ERIE COUNTY, N.Y. -- The attorney for the woman accusing Patrick Kane of rape says a ripped open evidence bag that held his client's rape kit was anonymously delivered to her mother's house Tuesday.
But county officials say all evidence in the case, including the rape kit, is accounted for and remains in its original packaging.
A former Erie County District Attorney is echoing the sentiments of the alleged Kane victim's attorney. He says he's never experienced a situation regarding evidence quite like what was reported Wednesday.
Frank Clark spent more than three decades as a prosecutor and 12 years as DA. He said he's never see any sort of evidence get out of the police chain of custody let alone end up at the doorway of a victim's family member.
Clark says law enforcement is typically very conscious of chain of custody, keeping clear records from the first person to touch evidence to the last. He said normally the only time evidence even leaves the agency that collects it, is if prosecutor needs it for a short time to build a case for instance in grand jury proceedings.
In this case, he said anyone who tampered with the evidence bag or the rape kit could be subject to criminal prosecution.
"In my opinion, the integrity of that evidence is just completely destroyed so that whatever the results of that rape kit show, whether it shows Kane's DNA or not, I think it's probably, because of the break in the chain in custody and the way it happened, I think that it's inadmissible," said Clark.
That's the case, Clark says, whether it's evidence that could prove Kane's innocence or guilt. He believes that chances are good investigators can look back and find the responsible party that broke the chain of custody.