Dr DNA: The Man Behind the Breakthrough

Bradley Edwards hid in plain sight for more than two decades, but what he didn’t realise, was that he was just simply hidden, and that meant he could still be found.

His DNA was found under Ciara Glennon’s fingernails. She fought for her life, and in that fight, she scratched her killer and hid a part of him to be found by scientists years later.

Dr Jonathan Whitaker is the scientist who found a male DNA profile from the microscopic DNA fragments found under Ciara Glennon’s fingernails.

His testing and retesting of Ciara’s fingernail samples at FSS in the UK in 2008 was the pivotal turning point in the MACRO investigation.

His new method of testing - Low Copy Number - provided the distinctive male profile which later proved to be Edwards.

But at the time, he admits its significance was not immediately apparent.

Dr Jonathan Whitaker speak to Tim Clarke in this episode of Claremont in Conversation: The Verdict, and tells of when he realised his find was indeed the ‘Eureka moment’ that led police to Bradley Edwards.

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