN AUTHENTIC
BTK COMMUNICATION...

Relph: WELL, YOU NEVER REALLY
GOT TIME TO BREATHE

BECAUSE EVERY FIVE TO SIX WEEKS

ANOTHER COMMUNICATION
WOULD COME.

Narrator: THE POLICE
ARE BETTING BIG.

AND BTK UPS THE ANTE.

Hatteberg: AND THIS TIME
IT WAS MUCH MORE PERSONAL.

HE WAS READY TO MURDER AGAIN.

Landwehr: HE WAS NOW
THREATENING CHILDREN.

ALMOST ALL HIS COMMUNICATIONS

WOULD INDICATE THAT HE WAS GOING
TO KILL A CHILD.

THAT IF HE KILLED AGAIN
AND IT WAS A CHILD,

WE WOULD BLAME OURSELVES.

Narrator: FOR THREE DECADES,
INVESTIGATORS

HAVE TRIED AND FAILED
TO CAPTURE THE NOTORIOUS BTK.

THEY HAVE A DNA PROFILE...

BUT NO ONE TO COMPARE IT WITH.

Relph: ANYONE WHO'S EVER PUT ON

THE WICHITA POLICE DEPARTMENT
UNIFORM

HAS WANTED AN OPPORTUNITY
TO CATCH BTK.

THERE ARE MEN
THAT IN THEIR DEATHBED

WERE REVIEWING STORIES
OF THIS CASE

TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHO HE WAS.

Narrator: IT SEEMS
NO ONE EVER WILL.

THEN BTK SLIPS UP.

HE SENDS YET ANOTHER LETTER...

AND WITH IT,
A KIND OF DIGITAL DNA...

A COMPUTER DISK!

ALONG WITH THE CONTENT
THEY PRODUCE,

COMPUTERS COMMUNICATE METADATA,
INVISIBLE BUT TRACEABLE CODES.

AND ONE KEYSTROKE REVEALS
A MAJOR CLUE.

Relph: THE METADATA INDICATED

WHO THE MICROSOFT WORD PROGRAM
HAD BEEN LICENSED TO.

IT JUST GAVE A FIRST NAME.

Narrator: THE NAME IS DENNIS.

THE DISK ALSO GIVES A LOCATION.

IT'S NOWHERE ANYONE EXPECTED
TO FIND BTK.

Relph: THAT DISC HAD BEEN
IN CHRIST LUTHERAN CHURCH

AT 53rd AND HILLSIDE
IN WICHITA, KANSAS.

AND THE ONLY DENNIS
WITHIN THAT CONGREGATION

WAS THE LAY CONGREGATION,
A GUY NAMED DENNIS RADER.

Narrator: DENNIS RADER
HARDLY FITS THE IMAGE

OF THE VICIOUS SERIAL KILLER.

Hatteberg: HE WAS WORKING
IN PARK CITY

AS BASICALLY A DOGCATCHER,
A CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER.

HE WAS JUST THE GUY NEXT DOOR.

LIVED A NORMAL LIFE
IN A NORMAL NEIGHBORHOOD,

HAD CHILDREN, HAD A WIFE,

AND THAT WAS THE MOST DIFFICULT
PART OF ALL

FOR EVERYBODY TO ACCEPT,

THAT HE WAS A NORMAL GUY
DOING MONSTROUS THINGS.

Narrator: THE TASK FORCE
IS READY TO TAKE RADER DOWN.

BUT HE MIGHT SUSPECT
THEY HAVE HIS DNA.

SO BEFORE THEY MAKE A MOVE,

INVESTIGATORS WANT TO PROVE
RADER IS BTK,

WITHOUT TIPPING HIM OFF.

Landwehr: WE WANTED TO BE SURE.

THE ONE WAY WE COULD DO THAT
IS TO GET HIS DNA.

WE KNEW THAT IF WE
ASKED HIM DIRECTLY

HE WOULD TURN US DOWN.

