No one has hours to scour the papers to keep up with the latest news, so we’ve curated the top news stories in the field of Forensic Science for this week. Here’s what you need to know to get out the door!
Bridging Forensic Science and Genetics for Safer Communities (University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus – 11/21/2024)
The National Institute of Justice Graduate Fellowship will fund research at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus (CU Anschutz) to increase the number of casework samples eligible for investigative genetic genealogy (IGG).
Betzaida Maldonado, a predoctoral trainee in the Gignoux Lab at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, aims to tackle the challenges of traditional forensic testing, particularly regarding samples that are mixtures from multiple individuals—an issue commonly encountered at crime scenes. She shared, “Ultimately, my goal is to provide a transparent and user-friendly bioinformatics pipeline that detects SNP mixture data and deconvolutes two-person mixtures.”
This work takes the Gignoux Lab in a new direction. Christopher Gignoux, PhD, professor of biomedical informatics, added, “While this application is a new direction for our group, many of the methods used in forensic DNA analysis have their roots in statistical and population genetics, so we are excited to take this new step.”
This research has the potential to significantly impact the criminal justice system by expanding the number of samples eligible for IGG. Such advancements can provide closure for victims, facilitate timely justice, and enhance public safety by generating investigative leads to identify violent offenders.
Direct Comparison of Body Fluid Identification Technologies (National Institute of Justice – 11/21/2024)
Crime scenes, particularly those involving violence, often yield evidence from bodily fluids – blood, saliva, urine, semen – left behind. However, discerning the composition and source of the fluids is more complicated than one might think, particularly when several sources are mixed together. If forensic scientists can identify a fluid’s source, they might gain critical information about a person’s involvement with a crime and what happened. In the tragic case of five-year-old Harmony Montgomery, whose body has still not been recovered, investigators were able to reconstruct events by analyzing fluid-soaked ceiling tiles retrieved from a shelter the Montgomery family had visited. They found blood evidence that led prosecutors to allege Montgomery’s father had temporarily stored her body in the shelter’s ceiling before he later moved it.
In recent years, forensic investigators expressed the need for body fluid identification technologies that identify fluids more accurately and with greater sensitivity than traditional immunoassay methods. Fortunately, several new methods have been introduced that meet this demand. Collectively referred to as “omic”-based methods, they are now available for fluid identification purposes. National Institute of Justice (NIJ)-funded researchers recently released the results of a study designed to compare the specificity and sensitivity of these “omic”-based methods.
‘Baby Holly’, Who was Missing for More than 40 Years, Now Helps Identify Missing Persons (KTUL8 – 11/21/2024)
A Cushing, Oklahoma woman who was missing for more than 40 years after her biological parents were murdered in Texas is helping other families with missing loved ones find answers through genetic genealogy.
“It’s tormenting to the soul when you just don’t know,” said Holly Marie, who has started the Dean and Tina Linn Clouse Memorial fund through Genealogy For Justice, along with Allison Peacock, the genealogist who helped identify the couple.
Marie’s parents, Dean and Tina Clouse, were found murdered outside of Houston, Texas in 1981, but their remains would not be identified until decades later using genetic testing.
Texas Awarded $3 Million Federal Grant to Tackle DNA Testing Backlog (CBS Austin – 11/21/2024)
The Texas Department of Public Safety has been awarded a $3 million federal grant to help reduce the state’s DNA testing and analysis backlog.
The grant, provided by the Department of Justice, will help law enforcement in investigating and prosecuting crimes.
Remains Found in Pennsylvania Over 50 Years Ago are Identified as Teen Girl Who Went Missing (CNN – 11/24/2024)
The remains of a York, Pennsylvania, teenager who vanished in 1973 have been identified through genealogy research and DNA analysis more than 50 years after she went missing, authorities said.
Two game wardens discovered the decomposed remains under a plastic tarp and brush in a wooded area in Union Township on October 10, 1973, according to Pennsylvania State Police. Investigators at the time were unable to identify them, but described the Jane Doe as a White female with long brown or blonde hair. The manner of her death was ruled undetermined.
Over half a century later, investigators using DNA analysis and interviews with living relatives determined the remains as those of Ruth Elizabeth Brenneman, a 14-year-old from York who had been missing since the beginning of the 1973 school year, according to police.
