Commonwealth v. Read — Trial ArchiveTess Chart - Direct
140 linesJUDGE CANNONE: All right, Mr. Lally, your next witness, please.
MR. LALLY: Yes — call — call Miss Tess Chart to the stand.
COURT OFFICER: Okay, step right up here.
COURT CLERK: Please stand, face right. Do you swear to tell the court and the jury the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
MS. CHART: I do.
COURT CLERK: Thank you. Please take the stand.
JUDGE CANNONE: Go right ahead, Mr. Lally.
MR. LALLY: Thank you. Good afternoon, ma'am.
MS. CHART: Good afternoon.
MR. LALLY: Could you please state your name and spell your last name for the jury?
MS. CHART: Sure. My name is Tess Chart, C-H-A-R-T.
MR. LALLY: And Ms. Chart, what do you do for work?
MS. CHART: I'm a forensic DNA analyst at Bode Technology.
MR. LALLY: And where is Bode Technology located?
MS. CHART: It's in Lorton, Virginia.
MR. LALLY: And let me ask you some questions just a little bit about your educational background, starting with your undergraduate work. Where did you go to school and what, if any, degree did you receive in relation to your undergraduate?
MS. CHART: Sure. I have my Bachelor of Science in molecular biology from Millersville University in Pennsylvania, and then I have my Master of Science in forensic science from Towson University in Maryland.
MR. LALLY: Ms. Chart, I'm going to ask you to keep your voice up really loud, okay? Thank you. Ms. Chart, if it's at all helpful, that microphone is adjustable — you can move it anywhere. Now, with reference to your Master's in forensic science, when about was that that you received?
MS. CHART: So I got my degree at the end of 2019.
MR. LALLY: And following grad school, where did you go from there?
MS. CHART: I was hired directly by Bode Technology.
MR. LALLY: And when was that?
MS. CHART: That was in July of 2019.
MR. LALLY: Now, when you started in July of 2019 with Bode Technology, what was your position at that time, and sort of what were your duties and responsibilities when you initially began working?
MS. CHART: So I started as a technologist, so that's someone that will do all of the lab portion of the work in the laboratory. And I helped out with our humanitarian team, so helping identify human remains. From there I also helped with our criminal cases as well.
MR. LALLY: And when you started your work there, what if any sort of training did you undergo in relation to your work?
MS. CHART: So when you first start at Bode Technology you actually go through a series of lectures and you have a series of readings to go through all of the science that you're going to learn and the background of all of the technologies you're going to use. From there you will observe a qualified analyst or a qualified person in the lab go through everything that you're going to be trained in. And from there you'll get a series of sets, so there'll be mock samples that you will take through the lab and do all of the testing on that you're going to be trained in. And it starts out with having that qualified analyst there with you and you're able to ask questions and troubleshoot as you go.
MS. CHART: From there you'll get a second set that'll be — no analyst with you, but you're still allowed to ask questions at that point. And then your final set is something that we call a competency set, so you take it through the lab and treat it just like you would any other case, and you're not allowed to ask questions, and then you're graded at the end. If you pass that test you can go through a written exam, and then a verbal exam, and then you take your results from your testing and you defend it in a mock court. If you pass all of those qualifications you can become an analyst, or become qualified in whatever lab technique you're being trained in.
MR. LALLY: And as far as that sort of training process, how long was it from the time that you joined Bode Technology to the time that you started doing the work that you do now?
MS. CHART: It's been a rolling process of all the different trainings that I've had to go through. I'd say it took me about nine months from when I started to be qualified in everything that I do for mitochondrial DNA testing, and then for analysis training I think it was another six months or so.
MR. LALLY: Now as far as the lab at Bode Technology — is that an accredited lab?
MS. CHART: Yes, it is.
MR. LALLY: And do you know from whom the lab receives its accreditation?
MS. CHART: Yes, we receive international accreditation from an association called ANAB, which is a national standards organization. We're also accredited by the FBI at their quality standards as well.
JUDGE CANNONE: If you could just keep your — would you like me to repeat that?
MS. CHART: Okay.
MR. LALLY: Ms. Chart, as far as your lab being accredited, can you explain to the jury sort of what that means and sort of what the process is for a lab to be accredited?