FOLLOWING HIM AND TRYING TO GET
A DNA SAMPLE THAT WAY

WOULD BE VERY DIFFICULT...

Narrator: BUT DNA CROSSES
GENERATIONS.

IF RADER IS A FATHER,
HIS OFFSPRING HAVE HIS DNA.

Landwehr: SO WE DID RESEARCH
ON HIS FAMILY

AND FOUND OUT THAT HE HAD
TWO CHILDREN.

ONE OF THOSE CHILDREN
WAS A 24-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER.

AND WE WERE ABLE TO OBTAIN,
BY COURT ORDER,

A BIOLOGICAL SAMPLE THAT SHE HAD
FROM HER GYNECOLOGIST.

Narrator: FAMILIAL DNA TESTING
IS OFTEN USED IN COURT CASES

ON IMMIGRATION STATUS
AND PATERNITY.

NOW IT MIGHT HELP CAPTURE
A MONSTER.

Lisa Burdett: YOU GET
HALF YOUR DNA FROM YOUR MOM

AND THE OTHER HALF
FROM YOUR DAD.

AND BECAUSE OF THAT WE CAN THEN
LOOK AT A SAMPLE

THAT WE THINK IS
A SUSPECTED OFFSPRING

TO ANOTHER SAMPLE
AND DO A COMPARISON.

Narrator: A WARRANT
CLEARS THE WAY FOR POLICE

TO OBTAIN THE DAUGHTER'S
PAP SMEAR.

AND THE SAMPLE GOES

TO THE KANSAS BUREAU OF
INVESTIGATION FORENSIC LAB.

Burdett: THERE WERE
A SIGNIFICANT SHIFT

IN THE PRIORITY OF DOING SAMPLES

WHEN WE RECEIVED THAT PARTICULAR
PAP SMEAR SLIDE.

WE STAYED WITH IT UNTIL
WE WERE DONE WITH IT.

Narrator: THE RESULTS
ARE UNDENIABLE.

Burdett: THE FATHER
OF THAT PAP SMEAR

WAS THE INDIVIDUAL WHO LEFT
THAT DNA AT THE CRIME SCENE.

Narrator: AND THAT
IS DENNIS RADER.

ON FEBRUARY 25, 2005,

RADER IS DRIVING HOME FOR LUNCH
WHEN POLICE CATCH HIM.

AND INTERROGATORS ASK HIM
TO PROVIDE A DNA SAMPLE.

Burdett: AND HE ENDED UP
MATCHING.

Narrator: EVEN AFTER 20 YEARS
OF PAINFUL SILENCE...

NO NEW WITNESSES, EVIDENCE
OR CRIME SCENES...

POLICE HAVE THE PROOF THEY NEED.

DNA IS ABSOLUTELY DEFINITIVE.

Burdett:
THE PROBABILITY OF SELECTING
AN UNRELATED INDIVIDUAL

AT RANDOM IN THE POPULATION

WOULD BE ONE IN 23 QUADRILLION.

Narrator: IN THOSE 20 YEARS

THE ARCS OF JUSTICE AND SCIENCE
HAVE INTERSECTED.

ONCE, A SEMEN SAMPLE MIGHT BE
GOOD FOR FINDING BLOOD TYPE...

HARDLY THE STUFF OF CONVICTIONS.

NOW, APPLYING NEW TECHNIQUES
TO DECADES-OLD EVIDENCE...

POLICE IN KANSAS HAVE USED
A MURDERER'S OWN DNA

TO PUT HIM AWAY.

Landwehr: NOW WE KNOW
THAT WE HAVE EVIDENCE

THAT'S IRREFUTABLE,
THAT IT'S HIM.

Narrator: AND DENNIS RADER
KNOWS IT.

Landwehr: AT THAT POINT IN TIME
HE ASKS ABOUT DNA.

I EXPLAIN THAT WE HAVE IT
FROM HIS CHILDREN

AND THAT I KNOW
THAT IT'S GONNA BE HIM,

AND AT THAT TIME HE ADMITS
THAT HE'S BTK.

