Narrator: at one time, a used tissue was just trash.
Today, it's potential dna evidence.
New scientific discoveries are turning inconsequential items
Into vital pieces of forensic information.
This is how an alert pathologist and a piece of cartilage made
Scientific history.
On november , , dawn broke crisp and cold over anchorage,
Alaska.
The temperature was around zero degrees when a policeman on
Routine patrol discovered a body in a public park.
We didn't have anything.
We had no witnesses, nothing but the body as far as evidence
Goes.
No tracks as far as a vehicle or a person, or footprints,
Anything like that.
So, we had very, very little, and we were very concerned about
It.
Narrator: police took her fingerprints and ran them
Through afis, the automated fingerprint identification
System, which compared them to millions of prints in a
Nationwide database.
The victim was identified as -year-old kathryn harms.
A background check indicated kathryn harms, known as "kat,"
Had recently moved to anchorage from juneau, the state capital,
Where she was employed by the tongass national park service.
Kathryn told friends she moved to anchorage to be closer to her
-Year-old son.
We not only just barely identified her, but we had no
Idea where she was living, no idea what lifestyle she had
Except from the background in juneau.
We had no idea who would want to hurt her like that.
Kathryn harms had been staying with friends, moving
From place to place with no steady address in the months
Prior to her m*rder.
Narrator: when informed of her death, kathryn's parents
Told police about a chilling phone message they received from
Her two nights before the m*rder.
Narrator: the autopsy revealed the cause of death was
A s*ab wound to the chest.
There was no blood around the wound, which told the medical
Examiner her position when att*cked.
She was probably in a prone position where she was laying on
Her back at the time she was stabbed.
Narrator: surprisingly, she had no defensive wounds.
An individual who's being att*cked with a knife will
Attempt to fend off that knife.
It may cause cuts in the hands or on the forearms, and we
Didn't find any of those kinds of defensive wounds on the hands
Or forearms of the decedent.
Narrator: she had also been beaten before her death -- an
Indication kathryn knew her attacker.
It was overkill, really.
And subsequently, it looked like a body that was done out of
Anger, not just for the purpose of k*lling her.
And we suspected that the victim knew the person that did it
Because of that.
Narrator: investigators learned that kathryn's
Ex-husband was not in alaska when she was m*rder*d and was
Ruled out as a suspect.
Two days later, the <span tts:fontstyle="italic">anchorage</span> <span tts:fontstyle="italic"> daily news</span>printed a story
Asking anyone with information about the victim to come
Forward.
And several did, including one person living over , miles
Away.
Narrator: when news of kathryn harms' m*rder was
Released to the public, a man called police with some
Important information.
He said kathryn came over to his apartment a few nights earlier.
He said she was high on dr*gs and spent the night and left the
Next morning in a taxi, although he didn't know where she lived.
With this information, police called the alaska cab company to
Find out where kathryn went.
The cab driver said he picked up the victim and transported
Her back to the spenard hotel, room , where a female came out
And took her into room .
Narrator: room was occupied by a woman named
Maureen malloy, who lived there with her two children.
When interviewed by police, malloy said kathryn was a friend
Who had been staying with her until she found a place of her
Own.
She said that, yes, kathryn harms was living with
Her, but she was causing a lot of trouble, she was using dr*gs,
And actually engaging in prostitution in her room.
She had children there and maureen couldn't have that, so
She told her she had to leave.
Narrator: malloy said a hotel clerk helped carry kathryn to
Her car.
She said kathryn was high on dr*gs, but other than that, was
Fine.
Her skin was clammy and cold, but she was definitely alive.
The clerks agreed that the woman was not stabbed.
There was no blood on her body.
She was definitely passed out.
There was no way she was gonna get up and walk away.
Narrator: malloy planned to take kathryn to another friend's
Home, but they never got there.
At tudor and arctic, a major intersection several miles away
From the spenard hotel, kathryn harms had gotten up,
Jumped out of the car, and ran away into the night.
Narrator: police searched maureen malloy's hotel room and
Found no evidence of a struggle.
There were no bloody clothes, towels, sheets, or anything else
To indicate someone had been stabbed.
All they found were two tiny specks of blood near the
Floorboard on the living-room wall.
Dna testing matched the blood to kathryn harms, but it didn't
Help the case.
She was living in the apartment.
She could've cut herself and a spot of blood got on the wall
That way.
There are lots of different ways somebody can bleed, so it does
Not prove that she was beat in that apartment.
Narrator: toxicology tests from kathryn harms' autopsy
Revealed no alcohol or street dr*gs in her system, but the
Medical examiner found something very suspicious.
We found very high levels of flexeril in the gastric
Contents, indicating that she had been given a dose or an
Overdose of flexeril in the recent past.
Narrator: flexeril is a prescription drug used to
Relieve muscle spasms, but when taken in excess, it can have the
Opposite effect.
