Rotorua police are using a breakthrough in forensic technology to try to catch a sex offender.
The technique, known as LCN (low copy number), has been available in New Zealand for less than a year.
It can result in DNA profiles being developed from the smallest of samples, such as hairs and flakes of skin.
The technique was previously only carried out in the United Kingdom but has been used by Environment Science and Research in New Zealand for the past 12 months.
It has helped in the recent convictions of Glenn McNeill for the murder of Norfolk Island hotel manager Janelle Patton and Michael Wallace for the murder of German tourist Birgit Brauer.
ESR has confirmed it now has a list of up to 50 unsolved New Zealand cases that it has drawn up with police where LCN will be used to hopefully shed light on the offenders.
Detective Senior Sergeant Mark Loper, of Rotorua, said no high-profile Rotorua cold cases were part of the list. However, police were using LCN to help catch someone suspected of sexually assaulting a person in Rotorua in the past 18 months.
Mr Loper didn't want to go into detail about the case or when it had happened, saying only that police hoped the LCN results would help "corroborate" their case.
"They are able to use this technology to identify the DNA and they only need the smallest of amounts in the sample to detect it."
Mr Loper said he hoped to have results in a couple of months.
He admitted the breakthrough in technology was thrilling for police who were finding it hard to crack cases.
"It is exciting. It gives us another tool."
The new technology could be used in the future to help Rotorua police find a killer for Rotorua teenager Olive Walker.
The 18-year-old's body was found nearly 5km south of Rotorua. She had been raped and was badly beaten.
Detective Sergeant George Staunton, who now had the file for the case, said there was forensic evidence but the case was not one of the 50 ESR was currently working on.
"But that's on the money. It could be part of this [using LCN]. We'll just have to wait and see."
Olive's Rotorua sister, Mary Dillon, said the family were not pinning their hopes on anything anymore.
"It's been 37 years now down the track. It's worn off with us. If it happens it happens, if it doesn't, it doesn't. There is nothing more we can do."
ESR and the police are not disclosing which cases are among the 50 being looked at.
Media reports at the weekend said some of the cases could include Olive Walker, 23-year-old Marie Jamieson, who was found dead behind an engineering factory in West Auckland, 14-year-old Kirsa Jensen, who disappeared while riding her horse south of Napier and 15-year-old Kirsty Bentley, whose body was found in the Rakai Gorge 40km from her Ashburton home.
Marie Jamieson's parents live in Ohope and other immediate family live in Rotorua.
Detective Sergeant Murray Free of the Henderson police told the Daily Post Marie's case wouldn't be among the top 50 because police already had DNA evidence.
"We already have a DNA profile that we have not been able to marry up with someone. We have still got it sitting there so hopefully it will come up at some stage."
ESR forensic programme manager Keith Bedford couldn't comment on how much the testing cost because ESR had a commercial agreement with police, but he said it was "in the thousands". He said it cost between five and 10 times more than standard DNA testing. However, he said it was a lot cheaper than sending the samples to the United Kingdom.
He said testing was a "painstaking" process because the laboratories had to be thoroughly cleaned and sterilised each time - meaning scientists only managed to do about one a week and results were often not known for months.
New test may help nab sex offender
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.