Judge allows evidence tested, compared with Smith's DNA
Staff reporter
Crime scene evidence from a 1986 murder trial will be sent to an independent lab for DNA testing.
Eighth Judicial Chief Judge Michael Powers requested a hearing which was held Sept. 8 in the Marion County courtroom.
Powers wanted to verify the status of a motion for new DNA testing of Oliver Smith, the convicted murderer of Shelly Prine of rural Goessel.
Special county prosecutor Stephen Joseph said he had most of the transcripts. The original file was transported by Powers to Marion County from Geary County District Court.
Joseph said the state did not have a problem with additional testing being conducted.
"As long as the defendant (Smith) pays for the tests, and as long as there is evidence to test, which there is, and as long as we have a lab to test it, I have no problem," Joseph said.
Joseph recommended the lab Cellmark Diagnostics, located in Maryland, to provide new and comparative DNA testing.
Two file boxes pertaining to the case were turned over to Joseph for review.
Defense attorney Jean Phillips asked that an inventory be completed at the courthouse rather than Joseph taking the boxes and inventorying the contents at his Wichita office. Powers agreed.
Joseph will personally transport the two boxes to the KBI lab in Topeka. Marion County Sheriff's Department will transport other evidence (carpet, coveralls, and vials) to the KBI lab, Joseph said.
Powers asked Joseph for a time line of when the lab results may be available and court dates could be set. Joseph said he did not know when the testing would be completed, saying it was dependent on the work load at the lab and any potential problems.
Phillips said she recently had Cellmark conduct tests pertaining to another case and took three to four months to complete.
Smith was convicted of murdering the 22-year-old woman by shooting her in the head.
The victim's husband, Robert Prine, reported he returned home from a hunting trip Oct. 26, 1986, and found his wife seriously injured.
Smith and Robert Prine worked together at Pre-Stressed Concrete in Newton and Smith was a frequent visitor to the Prine home.
At the time of the investigation, DNA testing was new in forensic investigations. This case gained notoriety for being the first court case that used DNA testing in the state of Kansas.
The motion, filed by Phillips on behalf of Smith, requested the court allow forensic testing on all blood and semen samples from the crime scene. The samples then would be compared with Smith's DNA.
Improved DNA testing and a state statute that allows retesting were the grounds for the motion.
Smith had maintained his innocence during the initial trial and subsequent incarceration.
He is serving a life sentence for first-degree murder and a consecutive term of 15 years for rape.
