FRADULENT DNA RESULTS?

Not a day has passed since Jesse Woodson James was reportedly buried in the yard of his boyhood home that people haven’t questioned if he’s really buried there. In fact, the question was raised within hours after Bob Ford reportedly shot him dead on April 3, 1882. The number of doubters increased as the years rolled by resulting in the grave being exhumed in 1995 for the purpose of using DNA testing to scientifically answer the question.

The remains were exhumed, the DNA tested, and the results were announced on February 23, 1996 at the American Academy of Forensic Sciences in Nashville, Tennessee. Five years passed before Dr. Anne C. Stone, Dr. Mark Stoneking, and Professor James E. Starrs issued their final DNA report, but instead of providing a scientific answer they issued a challenge by basically saying that DNA testing did not prove Jesse James is buried there, but they think he is and it’s up to doubters to prove them wrong.

Their Challenge:

“Do the mtDNA results prove that the exhumed remains are those of Jesse James? The answer to this question must be no, as there is always the possibility (however remote) that the remains are from a different maternal relative of RJ [Robert Jackson] and MN [Mark Nikkel], or from an unrelated person with the same mtDNA sequence. However, it should be emphasized that the mtDNA results are in complete agreement with the other scientific investigations of the exhumed remains: there is no scientific basis whatsoever for doubting that the exhumed remains are those of Jesse James. The burden of proof now shifts to those who, for whatever reason, choose to still doubt the identification. The mtDNA results reported herein provide a standard which other claimants to the legacy of Jesse James must satisfy.” (Dr. Anne C. Stone, Dr. Mark Stoneking, and Professor James E. Starrs, Mitochondrial DNA [mtDNA] analysis of the presumptive remains of Jesse James).[i]

This author accepts their very unscientific challenge.

Professor Starrs, a professor of law and forensics at George Washington University, headed the exhumation project. His original plan was to only exhume the second purported grave of Jesse James in Clay County, Missouri’s Mt. Olivet Cemetery; however, he ended up exhuming his purported original Clay County grave as well. In 1902 the original grave was exhumed for the purpose of reinterring the remains in Kearney, Missouri’s Mt. Olivet Cemetery.

The Mt. Olivet grave was exhumed on July 17-19, 1995, and the DNA results extracted from the remains retrieved from it were expected by mid-September. Apparently Professor Starrs was disappointed with the DNA results because on September 15, 1995 he obtained a court order from Clay County Judge Vic Howard to exhume a Tupperware bowl from the original grave that reportedly contained human remains left behind during the 1902 exhumation. A tombstone bearing Jesse James’ name still marks the original grave at his boyhood home now turned tourist attraction – the James Farm & Museum. As stated earlier the original grave was exhumed in 1902, but it was also exhumed in 1978.

On February 23, 1996 Professor Starrs officially announced that he had “Jesse by science” at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee. Yet just a short while later he contradicted himself by saying, “I’ll go out on the deep end …. and say with a reasonable degree of certainty that we have the remains of Jesse James.” [ii]

Isn’t DNA testing supposed to eliminate the need for having to “go out on the deep end”?

Having legitimate reasons to doubts as to the validity of the DNA results, this author pioneered the investigation of the 1995 exhumations of both graves and subsequent DNA results and found them tainted. The DNA results, which Dr. Stoneking touted in Nashville as proving with a 99.7 degree of certainty that Jesse James is buried where history reports, proved absolutely nothing for the following reasons:

The unknown origin of the teeth and hair used for DNA testing; and
The questionable validity of the DNA Reference Sources, Robert Jackson and Mark Nikkel.

Amanda Ripley’s article “The Bone Hunter” revealed why Professor Starrs’ hobby of exhuming the noted dead has earned him a less than desirable reputation among real forensic anthropologists, so his work ethics in exhuming the purported graves of Jesse James aren’t surprising.[iii] However, being told by an extremely reliable and respected professional that the DNA results are fraudulent is mind blowing

Stephen Caruso, the Deputy Counselor for Clay County in 1995, recently revealed to this author that the hair Judge Vic Howard ordered the James Farm & Museum to hand over to Professor Starrs for DNA testing wasn’t the hair he gave them. He personally obtained the hair from the head of John Hartman, the Director of the Clay County Park’s Department in 1995. The Clay County Parks Department owns and operates the James Farm & Museum. Mr. Caruso also said that he didn’t give them the hair and teeth because it wasn’t right for them to have them. An hour later he told Greg Ellison the same thing. Mr. Ellison and his wife own The Ellison Collection – historical images including Jesse James, the James family, and the James Gang.

Professor Starrs submitted two bones and fourteen or fifteen teeth (reports vary) retrieved from the Mt. Olivet grave to Drs. Stone and Stoneking at Penn State University for DNA testing. Their final report states that “…none of the remains retrieved from the Mt. Olivet grave were suitable for DNA testing. They were poorly preserved, presumable to wet and slightly acidic soil conditions.” Their report also states that “only two teeth and two hairs retrieved from a 1978 exhumation of the original gravesite on the James family farm, yielded reproducible mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) for testing.” [iv]

Although Dr. Stone, Dr. Stoneking, and Professor Starrs maintain that the teeth originated from the original grave, in 2001 Stephen Caruso told NBC 8 Anchorman Jim Riek that the teeth submitted for DNA testing “had nothing to do with the teeth that were dug up.”[v]

Milton “Milt” Perry, the now deceased curator of the James Farm Museum in 1978, performed an unauthorized exhumation of the original grave in 1978. He encased the human and animal remains retrieved from it in a Tupperware bowl and stored it in his desk drawer. The current curator, Beth Beckett, told this author that he handed out the remains encased inside the bowl as souvenirs to various individuals as he saw fit. She also said that after he was fired for unrelated reasons he augured a hole in the original grave and reburied the Tupperware bowl, along with the remainder of the remains encased in it, which reportedly included the tooth Professor Starrs wanted.

