The problem is that we don't know exactly what happened, or where the towels were; it's all just conjecture. So we can't rule out him treading on the towels. He very well could have. After all, he trod on the pillow, didn't he? If there's a possibility he trod on the towel and then on the clasp, there's a possibility of contamination.
Would she have? Bathroom towels are washed quite frequently, remember, usually weekly. She'd been seeing Raffaele for a week, and he'd visited the cottage at least 4 or 5 times (per Laura, though he probably visited at times she wasn't there, too). If anything in the bathroom would contain Raffaele's DNA (as well as the DNA from anybody else who'd used the bathroom in that time) we'd expect it to be the hand towels.
As to one area of the towel containing more of Raffaele's DNA, well, why not? It may just have been the area of the towel he used. It would be unlikely that DNA from everyone who'd used the bathroom that week would have been distributed equally across the towel and in exact proportion to the number of times they'd used the bathroom.
Incidentally, I asked before but do you know the level of DNA found from other people on the bra clasp? I'd assumed the amount of RS's DNA was a lot greater, and that was why they'd identified him, but it turns out they identified him because of his Y chromosome. That's why I'm now wondering about the DNA from the other people.
Hmm, I'm going to have to check that. I'm curious as to why, if they had an exact amount of Raffaele's DNA, they were arguing in court about ratios. Wouldn't that be a bit pointless if they knew exactly how much DNA had been found from him? I know there was some confusion about the *total* amount of DNA, and the amount of DNA from Raffaele. But as I said, I'll have to check that.
I've probably addressed this already, but this isn't necessarily the case. Raffaele's DNA ''stood out' because they identified his Y chromosome. As I said, his DNA may just have been on that area of the towel.
And after all, if we're going to ask those sorts of questions, shouldn't we also be asking similar questions about why Amanda and Raffaele's DNA wasn't found anywhere else on Meredith's body or in the room, even though they're supposed to have participated in this bloody murder? That's also totally illogical. If the answer to those questions is 'it just happened that way', then that same answer should apply here.
Yes, I did. It would have taken a degree of friction to transfer Raffaele and the other people's DNA to the bra clasp, as we know. Stepping on a sharp, raised metal bra clasp would have done it; stepping on a smooth flat tile probably wouldn't. They weren't even able to get a positive response to blood on some of the footprints, never mind DNA.
But not because it would have been impossible, which is the point.
But how can we possibly know any of this? Perhaps Rudy moved the pillow as he stepped on it, and we know the bra clasp was very close to the pillow. So we know Rudy was stepping with bloody shoes in the area where the bra clasp was found, and we don't know exactly when the clasp ended up under the pillow. Hence, the possibility he trod on it.
I think the towels would have stayed wet longer than any of the blood stains on the floor. Just think about how damp a towel stays after you've been swimming, for example. It soaks up moisture. And wouldn't the mildew have occurred as a result of them being damp? (not sure about that, I'm just speculating).
Rudy's DNA would only have been on the towels if he'd rubbed his hands on them, not (necessarily) just from handling them.There's no indication he used them to dry his hands, which would certainly have left DNA on them. And of course, his DNA may indeed have been on areas of the towels, for all we know. Difficult to say, since they weren't tested.
