A DNA sample obtained from Florida State star quarterback Jameis Winston matched the sample taken from the underwear of his alleged sexual attack victim, according to ESPN.
Conducted by the Florida State crime lab on Tuesday, ESPN viewed a copy of the analysis report on Wednesday with investigators noting the chance of the DNA in the woman's underwear being a match for someone other than Winston was one in 2.2 trillion.
Police obtained a sexual assault kit on Dec. 7, 2012, when the alleged victim claimed she was assaulted at an off-campus apartment. The DNA match alone does not prove that Winston, a leading Heisman Trophy candidate, perpetuated any crimes as the accuser's family claimed in a statement released Wednesday by a Tampa, Fla.-based attorney.
But ESPN reports it does indicate that Winston, who has yet to talk to Tallahassee police or the state attorney related to the case, had his DNA associated with the accuser on the night in question.
William Meggs, the state attorney for the Second Judicial Circuit, said his office is still investigating the case, which was referred by Tallahassee police only last week. The state attorney's office is scheduled to meet with the accuser Thursday, according to people familiar with the case.
"Everybody wants to know what's going on," Meggs told ESPN. "So do we. We're in the process of trying to figure out what's going on. We haven't determined how it's going to turn out."
Lead defense attorney Tim Jansen later told ESPN "we have professionally tried to maintain the dignity of an investigation. However, either the Tallahassee Police Department or Mr. Meggs' office has decided they're going to improperly leak evidence to the media. We are saddened to learn that someone has decided to leak evidence to the public before Mr. Meggs has had time to make a decision. The improperly leaked report, if true, has zero impact on Mr. Winston's defense, and Mr. Winston maintains his innocence. We voluntarily submitted DNA last week."
Jansen also insists he has submitted sworn affidavits from at least two individuals supporting his client's version of events that night.
"We have turned over our affidavits, and we're confident in the witnesses who were there," Jansen said.
When ESPN asked Meggs on Wednesday whether he believed his office could adequately investigate the case more than 11 months after the crime allegedly occurred, he said: "I'm pretty confident, as much as anybody can be. There are two kinds of evidence: testimonial and physical. We'll have what we have at the end of the day, and then we'll evaluate what we have.
Tallahassee police maintain the case languished in limbo only after the alleged victim stopped cooperating with police and through her attorney alerted them that she no longer wanted to press charges. Jansen adds his client was told as recently as in February that the case had been closed and Winston was no longer being investigated.
© Copyright 2024 Sports World News, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
