"The lawyer for a woman alleging she was sexually assaulted by Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane said Wednesday that an empty evidence bag was improperly left in the doorway of the woman's mother's home. Thomas Eoannou said the bag at one point contained the rape kit used when the woman reported that she had been assaulted. “Something seriously has gone amiss,” Eoannou said. Eoannou said the mother made the bizarre discovery when she came home from work for lunch on Tuesday afternoon. He said the bag is authentic, labelled with personal identifying information for the woman, details on where the rape kit was used and the initials of the nurses who administered the kit. “I have never seen an evidence bag outside of a police lab, a prosecutor's office or a courtroom, let alone find one in a doorway of a rape victim's mother's home,” he said... Eoannou said he wants the FBI or state police to probe how the bag left the custody of investigators. It's not clear how the bag got to the mother's home or what effect it may have on the investigation, he said. Police have been investigating since the alleged Aug. 2 incident at Kane's off-season home in suburban Buffalo. Kane has not been charged."
http://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/2015/09/23/rape-kit-left-at-mothers-home-patrick-kane-accuser-alleges.html
See Bruce Arthur's Toronto Star column: "On Wednesday, Thomas Eoannou, the lawyer for the woman who has accused Kane, the Blackhawks superstar, of sexual assault, made a bombshell claim: That the evidence bag for the rape kit the woman asked for after leaving Kane’s house on Aug. 2 had been delivered, ripped open and empty, to the alleged victim’s mother’s house. “We have spent (Tuesday) evening, into the early hours of the morning, conferring with law enforcement, former prosecutors, people that have worked at the lab, and ECMC personnel,” said Eoannou. “It is the evidence rape kit evidence bag . . . we confirmed it through the hospital (Tuesday).” He said, “If you’re looking for a surefire way to scuttle the prosecution, you tamper with the evidence . . . This is a classic example of why victims don’t come forward in a rape case. This is the worst case of victim bashing I’ve ever seen.” Kane’s attorney, Paul Cambria, held his own press conference. He said any tampering with the DNA evidence would prejudice his client, whom he believes to be the real victim here. DNA test information was leaked to the Buffalo News on Tuesday, and the paper reported there was no Kane DNA in the genital area or undergarments, but his DNA was under her fingernails and on her shoulder. Cambria said, “We’re very happy with the results of the test . . . Unless someone compromises the results up to the technician, we still have a very favourable result."
http://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/2015/09/23/patrick-kane-case-takes-strange-ugly-turn-arthur.html
See Bruce Arthur's Toronto Star column: "On Wednesday, Thomas Eoannou, the lawyer for the woman who has accused Kane, the Blackhawks superstar, of sexual assault, made a bombshell claim: That the evidence bag for the rape kit the woman asked for after leaving Kane’s house on Aug. 2 had been delivered, ripped open and empty, to the alleged victim’s mother’s house. “We have spent (Tuesday) evening, into the early hours of the morning, conferring with law enforcement, former prosecutors, people that have worked at the lab, and ECMC personnel,” said Eoannou. “It is the evidence rape kit evidence bag . . . we confirmed it through the hospital (Tuesday).” He said, “If you’re looking for a surefire way to scuttle the prosecution, you tamper with the evidence . . . This is a classic example of why victims don’t come forward in a rape case. This is the worst case of victim bashing I’ve ever seen.” Kane’s attorney, Paul Cambria, held his own press conference. He said any tampering with the DNA evidence would prejudice his client, whom he believes to be the real victim here. DNA test information was leaked to the Buffalo News on Tuesday, and the paper reported there was no Kane DNA in the genital area or undergarments, but his DNA was under her fingernails and on her shoulder. Cambria said, “We’re very happy with the results of the test . . . Unless someone compromises the results up to the technician, we still have a very favourable result."
http://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/2015/09/23/patrick-kane-case-takes-strange-ugly-turn-arthur.html