MS. CHART: Sure. So all of our testing, all of the things that we report, are basically guided by an outside body, so everything we do is established and gone through before — or as we go through the testing procedures — so we're able to make sure that everything that we do is standardized for the country, all the testing that we perform.
MR. LALLY: ...of Bode Technology -- is that accreditation up to date at this point?
MS. CHART: It is.
MR. LALLY: Now with reference to your own work within the lab, is there sort of standards of procedure or protocols that you follow in conformity with that accreditation?
MS. CHART: There are. We're under the same standards as all other DNA testing at Bode for mitochondrial DNA testing.
MR. LALLY: Now with regard to your specific work, are you familiar with what's called a proficiency test?
MS. CHART: Yes, I am.
MR. LALLY: Explain to the jury what that is and what your experience has been with proficiency testing, as far as how often and what.
MS. CHART: So a proficiency test is how we stay qualified in what we do in the laboratory. So we get an outside test that we treat just like a regular criminal case. We take it all the way through the laboratory and have it reviewed, report our findings, and then it's sent out and we're graded on that performance.
MR. LALLY: And with reference to yourself, what, if any, issues have you had with regard to proficiency testing over the course of your years of work with Bode Technology?
MS. CHART: I've had none.
MR. LALLY: Now, as far as -- am I correct in that Bode Technology, as far as the lab is concerned, essentially deals with being contracted for work from external vendors?
MS. CHART: Yes.
MR. LALLY: By that I mean, as far as you get your work or samples that are submitted from outside of your --
MS. CHART: Right, we do.
MR. LALLY: And what are some of the types of organizations -- as far as the casework that you deal with, like where does it typically come from, what type of agency?
MS. CHART: It can come from anywhere across the United States, and we also have international clients as well.
MR. LALLY: Now if I could turn your attention to a specific case that you worked on. When items come into Bode Technology, as far as the lab, they go through sort of a check-in process and a chain of custody process. Is that correct?
MS. CHART: Yes, that's correct.
MR. LALLY: And with that, is there sort of a number or something that's assigned to a specific sample that follows it throughout the lab?
MS. CHART: Yes, we'll call that the evidence item number, or E- whatever number it's assigned.
MR. LALLY: Is there also a case number that's assigned as far as different cases or different case submissions?
MS. CHART: Yes, there is.
MR. LALLY: And turning your attention to a specific case that was submitted -- in January, or partially submitted in January and then partially submitted in March of 2024 -- that came from the Norfolk District Attorney's office, are you familiar with that?
MS. CHART: Yes, I am.
MR. LALLY: And the Bode case number on that was [unintelligible]? And again, that's given a specific name. As far as the hair sample in this case -- was E01. Is that correct?
MS. CHART: That is correct.
MR. LALLY: And then as far as for comparison purposes, what, if anything, did you receive in regard to comparison, if you were able to generate a profile from E01?
MS. CHART: We received a reference profile from the victim, John O'Keefe.
MR. LALLY: Now, your specialty within the lab is in mitochondrial DNA testing. Is that correct?
MS. CHART: Yes.
MR. LALLY: Could you explain to the jury -- as far as the mitochondrial DNA -- let me ask you this first. Are you also familiar with a term known as autosomal DNA?
MS. CHART: I am, yes.
MR. LALLY: If you could, Ms. Chart, explain to the jury first what autosomal DNA is, and then what mitochondrial DNA is, and then I'll have another question.
MS. CHART: Of course. So what many people are familiar with is what we call autosomal DNA. So that's the DNA that's actually stored in the nucleus of your cell. You get half from your mother and half from your father, and it's what makes you unique. And it's what people call the blueprint of a person. But what might be a new concept is that there's actually a second form of DNA that is stored within the mitochondria of a cell. So if you can remember maybe back to any science classes that you had, the mitochondria is the powerhouse of that cell. And because of that, you can have upwards of hundreds to thousands of mitochondria within just one single cell, and within each of those mitochondria you may have thousands of copies of that mitochondrial DNA.
MS. CHART: So in cases just like this one, where there may not be enough nuclear or autosomal DNA to find, you can go back and try to test for that mitochondrial DNA.
MR. LALLY: And so if you could explain to the jury -- I think you've alluded to it already, but -- sort of the difference between autosomal DNA versus mitochondrial.
