SPORTSCENE

DNA tests in Duke case cost $23,000

The DNA tests that failed to conclusively link Duke lacrosse players to a woman who alleges she was raped at a team party cost taxpayers nearly $23,000, according to court papers.

DNA Security of Burlington analyzed 23 "evidence specimens" at $450 apiece and 50 "reference specimens" that cost $250 each, according to papers filed in Durham, N.C., County Superior Court.

The company’s analyses last month found no evidence that the three players charged with rape - or any of the other team members - had sex with the accuser, defense attorneys have said.

The lab said it detected genetic material from a male, who has been described as "known to police" but has not been publicly identified.

David Evans, 23, an economics major from Bethesda, Md., who recently graduated, was indicted on charges of first-degree rape, first-degree sexual offense, and first-degree kidnapping. Also indicted on the same charges are Reade Seligmann, 20, of Essex Fells, N.J., and Collin Finnerty, 19, of Garden City, N.Y., who will be juniors next year.