LIMS Benefits Multiple Stakeholders in the Forensic Lab (Forensic – 11/25/2024)
Forensic labs today face numerous escalating pressures, ranging from tight budgets and stretched resources to extended backlogs of case files. In 2020, the last year reported, publicly funded crime labs alone had a backlog of nearly 711,000 requests that had not been completed within 30 days of submission. To address these serious challenges, many future-ready labs are examining their internal systems, recognizing the limitations of paper-based systems, and investing in modern technologies, such as Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS), to reduce administrative burdens and increase efficiency while maintaining adherence to strict quality standards.
University of Bern Will Use STRmix™ to Clarify Crimes, Examine Crime Scene Traces (STRmix – 11/25/2024)
The Department of Forensic Molecular Biology at the University of Bern’s Institute of Forensic Medicine has added STRmix™ forensic software to its array of scientific testing solutions for clarifying crimes and examining crime scene traces and comparators on behalf of police and judicial authorities.
Touted for its ability to resolve mixed DNA profiles previously regarded as too complex or degraded to interpret, STRmix™ has generated a highly successful track record since its introduction in 2012, producing usable, interpretable, and legally admissible DNA evidence in more than 690,000 criminal cases worldwide.
STRmix™ has proven to be a particularly effective solution for examining violent crime and sexual assault cases, as well as cold cases in which evidence initially dismissed as inconclusive was able to be reexamined.
The Department of Forensic Molecular Biology at the University of Bern analyzes crime scene traces – including biological material such as blood, saliva, sperm, skin cells, and hair – from a wide range of trace carriers on behalf of police and judicial authorities. The resulting DNA profiles are transmitted to the Federal DNA Database and compared with DNA profiles (traces or persons) that have already been stored.
In order to clarify offenses and parentage issues, as well as the identification of deceased or missing persons, the Department also creates DNA profiles from buccal mucosal swabs (WSA) or other comparative materials, depending on the case. In addition, the Department carries out parentage analyses, including special or more complex kinship investigations, on behalf of authorities and private individuals.
The Institute of Forensic Medicine is one of 150 institutes at the University of Bern. The university, founded in 1834, is ranked as one of the top 150 universities in the world. With about 19,000 students, the university is the third largest university in Switzerland.
With the addition of the Department of Forensic Molecular Biology, STRmix™ is now being used in 120 forensic laboratories worldwide. This includes 20 forensic labs throughout Europe, the United Kingdom, Asia, the Middle East, Canada, and the Caribbean, all nine state and territory forensic laboratories in New Zealand and Australia, and 90 forensic labs in the U.S.
Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office Teams with Othram to Identify a 2012 Homicide Victim (DNASolves – 11/25/2024)
In October 2012, the skeletal remains of an unidentified individual were discovered by a local resident along the Eel River in Piercy, California, about 170 miles from San Francisco. The resident found a pair of shoes sticking out of the sand on the riverbank and pulled on them, revealing human remains. A team of forensic anthropologists worked to excavate the remains, retrieving the skeleton of a male individual whose skull was not present. It was determined that the man was between the ages of 25 and 45 years old, standing between 5’11” and 6’4”.
It appeared that the remains located within the shallow grave had been there for an extended time, and the partial articles of clothing collected suggested 1980’s styles. John Doe’s death was labeled as a homicide given the circumstances around the discovery of his remains. Details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP59510 and the man was commonly referred to as “Skeleton in Sneakers.”
In 2024, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office submitted forensic evidence to Othram in The Woodlands, Texas to determine if advanced DNA testing could help identify the man. Othram scientists successfully developed a DNA extract from the forensic evidence, and then used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive genealogical profile for the unknown man. Othram’s in-house forensic genetic genealogy team then used this profile to conduct genetic genealogy research, ultimately providing new investigative leads to law enforcement.
Using this new information, a follow-up investigation was conducted leading investigators to potential relatives of the man. A reference DNA sample was collected from the potential relatives and compared to the DNA profile of the unknown man.. This investigation led to the positive identification of the man, who is now known to be Warren David Hawkins, born in 1965.
Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner Teams with Othram to Identify a 1985 Homicide Victim (DNASolves – 11/26/2024)
In May 1985, the charred remains of an unidentified woman were discovered along the side of the Interstate 95 in Westport, Connecticut. Westport is a town in Fairfield County, located along the Long Island Sound. The woman’s body was found burning in a pile of tires. Her hands and feet had been removed and were never recovered. Investigators determined that the remains were that of a Black female, who was likely 30 to 40 years old at the time of her death. The woman’s height was estimated to be 5’0″ and she weighed approximately 110 pounds. Investigators recovered several personal items alongside the woman’s body. She wore a pair of Russler brand blue jeans and a wool wrap-around sweater that contained a pack of Salem brand cigarettes in the pocket.
The woman, who was a victim of homicide, became known as Fairfield County Jane Doe. In July 2012, details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP10474. Despite the exhaustive efforts of law enforcement, the case went cold and the woman’s identity remained a mystery for nearly forty years.
In 2022, the Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) teamed with Othram in hopes that advanced forensic DNA testing could help establish an identity for the woman or a close relative. Forensic evidence was submitted to Othram’s laboratory in The Woodlands, Texas where Othram scientists successfully developed a DNA extract and then used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive DNA profile for the unknown woman. Othram’s in-house forensic genetic genealogy team then used the profile in a genetic genealogy search to develop new investigative leads that were returned to investigators.
Using these new leads, a follow-up investigation was conducted, leading to possible relatives of the woman. This investigation led to the identification of Fairfield County Jane Doe, who is now known to be Barbara Heyward Manners. Barbara was born June 9, 1951 and was 33 years old when she was murdered. After nearly four decades, Barbara’s remains will be returned to her family for her final internment. If alive today, Barbara would be 73 years old.
Man Found Dead in 2021 Identified (DNA Doe Project – 11/27/2024)
A man found dead in Austin in 2021 has been identified by volunteers from the DNA Doe Project. Working with the Travis County Medical Examiner’s Office, the DNA Doe Project used investigative genetic genealogy to resolve this case, utilizing a DNA profile developed from the remains and uploaded to a public database to build a family tree for the unidentified person. The name of the formerly unidentified man is being withheld.
On March 10, 202, an African American man was found dead in the city of Austin, Texas. He was thought to be between 50 and 70 years old and was around 5’10” tall, but little else was known about him. With no clues as to his identity, his case was brought to the DNA Doe Project, whose expert volunteers work pro bono to identify John and Jane Does and restore their names.
A team of volunteer genealogists began working on this case in September 2022 and found a common ancestor that connected two distant DNA matches of the unidentified man. Soon afterwards, and less than a month after research on the case commenced, a member of the team came across a descendant of that ancestor who was born in Texas and who fit the description of the John Doe.
“Our team quickly identified a woman born in North Carolina in the 1850s as a likely ancestor of this man,” said team co-leader Matthew Waterfield. “Just a few weeks later, we found that a great great grandson of hers had moved to Austin, and he turned out to be Travis County John Doe.”
With multiple pieces of evidence pointing to this man as a likely candidate, his name was provided to the Travis County Medical Examiner’s Office, who confirmed his identity in November 2022.
This identification would not have been possible without distant cousins of the unidentified man having uploaded their DNA profiles to GEDmatch. Gwen Knapp, team co-leader on the case, said “Having numerous relatives in the databases makes it easier for us to return Jane and John Does to their families. My hope is that people who have taken DNA tests will upload to databases such as GEDmatch and DNA Justice, so that we can restore the names of more of the thousands of unidentified people out there.”
The DNA Doe Project is grateful to the groups and individuals who helped solve this case: the Travis County Medical Examiner’s Office, who entrusted the case to the DNA Doe Project; Genologue for extraction of DNA and whole-genome sequencing; Kevin Lord for bioinformatics; GEDmatch Pro for providing their database; our generous donors who joined our mission and fully funded this case; and DDP’s dedicated teams of volunteer investigative genetic genealogists who work tirelessly to bring all our Jane and John Does home.
