{"id":181612,"date":"2026-04-01T00:44:37","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T00:44:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/181612\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T00:44:37","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T00:44:37","slug":"forensic-scientist-in-oj-simpson-jonbenet-ramsey-and-phil-spector-cases-gave-startling-deathbed-confession","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/181612\/","title":{"rendered":"Forensic scientist in OJ Simpson, JonBen\u00e9t Ramsey and Phil Spector cases gave startling deathbed confession"},"content":{"rendered":"

A top forensic scientist who testified in OJ Simpson<\/a>, JonBen\u00e9t Ramsey<\/a> and Phil Spector\u2019s cases made a shocking deathbed confession in a bid to clear his name.<\/p>\n

Dr. Henry C Lee was one of the most famous physicians in America in the 90s, although in recent years he faced allegations of fabricating evidence and testing.<\/p>\n

Lee, who died on Friday at age 87<\/a>, was renowned for work involving blood spatter analysis and crime scene reconstruction, and provided key evidence in numerous trials through the 80s.<\/p>\n

Dr. Henry Lee presents his evidence at the OJ Simpson murder trial. AP<\/p>\n

Forensic scientist Henry Lee describes evidence during the O.J. Simpson double murder trial, with defense attorney Johnnie Cochran Jr. and prosecutor Hank Goldberg looking on. AP<\/p>\n

O.J. Simpson talks with his defense attorney during jury selection for his road rage trial. REUTERS<\/p>\n

Connecticut-based Lee rose to wider prominence during the 1994 trial of Simpson<\/a>, where, taking the stand for the defense, he claimed he had found previously undiscovered bloody footprints at the crime scene and Simpson was being framed for the double murder of his wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman on her doorstep.<\/p>\n

An FBI analyst contended they were imprints of boots and tools from the workmen who originally poured the concrete. Simpson was later sensationally acquitted<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Lee was called to the scene after the murder of Ramsey<\/a> in Boulder, Colorado, on Christmas day 1996. He was one of the first to claim the ransom note<\/a> found at the property was staged. Various investigators and analysts have since agreed with that assertion, but the case has never been solved.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe got famous for getting results that no one else could,\u201d Brent Turvey, a forensic scientist and criminologist who studied under Lee, told The Post.<\/p>\n

Standing in front of Johnnie Cochran, Henry Lee worked the court room while testifying for the defense of OJ Simpson. AP<\/p>\n

Phil Spector used Henry Lee to bolster his assertions of innocence. AP<\/p>\n

\u201cThe problem is the pressure and celebrity of doing a great job and living up to the myth of the forensics of Henry Lee.\u201d<\/p>\n

In one bizarre incident, while wig-loving \u201cWall of Sound\u201d producer Spector was on trial over the death of Lana Clarkson in his home in 2003, Lee was accused of taking a fingernail from the crime scene, a charge he denied. Spector was eventually convicted<\/a> of second-degree murder.<\/p>\n

More recently, a review of evidence against two Connecticut men, Shawn Henning and Ricky Birch, found they had been wrongfully convicted<\/a> in 1989 for the 1985 murder of another man.<\/p>\n

Much of that conviction rested on Lee\u2019s forensic testimony regarding a towel with a red smear which he said tested positive for blood. Further testing proved there was no blood on the towel and that the towel itself had never previously been tested.<\/p>\n

Actress Lana Clarkson was fatally shot by Phil Spector, who was known for waving around his guns. Spector and his lawyers insisted that she committed suicide. Henry Lee promoted theories on Spector\u2019s behalf. REUTERS<\/p>\n

Photo of JonBenet Ramsey smiling. Boulder Police Department<\/p>\n

The men were released in 2025 after almost 30 years, but that result threw decades of Lee\u2019s other work into question.<\/p>\n

\u201c[The Pressure] obviously got to him and he got to the point where he couldn\u2019t live up to that image. So, he just kept giving answers without doing examinations,\u201d claimed Turvey, who had played a role in proving Henning and Birch\u2019s innocence.<\/p>\n

At the time of the decision, Lee insisted to reporters, \u201cIn my 57-year career, I have investigated over 8,000 cases and never, ever was accused of any wrongdoing. This is the first case that I have to defend myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Henry C Lee scrutinizes a DNA profile that could set a killer free or send an innocent man to prison. AP<\/p>\n

However, an investigative team claim they have uncovered at least six instances of Lee contributing to innocent people losing their freedom.<\/p>\n

The Post has also learned that Lee gave one final interview to the documentary company behind that revelation, where Lee made a blockbuster confession about the evidence he gave.<\/p>\n

The candid interview took place shortly before his death, where Lee, according to an insider, attempted to put out his side of the story and justify his actions.<\/p>\n

Ralph Birch, left, and Shawn Henning sport tee shirts that say it all. Blood stains, promoted by Henry Lee, were proved bogus. TNS<\/p>\n

Henry C. Lee at the Institute of Science that is named for him. He helped bankroll the place and claimed to have made $40 million \u201cover the years.\u201d AP<\/p>\n

At one point, sources say he claimed: \u201cLogic is the bottom line for law enforcement. But I only did one thing in my life. It\u2019s to make the impossible be possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Turvey also remembers one quote the man once called \u201cAmerica\u2019s most celebrated forensic scientist\u201d gave during a commencement speech at University of New Haven, which has a new poignance now.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe said, \u2018Just remember, it takes 25 years to build a good name and 25 seconds to destroy it.\u2019 He was always speaking out against fraud, always speaking out against negligence and incompetence,\u201d claimed Turvey.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, as we now know, that was a confession of guilt to what he did in practice.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A top forensic scientist who testified in OJ Simpson, JonBen\u00e9t Ramsey and Phil Spector\u2019s cases made a shocking…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":181613,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[33383,73256,9,11,10,23670,37163,58],"class_list":["post-181612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-dna-evidence","tag-jonbenet-ramsey","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-o-j-simpson","tag-testimony","tag-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181612","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=181612"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181612\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/181613"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=181612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=181612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=181612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}