DNA testing demand delays justice

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Since July 2011, the family of Elizabeth Escobar has waited for any information that might lead law enforcement to the person who killed her and left her body burning inside an abandoned car on a lonely road in Manor.

And for nearly that long, they also waited for the results of DNA testing that provide investigators the break they need to finally make an arrest.

"Life goes on, but it doesn't for her," said Escobar's cousin, Trish Rivera. "And it's not fair, you know. It's not fair."

Waiting for DNA results is not uncommon for criminal cases in Texas. Demand for DNA testing has increased by 32 percent at the crime lab operated by the Texas Department of Public Safety in Austin. That increase has created average wait times of four months for DNA results.

"The state lab is overwhelmed with every other agency that doesn't have their own lab and has homicides, too, and sexual assaults and that DNA is in that lab, so it gets held up there," Travis County Investigator Alan Howard told KXAN in July 2012.

Escobar's family waited more than 12 months for DNA test results to come back in her still-unsolved case.

The body of Escobar was discovered along the side of a country road near Manor in Travis County.

"She tried hard," said Rivera of her cousin, who was 24 and a mother of two. "She was battling her demons, but she was a good person."

DPS does DNA testing for law enforcement agencies in Texas' 254 counties. Officials said the Escobar case is complicated because evidence was submitted shortly after the crime and then additional evidence was submitted in February and April of 2012.

"DPS has processed a total of 15 samples in this case, and currently there are no test results pending," said DPS spokesman Tom Vinger. "The DPS Crime Lab will continue to work with investigators on this case, and provided assistance as requested."

In 2011, the DPS Lab completed testing on 1,332 DNA cases, which included examinations of 26,216 pieces of evidence.

"DPS is always working on reducing processing times for DNA, despite the fact that the DNA caseload has increased exponentially over the years," said DPS spokesman Tom VInger. "We will continue to seek the resources needed to deal with this explosive growth."

Automation, additional staff, a new crime lab and greater communication with law enforcement have all been used to positively impact DNA processing times at the DPS Austin Crime Lab in recent years.

KXAN News has learned the Travis County Sheriff's Office is considering creating its own DNA lab, but the cost to the taxpayers would be in the millions.

"You can't get a quick enough turnaround on some cases and it's not like it is on TV," said sheriff's spokesman Roger Wade. "It's a dilemma for us and we're working to try to fix that."

Travis County is the agency investigating the Elizabeth Escobar case.

"I can't say enough how great DPS is to work with," Wade said. "But there are other options that we need to explore. And one of those is maybe relieving some of the burden that DPS has by building our own lab."

The sheriff's office has already approached Travis County Commissioners about how to pay for a new lab.

"I think that's a conversation that needs to take place and, you know, we're talking about public funds here and there's not a lot of public funds to go around," said Travis County Trial Bureau director Buddy Meyer. "Can it be quicker?  I think that we always want to improve or decrease the timeframe. That's a work in progress."