Honolulu Department of the Medical Examiner, Honolulu Police Department, and FBI Leverage Othram’s Forensic Sequencing Platform to Identify a 2010 Homicide Victim (DNASolves – 11/27/2024)
In September 2010, the remains of an unidentified individual were discovered in Honolulu, Hawaii. A construction crew working at a residential property in the Manoa area discovered the skeletal remains which had been buried. Extensive work by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) revealed that the remains were likely that of a White male between 40 and 57 years of age and between 5’6″ and 6’2″ tall. Investigators concluded that the man sustained a gunshot wound to the head and that his remains were placed in the area under suspicious circumstances. The man was wearing a blue short-sleeved shirt and brown Levi Panatela pants. Items recovered from his clothing indicate that the man was killed no earlier than 1982.
A composite based on the man’s skull was developed by a graphic artist and released to the public in hopes that it would generate new leads in the case. Details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP11790. Despite investigators’ attempts to identify the man, the case was cold for over a decade.
In March 2022, the Honolulu Department of the Medical Examiner submitted forensic evidence to Othram in hopes that advanced DNA testing could assist in the identification of the man. Upon receipt of evidence at Othram’s laboratory in The Woodlands, Texas, Othram scientists successfully developed a DNA extract. A comprehensive DNA profile was then built for the man using Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing®. Upon completion of the process, the profile was delivered to the FBI’s forensic genetic genealogy team so that genealogy research could be performed.
Using these new leads, a follow-up investigation was launched, leading investigators to identify the man as William Hans Holling, Jr. Holling resided in the state of Washington and had gone through a contentious divorce. He was last seen by his family and friends in January 1985, and was known to travel frequently to Australia via Honolulu.
19-Year-Old Nancy Anderson Was Murdered in Her Honolulu Apartment in 1972. A DNA Sleuth Recently Cracked the Case (People – 11/27/2024)
Strolling the warm sands of Honolulu’s Waikiki Beach quickly became part of 19-year-old Nancy Anderson’s routine when she moved by herself from Colorado to Hawaii in the fall of 1971.
A recent high school graduate, Anderson thought moving to a new place would help her figure out what she wanted to do with her life. “She was trying to find herself,” says Mary Schiattone, one of Nancy’s nine siblings. “She knew Hawaii is beautiful and if you’re going to go anywhere, why not Hawaii?”
On Oct. 21, 1971, Nancy jetted off to the lush island of Oahu, stepping off the plane and into her new life with a suitcase and money she’d saved from a job as a waitress and by working at a donut shop.
In Honolulu, Nancy found an apartment on Aloha Drive to share with a roommate, got a job at McDonald’s and made lots of new friends. “Nancy, like the rest of our family, was raised to be trusting and kind,” says Mary. “But that could also lead to being naive because we didn’t understand there could be real evil in the world.”
Less than three months after moving to Waikiki, the effervescent young woman with so many hopes for the future came face-to-face with unspeakable evil. On the afternoon of Jan. 7, 1972, her roommate, Jody Spooner, 18, woke up from an afternoon nap to the sound of running water in Nancy’s bathroom. When she entered her roommate’s bedroom, she found Anderson dead on the floor.
Initially, Spooner thought it was suicide. But police who arrived on the scene immediately suspected murder: Anderson had been savagely stabbed 63 times and died from a knife wound to the heart. “It was unimaginable,” says her brother Jack Anderson. “A beautiful 19-year-old girl with her whole life in front of her. Why? Who would do such a thing?”
That very question haunted Nancy’s family and police in Hawaii for more than 50 years, eventually making Anderson’s unsolved murder the state’s oldest cold case. Now, the mysterious slaying is featured in “The Aloha Murder,” the next episode of People Magazine Investigates, airing on Investigation Discovery on Monday, Dec. 2, at 9/8c and streaming on Max. (An exclusive clip is shown below.)
SVU Gets DNA Hit on Cold Case Rape of Quadriplegic Victim (Forensic – 11/27/2024)
The Concord Police Department (California) has announced the arrest of a suspect in a nearly 24-year-old cold case involving the sexual assault of a quadriplegic victim in her apartment on Monument Blvd.
On Dec. 6, 2000, an unknown suspect broke into the victim’s apartment and forcibly assaulted her. At the time, detectives collected DNA evidence from the scene, which was entered into a national DNA database. Despite exhaustive efforts and follow-up on multiple leads, the case went cold.
