DNA mix-up prompts change at Office of the Chief Medical Examiner
Contamination reportedly occurred through use of non-sterile swab during autopsy
The province’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) has implemented new standards of practice as a result of an incident of cross-contamination between the DNA of two homicide victims.
A review was undertaken after the office was identified as a potential source of the contamination, a spokeswoman for the Department of Justice and Public Safety told The Telegram Monday, and new standards for operating protocol were adopted as a result.
The spokeswoman didn’t elaborate nor confirm the OCME as the source of the contamination, but sources say the contamination is believed to have occurred through the use of a non-sterile wooden swab during an autopsy there.
On Jan. 16, prosecutors in the murder trial of Steve Bragg requested a postponement, telling the court they had been alerted to an issue with DNA cross-contamination at the OCME. Though the incident wasn’t connected with Bragg’s case, police had launched an investigation and were reviewing cases involving the OCME back to January 2016, including Bragg’s.
The OCME is responsible for, among other things, conducting autopsies and collecting samples of tissue and fluid which are later forensically tested.
The Telegram has learned the DNA involved in the contamination incident belonged to two men who had died by homicide in different parts of the province.
The problem was discovered by experts at the RCMP’S national forensic lab in Ottawa, who tested a swab taken from the deceased in one case for DNA, and found the DNA profile of the victim in the other case, who had died six months earlier.
It’s believed someone involved in the first autopsy took a wooden swab from a packet, and in doing so, transferred DNA from their glove to another swab in the pack. Sources say the second swab was later used in the other man’s autopsy.
The contamination occurred before the province’s current chief medical examiner, Dr. Nash Denic, took over from Dr. Simon Avis when he retired a little less than a year ago.
The Telegram asked the Justice and Public Safety Department whether it is regular protocol to use non-sterile swabs during an autopsy.
"We understand DNA contamination can occur during any point of an investigation (from collection at the scene or in processing)," the spokeswoman replied in an email. "DNA testing has become so sensitive that the smallest particles of biological material can be detected. Accordingly, accredited labs specializing in DNA testing do occasionally encounter incidents of cross-contamination."
The RNC has concluded its investigation into the cross-contamination, and has said it believes no other cases were affected.
Justice and Public Safety Minister Andrew Parsons told The Telegram Jan. 17 his office would undertake its own inquiry after the RNC investigation was completed, acknowledging the possibility for human error, and the government’s attempts to minimize it.
"Not only as the head of the department, but like a lot of people I would like to know the details of what happened," Parsons said. "I think that’s important because we did have some level of cross-contamination, so I want to know the chain of events that led to that and what came out of it."
On Monday the department spokeswoman said reviews were initiated by not only the police, but by the OCME and the Office of Public Prosecutions.
"To our knowledge those reviews are complete and at this time we have no reason to believe that evidence in ongoing prosecutions is compromised."
The province last made changes to the OCME after a review of the office in 2017, conducted after the brain of an infant was lost by the office, resulting in the dismissal of a murder charge against the baby’s father. Nova Scotia medical examiner Dr. Matthew Bowes presented a report to the government, citing concerns about too few staff, overworked staff — including Avis, whose workload was described as heavy and unsustainable
— a cluttered work area, inadequate equipment and an outof-date record system. None of the concerns related to DNA collection, but he did note a lack of formal policies and procedures.
Bowes made more than 60 recommendations, and Parsons said the province has so far implemented about 75 per cent of them.
The following year, the provincial government announced new spending to the tune of $563,000 for the OCME, in an effort to address the issues raised by Bowes. Total funding for the OCME at that time was around $1.5 million.
Bragg, 37, will make his next appearance in Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court in early February, when a new date is expected to be set for his murder trial.
Bragg has pleaded not guilty in connection to the Nov. 11, 2017 death of 38-year-old Victoria Head, whose body was located in a field near O’brien’s Farm Road in the centre of St. John’s.
Bragg’s lawyer, Bob Buckingham, told The Telegram he has yet to receive any official update on the police investigation that included his client’s case.