Henry Lee, forensic scientist who testified in the O.J. Simpson trial, dies at 87

Henry Lee poses for a photograph at the Henry C.

Lee Institute of Forensic Science in New Haven, Connecticut, in August 2011.

Photo: AP Henry Lee, the famed forensic scientist who helped bring modern crime scene investigation into the public spotlight through his involvement in high-profile cases like the O.J.

Simpson murder trial, has died.

He was 87.

Lee “passed away peacefully” on Friday at his home in Henderson, Nevada, following a brief illness, according to a statement from his family and the University of New Haven, where he taught for more than 50 years.

Lee rose to fame after his testimony in Simpson’s 1995 trial, in which he questioned the handling of blood evidence.

He also served as a consultant in other well-known investigations, including the 1996 slaying of 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey in Colorado; the 2004 murder trial of Scott Peterson, who was accused of killing his pregnant wife, Laci; and the 2007 murder trial of record producer Phil Spector.

But Lee’s work drew scrutiny in his later years, with a 2023 federal court ruling finding him liable for fabricating evidence in a 1985 murder case that sent two Connecticut men to prison for decades.

Forensic scientist Henry Lee uses a pointer as he describes how blood stains were transferred from evidence items to the paper bags they were carried in during the O.J.

Simpson trial in Los Angeles in August 1995.

Photo: AP Born in mainland China, the 11th of 13 children, Lee and his family moved to Taiwan where he earned a degree in police administration and became a police officer and later a captain.

He and his late wife moved to the US in 1964, where he earned advanced degrees in forensic science and biochemistry.

He first gained prominence for his work in Connecticut investigating the 1986 disappearance of flight attendant Helle Crafts – using tiny fragments of bone, a thumb tip, a tooth crown and pieces of hair found near her home to help authorities make the case that Crafts’ husband had cut up her body and disposed of it in a wood chipper.

Prosecutors were able to win a conviction despite having no body. “Sometimes they compare me to Sherlock Holmes or Charlie Chan.

Those are just fictional characters,” Lee was quoted as saying in a 2000 article, as he stepped down as commissioner of the Connecticut State Police. “In real life, the scientists, detectives and public have to work together … We don’t get commercial breaks.” Lee continued to work on high-profile cases, but in 2020, a

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