Is it time to raise the limits?
Lavinia Masters was raped at the age of 13. After 24 years, her case was reopened and tested for DNA. A match was made to a criminal already serving time in prison for a number of unrelated cases. Unfortunately, due to the statute of limitations on her case, the man was not prosecuted. She has since become an advocate for getting rape kits from cold cases tested.
Comparatively speaking, the science for evaluating DNA evidence is rather new. In previous years, when a serious crime was committed where DNA was present, the DNA was stored as evidence with the rest of the case — waiting for technological advances. This created a backlog of cold cases. With such a large queue waiting to be tested, many cases are still waiting to be solved. Often cases are only re-opened when they meet the criteria for an exceptionally heinous crime (as was the case with Jennifer Schuett), crimes may go cold until long after the statute of limitations expires, thus negating the need to continue to save DNA.
In Canada, unless the crime is sufficiently petty, the defendant can be charged at any time in the future. This policy would give our law enforcement all the time they need to solve cases and with a solved case, bring closure to the victims. Lavinia certainly has her work cut out for her.