One of the unusual side effects would be a rigidity of
The muscles in the sense as if every muscle in the body was
Tensed up or held rigid.
Narrator: this explains why kathryn harms was cold and
Somewhat rigid when the hotel clerk carried her out to
Maureen malloy's car.
Without additional evidence, the case was turning cold, until
Police got a break from an unlikely place.
A woman living , miles away in seattle, washington, called
Police because she had seen the article about the m*rder in the
Anchorage newspaper.
It was one of a number of items in a package mailed to her from
A friend in anchorage.
She said she had received a cardboard box from
Maureen malloy.
Narrator: inside the box were kathryn harms' driver's license,
The newspaper article, some jewelry, a knife, and this
Handwritten note.
Hey woman, please burn all the contents of this box.
This is very important, and many lives are on the line.
This would be a great favor, and in all the world, I trust only
You.
The woman from seattle told me she wanted nothing to do with
This.
She didn't feel right about it, and so she thought she better
Call the police.
Narrator: the knife appeared to be clean.
Investigators wanted to know whether this was the w*apon used
To k*ll kathryn harms.
Narrator: the package of items maureen malloy mailed to
Seattle was sent to the forensic lab for testing.
Malloy's note asked her friend to destroy all of the contents.
Forensic experts confirmed that maureen's fingerprints were on
The document.
What we were interested in was the knife.
It was a folding, buck-type knife, and we knew from the
Autopsy that the injuries would be consistent with the knife.
Narrator: to see if the knife blade contained anything of
Evidentiary value, investigators sent it to a forensic toolmark
Analyst.
The microscopic fine marks on each knife blade are random in
Nature.
They're a function of when the last time the knife blade was
Sharpened.
The irregularities in a knife blade are going to be different
In this knife, even compared to the next knife blade that was
Made at the factory on the assembly line.
Narrator: robert shem was confident he could find unique
Marks on the knife, but he had nothing to compare it to.
Then shem learned that the medical examiner, dr. Thompson,
Had done something unusual during the autopsy.
Instead of documenting the fatal wound by photography,
Dr. Thompson actually excised the section of the ribcage where
The wound occurred.
Oh, I believe dr. Thompson went beyond the call of duty.
I think it's because, as a younger, newer pathologist in
The field, he's much more progressive and much more open
To new ideas.
Narrator: the costal cartilage at the end of one rib
Clearly showed the s*ab wound.
The costal cartilage is very much like a low-density plastic
In that it cuts readily, and when it cuts, it has the
Consistency such that it can take the toolmarks quite well,
Surprisingly well.
Narrator: shem used a substance called microsil, a
Rubbery material that takes the shape of anything to which it's
Applied.
It's used by toolmark examiners to preserve the very
Fine details that you'll see impressed in striated toolmarks,
So what we need is a material that will flow very well into
The toolmark and then harden in a short period of time, so that
We can do comparisons of these very fine marks.
Narrator: after the microsil hardened, shem peeled it from
The rib.
The question now was whether these marks were good enough to
Match the suspected m*rder w*apon.
To find out, shem took the knife and pressed it down into a hard
Piece of plastic.
This transferred the toolmarks from the suspected m*rder w*apon
To the plastic surface.
In this case here, it was important to find the exact
Angle at which the knife was used and then to replicate that
Angle into plastic, and then do that comparison.
Narrator: the process with the microsil was repeated, this
Time, along the newly cut surface of the plastic block.
When the mold was peeled away, shem wanted to see if it could
Be matched to the marks taken from the wound, so he placed
Both of the microsil molds under a comparison microscope.
At -times magnification, he was able to look at them
Side-by-side.
The toolmarks from the wound and maureen malloy's knife were
Identical.
In this particular case, the identification was pretty
Compelling, plus being a born skeptic, I find the concept of
Matching a tool, that is, a knife, back to a piece of the
Human body, to be pretty incredible.
Bob shem gave me a photograph of what he saw in his comparison
Microscope and that was probably one of the most powerful pieces
Of evidence I've ever presented in a courtroom.
Narrator: investigators found even more evidence inside
Maureen malloy's car.
They saw a very small smear of dried blood near the
Ignition-switch area.
Of course, that was swabbed, and those swabs were sent to the
State crime lab for dna analysis.
Those tests revealed that the blood on the ignition switch of
Malloy's car was, in fact, kathryn harms' blood.
Narrator: and they also found evidence in one of maureen's
Jackets.
Inside the right pocket, there was bloodstains.
That blood turned out to be kathryn harms' blood.
The stains were comparable to the dimensions of the knife that
We seized in the box.
Narrator: maureen malloy was arrested and charged with
First-degree m*rder.
The question haunting prosecutors now was, "what was
The motive?"
Narrator: maureen malloy denied any involvement in
Kathryn harms' m*rder.
My handwriting?
Your handwriting.
The note?
Yeah.
There's nothing about a knife in the note.
I didn't know about any knife.
