Identicle Twins Cause Confusion in Murder Case

Witnesses said they saw someone who looked just like Orlando Nembhard brandish a pistol outside a crowded nightclub and fire on a 19 year old man in the club who later died. But Orlando has an identicle twin, Brandon, who was also at the scene on that morning in February.

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In United States v. Pool, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals wrote of familial DNA searches:

“This seems somewhat analogous to a witness looking at a photograph of one person and stating that the perpetrator has a similar appearance which leads the police to show the witness photos of similar looking individuals, one of whom the witness identifies as the perpetrator. It is questionable whether the person whose photograph helped focus the inquiry, or whose familial comparison helped focus the inquiry, has suffered any invasion of his or her constitutional right to privacy.”[1]

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[1] United States v. Pool, 621 F. 3d 1213 (9^th Cir. 2010)