Caleb Flynn Trial Day 3: BCI DNA Team Found WHAT In The Home?

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

You're listening to continuing coverage in the trial of Caleb Flynn from the Hidden Killers podcast and True Crime Today. Now, back to the courtroom.

Judge (0:11)

Mr. Joseph, would you like to inquire with this witness?

SPEAKER_1 (0:14)

Thank you, Your Honor.

Joseph (0:14)

May you please state your name and spell your first and last name for the record?

Nicole Augsback (0:18)

Sure. My name is Nicole, last name Augsback. First name N-I-C-O-L-E, last name Augsback, A-U-G-S-B-S-N-BOY-A-C-K.

Joseph (0:30)

When were you currently employed?

Nicole Augsback (0:32)

I am currently a forensic scientist in the DNA section at the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, not commonly known as BCI.

Joseph (0:39)

How long have you been employed with BCI?

Nicole Augsback (0:41)

I have been employed with BCI since December of 2013

Joseph (0:46)

What are your primary duties?

Nicole Augsback (0:49)

As a DNA scientist, my primary duties include screening items to get evidence for the presence of all the fluids or other sources of DNA, extracting and or what we would consider to be cleaning up and preparing the sample for DNA analysis itself. And then I will also analyze DNA profiles, generate reports and testify for if necessary.

Joseph (1:13)

Can you please describe your educational background?

Nicole Augsback (1:16)

Sure, I have a Bachelor of Science in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Master of Science in Forensic Science from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Joseph (1:30)

And have you received any specialized training in the area of DNA analysis?

Nicole Augsback (1:34)

I have. So at BCI, once you're hired, you go through an in-house training program, which feels a lot like being back in school, including lectures, labs, mock casework. You've got written exams, oral exams, proficiency tests, and that's it.

Joseph (1:50)

And you've completed all of those?

Nicole Augsback (1:51)

I do.

Joseph (1:52)

And you belong to any professional organizations?

Nicole Augsback (1:55)

I am a member of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Joseph (1:59)

And how many times have, how many, sorry I rephrased, have you previously been qualified as an expert witness in the area of forensic DNA analysis?

Nicole Augsback (2:07)

I have. How many times?

43

Joseph (2:11)

That's the, state designated witness as an expert in DNA analysis.

Judge (2:18)

The court will designate this witness as an expert for forensic DNA analysis.

Joseph (2:26)

And we already heard from one of your colleagues about the teamwork approach. Can you please describe your role in this analysis in this case?

Nicole Augsback (2:33)

Sure. So within the teamwork approach, you heard from my colleague, Lindsey, who would have done the actual examination of the evidence and the collection of the samples. After that step is what we call our extraction step.

This step is actually going to be cleaning up the DNA and removing it from whatever the sample happened to be on. So if it were a swab that we took, I'm actually going to take that swab that's now in a little tube, and I'm going to be the one that actually cleans and purifies that DNA sample to get it ready for the next step in the process.

Joseph (3:06)

And that's what you did in this case?

Nicole Augsback (3:08)

That's correct.

Joseph (3:09)

And how did you know where the findings were located?

Nicole Augsback (3:12)

So each individual item had a barcode, and our electronic management, our laboratory information management system electronically tracks where each item of evidence is within our secure evidence vault. So I would have been assigned an extraction batch is what we call it. I would have found those items of evidence where they were located in our vaults, taken them into my custody and then processed them.

Joseph (3:39)

And how would you know which items were for this case specifically?

Nicole Augsback (3:44)

They have unique case numbers and item numbers for each individual item within a specific case.

Joseph (3:50)

And so when you received those items, what did you do with them?

Nicole Augsback (3:53)

When I received those items, I followed our extraction protocol. So the way I like to describe extraction is a lot like doing your laundry.

So I'm actually trying to clean out that DNA. So I'm actually going to add detergents and chemicals to the sample and try to actually break up any impurities or things that I want to remove. So that when I am done with this entire process, I have a tube that has purified just DNA ready to go for the next step in the process.

Joseph (4:21)

And you did that for every item in this case?

Nicole Augsback (4:24)