A forensic DNA test usually scans about 20 fixed markers of DNA. It may take a few days but it’s enough to differentiate a suspect from the rest of the world with a near perfect level of certainty.
Except for identical twins.
It’s not a perfect analogy but think of DNA as a 3 billion letter book. Most people have about 20 chapters that are completely different. For identical twins, their entire book is identical except for about 8 typos. Not 8 different chapters, or sentences, not even 8 different words. 8 letter typos amongst 3 billion letters.
The technology to find these is only available at a handful of labs and costs hundreds of thousands, even millions of dollars. Thankfully, identical twin crime is rare.
Except for Ohio.
A woman who lives alone is raped and murdered in her own home, and the DNA left at the scene traces back to a set of identical twins.
Two 13 year old boys are the main suspects but which twin is innocent?
And which twin is guilty?
Full show notes available at RottenMangoPodcast.com