Recently, Concord Police Special Victims Unit (SVU) detectives received a DNA match, identifying the suspect as Michael Lamonte Evans, 50, a Los Angeles resident. Detectives obtained a warrant for Evans, who was already in custody in Los Angeles County on unrelated charges.
Police Arrest Suspect 52 Years to the Day of the Murder (Forensic – 11/27/2024)
On Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024, Darrel Eugene Choate was taken into custody by Uintah County Sheriff Detectives at a Salt Lake City hospital for the 1972 murder of Gregory Nickell.
The warrant for Choate was issued on November 1; however, due to unspecified medical issues, Choate wasn’t arrested at that time. Coincidentally, Choate was taken into custody 52 years to the day of when the crime occurred. Choate was then transported to Vernal where he is being held in the Uintah County Jail.
The Uintah County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the community’s assistance in obtaining any information regarding Darrel Eugene “Gene” Choate. He was 22 years old at the time of the murder and rape. The case was unsolved for more than 50 years, but with the help of recent advancements in DNA testing, Choate was identified and arrested.
Native American Scientists Launch Forensics Team to Investigate Indigenous Cold Cases (NBCNews – 11/29/2024)
In northwest Montana, a group of Native American scientists launched a forensics team dedicated to solving cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women. The group uses state-of-the-art techniques to help families get closure, and the founder says she was motivated to start the organization after her relative went missing in 2017, a case that remains unsolved. NBC News’ Morgan Radford has more.
Ink Database to Help Forensic Investigators Identify ATM Robbers (NL Times – 11/29/2024)
The Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI) has set up an ink database with ink traces from ATM robberies to help identify the robbers. One of the measures banks take against ATM robberies is adding ink to cash cassettes. When criminals blow up an ATM, the ink ends up on at least some of the cash, making it unusable. It also ends up on robbers’ hands and clothes, NOS reports.
Every one of the colored, inedible ink cartridges has unique characteristics. By examining the microscopic particles, the NFI can determine which ATM the ink came from. If the police find money or a jacket with ink residue, the NFI can, therefore, determine that a suspect was likely involved in a certain ATM bombing.
The Nameless Dead and the Cold Case Unit That Tries to Identify Them (New York Times – 12/01/2024)
A little-known squad of New York’s medical examiner’s office uses dogs, DNA and any other available clue to identify bodies.
Saline County Sheriff’s Office Teams with Othram to Identify a 2021 John Doe (DNASolves – 12/02/2024)
In April 2021, the skeletal remains of an unidentified individual were discovered by a group of friends hunting for mushrooms in a wooded area just west of the city of Salina in Saline County, Kansas. As they walked between the railroad track and a creek, the group came across the remains and called local law enforcement. During the investigation, more remains were found along with a dilapidated tent, which looked like it had been left over from the winter season. A search of the area was completed by members of the Saline County Sheriff’s Office along with cadaver dogs and their handlers. No other remains were found.
The individual’s remains were submitted to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation for possible identification using traditional DNA testing. The remains were also submitted to an anthropologist at Wichita State University in hopes that other details could be estimated about the individual. Investigators determined that the remains were likely that of a male and the time between the man’s death and the discovery of his remains was about one year.
In 2024, the Saline County Sheriff’s Office teamed with Othram in hopes that advanced forensic DNA testing could help establish an identity for the man or a close relative. Forensic evidence was submitted to Othram’s laboratory in The Woodlands, Texas where Othram scientists successfully developed a DNA extract and then used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive DNA profile for the unknown man. Othram’s in-house forensic genetic genealogy team then used the profile in a genetic genealogy search to develop new investigative leads that were returned to investigators.
Using these new leads, a follow-up investigation was conducted, leading to possible relatives of the man. This investigation led to the identification of the man as Kenneth Frances Reitchek, born in 1950, who was reported missing in Salina in November 2019. A Silver Alert was issued for Kenneth, and several searches and community efforts were conducted to help locate him.
Forensic Science Ireland Implements DBLR™ for Database Searches (STRmix – 12/02/2024)
Forensic Science Ireland (FSI), an associated office of Ireland’s Department of Justice, has begun using DBLR™, an investigative application for rapidly calculating millions of likelihood ratios (LRs) in DNA evidence, for searching mixed DNA profiles against the Irish DNA database.
