<B>By Pauline ETIENNE</B>

Two days ago was the celebration of a sad anniversary. Three years have gone by since Nadine Dantier was raped and killed on a piece of wasteland not far from her house in Albion. And there has still been no arrest expect for one considered since then as a miscarriage of justice – that of Marcellin Azie. But Nadine Dantier is not the only victim whose torturer is still at large.

Our society is plagued everyday with horrible news of violence that turns our stomachs upside down. Little Anne Jennia is only one of them. Nothing will bring those victims back to their parents and relatives. But they could at least be comforted in some way if they could see the torturers of their daughters, wives or mothers behind bars.

If Marcellin Azie – whose statement to the police has always been confused despite his confessions at the first stage of the enquiry – has been proved innocent, he can only owe his freedom to DNA tests. Even if they took several months to reveal the truth in his case, they at least allowed him to be freed from prison. Is there any chance of the real murderer being found and arrested, it will only be through DNA tests as well.

The Major Crime Investigation Team has strong suspicions that Eden François raped and killed Nadine Dantier. All witnesses have confirmed the presence of someone imposing and strong near that plot of land on the fateful 25th June 2003. Moreover, he corresponds to the murderer’s profile built up by the investigators. But all the presumptions of the MCIT will remain just presumptions if the main suspect doesn’t agree to take the DNA tests.

If he is innocent – as he claims to be – the tests (99% reliable) would only help him clear his name in this case and allow the police to move on to investigate other leads. But he doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to take the tests and the enquiry is at a standstill in the meantime.

So, the government’s initiative to introduce a bill in Parliament to make DNA tests compulsory for suspects is undeniably a positive one. The attorney general asserted that the government will be quick to introduce such a law. Now that debates on the budget are over, we can hope the government will find time to tackle this new bill…

However, this new law will not be really efficient as long as our forensic science laboratory (FSL) does not function to its full capacity. The prime minister announced in Parliament that “new and sophisticated DNA equipment” would be operational in the FSL in June. Even though there is no doubt that such equipment is highly necessary, it is not worth the investment if the tests continue to be sent to South Africa for confirmation.

The reasons for this are quite simple: on the one hand, the FSL does not have the international accreditation to validate its tests; on the other, the laboratory staff does not have all the necessary skills and has not been given the right training to be fully independent. This lengthens the process by a few months more.

In such circumstances, not only is it impossible for the victims’ families to achieve closure and get on with their lives - however painful this may be to begin with - but in addition, the investigations also take far too long to achieve results… And, with the passage of time, it becomes even more difficult for investigators to bring their enquiries to a “happy ending” (as happy as an ending can be in such circumstances!)

As the bill is introduced in Parliament, foreign specialists should be called upon to train the FSL staff and make them competent to do the DNA tests. The victims have experienced a horrible end; they should at least be given the chance to rest in peace with their torturers behind bars… For the sake of their memory, for their families to come to terms with their grief and for society’s peace of mind.