The mother of a murdered college student urged lawmakers today to pass a law that would take DNA samples from anyone arrested on felony charges.
Jayann Sepich has traveled the nation, urging legislatures to pass a “Katie’s Law,” named in honor of her slain daughter. So far, 16 states have adopted such laws.
The New Mexico woman was flanked by Sen. John Morse, D-Colorado Springs, and Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey at a news conference at the Capitol.
“DNA used in this way saves people lives,” Morrissey said. “It exonerates innocent people, and it saves millions of dollars in law-enforcement (costs.)”
Under current Colorado law, DNA is taken after a felony conviction. Senate Bill 241, by Morse, would require that a DNA sample be taken after a person is arrested on felony charges.
“To me, as a mother who buried her daughter, what this does is save lives,” Sepich said.
“If Colorado chooses not to pass this law this year, we will know the names, we will know the faces, we will know the stories of (those) who could have been saved. We will know who they are, and, to me, that is a tremendous burden.”
A number of law-enforcement officials also attended the news conference to support SB 241, which was being heard this afternoon by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The challenge, Morse said, is finding money to finance the DNA sampling program, which probably will cost $1.8 million in its first year.
“It’s one of those deals where certainly our budget is tight, and paying for this is going to be a huge challenge,” he said. “But we don’t just value safety in the good economic times. We value public safety always.”
Sepich recounted her 22-year-old daughter’s rape and murder in 2003. A detective said Katie had fought so hard for her life that she had blood and skin under her fingernails.
That’s when the Sepich family learned that police routinely take fingerprints and mug shots upon arrest but not DNA samples.
Sepich said she began researching DNA and discovered “what was truly important was not just catching the man who killed my daughter but saving lives.”
New Mexico passed Katie’s Law in 2006. One hour and 14 minutes after it went into effect on Jan. 1, 2007, police arrested a man on an aggravated burglary charge. His DNA sample linked him to a homicide, Sepich said.
Katie’s killer was caught before Katie’s Law went into effect, but it was through a DNA sample. Gabriel Avilla now is serving a 69-year sentence in her murder.
Sepich said that less than three months after her daughter’s death, Avilla was arrested trying to break into the home of two women. He was convicted in 2004, but fled before sentencing. When he was rearrested and sent to prison, a DNA sample in 2006 linked him to Katie’s death.
Had New Mexico required a DNA sample upon arrest, Sepich said the murder would have been solved three years earlier, sparing law enforcement about $200,000 in investigation costs and more heartbreak for her family as the case remained unsolved.
Lynn Bartels: 303-954-5327 or lbartels@denverpost.com
