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!
Hawaii Man Freed after 30 Years in Prison Due to New DNA Evidence (The Guardian – 2/24/2025)
There were gasps and cries in the courtroom on Friday when Judge Kirstin Hamman announced that his sentence was vacated and he was to be released from custody. She ruled that new evidence, including DNA test results, would probably change the outcome of another trial.
The Maui county prosecuting attorney Andrew Martin says he plans to appeal and seek to have bail imposed on Cordeiro’s release.
Cordeiro’s first trial ended in a hung jury, with only one juror voting to convict him. But he was later found guilty of murder, robbery and attempted murder and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.
After Cordeiro’s conviction, new testing on physical evidence from the scene excluded him as the source of DNA on Blaisdell’s body and other crime scene evidence, the Hawaii Innocence Project said, and a DNA profile of an unidentified person was found on the inside pockets of Blaisdell’s jeans.
Supreme Court Appears Swayed by Texas Death Row Inmate’s Request for DNA Testing (The Hill – 2/24/2025)
The Supreme Court appeared swayed by a Texas death row inmate’s argument he has the legal right to sue over the state’s laws governing DNA testing, as he seeks to obtain testing on evidence he claims would prevent his execution.
Ruben Gutierrez was convicted of capital murder and other charges tied to the 1998 robbery and killing of 85-year-old Escolastica Harrison. Prosecutors said Gutierrez and two others plotted to lure Harrison out of her mobile home to steal cash, but instead, two men entered the home and killed her.
For more than a decade, the death row inmate has sought DNA testing to prove that he is ineligible for capital punishment because he wasn’t a major participant in the crime, asserting that he was not one of the two men to enter the home though he did participate in the robbery.Gutierrez contends that Texas’ DNA testing statute violates due process by only allowing testing where favorable results would bolster a defendants’ innocence, instead of their ineligibility for the death penalty. He sued a Texas prosecutor and local police chief, given their custody of the evidence.
But a federal appeals court found that he does not have standing to challenge the laws’ constitutionality because he failed to prove a prosecutor would likely grant access to the DNA evidence if a court ruled in his favor. Gutierrez’s lawyers claim the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit created its “own novel test” that runs afoul of Supreme Court precedent.
Anne Elizabeth Fisher, a lawyer for Gutierrez, argued before the justices Monday that Gutierrez’s challenge is like that of Texas death row inmate Rodney Reed, who similarly sought leave to challenge Texas’ postconviction DNA testing statute. The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Reed’s favor in 2023, with conservative Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett joining the liberal justices.
BIA Launches Operation Spirit Return to Help Solve Missing and Unidentified Person Cases (Forensic – 2/24/2025)
The Bureau of Indian Affairs announced that the Office of Justice Services has launched Operation Spirit Return, an initiative to help solve missing and unidentified person cases involving American Indians and Alaska Natives in the United States.
The initiative is being conducted by the BIA’s Missing and Murdered Unit to identify unknown human remains located within or close to Indian Country and are believed to belong to either American Indian or Alaska Native persons. The operation will focus on reuniting remains with family members and returning them to their tribal communities. The unit is actively investigating 15 unidentified persons cases from its regions, including Alaska.
Weatherford Police Department and Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office Team With Othram to Identify a 1998 Jane Doe (DNASolves – 2/25/2025)
In October 1998, the decomposed remains of a woman were found in wooded area behind a truck stop near I-20 in Weatherford, Texas. Investigators believe she died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. She was found wearing a white bra, white socks, white or beige panties and a blue and white windsuit. She also had a large blue shoulder bag with expensive prescription beige glasses, a long brown wig and a bottle of mineral water. Investigators determined she was between 35 and 55 year-old and had $30,000-$35,000 worth of extensive dental work including gold foil fillings with porcelain veneers.
Despite an extensive investigation, her identity could not be determined and she became known as Weatherford Jane Doe. Details of the woman’s case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP3572.In September 2023, retired Deputy Chief Greg Lance encouraged Lieutenant Johnny Qualls and the Cold Case Unit to reexamine the case with modern forensic DNA technology. After consulting with Dr. Crowder at the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office, the team decided to explore forensic genetic genealogy, a method that has helped identify unknown individuals in numerous cold cases.
In 2023, the Weatherford Police Department and the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office sent forensic evidence to Othram’s laboratory in The Woodlands, Texas in hopes that advanced DNA testing could help identify the woman. Othram scientists produced a suitable DNA extract from the remains. A comprehensive DNA profile was then developed for the woman using Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing®. Othram’s forensic genetic genealogy team then conducted a genealogical search that resulted in new leads, which were provided to law enforcement.
