Signs of Optimism at Troubled Crime Lab

Continued efforts aim to right past wrongdoings at the DNA lab

"...849 of their backlogged kits in April. But the crime lab saga is far from over. As APD works..."

Sept. 15, 2017 News Feature by Sarah Marloff

Crime Lab Chronicles

City memo updates on troubled DNA lab's progress

"...what to do with the Austin Police Department's forensics lab. In a memo sent to the mayor and City..."

Aug. 24, 2018 News Feature by Sarah Marloff

Progress Being Made at APD Crime Lab

Number of untested rape kits continues to fall

"...Finally, real progress is being made toward clearing the..."

Aug. 7, 2017 News Post by Sarah Marloff

The Future of Austin’s Crime Lab

The backlog of DNA evidence is moving, but is it shrinking?

"...Austin Police Department announced the shutdown of its DNA lab due to poorly trained staff and the use of..."

Dec. 2, 2016 News Feature by Sarah Marloff

Crime Lab Cover-Up?

APD admits to long-running wrongdoings with its evidence

"...late-afternoon Friday news dump kind of thing: The department's crime lab, shuttered since June after consultation with the Texas..."

Sept. 23, 2016 News Feature by Chase Hoffberger

Did Failures at APD’s Crime Lab Lead to Sexual Assaults in Houston?

Rape case goes unprosecuted due to contaminated DNA evidence

"...rape responsible in part for shutting down Austin Police's crime lab was, until Tuesday, in custody in Harris County,..."

Oct. 7, 2016 News Feature by Chase Hoffberger

Crime Lab: Evidence of Improvement?

Audits on active forensic labs expected to begin before July's end

"...year after the Austin Police Department shuttered its DNA lab due to out-of-date procedures and unqualified analysts, department officials..."

July 21, 2017 News Feature by Sarah Marloff

Another Charge of Negligence at APD's Crime Lab

"...A former employee of the Austin Police Department crime lab has filed a formal complaint with Travis County..."

Jan. 20, 2012 News Feature by Jordan Smith

APD Shuts Down Effort to Reopen Crime Lab

Interim Chief Manley: "We recognize the failure in our lab. We're taking responsibility, and pushing forward."

"...all operations geared toward reopening its DNA and Serology lab, Interim Police Chief Brian Manley announced in a press..."

Dec. 23, 2016 News Feature by Sarah Marloff

Progress Being Made at APD Crime Lab

Number of untested rape kits continues to fall

"...Progress at APD Crime Lab..."

Aug. 11, 2017 News Feature by Sarah Marloff

Audits Ahead for APD Crime Labs

Forensics lab to onboard new director, plus SARRT letter

"...year after the Austin Police Department shuttered its DNA lab due to out-of-date procedures and unqualified analysts, department officials..."

July 17, 2017 News Post by Sarah Marloff

Judges: Move the Lab out of APD!

Court judiciary pens memo to Council, county commissioners

"...Monday unanimously recommending that the city’s currently shuttered forensics lab – currently run by the Austin Police Department –..."

Dec. 6, 2016 News Post by Sarah Marloff

DNA Lab to Reopen?

Council will consider a plan to hand over APD's lab to DPS

"...the Department of Public Safety that would reopen APD’s crime lab after nearly a year of inactivity...."

March 16, 2017 News Post by Sarah Marloff

APD's DNA Lab Shutters

Department must change its operating procedures

"...will operate without the use of its own DNA lab for the next four to six months. As the..."

June 17, 2016 News Feature by Chase Hoffberger

Scene of the Crime

Revisiting the yogurt shop murders: A cold case reconsideration of the 1991 crime points away from the prosecution's assumptions and conclusions

"...against the only two men ever tried for the crime, Robert Springsteen and Michael Scott. "Make no mistake, this..."

Dec. 16, 2011 News Feature by Jordan Smith

July Is Crime Month: The Crime Blotter, Week 4

A curated guide to unlawful activities around town July 23-31

"...Since July is Crime Month at the Chronicle, the ruffians and reprobates at..."

July 23, 2018 Arts Post by Robert Faires

SXSW Film Review: Oculus VR for Good Creators Lab

Cultivating empathy through immersive film shorts

"...and educate as well. Oculus VR for Good Creators Lab showcases three unique examples of how VR film can..."

March 14, 2018 SXSW Post by Beth Sullivan

Justice for HPD Lab Victim?

Josiah Sutton waits on state leaders to clear his name

"...by the now-infamous and recently reorganized Houston Police Department crime lab. Although Sutton was exonerated and released from jail,..."

April 16, 2004 News Feature by Jordan Smith

DNA Lab to Be Put Under Microscope

An upcoming audit of APD's lab could be just the beginning

"...next few weeks giving the Austin Police Department's DNA lab a once-over. Specifically, they're looking into the lab's use..."

July 16, 2010 News Feature by Jordan Smith

Naked City

Brandon Moon latest Texan exonerated by new DNA evidence

"...After spending 17 years behind bars for a crime he did not commit, former UT-El Paso student Brandon..."

Dec. 24, 2004 News Feature by Jordan Smith

Finally, Forensics Flies Free From APD

Council approves “decoupling” of police crime lab

"...Nearly five years after the Austin Police Department’s DNA crime lab was forced to shut down amid claims of..."

Feb. 10, 2021 News Post by Austin Sanders

Adventures in Copland

Oversight, accountability, and a shutdown of the crime lab

"...Crime Lab Conundrums..."

Dec. 29, 2017 News Feature by Sarah Marloff

Naked City

New claims of ineptitude put criminal convictions at risk

"...the fan again at the now-infamous Houston Police Department crime lab. In a report filed in Harris Co. district..."

Aug. 13, 2004 News Feature by Jordan Smith

The Cost of Clearing the Rape Kit Backlog

APD agrees to fund SAFE kit testing through pre-existing funds

"...for 482 kits to be tested at a private lab...."

Sept. 13, 2016 News Post by Chase Hoffberger

APD Knew About Moldy Rape Kits Back in April

Moldy rape kits a problem for prosecution, defense, survivors

"...held in that refrigerator. Signature Science – the local lab APD contracted to analyze incoming and backlogged DNA evidence..."

July 7, 2017 News Feature by Sarah Marloff

Life in Prison for Hemp

José Peña brought some roadside weeds home from Kansas. Cops decided it was reefer, and a Texas court sentenced him to life in prison – without the evidence. It took a decade for Peña to get back some of the pieces of his life.

"...his trial, officials with the Department of Public Safety lab in Waco, where the plants were taken for testing,..."

March 16, 2012 News Feature by Jordan Smith

What Happens to Rape Victims?

Sixteen months and nothing

"...slated for testing at the Austin Police Depart­ment's DNA lab that has remained unexamined since that lab shut down..."

Dec. 2, 2016 News Feature by Kathryn Lundstrom

Framing the Guilty?

Houston police thought they had their man – so the evidence was no problem

"...in Hughes' nearby apartment that police said matched the crime. Hughes was charged with capital murder, and seven months..."

Nov. 2, 2012 News Feature by Jordan Smith

Naked City

Headlines and happenings from Austin and beyond

"...after two years of effort, the APD Forensic Science Lab got its official certificate of accreditation from the American..."

Sept. 9, 2005 News Feature

Reasonable Doubt

Did misleading DNA analysis land an innocent man on death row?

"...presented eight days of evidence tying Perez to the crime scene. She exhibited photographs of Perez's fingerprints lifted from..."

April 29, 2016 News Feature by Chase Hoffberger

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