DNA and the Johnia Berry Case

Friday, September 28th, 2007 | Johnia Berry |

Knoxville News-Sentinel - DNA testing so costly, it’s only done on crimes like Berry case:

The process of collecting and testing DNA evidence is expensive, so it can only be used in the most serious of criminal cases, such as the 2004 stabbing death of Johnia Berry, authorities say.

Authorities found DNA samples from at least three people at Berry’s apartment in West Knox County — Berry, her roommate and a third person.

Early this week, Taylor Lee Olson, 22, of Knoxville, was charged with murdering Berry, 21, during a burglary. Although officials have declined to say if Olson’s DNA matched that found at the scene, his arrest came weeks after the Knox County Sheriff’s Office obtained a DNA sample from him.

Elsewhere, it’s been noted that Berry’s investigation was the most expensive in Tennessee Bureau of Investigation history due to DNA testing.

On the subject of whether DNA or something else led to Taylor Lee Olson’s arrest:

Based on what authorities have said so far, Olson’s DNA wasn’t matched to any evidence through the use of a DNA database. Instead, detectives had already focused on Olson and voluntarily obtained a DNA sample from him when he was arrested on a misdemeanor probation violation charge in July.

The Johnia Berry Act of 2007 requires that people arrested in Tennessee for certain violent crimes submit a DNA sample. That sample will then be checked against a database of DNA samples from crimes. However, the new law doesn’t go into effect until January 1, 2008. Olson for whatever reason gave his DNA sample voluntarily.

During the Johnia Berry investigation it became clear that the state of Tennessee couldn’t keep up with the backlog of DNA testing needed. The Johnia Berry Act will increase testing needs even more, so the TBI is building a new DNA testing facility named for Berry in Strawberry Plains.