The lawyer for a woman alleging she was sexually assaulted by Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane said Wednesday that an empty evidence bag was improperly left in the doorway of the woman's mother's home.
Thomas Eoannou said the bag at one point contained the rape kit used when the woman reported that she had been assaulted.
"Something seriously has gone amiss," Eoannou said.
Eoannou said the mother made the bizarre discovery when she came home from work for lunch on Tuesday afternoon. She found the bag folded up between a storm door and her front door, he said.
"It could have been there a day and a half," he said, because the woman used the back door when she left for work that morning.
He said the bag is authentic, labeled with personal identifying information for the woman, details on where the rape kit was used and the initials of the nurses who administered the kit.
"I have never seen an evidence bag outside of a police lab, a prosecutor's office or a court room, let alone find one in a doorway of a rape victim's mother's home," he said.
Erie County District Attorney Frank Sedita did not immediately return a message seeking comment from The Associated Press.
Eoannou said he wants the FBI or state police to probe how the bag left the custody of investigators. It's not clear how the bag got to the mother's home or what effect it may have on the investigation, he said.
"We're hoping to find out how this happened and who had the incentive to modify or tamper with the evidence," he said. Eoannou said he hoped the person who delivered the bag would come forward.
Police have been investigating since the alleged Aug. 2 incident at Kane's offseason home in suburban Buffalo. Kane has not been charged.
Kane's attorney, Paul Cambria, declined comment earlier in the day when asked about Eoannou's decision to hold a news conference.
Kane did not travel to Detroit with the rest of his team for Wednesday's Blackhawks game against the Red Wings, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because Kane's travel plans were not publicly announced.
