Citation

Murphy C, Kenna J, Flanagan L, Lee Gorman M, Boland C, Ryan J. J. Forensic Sci. 2019; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

Department of Justice, Forensic Science Ireland, Garda HQ Phoenix Park, Dublin 8, Ireland.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, American Society for Testing and Materials, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/1556-4029.14198

PMID

31566745

Abstract

This study is the first to examine the background level of male DNA on underpants worn by females in the absence of sexual contact. Here, we examined 103 samples from the inside front of underpants from 85 female volunteers. Samples were examined for the presence of male DNA using NGM SElect and PowerPlex Y23 kits. Only five samples gave a "complete" Y-STR profile, even though 83.5% of our volunteers cohabited with a male. In all cases where a partner reference sample was available, the Y-STR profile matched the cohabiting partner. We have demonstrated that a Y-STR profile is not expected on the inside front of underpants worn by females after social contact alone. The results of this study are informative for evaluating the significance of a Y-STR profile on underpants in cases of alleged sexual assault.

© 2019 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Language: en

Keywords

DNA profiling; Y chromosome; background DNA; evaluation; forensic science; sexual assault; short tandem repeats; underpants