A Murderous Recognition of DNA’s Impact

Forensic science–and DNA specifically–has reached a dubious level of recognition. While we usually consider DNA’s impact by way of its exoneration of the innocent, the number of CODIS hits or crimes solved, or increasingly the ability to solve property crimes with DNA, there is a new recognition of DNA’s power and impact–the daytime, open air assassination of the Director of Forensic Services in Chihuahua, Mexico. Pedro Aragonez, 42, was murdered in front of his son in Ciudad Chihuahua, state capital of Chihuahua. The assassins ambushed his SUV as he waited for a traffic light and sprayed it with bullets.

A week before his murder, I met with Pedro in New Orleans. He and several colleagues were attending the International Academy of Forensic Sciences meeting where we spent several hours talking about how DNA and DNA databases could help stem the tide of crime in Mexico.

As with all good prosecutors, he was all about the details. This was not a policy discussion. This was: How do we get this done; how do we get CODIS; how do we set up our quality assurance programs? And having worked in over 25 countries, I’ve heard more than a few excuses (including in my own country) as to why this work can’t be done. In a country with more excuses than most for not implementing a DNA database, there was never an excuse or belief that this could not or would not happen in Chihuahua.

That is not to say Pedro did not recognize the challenges, particularly where corruption was involved. In our work together, we were planning an event to educate the criminal justice community about the value and need for a forensic DNA database. In most areas where I am involved in similar educational events, the intent is to publicize meetings to maximize their educational impact. In Mexico however, Pedro was clear. High visibility–to promote an effective crime fighting tool–was not advisable. On August 14, 2008, in a hail of automatic gunfire, it became painfully clear why.

Pedro’s murder is a loss not only for the Mexican criminal justice system; the United States has lost a powerful crime fighting partner, too. Pedro worked closely with New Mexico’s Attorney General’s office and its Border Violence Division. One of the future programs we talked about was a DNA data sharing plan wherein DNA profiles of illegal immigrants apprehended in the U.S. could be compared across the border against a Chihuahuan offender database. Given the close proximity of Ciudad Juarez, a city where 40 people were murdered in the same weekend Pedro was killed, such collaboration would be extremely valuable to the United States’ own crime fighting efforts.

Pedro was a quiet man. He thought more than he talked. As a former prosecutor, I know what a rare quality that is in the profession. But when he did speak, it wasn’t always about the work. Often, it was about a better, safer future for his children. That future still exists–it is however, a little further off now.

Chris Asplen is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and local prosecutor specializing in the prosecution of sex crime and child abuse. He was also formerly the Executive Director of the National Commission on the Future of DNA Evidence for the U.S. Department of Justice and Director of the DNA Unit for the National District Attorneys Association. Currently, he consults with local, state, and foreign governments and law enforcement agencies on the use of forensic DNA technology. Chris is also a member of the Crime Victim Bar Association.