In a pivotal moment during the trial of Jozef Puska, who stands accused of the murder of schoolteacher Ashling Murphy, a forensic expert’s testimony revealed that male DNA profiles found under the victim’s fingernails matched those of the defendant. Dr. Lorna Flanagan of the Forensic Science Laboratory testified that the likelihood of the DNA profile belonging to someone other than Puska was just one in 14,000.
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Dr. Flanagan explained that she had conducted male-specific DNA profiling, known as Y-STR profiling, on the samples collected from beneath Ms. Murphy’s fingernails. This advanced technique zeroes in on the characteristics of the male Y chromosome, allowing scientists to exclude female DNA from the analysis. She likened it to a magnet that selectively extracts male DNA from the “haystack” of female DNA.
