“Can you think of any reason connected to this case that could account for Mr. Harrison or Mr. Nylander being murdered?”
“Norcross is relatively new, and this is their first big product. The company would take a big hit if a jury found that they were manufacturing a killer drug.”
“Are you saying that you think Norcross may have been involved in a murder?” Robin asked.
“No, no. You just asked if I could think of a theory. Look, do you need me here? I’ve got a lot to do in our other cases, especially now that Frank and Doug…”
“I understand. I’ll call you if I need you. And hang in there. I’ve just started representing Doug, but my gut tells me he’s innocent. Hopefully, I can get him back to work soon.”
Robin spent an hour going through the files Norquist had provided, but she didn’t see anything that would help Doug. Still, on the way back to her office, Robin couldn’t help thinking about her conversation with Detective Jacobs. He’d said that Harrison and Nylander being murdered so close together had raised a red flag, and Robin remembered responding that sometimes a coincidence was just a coincidence.
Voss, Nylander, and Harrison had all died violently within a short time, and Leonard Voss’s death had ended his suit and may have saved Norcross Pharmaceuticals millions. She could see why the company would want Voss and Nylander dead, but Tyler Harrison was Norcross’s attorney. Why would the company want to kill him? Robin couldn’t come up with a single theory that would connect all three murders. By the time she arrived at her office, she decided that it didn’t matter who killed Voss and Harrison, since she couldn’t think of any theory that would help Douglas Armstrong.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Robin had just returned from her meeting with Ken Norquist when Jeff walked into her office. She smiled.
“You interested in Thai, tonight? I’m treating,” Jeff asked, as he dropped into a seat across from Robin.
“Sounds good”
“I’ve got interesting news on that DNA thing,” Jeff continued.
“What did you find out?”
“You know that expert witnesses in an area of science are permitted to give opinion evidence only when their testimony is based on a scientific principle or discovery that has passed the experimental stage.”
“Sure. The side that wants the jury to hear the evidence has to convince the judge that the science behind the evidence has been generally accepted as valid in the relevant scientific community.”
Jeff nodded. “That’s so junk science, like astrology, can’t be used in court. Now, Oregon courts have long held that it’s okay to admit DNA evidence in a trial when it’s obtained in a lab, but no Oregon court has ruled on the admissibility of DNA evidence that uses mathematical probability to match a sample to a defendant.”
“Do you think we’ve got a chance to knock out Rex’s DNA match?”
“Probably not. Unfortunately for Armstrong, other courts have let a jury hear it.”
“Are we dead?”
“There is an argument you can make. I just don’t know if it will win.”
“Explain it to me.”
“There are courts in several states that have accepted conclusions based on analysis by probabilistic genotyping software. These courts have held that forensic biologists accept the method’s validity. You can argue that this is not the scientific community in which the decision should be made. The method uses software, so the relevant community should be the computer science community, because it is inappropriate for forensic biologists with no or little training in software development or engineering to decide if the software works.”
“Have you found an expert who can make our case for us in a hearing?”
“Yeah. There’s a guy I know at Reed College. He needs to look at the source code for the software to see if it’s been rigorously tested, validated, or verified using current software engineering practices. If it hasn’t been, we can move to exclude the evidence. But I think it’s a long shot given the number of courts that have accepted the use of the method.”
“You said you had interesting information. What you’ve said would be interesting if I were prosecuting Doug.”
“Sorry. There is something else. Nilson Forensics is the lab that did the analysis. The report Kellerman gave you in discovery was one page and didn’t include any of the raw data about the tests Nilson conducted. I called the lab and spoke to Dr. Nilson. He sounded very nervous, and he told me he couldn’t talk about the test without Kellerman’s permission. I told him he didn’t need the DA’s permission, but he still refused to talk to me. So, I drove over to the lab to see if my incredible charm would melt his resistance.”
“Did it?”
“His secretary told him I was in the waiting room, and he came out. I told him I wanted to see the raw data and the source code for the software. He refused. He said the source code is a trade secret.” Jeff paused for emphasis. “Robin, he sounded scared.”
“Can you think of any reason why he should be?”
“Maybe there’s something about the test he doesn’t want us to know.”
“I’m going to move for discovery of the source code and the raw data that was used to determine that the blood under Nylander’s fingernails was Doug’s. Once we get it, we can try to see if there’s a reason Dr. Nilson is scared.”
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
Robin was shocked by Marsha Armstrong’s appearance when Doug’s wife walked into her office. Marsha’s eyes were red from crying, she’d lost weight, and it looked like she’d thrown on her clothes without any thought as to how they would look.
“Why are you here, Marsha?” Robin asked, not trying to hide her concern.
“I was just at the jail. Doug told me that they’re going to say that the blood under Frank’s fingernails is his. How bad is that for Doug’s case?”
“It doesn’t kill us. I may have a witness who will testify that there are flaws in the method that was used to make the match. I can argue to the jury that the results are unreliable.”
“But the district attorney will argue they’re not, and the jury might believe Doug was in a fight with Frank?”
“That’s possible.”
“And Doug won’t be able to say anything, because he has amnesia.”
“Yes.”
Marsha looked at her lap. When she spoke, Robin had a hard time hearing what she said, and she asked her to repeat it. Marsha looked up. There were tears in her eyes. “I did something terrible,” she said. “It’s why Rex Kellerman is trying to send Doug to prison.”
Robin was confused. “I don’t understand.”
“I cheated on Doug with Rex.”
“You what!?”
“I miscarried and I was depressed and Rex acted like he cared, but he didn’t.”
“Slow down and tell me what happened,” Robin said.
Marsha told Robin about her miscarriage, her depression, and her brief affair with Doug’s prosecutor.
“When I came to my senses, I realized that I’d made a big mistake and I broke it off. Rex didn’t take it well. He was really angry, and I think he’s going after Doug to get even with me.”
“Jesus. Why did you wait to tell this to me?”
“I couldn’t before. I thought this was all a mistake and you’d get Doug out and he wouldn’t have to know. Even after he was denied bail, I kept fooling myself because I couldn’t bear to hurt Doug. And I know this could kill him. But now he might really die and… Will this help? Can you use it against Rex?”
“I’m going to have to think about what you’ve told me. One thing is certain: Rex Kellerman has a big fat conflict of interest. The question is how to exploit it.”