Narrator: THE ADMISSION
UNCORKS SOMETHING IN RADER.

FOR 30 HOURS, HE RECOUNTS,
IN SICK DETAIL,

EACH OF HIS HORRIFIC CRIMES.

Landwehr: WE HAD THE DNA,
WE HAD HIS CONFESSION,

IT WAS A SLAM DUNK
ON HIS CONVICTION.

Narrator: RADER PLEADS GUILTY.

THE JUDGE SENTENCES HIM
TO 10 CONSECUTIVE LIFE TERMS.

WITHOUT DNA, HE MIGHT STILL
BE OUT THERE.

Landwehr:
IT WAS A GREAT FEELING.

IT WAS RELIEF THAT THE PERSON
THAT HAD TERRORIZED WICHITA...

WE WEREN'T GONNA HAVE TO
WORRY ABOUT HIM ANYMORE.

Narrator: IN THE YEARS
SINCE THE BTK CONVICTION,

DNA HAS CLOSED
THOUSANDS OF CASES.

AND THE FORENSIC TOOL CHEST
CONTINUES TO EVOLVE.

Butler: ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING
THINGS, I THINK,

IS TRYING TO MAKE
THE PROCESS FASTER.

SO RIGHT NOW THE OVERALL PROCESS
OF DNA TESTING

TAKES AROUND EIGHT TO TEN HOURS.

WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON WAYS TO BE
ABLE TO REDUCE THAT PROCESS

TO ABOUT 20 MINUTES OR LESS.

Narrator: SOMEDAY A DNA TEST
MAY TAKE NO MORE TIME OR TROUBLE

THAN A LICENSE CHECK.

SOON SCIENTISTS MAY BE ABLE
TO GENERATE A DNA PROFILE

FROM A TRACE OF SWEAT
LEFT BEHIND

ON A PALM OR FINGERPRINT.

AS THE SCIENCE EVOLVES,
ITS POWER GROWS EXPONENTIALLY.

NOW, A DNA PROFILE IS SIMPLY
A SET OF MARKERS.

SOMEDAY IT COULD BE LIKE
A POLICE ARTIST'S SKETCH.

Burdett: YOU COULD TEST
A DNA STRAND

AND GIVE A DESCRIPTION OF
THEIR PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

THAT WOULD BE UNIQUE ENOUGH

TO PICK SOMEBODY UP
OUT OF A LINEUP.

Narrator: BUT HARD FACTS REMAIN.

FORENSIC SCIENCE IS AN ART,

AND TOOLS ARE ONLY AS GOOD
AS THE PEOPLE USING THEM.

Gill: IT'S NOT AS
STRAIGHTFORWARD AS SAYING,

"WELL, WE'VE GOT A DNA PROFILE,

THEREFORE HE COMMITTED
THE CRIME."

THERE HAS TO BE
SOMETHING ELSE THERE

TO CORROBORATE THE DNA EVIDENCE.

WE TEND TO THINK OF IT
IN ISOLATION,

BUT THAT'S CLEARLY WRONG.

Narrator:
THIS REVOLUTIONARY METHOD
REMADE FORENSIC SCIENCE...

USING TECHNOLOGY TO TIP
THE SCALES OF LIFE AND DEATH

TOWARD JUSTICE.

Gill: WELL, I THINK
WE'VE ACTUALLY MADE

A HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT
BREAKTHROUGH IN THIS.

WE CAN TRULY SAY THAT THE
TECHNIQUE REALLY HAS TAKEN OFF

AND BECOME A WORLDWIDE
PHENOMENON NOW.

Landwehr: IT'S ONLY GONNA
GET BETTER.

WE'RE GONNA...

THIS HAS CHANGED SO MUCH
IN THE LAST 12 YEARS,

20 YEARS SINCE
WE'VE HAD DNA NOW,

IT'S ONLY GONNA GET BETTER.