Hood latch swab

The **hood latch swab** was a swab taken from the hood latch of Teresa Halbach's Toyota RAV4. When the swab was examined Steven Avery's DNA was discovered on the swab. This DNA was introduced at Avery's 2007 trial as evidence of Avery opening the hood, possibly to unplug the battery cable.

The hood latch swab and Avery's DNA were absent from season 1 of *Making a Murderer*, prompting some viewers to consider the documentary series biased or having an agenda. In season 2 the hood latch swab and DNA were both prominently featured, possibly because it played a role in Zellner's motion which the series was chronicling.

## Description

A cotton swab used to swab a hood latch of Teresa Halbach's RAV4. According to Forensic Scientist Sherry Culhane the swab was discoloured but did not have a reddish-brown colour consistent with blood.

## At trial and appeals

### 2016 - 2022 Kathleen Zellner appeals

In August 2016 Zellner filed her *Motion for Post-conviction Scientific Testing*, requesting numerous items of evidence so she could subject them to modern forensic science. Among those pieces of evidence was “Item ID”, the hood latch swab. After filing the motion Zellner was interviewed outside the courthouse and she expressed her desire to submit the DNA on the hood latch to a source test to see what the source (blood, semen, saliva, urine) might be. She said she expected it to be saliva.

In November that same year the State agreed to lend her the hood latch swab, among some other items. That same day Zellner had her client Steven Avery sign an affidavit. In his affidavit Avery claimed that he witnessed co-lead investigator Mark Wiegert steal a groin swab of him after a nurse had thrown it in a bin.

On 8 December Zellner and one of her forensic experts, Karl Reich, pick up the hood latch swab at Wisconsin State Crime Lab in Madison. They review the evidence on their way back.

On 25 January 2017 Reich examined the swab and noticed a portion of it was discoloured. Reich dunked the swab in water and agitated it to promote the release of what was on the swab. From 25 to 31 January Reich did his source testing to determine what the source of the DNA was. The test result was negative on all four sources; blood, urine, semen and saliva. Reich also oversaw an experiment in which four individuals touched the hood latch of an exemplar RAV4 a total of 15 times. On only four occasions DNA was left on the hood latch and the amount was significantly lower than what was recovered of Avery.

After Reich's examination the swab was submitted to another of Zellner's experts, Christopher Palenik. Palenik was requested to compare the swab itself to a swab that was taken from a hood latch of an exemplar RAV4. Palenik observed a visual difference between the two: the test swab was discoloured due to a visible amount of debris collected from the hood latch. On the 2006 hood latch swab Palenik observed no such debris with the naked eye, though he was able to detect some with a microscope.

In June 2017 Zellner filed *Motion for Post-conviction Relief* and presented her experts' results. Zellner wrote that the hood latch swab that “allegedly” was used to swab the hood latch had been submitted to a series of experiments leading to the conclusion that the swab “was never used to swab a hood latch” because of the absence of the debris. Zellner concluded that at some point someone relabelled the groin swab that was allegedly stolen from a hospital bin by Wiegert as the hood latch swab.

After Zellner filed her motion she mentioned the hood latch in a July 2017 tweet, and later in a December 2018 tweet:

* “Experiment = ’hood latch swab’ never swabbed a hood latch. Swapping swabs–forensic for dummies.”
* “Ya know I'm just a very clever guy & I really focused & it just popped into my head I knew there was "sweat" DNA on that hoodlatch. It's a gift (or prize) I guess!! 🙏💦 #TheWreckingCrew #MakingAMurderer2”

In a March 2021 interview on YouTube Zellner said the cops had put Halbach's DNA on the hood latch.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Zellner, K., *Stipulation and Order for Independent Scientific Testing*, page 2
2. ↑ Zellner, K., *Motion for Post-conviction Scientific Testing*, page 2
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 *Making a Murderer*, episode 6
4. ↑ Zellner, K., *Motion for Post-conviction Relief*, affidavit of Steven Avery
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Zellner, K., *Motion for Post-conviction relief*, affidavit of Karl Reich
6. ↑ Zellner, K., *Motion for Post-conviction Relief*, page 74
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Zellner, K., *Motion for Post-conviction Relief*, second affidavit of Christopher Palenik
8. ↑ Zellner, K., *Motion for Post-conviction Relief*, page 10
9. ↑ Zellner, K., *Motion for Post-conviction Relief*, page 12
10. ↑ "Criminal Justice Natters - Kathleen Zellner" at 25:26 minutes.