|
 Attorney Thomas Eoannou said he would request an independent
investigation "by a separate law enforcement agency into how this
breach could have possibly happened."
He declined to speculate how the disclosure would affect the
investigation, but added: "If you're looking for a surefire way to
scuttle a prosecution, you may tamper with the evidence."
Kane's accuser told police that Kane, a three-time Stanley Cup
champion with the Chicago Blackhawks and one of the National Hockey
League's top players, raped her in his lakeshore home in Hamburg,
New York, early on the morning of Aug. 2 after the two met at a
Buffalo nightclub.
The 26-year-old Kane has not been charged with any crime and has
denied the accusation.
The Buffalo News reported over the weekend that DNA evidence
gathered in the rape investigation did not confirm the woman's
allegation she was raped by Kane. His DNA was found beneath the
woman’s fingernails and on her shoulders, the News reported,
according to two sources, one of them identified as a member of law
enforcement.
Kane’s attorney, Paul Cambria, told reporters on Wednesday that
tampering with evidence would only hurt Kane because the results
pointed to his exoneration.
"The only one who might have an incentive to have the evidence
questioned is someone who is not pleased with the result," Cambria
said.
Erie County Commissioner of Central Police Services John Glascott
said in a statement all evidence related to the case "is accounted
for and remains in its original packaging."
"This includes the evidence in the rape kit and the packaging
itself. This evidence has been analyzed and reports of that analysis
sent to the appropriate agencies," the statement said.
Erie County District Attorney Frank Sedita III did not immediately
respond to a request for comment.
[to top of second column] |
Eoannou said the accuser's mother picked up the empty brown evidence
bag when she returned home from work for lunch on Tuesday, finding
it between her door and storm door.
"We'd like to thank the person who anonymously placed the bag in the
doorway of her mother's residence," he told a news conference in
Buffalo. "But we would also like that person to come forward and
cooperate with authorities as to how on earth this could have
happened."
Eoannou said the bag had the personal identifying information of the
woman and the initials of the nurses who administered the kit.
He criticized media leaks over the past several weeks, saying the
reports of DNA evidence had been "devastating to my client."
"This is a classic example of why rape victims don't come forward,"
Eoannou said. "This is the worst example of victim bashing that I
have seen."
Kane's attorney, Cambria, told reporters: "The victim has not been
determined in this case. I think my client is the victim."
(Reporting by Steve Ginsburg in Washington; Editing by Peter Cooney)
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