59785


Related to this: [Death note handwriting
check](https://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/20584/death-note-handwriting-
check)

A lot of DNA must have rubbed off on the Death Notes. Unless the Death Note
has a rule about fingerprints or DNA, I don't see how this isn't a plothole.


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death-note
Why didn't L check for fingerprints or hair?


When the Kira Task Force recovered the Death Note from [Kyosuke
Higuchi](http://deathnote.wikia.com/wiki/Kyosuke_Higuchi) there is 2 things
which contaminated any DNA evidence on the Death Note:

  1. The Kira Task Force touched the Death Note to see Rem
  2. Light was holding onto the Death Note as part of his plan to reclaim ownership (when his memories returned)

To my knowledge there is no way to tell "when" fingerprints or DNA first made
contact with an object being tested as such any of Light's DNA found on the
Death Note can easily be explained by his interactions with it when the Death
Note was recovered.

Remember that the idea was to capture Kira and convict him in a court of law
and DNA on the Death Note would be inadmissible due to how it was handled.
This is why the police tend to block of crime scenes ensure that the proper
[Chain of Evidence](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chain_of_custody) is met. In
some cop shows there are times that, when a seal is broken or multiple
undocumented people handled a particular piece of evidence, it can't be used
in court.

Even if Light didn't touch the Death Note when it was recovered and L found
Light's DNA on it, suspecting Light again after the 13-day rule seemed to show
his innocence would not help L since up until now Light had been very
cooperative in aiding the Task Force and they were all on good terms. He would
first need to prove to the rest of the Task Force/Police that the 13-day rule
is fake thus returning to what I have explained
[here](https://anime.stackexchange.com/a/26617/1587) and then rule out any
other way Light's DNA could have gotten onto the Death Note after it's
recovery.


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Since my answer at the [linked
question](https://anime.stackexchange.com/a/56701/4484) answers this question
as well, I will only copy it in a quote:

> After handing over the Death Note to Rem in the plan to free Misa out Light
> says (chapter 54):
>
> [![enter image description
> here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/awxBw.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/awxBw.png)
>
> In other words, he **tore the pages** out and checked there's **none of the
> fingerprints or his handwriting** , so it's no surprise that L didn't check
> out the handwriting since there weren't any other names written beside
> Higuchi's.
>
> All though it didn't mentioned in the anime, **it's unthinkable that Light
> would missing do such an obvious thing.**

And as for _hair_ and _DNA_ as mentioned in the question, I think it's
obviously.


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