Expert: DNA evidence disconnects Schweitzer brothers to Ireland’s murder

HONOLULU (KHON2) — The DNA consultants that assisted with the Innocence Project say there is “no doubt” the Schweitzers were not involved in Dana Ireland’s murder.

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For them, the truth was obvious.

“It had been clear to us for many years that none of the DNA evidence that was ever obtained in connection with this case, none of that had anything to do with the Schweitzers that were convicted of the crime,” said Dr. David Haymer. “The conviction was based on false confessions and faulty eyewitness identification and a number of very suspect matters.”

Dr. David Haymer is a professor at the UH medical school’s Cell and Molecular Biology Department. He is also a DNA consultant for the Innocence Project. He has been working on the Ireland case for about 15 years. He says time did not affect any of the evidence.

“It wasn’t a question of reliability,” said Haymer. The DNA evidence was very clear cut. And the DNA can persist for many, many years. And so it’s not, that can be a question in certain circumstances, but it was not a question in this case.”

The fact that the Schweitzers were convicted made it extremely difficult for the Innocence Project, because Haymer says, they had to get the courts and Big Island police to re-open a case that — to them — was closed.

“So the Innocence Project has to have cooperation from the police department to release the evidence for testing, or to grant access to the evidence for further, any kind of further evaluation,” said Haymer. “And that can take a long time for them to agree to that.”

In a statement, Big Island prosecutors say they have not reviewed any of the final police reports, documents or evidence related to these most recent developments.

The Hawaii Police Department hopes to complete its investigation on “Unknown Male #1” in two weeks.