MS. CHART: So mitochondrial DNA, in contrast, is inherited directly from your mother. So you will have the same mitochondrial DNA profile as your mother and then you will also have the same mitochondrial DNA profile as any of your siblings. And it has that maternal inheritance -- that we call it that -- that makes it actually a great source for helping identify people, but it can also be used for criminal cases as well.
MR. LALLY: First, with respect to the autosomal DNA, can you explain to the jury sort of the process -- as far as just in general terms -- what is the process as far as the testing goes, or generation of a profile?
MS. CHART: Sure. So we share similar processing methods. So we will start out by taking a small portion of whatever is sent to the lab, and we'll call that a sampling. We'll take notes on that and how much we take forward through testing, and that will go into a small tube. From there we will extract the DNA, or take apart all of the cells, by adding chemicals, and what we're left with is what we call a DNA extract. So that's actually where I came in in this case. From there, the difference is we will go through what is still called amplification using the PCR method, that will make a bunch of copies of that DNA to be used later on. But for mitochondrial DNA, what we're targeting is specifically just the mitochondrial DNA in that extract.
MS. CHART: From there we actually go to something that is completely different from autosomal testing, which is DNA sequencing. So DNA sequencing is really just a way that we are able to take those small strands of DNA that we've amplified, and we're able to read them almost like letters in a sentence.
MR. LALLY: And the PCR -- is that in reference to the autosomal DNA? Is that correct?
MS. CHART: It's for both methods.
MR. LALLY: What does PCR stand for?
MS. CHART: Polymerase chain reaction.
PARENTHETICAL: [unclear]
MR. LALLY: ? Let me -- the D-loop, as far as the region is concerned, what, if anything, does that have to do with certain variabilities within the human population?
MR. LALLY: And when you say -- as far as the sort of quantification -- I'm sorry -- the quantification or quantitation?
MS. CHART: Quantification.
MR. LALLY: As far as the quantification step is concerned, how is that sort of physically done? What kind of instrumentality are you using?
MS. CHART: So for mitochondrial DNA, we will actually run the DNA after amplification on a gel -- so a long, really what it sounds like, slab of gel -- where we're able to visualize if we obtained any mitochondrial DNA as a band that shows up under a camera.
MR. LALLY: So with reference to this sample, this E01, the hair sample -- you received it at what stage again, or what step?
MS. CHART: I received it as a DNA extract, so it was an amount of liquid in a tube at that point.
MR. LALLY: And as far as in general terms again, if you could explain to the jury, what are the steps that go into the processing or analysis prior to that step where you received it -- on the quantification?
MS. CHART: So it went through sampling. It was received, it was inventoried by the person that opened up the evidence, and a small portion -- or the hair -- was put into a tube, and then it went through that DNA extraction. So the hair was dissolved and all of the DNA inside of that hair was released and isolated to just be that DNA extract.
MR. LALLY: And so from that point where you pick it up as sort of the extract, what is it that you're doing with that, as far as your analysis goes from there? And what type of instrumentality are you using to perform that analysis?
MS. CHART: So from there I am targeting and just trying to find if there is any mitochondrial DNA in that sample. So we'll use the PCR method to amplify, to see if there is any mitochondrial DNA we can target, and then I will take it through and visualize it on that gel, to make sure to see if we got anything. That is our quantification step. And then after that I will take it through our sequencing step, and we do load that on an instrument called the 3130 genetic analyzer.
MR. LALLY: And the 3130 genetic analyzer -- how does that work?
MS. CHART: So it actually runs and separates each of the fragments of DNA that we have amplified, and visualizes it through a program, so we're able to read each letter of your DNA sequence.
MR. LALLY: Could I take you back just a step? Are you familiar with a term within your field called the D-loop?
MS. CHART: Yes.
MR. LALLY: Can you explain to the jury what a D-loop is and how that factors into your analysis -- testing for mitochondrial?
MS. CHART: So the D-loop is actually the region of the mitochondrial genome that we target. It is targeted because it does not contain any useful areas for the actual function of a mitochondria, so it can change over time, and those changes are what actually are recorded as your mitochondrial DNA profile.
