Fire sprinklers soak evidence room at WSP crime lab
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SEATTLE -- Investigators across Western Washington fear water damage on key evidence may wash away their cases.
Evidence from cases across the region may be in jeopardy after malfunctioning fire sprinklers soaked the evidence room at the Washington State Patrol's state crime lab at 2203 Airport Way South on Monday.
The sprinklers were shut off after 20 minutes, but they'd already covered the floor with a 2-inch pool of water, said crime lab manager Jim Tarver.
Each envelope and boxes, laid out inside the lab in Seattle, holds a crucial piece of evidence collected by police departments all over Puget Sound. Now, it's a race to dry them all out before evidence is ruined, cases dropped and suspects freed.
"If that in fact happens, of course we will feel terrible about it," said Tarver.
The cases are from various jurisdictions, from Bellingham and Mount Vernon to Seattle, to Kitsap County. And the nature of the cases vary as well, from burglary to sexual assault.
Among the items stored in the flooded room were evidence from the case of accused cop killer Christopher Monfort, according to Dan Donahoe, spokesman for the King County Prosecutor's Office.
It was not immediately clear whether any of the Monfort case evidence was damaged, but investigators said because all the case evidence had already been tested, the incident was not expected to have any impact on Monfort's case.
Tarver says problems began on Monday when a sprinkler inside the refrigerated evidence room snapped for an unknown reason. Gallons of water rained down on more than a hundred pieces of evidence sitting on the shelves below.
"It's devastating to us, the possibility that some of the evidence might have been compromised or lost," he said.
Sealed canisters protected some of the evidence. But other items, like DNA samples, are stored in manila and cardboard as they need to breathe.
"I have forensic staff examining the evidence to determine the extent to which it was exposed and whether or not any of the evidence was compromised," said Tarver.
Tarver says it could be days before they know for sure whether the water destroyed any evidence. Any extensive damage could potentially affect a number of past or future cases linked to the evidence.
The lab is now looking into other ways to store their evidence far away from any sprinkler heads while the state fire marshal investigates the cause of the sprinkler glitch.
Evidence from cases across the region may be in jeopardy after malfunctioning fire sprinklers soaked the evidence room at the Washington State Patrol's state crime lab at 2203 Airport Way South on Monday.
The sprinklers were shut off after 20 minutes, but they'd already covered the floor with a 2-inch pool of water, said crime lab manager Jim Tarver.
Each envelope and boxes, laid out inside the lab in Seattle, holds a crucial piece of evidence collected by police departments all over Puget Sound. Now, it's a race to dry them all out before evidence is ruined, cases dropped and suspects freed.
"If that in fact happens, of course we will feel terrible about it," said Tarver.
The cases are from various jurisdictions, from Bellingham and Mount Vernon to Seattle, to Kitsap County. And the nature of the cases vary as well, from burglary to sexual assault.
Among the items stored in the flooded room were evidence from the case of accused cop killer Christopher Monfort, according to Dan Donahoe, spokesman for the King County Prosecutor's Office.
It was not immediately clear whether any of the Monfort case evidence was damaged, but investigators said because all the case evidence had already been tested, the incident was not expected to have any impact on Monfort's case.
Tarver says problems began on Monday when a sprinkler inside the refrigerated evidence room snapped for an unknown reason. Gallons of water rained down on more than a hundred pieces of evidence sitting on the shelves below.
"It's devastating to us, the possibility that some of the evidence might have been compromised or lost," he said.
Sealed canisters protected some of the evidence. But other items, like DNA samples, are stored in manila and cardboard as they need to breathe.
"I have forensic staff examining the evidence to determine the extent to which it was exposed and whether or not any of the evidence was compromised," said Tarver.
Tarver says it could be days before they know for sure whether the water destroyed any evidence. Any extensive damage could potentially affect a number of past or future cases linked to the evidence.
The lab is now looking into other ways to store their evidence far away from any sprinkler heads while the state fire marshal investigates the cause of the sprinkler glitch.
