PLEASANTON, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--IntegenX announced today that for the first time in the U.S., results from its RapidHIT® System were used in court to obtain a conviction in an attempted murder case in Richland County, South Carolina. This represents a groundbreaking development in the field of Rapid DNA, as the RapidHIT System is the first of its kind to have results presented and accepted in a court of law.
“DNA testing has increasingly become a critical tool in criminal investigations. The RapidHIT System enhances the utility of conventional DNA tests by making results available to our investigators within 2 hours of delivering a sample the Richland County Sheriff’s Department (RCSD) Forensics Lab,” said Sherriff Leon Lott. “This increase in speed has proven invaluable for our agency, both in terms of time savings and speeding up the criminal justice process.”
On July 29, 2014, RCSD Deputies responded to a report of shots fired and located a victim with a gunshot wound. Later the same day, a suspect in an unrelated incident was apprehended by Deputies. The arresting officers noticed blood on the suspect’s clothing, a sample of which was turned over to the RCSD Forensics Lab. Using the RapidHIT System, samples from the suspect’s clothing were matched to the victim, enabling RCSD investigators to link the suspect to the crime within hours of delivering the sample to the lab.
Dr. Gray Amick, DNA Technical Leader at the RCSD Forensics Lab, said “The RapidHIT System enhances the level of service we are able to provide to investigators by automating the steps of conventional DNA analysis. The most recent milestone of presenting this data during a trial, to the satisfaction of the court, opens doors for how Rapid DNA can be used in future criminal investigations, both at this agency and at others in the country.”
“It is tremendously gratifying to see our technology assist in the apprehension and conviction of dangerous criminals,” stated Robert Schueren, President and CEO of IntegenX. “This milestone enables other agencies using IntegenX technologies to proceed with confidence that Rapid DNA results can be used from the beginning of an investigation all the way through the judicial process.”
About IntegenX Inc.
IntegenX, headquartered in Pleasanton, California, is the market leader of Rapid human DNA identification technology. IntegenX technology platforms integrate advanced fluidics, optics, and biochemistry capabilities to produce sample-to-answer products for DNA-based human identity testing for forensics and law enforcement applications. For more information, please visit www.integenx.com. IntegenX, the IntegenX logo, and RapidHIT are the registered trademarks of IntegenX Inc.
