DNA Expert Witness Testifies In Cold Case

DNA expert witness Dr. Mark W. Perlin testified in Beaver County, PA, in the 1979 cold case against Gregory Scott Hopkins. The murder case against Hopkins in the death of his girlfriend Catherine Janet Walsh was reopened due to modern DNA technology. Perlin testified regarding DNA evidence at the scene which connected Hopkins to her murder thirty years ago.

Dr. Perlin is CEO and Chief Scientific Officer at Cybergenetics, and the creator of the TrueAllele® technology. Cybergenetics interprets complex DNA evidence using computers to preserve information inherent in the data, and can extract identification information almost every time. DNA testing was originally developed as a method of determining paternity. It now plays a role in the criminal investigation process and is allowed in post-conviction DNA testing to exonerate those who may have been falsely sentenced.