MR. LALLY: Now as far as the D-loop -- the region -- what, if anything, does that have to do with certain variabilities within the human population? Would you be able to word that very
MS. CHART: Oh yes. So because there is this variability in that region, it can change over time, and from that there are different mitochondrial DNA profiles that are developed across the world.
MR. LALLY: Now, in addition to the extract from the hair sample E01, what, if any, other items did you receive in regard to comparison?
MS. CHART: We also received that reference sample from the victim, and that was taken forward for mitochondrial DNA testing as well.
MR. LALLY: And just for clarity purposes, when you say reference sample from the victim, you're referring to John O'Keefe, is that correct?
MS. CHART: Yes.
MR. LALLY: And the reference sample that you received in regards to John O'Keefe, was that already an extract as well, or what if anything did you have to do with that in order to obtain a mitochondrial DNA profile?
MS. CHART: So that sample was received — if I can refer to my notes — I did not — so I was not the person to actually do the sampling for this sample. It was received as a small cutting of a swab.
MR. LALLY: And so as far as the small cutting from the swab, what is sort of — as far as creating a profile from that, creating a profile from the extract from the hair sample as well — is there any difference in sort of how those two mitochondrial DNA profiles were created?
MS. CHART: No, they were tested the same way.
MR. LALLY: And based — well, let me ask this. As far as with regard to the hair sample E1, were you able to obtain a mitochondrial DNA profile for the hair?
MS. CHART: We were.
MR. LALLY: And with respect to Mr. O'Keefe's sample, were you also able to obtain a mitochondrial DNA profile from Mr. O'Keefe's?
MS. CHART: Yes, we were.
MR. LALLY: Now as far as for comparison purposes, what if anything did you look at, and what if any comparison or opinions or conclusions did you draw from that comparative analysis?
MS. CHART: Sure. I can state directly from my report if that's right.
MR. LALLY: Okay.
MS. CHART: So the mitochondrial DNA profile that was obtained from the sample — the hair sample — was consistent with the mitochondrial DNA profile obtained from John O'Keefe. So therefore John O'Keefe cannot be excluded as a possible contributor of that hair.
MR. LALLY: Now, Ms. Chart, are you also familiar with something called EMPOP — and for the record that's E-M-P-O-P?
MS. CHART: I am.
MR. LALLY: Can you explain to the jury what that is and how that's used as far as any sort of statistical analysis and reference to comparative comparisons?
MS. CHART: So it's an international populations database that houses different mitochondrial DNA profiles.
PARENTHETICAL: [Witness approaches.]
COURT OFFICER: Stand and face — do you swear to give the court and jury in this case now being heard the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God? [unintelligible — witness's affirmation not captured]
MR. LALLY: And how is it sort of used within your field, and how did you use it in this specific instance in relation to the consistency opinion between the hair sample and Mr. O'Keefe?
MS. CHART: So we were able to upload the profile from the hair and see if it was found at all within the population database. We test populations that are popular within the United States to narrow it down, and within the African-American, US Caucasian, and US Hispanic databases that they have, it was not seen.
MR. LALLY: And what if any conclusions or opinions are you then able to formulate with reference to the consistency of the hair sample versus Mr. O'Keefe's sample with relation to that EMPOP database?
MS. CHART: Sure. So by not seeing it in the database, this means that we're able to exclude at least 99.89% of the population from being a source of that evidence.
MR. LALLY: And is there a certain level or percent of confidence statistically that that comes along with that exclusion of 99.89% of US population?
MS. CHART: Yes. We use what is called the 95% confidence interval. It's actually a rule that is used for making statistical statements about populations. It's because there are always outliers that we don't include — we take the 95% majority of a population when we run those statistics.
MR. LALLY: And so again as far as your opinion or conclusions based on the comparison — is that the mitochondrial DNA profile from the hair sample was consistent with the mitochondrial DNA profile from Mr. O'Keefe?
MS. CHART: Correct.
MR. LALLY: Correct. That's with a 95% confidence, is that correct?
MS. CHART: That is correct.
MR. LALLY: And that's the exclusion of at least 99.89% of the population of United States, correct?
MS. CHART: Correct.
MR. LALLY: Thank you ma'am. I have nothing further.
MR. YANNETTI: We have no questions, your honor.
JUDGE CANNONE: All right, Ms. Chart, you are excused. Thank you very much.
MS. CHART: Thank you, your honor.