Irina Yarmolenko - Found deceased 5/5/2008

I heard of this story on Dateline last Friday night and there was something very strange about the outcome of the this mystery. The two men accused were older, had families, and no criminal records at all. I haven't done a timeline yet, but it doesn't seem possible the accused could have accomplished this ghoulish murder due to the timing, their location, and their behavior.

According to the story in a nut shell, at least one of the accused willingly gave his blood for DNA testing and it did come out as a positive match from a hand print on the car. Here's the clincher though, there was also DNA found on ligatures and other areas which were unknown. The hand print on the car was a full one, and it seems to me that the hand print was larger, more narrow, and had longer fingers than the men would have had. I haven't found anything that stated the hand print was dusted for prints so there is no corroboration with the DNA evidence. Furthermore, being that have worked in molecular biology, I know how easy it can be to contaminate an experimental sample with a positive control (the known DNA from the accused).

I am posting this to see if anyone has any opinions about this case and am posting links that pertain to the issue.

This is the link to the Dateline episode I watched:

http://www.clicker.com/tv/dateline-nbc/mystery-on-the-catawba-river-part-1-1953198/


A Look Back: Yarmolenko’s Death And The Ensuing Investigation

http://www.wsoctv.com/news/25316136/detail.html


This link has many news stories pertaining to Irina's murder:

http://charlotte.news14.com/content/search/?currentUri=http://charlotte.news14.com/content/search/default.aspx&searchtarget=news14&searchterm=Irina%20Yarmolenko&SecID=14

There was a confession by this man, Cristopher Cooper in the murder:

Attorney: Someone has already confessed to killing Yarmolenko

February 02, 2009 6:31 PM
Amanda Millard

Neal Leon Cassada Jr.'s lawyer David Phillips told the court Monday that someone had already confessed to killing 20-year-old Irina "Ira" Yarmolenko. (Accused in court)

"There's a confession to this case from a person in Mecklenburg County Jail," said Phillips.

Phillips said that Christopher Lamont Cooper sent a confession letter to WSOC TV anchor Erica Bryant.

Phillips read parts of the letter, where Cooper alleged to "confess a sin" stating he and seven other people caused Yarmolenko's death. Phillips read that Cooper confessed to being the driver in a van and smoking crack, stating that they killed her seeking money for a fix.

Phillips said the SBI went to speak to Cooper in jail but he refused to talk.

Cooper, who turns 38 Tuesday, was arrested May 21 and faces two counts of second-degree rape, two counts of second-degree sex offense, assault by strangulation and not paying child support, according to Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office Web site.

Mount Holly Police ruled Cooper out as a suspect after talking with him, according to WSOC TV, The Gazette's news partner.

Cassada and his cousin, Mark Bradley Carver, both of Gaston County, face charges of first-degree murder in the May 5 death of Yarmolenko, a student at UNC Charlotte at the time of her death.

Police charged Cassada and Carver in Denver, and now say DNA evidence links them to the killing.

Read more: http://www.gastongazette.com/news/phillips-30051-cooper-yarmolenko.html#ixzz1RltvCTt9

Apparently the SBI of NC is under criticism for misreporting blood results in criminal cases. Here's a link to a few stories, including the conclusion of the trial for Carver. The other suspect, Cassada died right before trial.

http://www.charlottepersonalinjurylawyerblog.com/2011/03/

This article gives a very brief synopsis of trial for Carver. It states that print quality from prints not satisfactory.

http://www.gastongazette.com/articles/used-55976-weapons-jurors.html