Rape kit not tested for 12 years leads to suspect

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A brutal rape of a teenage girl 16 years ago, and crucial evidence in her case sat on a shelf for over a decade. Now DNA testing has led to a suspect who in the meantime found another victim.

We've been telling you about the backlog in testing rape kits for years. This case in particular brings up a burning question: If the evidence would have been tested sooner, would another woman have been victimized? Roland Ali Westbrooks is already a convicted rapist. But he has just been charged with another attack on a Houston teen that happened in one neighborhood back in 1995. "I'm upset, and everyone has a right to be upset -- and should be," Sen. John Whitmire said. Sen. Whitmire said he's upset, learning it's taken Houston police 16 years to link Westbrooks with the teen's rape using DNA evidence the department already had in its possession for years. "If you're going to have a police department in a civilized society, you've got to solve crimes. Particularly when you have the evidence in your lock box in your station," said Sen. Whitmire. Court documents show the 16-year-old girl reported the rape back in August 1995. Twelve years later, in 2007, a new officer reviewed the case and found the DNA evidence was never sent to the crime lab. It took another two years for that officer to learn a DNA profile was found. And in October 2009 that sample was set to the state DPS lab. In July 2010, the investigating officer learned the DNA sample matched Westbrooks, who was already serving time in prison for a different rape. The officer sent additional DNA results to the HPD crime lab in February of this year, and it was only last month that police say those lab results linked Westbrooks to the 1995 rape. Senator Whitmire says had HPD tested the rape kit sooner, it could have stopped Westbrooks from attacking someone else. "It is wrong. They have over 4,000 rape kits unprocessed at the Houston Police Department. They know it. The public knows it. And it's unacceptable," said Sen. Whitmire. The crime lab director told us there is currently a team in place to process those thousands of rape kits. (Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
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UH: Officer killed in wreck tested positive for cocaine

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- The Harris County Medical Examiner's office found drugs in the system of University of Houston police officer who was killed on Christmas Eve when she lost control of her patrol car and crashed into a tree.

In statement, UH Police Chief Malcolm Davis said the Harris County Medical Examiner detected cocaine in 24-year-old Officer Ann O'Donnell's body. The statement did not specify how much cocaine was found in her system or state whether the drugs played a factor in the fatal wreck. On Christmas Eve, O'Donnell crashed her patrol car into a tree on North McGregor while responding to a call regarding an assault at a nearby restaurant. Authorities say emergency crews spent 30 minutes getting O'Donnell out of the vehicle. She died on the way to the hospital. UH issued the following statement following the medical examiner's findings: "It is routine practice for the University of Houston to conduct a thorough investigation after any serious incident. So, the university retained an outside consultant to review training, policy and management responses at UHDPS. That review of procedures has not been concluded. "The welfare of the campus community remains the UH Department of Public Safety's top priority, and the university supports that commitment." O'Donnell had been an officer only since November 2009. (Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) 

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