When used in conjunction with STRmix™ – forensic software capable of resolving mixed DNA profiles previously regarded as too complex or degraded to interpret – DBLR™ enables forensic laboratories to achieve superfast database searches as well as visualizing the value of DNA mixture evidence, carrying out mixture-to-mixture matches, determining if there is a common donor between samples, and calculating likelihood ratios for any conceivable kinship relationship.
Forensic labs using DBLR™ in concert with STRmix™ are also able to explore interpretation results from a DNA profile given different hypotheses. Thousands of LRs can be calculated and plotted to determine the expected range for different hypotheses, quickly helping to inform whether a profile is suitable for comparison with a person of interest or suitable for entry onto a database for matching.
FSI was established in 1975 to provide a scientific service to Ireland’s Criminal Justice System by analyzing samples submitted from crime scenes and providing expert evidence in criminal trials. Embracing the ever-increasing advances in forensic science, FSI is also custodian of the National DNA Database System.
While FSI is very much a working service laboratory, its staff members are encouraged to contribute to scientific conferences worldwide and publish their work. FSI was a founding member of the European Network of Forensic Science Institutes. It is accredited according to ISO17025 and holds an Excellence through People certificate.
“DBLR™ is extremely useful for multiple applications, including performing unidentified human remains identification, saving analysts hours of manual kinship calculations,” says Dr. Maarten Kruijver, the developer of DBLR™.
“It is also highly effective in generating intelligence for cold cases when looking at profiles that span multiple items and may contain related or common DNA donors,” Dr. Kruijver continues.
Woman found dead in Austin identified (DNA Doe Project – 12/02/2024)
A woman found dead in Austin in 2020 has been identified by volunteers from the DNA Doe Project. Working with the Travis County Medical Examiner’s Office, the DNA Doe Project used investigative genetic genealogy to resolve this case, utilizing a DNA profile developed from the remains and uploaded to a public database to build a family tree for the unidentified individual. The name of the formerly unidentified woman is being withheld.
On April 12, 2020, a man walking his dog through the neighborhood of South Austin came across the body of a woman in a wooded area. She was White, thought to be between 40 and 55 years old, and stood around 5’2” with long gray hair. But with no identification on her and no matching missing person reports, her case was brought to the DNA Doe Project, whose expert volunteers work pro bono to identify John and Jane Does and restore their names.
A team of volunteer genealogists began working on this case in October 2022, but their research was complicated by the highest DNA match of the Jane Doe being an adoptee. Despite this, they were able to construct a family tree using more distant DNA matches of the unidentified woman, which led them to ancestors in Kansas, Missouri, and Texas. Less than a month after research on the case commenced, the team found a woman who was descended from all of the ancestors they’d identified, and she was born in Travis County.
“We could tell from the woman’s DNA that she was connected to a few specific families,” said team co-leader Kevin Lord. “After a few weeks of researching these families, we made connections between them that led us right to her parents, which is when we came across the name of their daughter.”
With all the DNA evidence pointing to Slaughter Creek Jane Doe being this woman, her name was provided to the Travis County Medical Examiner’s Office in November 2022. A few days later, her identity was confirmed through a fingerprint analysis.
Rhonda Kevorkian, team co-leader on the case, said “This woman may have remained unidentified to this day if her distant cousins hadn’t uploaded their DNA to GEDmatch. Every time someone uploads their DNA profile to GEDmatch, Family Tree DNA or DNA Justice, it makes our mission to identify John and Jane Does a little bit easier.”
SAKI Grant Revives 1997 NJ Cold Case, Suspect Now Extradited from Canada (Forensic – 12/04/2024)
Robert Creter, 60, of Winnipeg, Canada has been arrested for the murder of Tamara Tignor in 1997 in Bridgewater, N.J., according to a news conference by the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office and Bridgewater Township Chief.
On November 4, 1997, at approximately 4:38 p.m., Bridgewater Township Police received a 911 call reporting the discovery of the body of a deceased female. The deceased body was located on a dirt access road that ended in a cul-de-sac off Gilbride Road near Washington Valley Park. Detectives from the Bridgewater Township Police Department and the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit and Crime Scene Investigation Unit responded to investigate. The victim was subsequently identified as Tamara “Tammy” Tignor, 23, of Newark, New Jersey. An autopsy was conducted by the New Jersey Regional Medical Examiner’s Office. The manner of death was determined to be homicide.
