What happened to Annie Dookhan, one of the main subjects in the Netflix documentary series How to Fix a Drug Scandal? The four-part investigation explains why the Massachusetts drug analyst fabricated evidence while working at the Hinton State Laboratory in Boston, and how her incompetence affected a subsequent scandal involving fellow chemist Sonja Farak in Amherst. Directed by Erin Lee Carr, How to Fix a Drug Scandal released in April 2020 on Netflix.
How to Fix a Drug Scandal on Netflix initially focuses on Farak, who tampered with drug evidence for nine years to fuel an addiction - specifically, to prevent a major relapse. Six months prior to Farak's arrest, Dookhan was charged with obstruction of justice and falsification of academic records, the result of "drylabbing" or a conscious effort to fabricate test results in order to be viewed as a more productive, and thus valuable, employee. Because of the Farak and Dookhan scandals, over 35,00 cases were dismissed. In Netflix's documentary, attorney Luke Ryan details the legal mess that resulted from the two scandals, along with an evidence cover-up by the Attorney General's office that prevented him for properly defending his clients.
Farak ultimately received an 18-month prison sentence in January 2014, but what happened to Dookhan, beyond the fact that she tried to catfish a prosecutor named George Papachristos and falsely claimed to be attending night school at Harvard? Dookhan received a three to five year sentence (with two years probation). In April 2016, she was released from Massachusetts Correctional Institution - Framingham after being approved for parole. That same month, Dookhan's attorney Nicholas Gordon provided The Boston Herald with an update about his client's future: “She’s moving forward with her life and she has a very positive outlook on the future. I don’t think she’s made any major life decisions about what she’s going to do. She’s certainly keeping her options open.”
As revealed in the Netflix docuseries, Dookhan was indeed married when she tried to force a relationship with the aforementioned Papachristos, who ultimately resigned because of a perceived affair. Two years before the legal proceedings, Dookhan's husband Surrendranath Dookhan reportedly warned prosecutors about Annie's behavior, stating (through a text message) that "... she’s a liar, she’s always lying. She is looking for sympathy and attention." [via The Cinemaholic] The former couple have a son named Branden who was born in 2006.
It's currently unclear where Annie Dookhan is living, but she has apparently expressed interest in focusing on her family. As for the "drylabbing" motivations, How to Fix a Drug Scandal on Netflix hints that Dookhan might've cheated the system to provide better financial care for her disabled son. In the present day, her ex-husband reportedly works as a Principal Software Engineer for Dell in Boston. Annie Dookhan hasn't made any official statements since 2013.