Victoria Police in Australia have admitted that an incorrect DNA sample had ruled out a late paedophile priest, Fr Anthony Bongiorno, and other suspects in the murder of a Melbourne woman, Maria James, in 1980.
Ms James' two sons, Mark and Adam James, have formally applied to the Victorian coroner to set aside the original finding that Ms James was murdered by a person unknown and reopen the case.
She was stabbed 68 times in her home at the back of her bookshop in the suburb of Thornbury.
Her youngest, disabled son, then aged 11, had been abused by two local priests. One of the priests, Fr Bongiorno from the nearby parish of St Mary's Thornbury, was seen covered in blood on the day of the murder by an electrician working at the church, which Fr Bongiorno explained as cuts from a rose bush.
Police said last week that investigators became aware in April that a bloodied pillowslip from a separate crime scene had been mixed with evidence in Maria James' murder. The DNA had been used to rule out a number of suspects, including Fr Bongiorno, who died in 2002. While he was never convicted by the courts, a state government tribunal ruled Bongiorno had committed child sex crimes, and awarded the victims compensation. In recent times, the Church has done the same.
Assistant Commissioner Steve Fontana said human error had caused the mix-up in the investigation, which has now been reopened.
"The mix-up occurred many, many years ago. And, unfortunately, it was only discovered this year, when we were running through our homicide investigation, reopened the case, re-examining exhibits as well as forensics and they identified an anomaly," he said.
Assistant Commissioner Fontana said he did not think it was necessary at this time to exhume Fr Bongiorno's body. He also rejected suggestions that the Catholic Church could have had any role in the mix-up.
But Mark James told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation: "I accept it was human error, but the clarification I'm seeking specifically (is) did this interference occur before Fr Bongiorno became a suspect in this case? And that's what I'd like a definitive answer to."
He said police had told him that nine suspects had to be retested, based on this error, including Fr Bongiorno. He also called for an investigation into Fr Thomas O'Keeffe, who was parish priest at St Mary's, and who reportedly once abused Adam James on the same day as Fr Bongiorno. Fr O'Keeffe died in 1984.
"My brother was sexually assaulted by both Bongiorno and O'Keeffe right before my mum was killed," Mark James said.
"My Mum found out about it. She had contact with the Church, where that contact indicated she was going to complain, and within a matter of a day or two, she's murdered under very mysterious circumstances. I think this merits reopening."
PICTURE: Maria James who was murdered in 1980
ABC News Australia are currently exploring the unsolved case in a radio series, Trace, presented by investigative reporter Rachael Brown
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