The Missing Piece Episode 3: Rodney Johnson (Lake Stickney John Doe)
The search for answers began in 1994 when a fisherman discovered a body in the lake. The Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s office determined the deceased to be between 25 and 35 years old and the victim of a violent homicide. Multiple varied facial reconstructions were made for the victim over the years, in […]
Under the Microscope – Ed Green
Rootless hair is widely regarded as a poor source for DNA-based forensics. However, rootless hair shafts are known to contain preserved DNA that can be recovered and analyzed even after thousands of years. Ed Green and his partners have developed technology for exploiting the DNA found in rootless hair for forensic applications. In his presentation at […]
The Missing Piece Episode 2: Lisa Todd (Publicker Girl)
For years, victims were listed on cold case files in law enforcement evidence boxes. While never forgotten, limitations in forensic science prevented their cases from being closed. Families waited decades for answers and justice while their killers remained unidentified. In 2018, a new tool for crime solving rose to prominence as the […]
Tracing Roots: How the Transatlantic Slave Trade Impacted the Genetic Makeup of the Americas
Historical records on transatlantic slavery show that an estimated 12.5 million people were forcibly taken from Africa and sent to the Americas between 1515 and 1865. More than one and a half centuries after slavery was abolished, a study led by Steven Micheletti, a Population Geneticist at 23andMe, examines how the slave trade impacted the […]
Newly Launched G.O.L.D. Unit in Cuyahoga County Using Forensic Genetic Genealogy to Identify Most-Wanted Cold Case Rapists
In 2013, the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office (CCPO, Ohio) launched their Sexual Assault Kit Task Force (SAKTF) to investigate leads stemming from the testing of previously unsubmitted rape kits between 1993-2011. Over the years, the Task force finalized over 7,000 investigations which resulted in indictment of 817 defendants and justice for 915 victims. Last […]
Forensic Genetic Investigation of Two Adult Male Skeletons Recovered from the 17th Century La Belle Shipwreck using Massively Parallel Sequencing
Today’s blog is written by Angie Ambers, Ph.D., Assistant Director at Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensic Science. Read the full version in the November 2020 issue of The ISHI Report. Born in 1643, the French explorer Robert Cavalier (Sieur de La Salle) is best known for leading an expedition from the Great Lakes […]
Children Left Behind by Sex Tourists and Aid Workers: Do the Fathers Ever Think of Them?
Today’s blog is written by Professor Andrew MacLeod, Chairman Griffin Law (UK), Visiting Professor Kings College London (War Studies and Genetics), and co-founder www.HearTheirCries.org (anti-child abuse charity in Switzerland). More background on him can be found here: https://www.griffin.law/andrew-macleod/ and here: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/andrew-macleod Read the full version in the November 2020 issue of The ISHI Report. In December 2019 Susan […]
Meet the Sophomore Using Forensic Genetic Genealogy to Close Cold Cases: Olivia McCarter
Olivia McCarter is just 19 years old, but she’s already been a part of three forensic genealogy successes. As a freshman at the University of South Alabama, Olivia wondered where she fit in the field of forensic science and considered dropping out of school. Then she met Lee and Anthony Redgrave, founders of Redgrave Forensic […]
Obtaining DNA Profiles from Rootless Hairs
Throughout the years, conventional wisdom has said that rootless hair shafts do not contain DNA, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. In this interview, Ed Green, Professor at the University of California Santa Cruz and co-founder of Astrea Forensics, discusses how his company is generating DNA profiles from rootless hairs and how this […]
