Case update: December 20, 2013
On December 19, 2013, a hearing was scheduled to take place before Judge John A. Enlow in the Portage County Court of Common Pleas on Tyrone Noling’s request for DNA testing of crucial pieces of evidence that may provide important information that supports Mr. Noling’s innocence claim.
Rather than proceed with the hearing, Judge Enlow ordered DNA testing of the cigarette butt, and a CODIS run if results are obtained. He also ordered an inquiry into whether DNA testing of the shell casings and ring boxes is possible.
While Judge Enlow took an important first step by ordering DNA testing of the cigarette butt, Mr. Noling’s attorneys are concerned that Judge Enlow’s request for that information is from the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation (BCI), the Ohio state lab, which does not have the advanced scientific technology necessary to provide the highest quality information that the judge will need to make an informed decision.
Therefore, on December 20, 2013, Mr. Noling filed a motion and affidavit asking the court to allow a hearing in order to take expert testimony from Dr. Rick Staub, a leading expert in the field of DNA technology. Dr. Staub will inform the Court that BCI is simply not equipped with the most advanced scientific technology available, which will place severe limitations on the information it will be able to provide to the court.
This request is incredibly important to Tyrone Noling’s case. It is likely that the additional testing and the inquiry ordered by Judge Enlow for more information will likely consume the biological evidence making further DNA testing unavailable. Mr. Noling may have only one opportunity to test the DNA, so it must be done right.
Several experts have offered declarations attesting to the importance of not only subjecting the cigarette butt to DNA testing but also to expanding the scope of DNA testing in Mr. Noling’s case and using more advanced methods available today: