Cooper's fingerprints were not found anywhere – just a single drop of blood that a state expert said was Cooper's. The most troubling is the revelation that there was evidence pointing to another suspect and at testimony at trial, it was learned a sheriff's deputy destroyed it.
When Diana Roper, now deceased, found bloody overalls belonging to her boyfriend, a man with a violent criminal history, she turned them in. Floyd Tidwell was the sheriff at the time.
"Wouldn't you say that taking in coveralls that appear to be covered in blood, not sending them to a lab and throwing them away before trial would be highly unusual?" Moriarty asked.
"I don't know that that happened," Tidwell said. "I'm very vague on that."
In the early 2000s, the state conducted DNA tests on evidence from the case. The results matched Cooper. Cooper's attorneys believe new and advanced DNA testing on existing evidence, including hair samples and blood, could support the theory that there were multiple people involved in the murders.
There are many, including a federal appeals court judge, who believe the evidence that was previously tested back in 2002 could have been planted. The governor is reviewing Cooper's request for additional DNA testing.