The follow-up investigation led investigators to potential relatives of the woman. A reference DNA sample from a possible relative was compared to the DNA profile of the unknown woman leading to the positive identification of the woman, who is now known to be Nellie Faye Gillespie. She was last seen in Jackson, Mississippi on August 15, 1998. She had called her son informing him she was planning on going to Arizona but was never heard from again.
Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office Teams with Othram to Identify the Suspect in the 1997 Murder of Stephen Edenfield (DNASolves – 2/25/2025)
In a significant breakthrough, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) has arrested a suspect in the 1997 murder of Stephen Edenfield in Tampa, Florida. On February 1, 1997, Edenfield was found brutally stabbed and beaten in his home, with the word “Greed” written in blood on his bedroom wall. Despite extensive initial investigations, the case remained unsolved for nearly three decades.
In 2022, HCSO’s Cold Case Unit employed advanced forensic DNA testing in collaboration with Othram. Forensic evidence was sent to Othram’s labortory in The Woodlands, Texas and scientists used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to develop a comprehensive DNA profile for the unknown suspect in the case. Othram’s in-house forensic genetic genealogy team used the profile in a forensic search to develop new investigative leads in the case.
This investigative effort, funded by a Bureau of Justice Assistance grant and supported by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, led to the identification of a previously unknown suspect in the case. During this investigation, additional DNA testing revealed another suspect from the crime scene. This new suspect, now living in Tampa, was arrested on an unrelated warrant out of Illinois in February of 2025. Following that arrest, HCSO Cold Case investigators interviewed Brandon Gliha, 47, who confessed to Edenfield’s murder. On February 24, 2025, Gliha was charged with first-degree murder with a weapon and robbery with a deadly weapon.
Jefferson County Coroner uses Forensic Genetic Genealogy to Solve 2002 Cold Case Homicide (ABC33/40 – 2/26/2025)
A cold case spanning over two decades has finally been solved with the positive identification of skeletal remains found in 2002. The Jefferson County Coroner’s Office announced that the remains belong to 38-year-old Darryl Moneyham, who was last seen alive in 1999.
The breakthrough identification was achieved through forensic genetic genealogy (FGG) analysis, marking the first successful use of this method by the coroner’s office. The remains were discovered on March 20, 2002, by an individual conducting an environmental survey in a wooded area near Carraway Methodist Medical Center. The remains were wrapped in bed linens, and an autopsy later revealed that Moneyham died from a gunshot wound to the head, classifying the death as a homicide.
Despite entering the case into the NamUs database in 2015 and developing a DNA profile in 2018, no matches were found until the recent FGG analysis. Othram, Inc. conducted the analysis, which led to the identification of potential relatives across the country. Investigators then traced these leads back to Moneyham, confirming his identity through additional testing.
Moneyham was reported missing by his family on July 10, 1999, after he was last seen leaving a family residence in Birmingham. Originally from Birmingham, he had been living in Toledo, Ohio, before his disappearance.
Othram Announces Project 525 to Identify Missing and Murdered Children (Forensic – 2/26/2025)
Othram, the leading forensic sequencing laboratory for law enforcement, is proud to announce the launch of a new project focused on the identification of 525 unidentified children. The project name and initial scope commemorates National Missing Children’s Day, held each year on May 25.
National Missing Children’s Day highlights the urgency of protecting children and reconnecting missing children with their families. This day raises awareness about the vulnerabilities children face and emphasizes the need for swift and effective action to identify remains and solve cases of missing children, who are nearly always the victims of crimes.
The importance of a nationwide repository for resources to resolve long-term missing persons and unidentified human remains cases cannot be overstated. Since 2022, Othram has worked in collaboration with the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), a program of the National Institute of Justice managed by RTI International, providing the program with cutting-edge genomic tools and genealogical research to help provide resolution to missing and unidentified cases across the country. Othram’s Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing (FGGS) has been instrumental in solving numerous active and cold cases for local, state, and federal agencies across the United States and internationally. More forensic genetic genealogy cases have been solved with Othram FGGS than any other method.
To continue our support and joint mission, Othram will be working through five hundred twenty-five juvenile cases published in NamUs, as part of a special initiative titled “Project 525.” NamUs, the nation’s only federally legislated program providing technology, forensic, investigative, and analytical services to resolve all long-term missing and unidentified decedent cases, plays a crucial role in supporting these investigations. Of the more than 24,400 active missing persons cases NamUs is currently supporting, 24% involve juveniles. This is in addition to supporting 1,278 active unidentified decedent cases involving children. Therefore, by utilizing the efficient and comprehensive case assessment pathway established by NamUs, we will be able to help restore names back to the most vulnerable members of our population.
Cold Case Unit Identifies Deceased Offender in 1984 Homicide (Forensic – 2/26/2025)
Detectives with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s (CMPD) Cold Case Unit have identified a deceased offender in a 40-year-old homicide cold case investigation.