Over the years, the investigation into Tignor’s death was continued by detectives from the Bridgewater Township Police Department and the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Cold Case Unit and Major Crimes Unit but remained unsolved.
In January 2023, detectives from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit met with detectives from the New Jersey State Police Cold Case Unit as part of their Garden State Cold Case Network and Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) Grant to discuss the furtherance of this investigation.
LabVantage Solutions and The Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI) Partner to Advance Digital Transformation in Forensic Science (BusinessWire – 12/04/2024)
LabVantage Solutions, Inc., the leading provider of laboratory informatics solutions and services, including purpose-built LIMS platforms enabling rapid deployment at reduced costs, and The Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI) today jointly announced a partnership to digitalize forensic laboratory workflows as part of NFI’s IT renewal initiative. A key aspect of this collaboration is the implementation of LabVantage Solutions’ Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS), which is designed to streamline NFI’s forensic operations by replacing fragmented processes and incorporating advanced capabilities.
U of A Innocence Project Receives $1.5M to Advance DNA Case Review and Exonerate Wrongfully Convicted People (The University of Arizona – 12/05/2024)
A $1.5 million grant from the Department of Justice will support the University of Arizona Innocence Project’s mission to investigate potential wrongful convictions, specifically through DNA evidence analysis.
The funding, project leaders hope, will be a significant step toward criminal justice reform in Arizona. Despite advances in DNA testing leading to a rising number of exonerations nationwide, Arizona has only seen three documented DNA exonerations since 1989.
“This grant means we can push forward, looking deeply into cases where DNA has the potential to prove innocence and pursuing relief for those who have been wrongfully convicted,” said Vanessa Buch, director of the U of A Innocence Project, which is based in the James E. Rogers College of Law.
The funding, from the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance in the Office of Justice Programs, is the largest grant ever received by the university’s Innocence Project – three times the size of its previous highest award.
It comes as the U of A Innocence Project’s intake is higher than ever, with hundreds of innocence claims awaiting review. The influx of cases has illuminated a daunting task: navigating a complex legal landscape and breaking through a backlog that could take years to address without added support, Buch explained. The project will now expand its case evaluations and re-examine old evidence using cutting-edge DNA analysis, which could yield new insights in previously inconclusive cases.
OKC Police Solve 50-Year-Old Cold Case Murder using DNA, Genealogy (The Oklahoman – 12/05/2024)
The key to solving Lela Johnston’s murder sat in evidence for nearly 50 years before police had the means to identify her killer.
But DNA alone wasn’t enough to find out who assaulted and murdered Johnston, a 68-year-old woman who lived alone on north Robinson Avenue in May 1976. Detectives with the OKCPD Cold Case Unit announced this week that for the first time, they used genealogy research to solve a murder case. Putting a face to the DNA profile finally gave Johnston’s family the closure they deserve.
Law Enforcement Makes Arrest with Help of Ramapo’s IGG Center (The Ramapo News – 12/05/2024)
Ramapo College’s first-of-its-kind Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG) Center has been making headlines as it continues to assist in solving cold cases.
Most recently, the IGG Center assisted in making an arrest and finally bringing closure to the 1974 Wisconsin murder of 26-year-old Mary Schlais. The Center was able to use evidence from a stocking cap found with Schlais to trace back to the suspect.
With the IGG Center’s help, law enforcement was able to arrest Jon K. Miller on Nov. 5 and charge him with the murder of Schlais.
“For the Mary Schlais case, two of our staff members—Cairenn Binder and Tracie Boyle—worked tirelessly to overcome obstacles,” said Director of the IGG Center David Gurney, in an email to The Ramapo News.
The obstacle in question concerned misattributed parentage. Once the IGG Center gained its lead, it was given to Wisconsin law enforcement who eventually made the arrest after the suspect confessed.
“Most of our work is traditional genealogy,” said Gurney. The IGG Center reverse engineers family trees using census records, birth and death records, obituaries, as well as other public records to learn more about their Subjects — the person they are looking to identify.
The IGG Center makes use of GEDmatch and FamilyTreeDNA, two genetic genealogy databases that law enforcement uploads information to that allow for IGG investigations of their data.
