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Published 16:16 02 Apr 2026 GMT
Shocking 'deathbed confession' made by forensic scientist at the heart of OJ Simpson and JonBenét Ramsey cases
The forensic scientist who at the heart of both OJ Simpson's murder trial and the investigation into the killing of JonBenét Ramsey has made a shocking confession on his deathbed.
In the 1990s, Dr. Henry C Lee was one of America's most famous physicians, renowned for his work in blood splatter analysis and crime scene reconstruction, and provided key evidence in some of the most memorable trials at the end of the 20th century.
Lee rose to greater prominence during his participation in the OJ Simpson trial, claiming he'd found previously undiscovered bloodied footprints at the scene, and was personally called to the scene of JonBenét Ramsey's murder on Christmas Day 1996.
One forensic scientist, Brent Turvey, even went on to say: "[Lee] was famous for getting results no-one else could."
What was the shocking 'deathbed confession' made by the forensic scientist?
Before his death, Lee gave one final interview to the makers of a documentary that claimed Lee's work had contributed to six people losing their freedom.
In a bid to clear his name, Lee attempted to justify his actions.
"Logic is the bottom line for law enforcement. But I only did one thing in my life," sources claim he told them. "It’s to make the impossible be possible."
What happened to Henry C. Lee?
Lee died March 26, 2026 aged 87. Despite the fame he acquired in the 90s, at the end of his life Lee's reputation was in shatters.
His undoing came in June 2019, when evidence he had submitted to the trial of two then-teenagers - Shawn Henning and Ralph Birch - who were accused of murder in 1988 proved to be false.
Lee had said that a key piece of evidence in the trial, namely a towel, had tested positive for blood. In actual fact, Lee had not tested the towel at all, and when tests were later administered to the item, no blood was found.
At the time, both Henning and Birch had been found guilty of murder and both served 30 years in prison. They were both released in 2020. In 2023, a federal court ruled that Lee had, in fact, fabricated evidence at their trial and both Henning and Birch were awarded a settlement of $25.2 million after suing the state of Connecticut, Lee, eight police investigators, and the town of New Milford for a wrongful conviction.