An unsecured scene
About eight hours after the 20-year-old student at Georgia College & State University accused Mr. Roethlisberger of raping her in the restroom, a janitor scrubbed the sink, floor and toilet with Clorox and Pine-Sol.
To the chagrin of investigators, no one had told him not to. The only evidence collected from the bathroom did not yield useful results.
"In this type of case, usually your highest and best evidence is found on your victim. However, in an effort to be as thorough as possible, you always process the scene as well," said Tom Davis, special agent in charge of GBI's Milledgeville field office.
Attorney Alexander Lindsay, a former federal and state prosecutor in Western Pennsylvania, said GBI "worked the hell out of this case but it was muffed at the beginning" by Milledgeville police. Mr. Lindsay, who teaches law at the University of Pittsburgh, reviewed the case file, most of which was posted online by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
It is possible that DNA or other evidence of sexual contact could have been obtained from the bathroom.
"The bathroom was unsecured and washed with Pine-Sol. At that point, it was a factor in not only not having evidence, but a defense attorney was going to say the police botched the investigation," Mr. Lindsay said.
It was not until four hours after the bathroom was cleaned that the Milledgeville Police Department called in Agent Davis's investigators.
"Some agencies do wait to call, however we prefer to be called when the police respond and assess what they have," Agent Davis said. "The sooner the better for maximizing the potential for a successful investigation."
Milledgeville police Chief Woodrow W. Blue Jr. said a 12-hour wait was about normal before calling in state investigators. He said his department handles between three and six rapes a year, and Chief Blue said it was of no consequence that the bathroom had not been sealed off.