The attorney representing the accuser of Chicago Blackhawk's Patrick Kane said in a press conference on Wednesday that the woman's rape kit had been tampered with.
The attorney, Thomas Eoannou, said that the rape kit was anonymously delivered to the front door of the accuser's mother's house on Tuesday, ripped open.
“This is no hoax,” Eaonnou reportedly said, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Police are investigating accusations that Kane sexually assaulted the woman on Aug. 2 in Hamburg, New York. Kane has not been charged with a crime. The Buffalo News reported over the weekend that the rape kit provided no evidence of Kane's DNA on the accuser's genital area nor undergarments.
From Eoannou's prepared statement, via Uproxx:
With concerns of the integrity of that evidence, on Tuesday, the rape kit was anonymously delivered to [the accuser’s] mother. It contains my client’s identity, birth date, location where it was done, and confirms the nurse’s initials who [administered the kit]. As you can see from the pictures, this evidence bag has been ripped open. The purpose of the evidence bag is to protect the items from tampering. In my 30 years plus in law, I have never seen an evidence bag outside of a police lab. On behalf of my client, I am requesting an independent investigation from a separate law-enforcement agency.
Eoannou reportedly asked that the FBI or state police be called in to help to lead an independent investigation. Hamburg Police have since issued a statement that said the department would "cooperate with any authorized investigation regarding the handling of evidence and the procedure of such," but that it has "documentation that unequivocally demonstrates" the department acted in accordance with standard procedure.
Following the allegations of tampering, Kane's attorney, Paul Cambria, held a press conference in which he said his team has no reason to alter evidence, but that someone else might.
“The only one who might have an incentive to have the evidence questioned would be someone who is not pleased with the results," he said in part. "We are pleased with the results."
Need help? In the U.S., visit the National Sexual Assault Online Hotline operated by RAINN. For more resources, visit the National Sexual Violence Resource Center's website.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this post incorrectly stated that Kane has been charged with a crime. Authorities are still investigating the incident.