The man who raped and killed 22-year-old Katie Sepich walked free for three years, while his DNA sat in a law enforcement database with no match.
Jayann Sepich, angered that her daughter’s killer wasn’t caught sooner, launched the fight in New Mexico for “Katie’s Law,” requiring DNA collection from certain suspects.
The New Mexico legislature passed it in 2006, and now Maryland has followed suit with a similar law that goes into effect in January.
Sepich plans to share her daughter’s story Wednesday when law enforcement professionals gather for training on Maryland’s new law requiring DNA samples to be taken from each person charged with a crime of violence, burglary or attempts to commit those crimes.
The meeting, the first of several regional conferences on the standards and procedures of the law, aims to identify suspects sooner, solve open cases and prevent crimes.
“This is the first time Maryland law enforcement professionals will come together for a collaborative, intensive training on collecting, analyzing and processing DNA that will be placed in the Maryland DNA database,” said Kristen Mahoney, executive director of the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention.
“This expanded database will help solve crimes, prevent crimes and exonerate the innocent.”
Experts will discuss the collection and analysis of DNA, as well as procedures for police investigations and prosecution.
A DNA sample will be taken from each individual charged with a crime of violence, including murder, rape, robbery, abduction, kidnapping, manslaughter, certain sexual offenses and use of a handgun in the commission of a felony. The law also applies to charges of first-, second- and third-degree burglary, state police said.
The DNA samples will be forwarded to the Maryland State Police Forensic Sciences Division laboratory and added to the state’s database that compares DNA collected from crime scenes with known samples on file, state police said.
Some lawmakers have argued the law is a violation of civil rights, and prosecutors fear the complicated law actually could make it more difficult to seize and test DNA evidence.
But Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger said the law is a powerful tool “that will ensure the prompt identification and apprehension of violent offenders.”
The meeting will take place at the Public Safety Education and Training Center in Sykesville.
