State v. Moore

885 P.2d 457 (1994)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Moore (D) was charged with the murder of Brisbin. Brisbin disappeared without a trace on the morning of November 9, 1990. Nobody was recovered, but his wife testified and said that he was going to meet with D at a truck stop. There was evidence that Brisbin went to that stop. There was also evidence that D returned from that stop later that day and that D had made inconsistent statements about Brisbin, that a gun accident had occurred in his car and that Brisbin had driven off with an unidentified woman. Before trial, the defense moved to exclude all DNA evidence, but the court denied that motion. The defense then moved to exclude all statistical calculations about that evidence; which would have shown that there was a probability that the match between the tissue samples and the Brisbin children was not coincidental. The trial court granted that motion. The court then admitted DNA analysis of the human blood and small pieces of human muscle and brain tissue found in the cab of D's truck. An expert then testified that the samples it analyzed could not be excluded as having come from the biological father of Brisbin's children. An expert also testified that the DNA in the muscle tissue was consistent with that of Brisbin's mother.