Overview
- Prosecutors in Salta, who tried Friday to take a compulsory DNA swab from Beatriz Elizabeth Yapura, left without a sample after a confrontation at the provincial forensic lab.
- A judge had authorized a forced buccal swab and police transfer on April 30, and prosecutors say Yapura refused to enter the extraction room, threw herself to the floor, and tried to bite staff, prompting the team to halt the procedure for safety.
- Her lawyers argue the move was unlawful because their chosen expert was not allowed to participate and because she is in active cancer treatment, and they note an April 17 appeal of the order has not been resolved.
- Investigators say they want her saliva to compare with a female DNA profile French experts reported finding on victim Cassandre Bouvier, while the defense calls that foreign profile incomplete and other women called for sampling have already complied.
- Prosecutors say they will travel to France next week through an international request to take testimony and obtain original forensic records, and they describe the comparisons as checks for transfer or contamination rather than accusations against those sampled.