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French police don’t know who to charge after DNA evidence leads to arrest of identical twins over sexual assaults
Police hunting a serial rapist in the French city of Marseille have used DNA evidence to arrest two men, but are unable to say which is the culprit because the pair are genetically identical.
After tracking down a suspect with help from video surveillance and a victim’s traceable cellphone, investigators discovered he lived with his identical twin brother, and now face the prospect of lengthy and expensive scientific testing to distinguish between their genetic codes, if that is even possible.
Identified only as Yohan and Elwin, 24-year-old brothers of mixed ethnicity, the suspects deny assaulting six women, aged 22 to 76, between September and January. The victims identified their attacker from photographs, but could not tell the brothers apart.
“It’s a rather rare case for the alleged perpetrators to be identical twins,” said Emmanuel Kiehl, the chief investigator in the case. “We must determine the exact role of each one.” (Fotolia)
‘Beyond reasonable doubt’: King Richard III’s remains found buried beneath England parking lot
He wore the English crown, but he ended up defeated, humiliated and reviled. Now things are looking up for King Richard III. Scientists announced Monday that they had found the monarch’s 500-year-old remains under a parking lot in the city of Leicester — a discovery Richard’s fans say will rewrite the history books.
University of Leicester researchers say tests on a battle-scarred skeleton unearthed last year prove “beyond reasonable doubt” that it is the king, who died at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, and whose remains have been missing for centuries.
“Richard III, the last Plantaganet King of England, has been found,” said the university’s deputy registrar, Richard Taylor. (AP Photo/ University of Leicester)
Harvard scientist looking for surrogate to clone Neanderthal baby using ancient DNA
A Harvard scientist has said it would be possible to clone a Neanderthal baby from ancient DNA if he could find a woman willing to act as a surrogate.
The process would not be legal in many countries and would involve using DNA extracted from fossils.
George Church, a genetics professor of Harvard School of Medicine, said that the process was possible and that Neanderthals were intelligent beings. (PATRICK BERNARD/AFP/Getty Images)
Another severed foot found in Pacific Northwest: The RCMP will share information with police in Washington state after a small floating foot was found on the shoreline of the city of Tacoma. The detached right foot — which is the 10th to be found washed ashore in the Pacific Northwest since 2007 — was found on Dec. 5, encased in a boy’s Size 6 hiking boot. (Graphic by Richard Johnson)
