Bitemarks 323interpretations could be wrong, Mr. Wilhoit would very likely never have
been tried or convicted.14.1.3.4 Ray Krone, 1992
Late on December 28 or early in the morning of December 29, 1991, Kimberley
Ancona, a Phoenix bartender, was attacked and killed in the men’s restroom
of the CBS Lounge in Phoenix, Arizona. Dr. John Piakis, a Phoenix dentist,
was called to the scene by the police. He examined the victim and noted a
probable bitemark on the victim’s left breast. The police investigation led them
to a postal worker who frequented the CBS Lounge, Ray Krone. Dr. Piakis
collected dental information from Krone and told them that his teeth were
consistent with the bitemark. He was not an experienced forensic dentist,
so he consulted his mentor, a well-known San Diego, California, forensic
dentist, Dr. Norman Sperber.^20 Drs. Piakis and Sperber disagree on what
took place after the consultation, but Dr. Sperber states that he told Dr. Piakis
that Krone’s teeth were not consistent with the bitemark, “not even close.”^21
The police and prosecutors then sought the opinion of Dr. Raymond Rawson
of Las Vegas. Dr. Rawson had lectured to the Arizona Homicide Investigators
Association and was known to them as experienced in bitemark analysis.
Dr. Rawson did a comprehensive analysis and developed a videotaped pre-
sentation of his analysis and experiments. At trial Dr. Piakis testified that
Krone was the probable biter, and Dr. Rawson that Krone was the biter with
reasonable medical certainty (Figures 14.16 to 14.18). In part of his testimony,
Dr. Rawson reportedly stated, “The question should not be are bitemarks as
good as fingerprints but are fingerprints as good as bitemarks” (transcript of
original trial in State v. Krone^22 ). No defense expert odontologist testified at
Krone’s first trial. Krone was found guilty and sentenced to death. In 1995 the
Supreme Court of Arizona reversed the decision on procedural grounds and
remanded the case for a new trial. Four board-certified forensic odontolo-
gists, Drs. Vale, Campbell, Sperber, and Souviron, were contacted by Krone’s
defense team. They independently excluded Ray Krone as the person who
caused the bitemark. When one of those experts confronted Dr. Rawson,
the state’s expert, prior to the second trial and asked him to reconsider his
opinion , Dr. Rawson reportedly stated, “I am in too deep.”^12 Ray Krone was
convicted a second time, again based largely on the same forensic dental
expert’s bitemark testimony. This second trial resulted in a sentence of life in
prison.^22 In 2002 DNA evidence from the clothing of the victim was finally
analyzed. Not only did the DNA profile exclude Ray Krone, but when com-
pared to a state DNA database, it pointed to another Arizona prison inmate,
Kenneth Phillips, who at the time of the Ancona murder lived near and fre-
quented the bar where the murder occurred. When confronted, he obliquely
confessed to the crime, reportedly stating that he only remembered strug-
gling with the victim then awakening the next morning with blood on his