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Serial Killer Mystery Solved

By Miss Cellania in Crime & Law on Mar 27, 2009 at 8:28 am


Hundreds of detectives in Germany spent two years trying to track down a mysterious female serial killer whose DNA was collected at 39 different crime scenes. When no progress was made in the cases, police offered a 300,000 euro reward for information leading to the killer.

It’s no surprise the money was never claimed, however, because the so-called ‘phantom killer’ was a complete myth!

Detectives had apparently been tracking the DNA of a factory worker who packaged cotton buds used by the police to collect samples, according to ‘Stern.de’.

Link -via reddit


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COMMENT
  1. Gail Pink
    Mar 27th, 2009 at 8:41 am

    Such hilarious ineptitude...and a serial killer - or string of killers - gets to go free!!!

  2. Skipweasel
    Mar 27th, 2009 at 8:59 am

    While DNA evidence can be a very powerful tool, ensuring an uncontaminated sample is extrodinarily difficult, as this example shows.

    I predict a major unravelling of DNA based convictions over the years as the true scale of the problem becomes apparent.

  3. mishelley
    Mar 27th, 2009 at 9:19 am

    I wonder how often that happens over here, and we have the death penalty.

  4. Chris
    Mar 27th, 2009 at 9:31 am

    @mishelley

    That's only a problem if we start rounding up cotton factory workers as killers. The bad part of this is that potentially good samples were tainted by the factory worker's DNA.

  5. sal
    Mar 27th, 2009 at 10:11 am

    What if the factory worker really was the killer?

  6. Kalel
    Mar 27th, 2009 at 10:47 am

    Avast, ye swabs!

  7. thesledgehammer
    Mar 27th, 2009 at 12:28 pm

    Prawo Jadzy could not be reached for comment.

  8. Alex
    Mar 27th, 2009 at 12:30 pm

    Hahahaha! Good one, thesledgehammer!

  9. mishelley
    Mar 27th, 2009 at 1:00 pm

    @ Chris

    Some capital convictions have been based on DNA evidence.
    Conviction for a capital crime in a state allowing the death penalty results in the death of a prisoner.
    As this story illustrates DNA evidence can be contaminated.
    Death is a permanent condition.

    There is a chance that some contaminated DNA evidence has been used in the wrongful conviction of a suspect, and that suspect could be executed.

    The point of my comment was rhetorically questioning whether we should impose an irrevocable sentence based on science that can be flawed.

    Or, "don't put all you dinucleotides in one basket"

  10. Dema9o9ue
    Mar 27th, 2009 at 6:15 pm

    Sal, you just blew my mind.

  11. SenorMysterioso
    Mar 27th, 2009 at 7:51 pm

    lol I was thinking the same thing. It was his diabolical plan all along. Step one: get a job at a cotton swab manufacturing plant...

  12. ted
    Mar 27th, 2009 at 9:39 pm

    Man, sal. Now my secret is out. I'm going to have to kill you now.

  13. tona b.
    Mar 28th, 2009 at 12:50 am

    "Serial Killer Mystery Swabbed"

    There. Fixed the title for ya!

  14. bill
    Apr 4th, 2009 at 6:12 pm

    B S cotton buds are pack by machine NO human contact cheers mon ami

  15. CAN'T TOUCH THIS
    Apr 7th, 2009 at 7:30 am

    GOODAY

    I AM NOT TOTALLY HAPPY, WITH ALL THE INFORMATION I HAVE READ ABOUT SERIAL KILLERS, PERSONALLY I THINK WE NEED BETTER LOOKING SERIAL KILLERS, SERIAL KILLERS THAT HAVE COMMITTED ALL AND MORE OF THE CRIMES I HAVE READ ABOUT, AND BETTER ACTORS FOR TRICKING VICTIMS.

    GOODBYE

  16. CAN'T TOUCH THIS
    Apr 7th, 2009 at 1:26 pm

    GOODAY AGAIN

    WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT IS AN INDIVIDUAL WHO IS HAPPY KILLING, NOT-SCARED OR BETTER SAID NOT INFLUENCED BY ANY SITUATION. SOMEONE WHO CAN ACT TO ANY DEGREE, HOLDING OUT FOR 20 YEARS, TO TRICK A VICTIM. EDUCTATED AND PRACTICING THOSE ACQUIRED KNOWLEDGE OR CURRENT. GOOD MANNERS, PRONOUNCED SPEECH OR COMBINATIONS OF DIFFERENT ACCENTS, MOODS, ETC PERMENANTLY APPLIED. FIT TO THE TOP LEVEL OF THE 5BX. 80'S FEEL, WITH SUPERSTARS ON THE SIDELINE.

    YEAH

  17. CAN'T TOUCH THIS
    Apr 7th, 2009 at 1:36 pm

    GOODAY AGAIN

    WHETHER YOU SCREAMING OR SAYING SOMETHING AT THE POINT OF HEARING, TO SAY IT PRONOUNCED. COMPLETELY STEALTH, UNDETECTABLE. AS THE POLICE RISE YOU RIDE WITH THEM. AND LIKE 2PAC, ALMOST LIKE YOU DID THAT SH*T.

  18. CAN'T TOUCH THIS
    Apr 7th, 2009 at 2:04 pm

    GOODAY AGAIN

    FOR EG, NO TATTOOS, GOLD TEETH WANNA B'S BULLSH*T. STUDYING COMMUNITY REACTIONS AND STATUS QUO TO BACK IT UP. IF YOU WLK AND INTERCEPTED BY A THUG, YEAH NEVER AGAIN, BUT ITS UNDER THE STREETLIGHT WANNA BEES. POLICE COMMING IN, ACTING NERVOUS ETC

  19. CAN'T TOUCH THIS
    Apr 7th, 2009 at 2:05 pm

    GOODAY AGAIN

    YEAH, LIKE THE NAVY AT ITS BEST, THEY ARE PROFESSIONAL KILLERS.

  20. CAN'T TOUCH THIS
    Apr 7th, 2009 at 2:17 pm

    GOODAY AGAIN

    I WOULD SAY TO IDENTIFY YOURSELF AS A SERIAL KILLER, IT IS SOMEONE, COMPLETELY OPPOSING THE CURRENT INTERREST, SOMEONE NOT SCARED BY THREATS, MUTLLE THREATING PRESENCE, YOU COULD SAY SO IF YOU ACTED THE POSITION OF NOT BEING FOLLOWED AROUND, WHEN YOU WERE ACTUALLY UNDER THREAT, REMAINING IN THE HARVARD EDUCATION THEME, AND PRACTICE.

  21. CAN'T TOUCH THIS
    Apr 13th, 2009 at 8:41 am

    GOODAY

    I'LL GIVE YOU AN INDICATOR OF WHAT ITS ABOUT. EVERYONE THINKS THEY THE BEST, STARTS FROM 16 AND NEVER THINKS THEY CAN LOOSE, EVEN IF THEY HAVE KILLED. SMALL SITUATION HAPPENED, COPS MOVED IN, TO INTIMIDATE INDIRECTLY, SO YOU WALK OVER A CAR, AN ACTIVATE A LADY TO BE KNOCKED OVER, GOT IT ON CAMERA, AND DO THE RECOVERY.

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