Thanks to Rick Halperin for distributing the Dallas Morning News' Friday report, "New DNA tests fail to link Blair to Ashley Estell's slaying."
More DNA tests have failed to connect the man convicted of killing 7-year-old Ashley Estell to the 1993 crime. Michael Blair was not the source of forensic evidence found on the Plano girl's shoes, court records show.
Tests were inconclusive on DNA material found on a stuffed rabbit toy and the shirt Ashley was wearing at the time of her death. One legal expert said the repeated negative results of DNA tests may strengthen Mr. Blair's bid for an appeal.
Mr. Blair is waiting to hear from the Texas Criminal Court of Appeals on whether he'll be granted a new trial and an opportunity to get off death row.
Previous forensic tests showed that Mr. Blair's DNA did not match tissue samples found under Ashley's fingernails and that hair found on Ashley did not come from Mr. Blair, according to court records.
And:
Even if Mr. Blair were cleared of Ashley's death, he won't be freed. In 2004, Mr. Blair confessed to aggravated sexual assault in crimes involving three children in the early 1990s and is serving three consecutive life sentences.
This last round of testing was conducted in May and placed in the court file this summer. Investigators looked at Ashley's shoes, her shirt and a stuffed rabbit.
A different male DNA profile was found on each of her shoes. The two profiles did not match Mr. Blair or other suspects that have been previously considered, according to the court record.
There is a great deal of earlier coverage of the Blair case beginning here and threading through earlier posts. I'm adding the Jessica's Law category tab to Blair stories. Ashley's Law was written and named for the victim in this crime, and this crime achieved the degree of notoriety and outrage that has led to wrongful convictions in the past -- the urgent, hasty desire to find a guilty party at all costs.
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