Twins Accused of Heist Freed
Despite DNA Evidence, Twins Accused of Heist Freed
It’s an idea beloved of screenwriters: the perfect crime. But in Hollywood movies even the cleverest plot is usually derailed by an unforeseen hitch. Now a real-life heist in Germany seems to have flouted that rule together with its moral-laden subtext that crime doesn’t pay. In January €5,000,000 ($6,800,000) worth of jewelry was grabbed from the cases of Kaufhaus des Westens, a luxurious seven-story department store universally known as KaDeWe and as much of a Berlin landmark as the Victory Column and the Brandenburg Gate. Three masked, gloved thieves were caught on surveillance cameras sliding down ropes from store skylights, outsmarting the department store’s sophisticated security system.
That night they got clean away, but they did leave evidence behind: DNA, found in a drop of sweat on a discarded latex glove next to a rope ladder used to reach the ground floor. Police ran the material through the German crime database. And they got a hit; two in fact. (See pictures of printing money in Germany.)
The computer identified 27-year old identical twins Hassan and Abbas O. (under German law they cannot be named in full). Unemployed and Lebanese born, the brothers have lived in the northern German state of Lower Saxony since the age of one, but still have not been granted permanent residency. They have criminal records for theft and fraud. (See pictures of the annual twins days festival.)
Police arrested them on Feb. 11 in a gambling arcade and charged both brothers with burglary, an offense which carries a potential 10-year-sentence. But, on March 18, before the case ever came to trial, they were released. The twins — who have made no comment on the charges — “are laughing at the rule of law in this country,” opined Germany’s mass-market daily newspaper Bild.
Here’s the joke: the authorities had no choice as the court ruling made clear: “From the evidence we have, we can deduce that at least one of the brothers took part in the crime, but it has not been possible to determine which one.” Identical twins share 99.99% of their genetic information, and the tiny differences are impossible to isolate due to their nature — they tend to be spontaneous mutations limited to certain organs or tissues. “Identifying those [differences] would amount to dissecting the suspects,” says Professor Peter M. Schneider, a University of Cologne forensic expert. “Our hands are tied in a case like this”, says criminal law expert Professor Hans-Ullrich Paeffgen of Bonn University. “The law doesn’t allow us to detain someone indefinitely just because he is suspected of a crime. This may be different elsewhere. But I’d rather live in a country where someone guilty is not convicted for lack of conclusive evidence than in a place where innocent people are locked up.”
This isn’t the first time identical twins have proved impossible to pin down. Their genetic material can thwart paternity tests if both twins claim — or deny — fathering a child. A jury in a rape trial in Houston deadlocked in 2005 when the DNA recovered on the crime scene matched identical twins who had kidnapped their victim together. A year earlier in Boston, a suspected rapist, an identical twin, blamed his brother when confronted with the matching DNA. Although he was already serving a sentence following a rape conviction, the jury could not agree on a verdict and the judge declared a mistrial. Earlier this year, an identical twin suspected of drug smuggling and sentenced to death in Malaysia was set free when the court could not prove beyond doubt whether he or his brother had committed the crime. (Read a TIME cover story on DNA.)
If fresh evidence emerges, a new arrest warrant can be issued against Hassan and Abbas O. any time within the next 10 years, the statute of limitation for burglary cases. Police will continue to keep an eye on them, hoping to be led to the loot. But with the brothers’ arrest warrants suspended, they are free to travel and the authorities cannot tap their phone lines or keep tabs on their bank accounts.
“The mills of justice grind slowly, and sometimes not very finely,” says Prof. Paeffgen, drily. The twins disagree. “We are proud of the German legal system and grateful,” they told Berlin’s daily newspaper Tagesspiegel through a family member after their release.
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Read a TIME cover story on DNA.
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My initial response to this twin case was wow, can this be the perfect crime? I mean, seriously, DNA evidence, but by technicalities the twins are freed. I think some questioning should have been conducted seperating the two and search for records of their allaby. Justice needs to work on cracking the loop hole of being a twin and getting off free. It is understandable DNA is identical and you could possibly be committing an innocent man, but now your saying the twin or both twins can strike again, if they conduct crime the same way. It’s just wrong I mean look at the facts, they have records of theft. I bet they feel lucky having free jewelry and knowing they are invulnerable to arrest now.
I’m really surprised by the information in this article. I had no idea that DNA was 99.9% idential in twins, thus making it nearly impossible to tell whose DNA it really was. I want to say this is yet another flaw in the criminal justice system, but that isn’t exactly the case. DNA cannot be changed…if it’s nearly identical, then that’s what it is. Detectives cannot change that. However, I do believe they should come up with another way to handle cases such as this. Otherwise, it’s so easy for one twin to blame another, and then the true criminal gets away. Dismissing the case because one may be innocent doesnt no excuse the one who is guilty.
This article was very interesting to read. I was not aware of some of the facts stated regarding identical twins. DNA testing has proved to be a helpful tool in solving crimes however as this article proves it is not always a clear answer. This article stated that in several cases one or both of the identical twins could not be convicted because of the DNA tests. Although it doesn’t seem fair to keep an innocent person incarcerated it also doesn’t seem fair to release a criminal back into society. This has been and will continue to be an issue in many cases. With the continued advancement of science and technology I hope that such issues as this one will be more easily solved.
This loop hole was very unexpected. But the law is the law and it’s only fair that it be dealt with in this manner. I think for certain things like the twins DNA case, should have exceptions. The law must try to find a way around these types of cases or criminals such as these guys will end up committing more crimes. The police said that they’ll “keep an eye on them” but it’s nearly impossible if the police can’t tap their phones, or their bank accounts. If they commit enough crimes eventually they’ll be caught red handed, but if these guys never commit a crime again and make due with the $6,800,000 they stole, then they’ll probably never get caught. I’m not sure what would be a proper solution to this case other then the one that was chosen. Again, it’s only fair.