Based on the information above, how can anyone involved in the 1995 exhumation and subsequent DNA results expect the rest of the world to take their word as to the origin of the teeth used for testing?

After exhuming the Tupperware bowl Professor Starrs voiced disappointment that the tooth wasn’t there.[vi] However, Stephen Caruso contradicts his statement: “We had teeth in the Tupperware bowl. We gave him [Starrs] teeth in the Tupperware.” Stephen Caruso represented the James Farm & Museum in their failed attempt of preventing Professor Starrs from obtaining hair and teeth stored there.

According to their final report Drs. Stone and Stoneking compared the mtDNA sequence of the hair and teeth submitted to them to the mtDNA sequences of the DNA reference sources (Robert Jackson and Mark Nikkel). Both men claim they are descended from Susan James Parmer (Jesse James’ sister), and therefore share the same mtDNA sequence Jesse James had. As stated earlier this author’s genealogical investigation of their lineage reveals that their validity as mtDNA reference sources is highly questionable, and the question begs how John Hartman’s mtDNA sequence could have possibly matched theirs.

Obviously the doctors’ and professor’s final report contains conflicting statements. Again, they state that the mtDNA results do not prove the remains are those of Jesse James. Yet they also claim “…the DNA results are agreeable with other scientific investigations of the exhumed remains”.[vii] Knowing that Stephen Caruso claims to have obtained the hair used for DNA testing from John Hartman’s head and also knowing that he said the teeth had nothing to do with the teeth that were dug up, this author feels safe in saying that none of “the other scientific investigations” are agreeable with the hair and teeth used for DNA testing. Their report also states that there is no scientific basis for doubting the exhumed remains are those of Jesse James.[viii]

Only in their dreams – there is every reason to doubt the exhumed remains are those of Jesse James:

Professor Starrs used no chain of custody guidelines for the human remains submitted DNA testing;
The hair submitted for DNA testing originated from the head of John Hartman;
The teeth submitted for DNA testing are of unknown origin and had nothing to do with the teeth that were dug up;
John Hartman said “The results of the 1995 exhumation should be published as they were found, not as they have been framed or sanitized for public consumption.” [ix]
The validity of the two DNA reference sources’ is highly questionable; and
Drs. Stone and Stoneking’s DNA results are highly questionable.

If not for all the tampering with the remains in both of the graves this author would call for them to be exhumed yet again for legitimate DNA testing, but neither past nor future DNA results from either of those graves should be trusted.

There is always the possibility that Stephen Caruso lied about the origin of the hair and teeth, but why would he, an officer of the court, tarnish his reputation by incriminating not only himself but John Hartman?

John Hartman was also interviewed by Jim Riek in 2001 and substantiated Stephen Caruso’s revelation by stating that the 1995 DNA results are “…framed or sanitized for public consumption”?[x] Why would he risk his career by lying? He was definitely informed of the facts since he was the director of the Clay County Parks Department, the owners and operators of the James Farm & Museum.

As for Dr. Stone’s, Dr. Stoneking’s, and Professor Starrs’ statement – “The mtDNA results reported herein provide a standard which other claimants to the legacy of Jesse James must satisfy.” – this author warns anyone interested in learning the truth about Jesse James to never rely on their mtDNA results for the very reasons stated throughout this chapter.

How can the Clay County, Missouri employees involved in suppressing the truth about James justify selling the birthright of his true descendants for the proverbial bowl of beans (tourist dollars)?

Hopefully they will take full responsibility for their illegal actions starting with a public apology and admission of guilt. Genealogical and historical accuracy is at stake.

[i] Jesse James; Death Hoax and Buried Treasures: http://www.jessejamesintexas.com/Bone_Hunter.pdf

[ii] The Kearney Courier Special Collectors Edition (Covered the events of the 1995 exhumation), Kearney, Missouri.

[iii] Ibid.

[iv] Stone AC, Starrs JE, Stoneking, M. Mitochondrial DNA analysis of the presumptive remains of Jesse James. J of Forensic Sci 2001; 46(1):173–176. MtDNA testing was chosen in this case because it is the type of DNA every person, both male and female, inherits from their mother but only females can pass it down to their children, it stops with males. Y Chromosome DNA (Y-DNA) testing is the type of DNA used to settle paternity cases since it identifies one’s father, and Jesse James’ father is reportedly buried in an unmarked grave in California.

[v] Jim Riek, NBC 8 KOMU TV, “The Story You Haven’t Heard”, a two-part award winning series, 2001.

[vi] Gene Gentrup, notarized affidavit, May 27, 1999. Mr. Gentrup was the associate editor of the Kearney Courier at the time of the 1995 exhumation.

[vii] Stone AC, Starrs JE, Stoneking, M. Mitochondrial DNA analysis of the presumptive remains of Jesse James. J of Forensic Sci 2001; 46(1):173–176.

[viii] Ibid.

[ix] Jim Riek, NBC 8 KOMU TV, “The Story You Haven’t Heard”, a two-part award winning series, 2001.

[x] Ibid.

The Outlaw Jesse James