Tiffany Souers' Murder: Forensic Evidence

This is a partial transcript from "On the Record," May 31, 2006, that has been edited for clarity.

GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, HOST: Tiffany Souers was strangled to death with a bikini top. Friends found her body 12 hours later. There was no sign of forced entry. Police are still investigating all leads.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB ARIAIL, PICKENS COUNTY SOLICITOR: We have seized items that we think will produce a DNA profile or we're hopeful that will produce a DNA profile. We'll know more about that in the morning. An expert in this field said that 99.9 percent of all DNA is the same. One-tenth of one percent is what makes each of us different, so that one-tenth of one percent is obviously what we want and what we will identify. That gives us the DNA profile to match an individual.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAN SUSTEREN: It will take a few weeks before the medical examiner's office has a complete report including if the sexual assault did take place.

Joining us from New York is forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden. Dr. Baden, does it have to take several weeks for these results because there was without any question a killer on the loose in this community?

DR. MICHAEL BADEN, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: No, it doesn't and it's now about six days. They should probably be getting the results of the vaginal swabs and the DNA rape kit in the next couple of days. Now whether they'll release it is something else.

VAN SUSTEREN: Well, and they may not and I understand that for investigative purposes. But is the reason that we hear that it takes weeks is because in many of these communities there's a backlog of investigations? Is that why we hear that?

BADEN: Well, that's why it takes longer than a few days. Now, if they put a priority on this, as I assume they would given all the publicity it's generated, and also the concern of the community is there a serial rapist out there, that could be done in two or three days.

Remember, the Duke DNA and all those Duke students was done — were done in about three or four days. They had all 46 of them or so. So, if they want to they can do it nowadays in two or three days. It's now six days given also the weekend, so that they may very well have the information that we're talking about.

VAN SUSTEREN: And that may not even be the end all in terms of the investigation. They may have surveillance tape. There may have been cameras outside the apartment or in the area. There may, you know, even fingerprints in the apartment although it's hard. That might be more difficult. But they also seized the dumpster. What do you make of that?

BADEN: Yes, that's interesting because remember in the past, in the Foccio (ph) case and others they thought of the dumpster as a secondary consideration. Now they're going right for the dumpster because evidence can be thrown there, even condoms, a used condom could be thrown there and that could have a great deal of information obviously.

But he said that they have some evidence that they're developing a profile from. It sounded like he had something, whether it's cigarette butts with saliva, whether it's blood drops, whether it's semen. It sounds that the prosecutor felt pretty strongly that they have stuff that they...

VAN SUSTEREN: Last night the coroner said on our show that he did not see any defensive wounds. Now, I don't know if they just weren't visible but I thought that peculiar, any thoughts about that?

BADEN: Well, yes, I think that she was either surprised or she knew somebody that had come in and was not — didn't fight with the person. If she was grabbed from behind, if the perpetrator was in her room when she got there, she left at 12:03 or whatever, he could have gotten in.

It's a first floor apartment. He could have gotten in from an open window or something. And if he was there when she gets there and he immediately puts pressure on her neck to prevent her from calling for help because apparently there were other people in that building, a couple right above them and they didn't hear her cry out for help that that could also be part of the scenario the police are looking into.

VAN SUSTEREN: All right, well there's certainly a lot of clues that must, you know, that must be there at that scene plus they've seized a cell phone, computer and again, you know, I'm hung up on the thought that there might be some surveillance tape which would be enormously helpful.

BADEN: That would be terrific.

VAN SUSTEREN: Indeed, Dr. Baden, thank you as always sir.

BADEN: Thank you.

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