This story reminds me of movies where the police acted too soon and the criminal was allowed to go free for lack of evidence. At least they know who to watch for a slip-up. I think these guys should be watched for a while since they cannot go to jail. Obviously if they slip-up and show the jewelry, they should both go to jail, they probably both did the crime. If only one of them did it, it is better that the one not be wrongfully accused. I would like to hear what happens with this. All of that jewelry is going to be sold, they will slip up.
After reading the article I wondered why one of the suspects could not be held and taken to trial. I mean they do have evidence that it is one of the twin brothers from the DNA found on the glove so let the brothers decide which one it is and let him serve the time for his crime. If there was no evidence at all I could see how this case could be difficult but it is one of them we know this, we have the proof. The criminal justice system both of the USA and other countries sometimes puzzle me. I dont see how this criminal case could not be solved. All that has to be done is to question both twins on their location and activity during the time of the robbery. Find the flawed story get witnessed and that should lead one to which one it is. They already have one of their DNA, so one of them has to be taken to prison for the crime. 6800,000 dollars worth of jwellery stolen and you gonna let two possible suspects get a way because their twins and the DNA found doesnot distinguish which one it is? This is just disturbing.
WOW!!!!! i never would of thought having a twin would actually be this good if both were burglars. There must be a way to determine who did it though, or at least eventually someone will figure out how to genetically tell apart a twin. for now they should of kept them both for basically being the same genetic combination, for having already a record of theft, and for having evidence that at least one of them was there. But instead of just holding them in a cell, officials should be questioning them about their participation in that jewelry theft.
My initial response to this article was shock and amazement. I had no idea that DNA in twins were 99.9% a match. Something like that is very interesting in the criminal justice world. As interesting as it is, hopefully somewhere down the line we’ll be able to find a way to get over that bump in the road, so justice can be served to everyone.
What i think should happen is to separate the twins and try to break them that way, see who confesses. If that doesn’t work then I agree with the legal system to just let them go if you can’t have enough evidence to find them guilty; just keep a close eye on the two of them.
I would like to know if there is any way possible to get around this loop hole that has been found in the justice system without breaking any laws. I’m hoping that there is but we just haven’t gotten up to that point that.
I have to agree with Krista; I, too, did not know that the DNA in twins are a 99.9% match. Unfortunately, as this article presents, this can be a major issue in the criminal justice system. It is scary to think that just because two people have identical DNA, this means that it is possible that neither will be charged with a specific crime. It is almost as though the message here is that the crimnial justice system will just turn a blind eye to any crime scene with DNA evidence that is identical to two people. Hopefully with our growing technology we will be able to find away to surpass this loophole someday.
I found this article to be very interesting. I had no idea that DNA in twins was a 99% match, that is amazing. Knowing that both of the brothers have past charges on them for fraud and theft must make it even harder for the police to let both of them go. In my eyes chances are that if one was there the other one was as well. Knowing that there was three people and that the two brothers seem to be pretty close, living together, and both have criminal records. I’m interested to see if in the future we will be able to have the proper technology to figure this out. As for now i think it’s a good thing that they let both the boys off not knowing who was to blame, however i do not think they should let them off the hook completely they should still try and keep as close as an eye as possible on them.
Come on, who leaves evidence behind? The gloves laying beside the ladder used to get to the ground floor. The second I read the title it was predictable that these pair of twins would accomplish the perfect crime.
It reminded my of my 4 year old, identical twin brothers. They spent only a month in preschool and seemed to outsmart their teacher instantly with their identity. Matthew said he was William, and Willliam said he was Matthew. It was quite genuis that at their age they know they are identical and could do such a thing.
I think it was brave to let the brothers go, and quite a hard thing to say but seems very just, ““The law doesn’t allow us to detain someone indefinitely just because he is suspected of a crime. This may be different elsewhere. But I’d rather live in a country where someone guilty is not convicted for lack of conclusive evidence than in a place where innocent people are locked up.”
It must be a horribly frustrating situation for police and those in the justice system involved with this case. They know that at least one of the twins were present at the robbery but they can’t prove which one it was (or perhaps both of them were involved?) It’s a matter of convicting an innocent man vs letting a guilty man walk free, neither are appealing options. The only option I can see for police in this case is to find the others involved in the robbery and get them to testify as to which twin was involved. However, given the overall lack of evidence in this case it is likely that all the perpetrators will walk free.
I think this case is ridiculous. I have never heard such a story before. I can’t imagine what the police officers are going through right now trying to prove which twin did the crime. Upon reading the first couple of paragraphs, it proved to be something that is talked about in chapter 7. That is labeling. For the rest of their lives these two twins will be labeled as theives becuase of their past. It is one of the reasons why they were caught, becuase they had a bad record. The founder of the labeling theory, Howard Becker would say that labeling offenders as criminals may have negative effects on people. Now these two may or may not be guilty and perhaps nobody will ever know. They were criminals in the past and may have committed this crime as well, but each case should be looked into on neutral terms.
WOW! I definitely think this might be the perfect crime. As crazy and sick as it is. Twins are getting away with all types of crimes without worry due to their DNA. As impressive (and crazy) as that is, its an worrisome matter, because you have people getting away with serious crimes. Theft is bad, but rape and murder are even worse, and when you can’t convict someone to something that’s that serious, you can’t help but fear what these results may have in store. Even if one of the twins was really a great person, how can you tell that he/she isn’t helping their sibling? I definitely think that cases like this should be taken into great consideration and technology should start focusing on helping with these types of things. Wow, I’m still shocked.