Theonly1
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“Would the DNA from a child resulting from a union from Lee and Casey have basically the same characteristics? Making the preliminary DNA check not definitive as to who the hair samples are from,” he said.
My head is spinning on this..... I wish I knew more about genetics.......
If the particular test used was *mitochondrial* DNA it only checks the mother's side of the DNA which is passed down (i.e. Caylee, Casey, Cindy ad infinitum) etc. A mitochondrial DNA sample would not concern itself with the male DNA.
So, if there was a mitochondrial "match" with Caylee's toothbrush (example of prior "known" sample) then that DNA would either be Caylee's or Casey's. If the same sample of hair was decomposed and we know Casey is alive (heh) then it would rule out Casey. [I think we can also rule out Grandma Cindy because her hair is blondish, shorter and she is also alive.]
Just fyi...I hope this makes sense. It is a process of elimination. Example: We have decomposed hair sample (see the rings? See the scalp hair? Okay--this means death.). Then let's run a mitochondrial DNA on it. It matches a known sample for Caylee (but also would in theory match Casey as Casey is Caylee's mamma). Could it be Casey? No,i because Casey is alive. Could it be Cindy? No, Cindy is alive. Could it be Cindy's mamma? No. and so on.