Misleading warrants and omission of exculpatory evidence led to murder charges
A man who was arrested and held for the murder of a child 30 years earlier could bring malicious prosecution and false arrest claims against Pawtucket police detectives and the forensic scientist who conducted DNA testing that led to his arrest, a U.S. District Court judge has determined.
Plaintiff Joao Monteiro was arrested in 2019 for the 1988 abduction and murder of 10-year-old Christine Cole.
Pawtucket detectives focused on Monteiro after a state forensic scientist characterized DNA testing of what they claimed was a bloodstain found on Cole’s pants as a “match.”
The detectives, who apparently had no training in any aspect of the DNA analysis process, interpreted the statement “It’s a match” to indicate an exact match when in fact it was a familial match that would apply to one in every 1,909 males.
Additionally, affidavits supporting the search warrant to obtain Monteiro’s swab apparently contained misleading statements while omitting exculpatory information and information about an alternate suspect.
Meanwhile, the arrest warrant allegedly omitted key information that would have called the DNA match into question.
The charges were dropped six months after Monteiro’s arrest, and he subsequently brought constitutional and state malicious prosecution and false arrest claims against the state scientist and the detectives, who moved for summary judgment.
But Judge Mary S. McElroy denied the...
Chartered Group, a global investment company managing and investing billions of dollars across multiple countries, issued a special formal notice today (September 15) that it will take firm legal ...