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New Haven, CT (WFSB) — A well-known forensic scientist from Connecticut responded on Thursday to claims that he gave inaccurate testimony during a trial.
Dr. Henry Lee testified in the case of Wendall Hasan back in the mid-80s.
Hasan was sentenced to 80 years in prison for the murder of a Darien man.
As part of the investigation, Lee took blood samples from the bottom of Puma sneakers believed to be worn by Hasan. The sneakers linked him to the crime.
In a lawsuit obtained by Channel 3, however, it stated that a lab tested the stains on the bottom of each sneaker and no blood was found.
Thursday morning, Lee held a news conference at the University of New Haven in which he defended his work.
He said he used and tested the blood decades ago and what the lab used for the other test was a completely different sample.
“Thirty years later they retest this sneaker and no blood was found,” Lee said. “Of course no blood was found! I already used it up. You can’t say 30 years ago it wasn’t there. That doesn’t make any sense.”
The case wasn’t the first to question Lee’s work.
Last week, a judge in Torrington ordered the release of Ralph Birch. Prosecutors decided whether or not to re-try Birch and another man in connection with a 1985 murder.
The state Supreme Court ordered new trials and cited testimony about blood evidence by Lee.
Lee stood behind his work in that case as well.
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