The existence of the "Phantom" had been doubted earlier, but in March 2009, the case took a new turn. Investigators discovered the DNA profile on the burned body of a male asylum-seeker in France. This was an anomaly, since the profile was of a female. They subsequently came to the conclusion that the mysterious criminal did not exist. They found that the laboratory results were the due to the cotton buds used for DNA collection being contaminated. Although sterile, the swabs are not certified for human DNA collection.