Thano Peratis was the Parker Center jail nurse who drew O.J. Simpson's reference blood sample — a routine procedure that became a flashpoint for the defense's contamination theory. Too ill to testify at trial, his prior Grand Jury testimony was read to jurors, while a separate videotaped statement sparked heated disputes over a mysterious fourteen-minute gap and allegations of witness coaching. The defense seized on approximately 1.5 cc of unaccounted-for blood from Simpson's reference vial, using Peratis's role to argue that LAPD's evidence handling was fundamentally compromised.