She refused to talk about the knife.
She wouldn't say she owned it, she didn't own it.
She wouldn't say anything.
[ Indistinct talking ] you've got people to think
About, and you just...
I mean, we're all adults here.
We can read the writing on the wall.
That's what's happened, maureen.
Now, let's just stand tall.
Let's just tell it how it happened.
This don't come across like the cold-blooded bitch that you look
Like you are now.
I'm not.
I know you're not.
Don't tell me I don't care about my kids and that I just
Care about myself.
Just tell me what happened.
Tell me why you did what you did.
They go back and forth and back and forth, and it turns out
That malloy never comes off her story.
Finally, I ask her about the knife, and the toolmarks on the
Knife exactly matching the bone in the chest of my victim.
At that time she said she didn't want to talk anymore.
She wanted to see a lawyer.
Narrator: but prosecutors wondered why malloy would k*ll
Kathryn harms.
Carrie rundle, who was, at one time, malloy's roommate, told
Police that maureen had stolen a sizeable g*n collection and
Planned to sell it and live off of the proceeds.
She also said that malloy feared kathryn would expose her plans
To the police.
Rundle said she saw malloy put the drug flexeril in kathryn's
Food, thinking it would relax kathryn and get her to talk.
Maureen malloy thought she was a snitch.
I believe the v*olence occurred when she was trying to get
Kathryn harms to tell her who she had told and what she had
Told them.
I think at a certain point, though, the v*olence had been so
Excessive, that maureen realized she couldn't let kathryn go.
Narrator: the toxicology evidence shows that kathryn had
Been given an excessive amount of flexeril, which stiffened her
Muscles and caused the rigidity described by the hotel clerk.
Prosecutors believe malloy drove kathryn to the park, dumped her
Body, then stabbed her to death while she was unconscious.
Malloy then put the bloody knife in her coat pocket, leaving both
Kathryn's dna and the impression of the m*rder w*apon.
Malloy also left a tiny spot of kathryn's blood inside her car.
The forensic evidence proved that it was malloy's knife and
No other that left the distinctive toolmarks on
Kathryn's rib.
I really don't believe that maureen malloy thought that the
Police department, the crime lab, the medical examiner's
Office, would join together to create a team that would solve
This crime.
I think that maureen malloy figured nobody would spend this
Kind of effort.
You told him that kathryn...
Narrator: maureen malloy denied everything and took the
Stand in her own defense.
Who k*lled kathryn harms?
I wasn't there.
Who k*lled kathryn harms?
I was not there.
Narrator: she claimed that members of the local hell's
Angels motorcycle g*ng k*lled kathryn and planted the evidence
To frame her.
I did not do that to her, and they would do and say anything
To discredit me to cover for what they did in that room.
In closing argument, in front of the jury, I took the knife,
The m*rder w*apon, I took maureen malloy's leather jacket,
And I pulled out the pocket lining.
I took the knife and put it right on top of the area where
The crime lab had snipped the two fabric areas, and the knife
Fit right between those two areas like a glove.
I argued that the m*rder w*apon was in her pocket when it had
Liquid blood on it.
Narrator: the forensic science in this case was unique.
Only once or twice before had scientists been able to match a
s*ab wound to the specific knife with this type of analysis.
Looking at ribcages for toolmark comparison is a pretty
Rare examination for the examiner in a laboratory because
It's rare that we're going to have the conditions where we
Have both the ribs that are cut, that have a decent toolmark on
Them, and have a need to compare a knife to it.
Narrator: maureen malloy was found guilty and sentenced to
Years in prison.
I absolutely hate you, you worthless piece of flesh.
If you ever try to get out, I will be there as your constant
Reminder, and I will remind the state of alaska of the
Atrocities that you have committed against my sister.
I covered a lot of m*rder trials, and this one stuck with
Me for a long time because it just never made any sense.
At the end of it, I felt that I didn't know the whole story, and
I clearly remember the judge, at sentencing, saying that she did
Not feel that she could understand the motive for the
m*rder.
Narrator: jurors later told reporters that the toolmark
Comparison was exceptionally compelling.
Knowledge is power.
Forensic science puts power in the hands of the investigators
And it gives them the power to know the difference between what
Is definitely true and what they only think is true.
The forensic science in this case, specifically the matching
Of the toolmarks between the knife blade and the sternum bone
Of the victim, is invaluable.
That made the case.
Well, in this case forensic science was absolutely key.
Again, this is a case with no eyewitnesses, and yet, a
Prosecutor can go to the jury and say, "listen, ladies and
Gentlemen -- people lie.
Science doesn't."
In this case, the scientific evidence was irrefutable.
09x03 - In Harm's Way
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Documentary that reveals how forensic science is used to solve violent crimes, mysterious accidents, and outbreaks of illness.
Documentary that reveals how forensic science is used to solve violent crimes, mysterious accidents, and outbreaks of illness.