Opinion ID: 2257779
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The Recovery of the Surgical Gloves:

Text: On February 27, 1993, two days after defendant was interviewed, Lieutenant Patrick Edwardson of the Burlington County Police Department found two latex gloves on the shoulder of Route 130. The next day police recovered two more gloves alongside Route 130, approximately one-tenth of a mile from the scene of the murder. Detective Edward Perrino of the Delran Township Police Department photographed the gloves and placed them in evidence envelopes. He took the gloves to the Delran Police Department, entered their recovery in an evidence log, and placed them in a locked evidence cabinet. On March 1, 1993, Detective Perrino delivered the gloves to Investigator James Bucks of the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office. Bucks stored the gloves in a locked evidence vault, which was protected by an alarm. Two days later, Bucks delivered the gloves to the Federal Bureau of Investigation lab in Washington, D.C. for DNA testing and fingerprint analysis. There, Special Agent John Mertens performed a DNA test on the gloves. The FBI then returned the gloves to the prosecutor's office by registered mail, in accordance with standard FBI procedure. The test revealed that the DNA of the blood found on one of the gloves matched that of a blood sample taken from defendant. Based on the tests results, Mertens determined the probability that the blood on the glove was defendant's exceeded ninety-nine percent. During the same test, Mertens determined that the blood was not Bryant's. The glove, moreover, contained a cut on the inside of the index finger, matching the cut defendant received on his left index finger during the Eck stabbing. Mertens testified that the slit in the glove was not a result of the DNA testing. Additional DNA tests disclosed that Eck's blood caused other stains on the gloves. In sum, the test revealed the presence of defendant's and Eck's blood, but not Bryant's blood, on the gloves.