Investigators in the JonBenet Ramsey case believe that male DNA recovered from the slain child's underwear may not be critical evidence at all, and instead could have been left at the time of the clothing's manufacture.

In exploring that theory, investigators obtained unopened "control" samples of identical underwear manufactured at the same plant in Southeast Asia, tested them - and found human DNA in some of those new, unused panties.
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And, investigators know the DNA found in the underwear - white, with red rose buds and the word "Wednesday" inscribed on the elastic waist band - was not left by seminal fluid.
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And, wherever it came from, that investigator said, "We certainly don't think it is attributable to an assailant. That's our belief. When you take everything else in total, it doesn't make sense. I've always said this is not a DNA case. It's not hinging on DNA evidence."

In the couple's book about JonBenet's slaying, The Death of Innocence, John Ramsey called attention to the fact that the underwear DNA did not match anyone in the Ramsey family.

"The DNA from the stain found on JonBenet's underwear cannot be identified," he wrote. "The police have these test results, and we can only hope that they are checking all possible suspects against this genetic fingerprint.

On Monday, the Ramseys' attorney stopped short of making so firm a declaration.

"It's foreign DNA," said Lin Wood. "It's not the Ramseys' DNA, and I obviously think it's a very, very important piece of evidence."

Wood also pointed out that unidentified DNA was also recovered from beneath JonBenet's fingernails on both hands. But investigators have long said that contamination problems render those samples of little value.
The Ramseys' attorney scoffed at the notion that the underwear DNA might be traceable to the garment's production.
"That sounds like a pretty spectacularly imaginative theory to me," said Wood. Of Kane, he added, "I've never found Michael Kane to be objective."

brennanc@RockyMountainNews.com or (303) 892-2742

For full story see:
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/ramsey/article/0,1299,DRMN_1296_1554639,00.html

Beneath the long underwear are white panties with printed rose buds and the words "Wednesday" on the elastic waistband. The underwear is urine stained and in the inner aspect of the crotch are several red areas of staining measuring up to 0.5 inch in maximum dimension.

I find it unbelievalble that unidentified male DNA in found in the crotch of a sexually assaulted and murdered 6-year old girl's panties and under the fingernails of both her hands is considered unrelated to the crime!

I'd like to know--and have asked for years now--how many sexually assaulted & murdered children cases have found unidentified male DNA in their underwear that was unrelated to the crimes?

I guess the factory worker traveled to Boulder to cough on JonBenét's hands, too.

This BORG spin is really laughable - - or would be if it wasn't the reason a killer still walks free.

Did the underwear we are talking about come in hermetically sealed packaging? Was it with the panties for a week? or was it just by itself? Anyone know?

Also, suppose the panties were laden with DNA from the clerk/customer who sneezed into them like a handkerchief, and then JonBenet put them on, could the DNA be transferred that way to her fingernails?

Not that I think that is what happened but I am just imagining things.

We would still have the hair and the DNA under her nails.

Race to a geneticist is a very complex issue but surely this 'dna in the panties' is the ONLY case in history where a female is found raped and murdered and everyone goes to such great lengths to explain away male dna found on her corpse.

Isn't there a database of unidentified dna that was found in crime scenes? - I can't believe there wouldn't be. Dna is compared to a database of known sex criminals, it seems it would also be valuable info just to know that the same perp committed 2 different crimes, even if they don't know his identity.

Hair reveals race by microscopic examination though, so the pubic hair is known to be Caucasion.

Here's the latest story. Lin Wood is going to sue BPD by year's end.
http://www2.dailycamera.com/bdc/state_news/article/0,1713,BDC_2419_1557108,00.html

"Wood said the latest theory is another example of how investigators are out to get the Ramsey family.

Wood said he expects to file a civil lawsuit against the Boulder Police Department by the end of the year seeking compensatory damages for the Ramseys, and possibly seeking to transfer the investigation to another law enforcement agency. "

Just think of all the ramifications because some sick pervert got an idea one night....