On Nov. 19, 1984, at approximately 3:12 p.m., officers responded to a missing persons call for service in the 8000 block of Eaglewind Drive. The victim, Sandee Cornett, 26, was reported missing by a neighbor after Cornett did not show up for work.
Several months into the investigation, Larry Gene Bell (10/30/1948), was identified as a suspect in Cornett’s disappearance. Bell was interviewed by investigators from multiple agencies but was not charged at the time. Bell was later convicted of two murders in South Carolina and was sentenced to death. He was executed on October 4, 1996.
CMPD’s Cold Case Unit, with funding from the National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, completed a full review of the casework and evidence gathered over four decades. Detectives consulted with the Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office as part of this review. After completion, detectives determined Bell kidnapped and murdered Sandee Cornett, and he would have been charged if still alive.
Jefferson County Medical Examiner’s Office Teams With Othram To Identify a 2002 John Doe (DNASolves – 2/26/2025)
In March 2002, a worker conducting an environmental survey discovered skeletal remains in a thicket off a paved alley, across the street from Carraway Methodist Medical Center in Birmingham, Alabama. The remains were found with a pair of Levi’s 550 Relaxed Fit denim jeans (size 32Wx30L), a thin reddish leather belt with a silver metal buckle, Arizona Jean Company underwear, a medium silk shirt with an aqua and maroon geometric design, and white socks—but no shoes. Coins found in the jeans pocket dated from 1970 to 1999. A news report at the time noted that the man was missing several teeth and wore a partial dental plate. Despite these details, traditional identification methods failed to determine his identity, leaving the case unsolved.
In 2022, the Jefferson County Medical Examiner’s Office partnered with Othram to explore whether advanced DNA testing could help identify the man. Forensic evidence was sent to Othram’s laboratory in The Woodlands, Texas, where scientists used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to develop a comprehensive DNA profile. This profile was then used by Othram’s in-house forensic genetic genealogy team to generate new investigative leads, which were returned to law enforcement for follow-up.
Investigators used this information to locate potential relatives of the unknown man. A reference DNA sample was collected from one of the relatives and compared to the unidentified man’s DNA profile using KinSNP® rapid relationship testing. This analysis ultimately led to a positive identification: the remains belonged to Darrell Moneyham, who had disappeared on July 6, 1999, at the age of 38.
Moneyham’s information had been entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) in 2010 under case number MP4787. He was last seen on July 6, 1999, in the Birmingham area, leaving home for a quick trip to the store—but he never returned. His wife reported him missing shortly thereafter. An investigation into Darrell Moneyham’s death remains ongoing.
Forensic Chemist Receives DOJ Support for Gunshot Residue Detection Tool (ScienceX – 2/27/2025)
Gunshot residue is important for helping forensic investigators reconstruct crime scenes where a firearm was used and link suspects to the event.
However, current detection methods are costly, time-consuming and often destroy the sample for future testing.
Igor Lednev, a chemist at the University at Albany, is working to develop a new laser-based technology that relies on a combination of Raman spectroscopy and machine learning to quickly analyze crime scene evidence, including gunshot residue.
His research is now one step closer to helping law enforcement through a $556,572 grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in January.
“Gunshot residue is a complex mixture of particles, including partially burned propellant, primer and cartridge case materials, that is left behind on hands, clothing and surfaces following a firearm discharge. It provides crucial evidence in shooting-related cases,” said Lednev, a Distinguished Professor in UAlbany’s Department of Chemistry. “Currently, there is a great need for a fast, accurate and non-destructive method to detect these particles at crime scenes, which we believe can be achieved through our novel technology.”
Australia’s First Independent Forensics Lab Targeting Cold Cases and Mystery Human Remains (ABC.net – 2/28/2025)
Australia’s first independent forensic science laboratory service is established to assist with high demand for DNA testing and body identification.
There are currently about 700 sets of human remains on police files, and countless more in storage due to confusion about their origin or identity.
DNA Doe Project identifies Jane Doe found in Arizona in 1997 (DNA Doe Project – 3/3/2025)
Nearly 30 years after the charred body of a woman was found in an abandoned vehicle in Phoenix, the DNA Doe Project has identified her as Monique S. Boggs. Boggs was born in 1948 and was 48 years old at the time of her death. She was raised in the Detroit area, and her family, who knew her as Shirley Jefferson, was not aware that she had ended up in Arizona.
On February 4, 1997 the partially burned body of a woman was found in an abandoned car that was engulfed in flames in Phoenix, Arizona. An empty purse with writing on the outside that included the name “Monique” was found near the body. Forensic scientists determined that the unidentified woman was African American and between 20 and 50 years old. Witnesses said that she was possibly an unhoused woman who had been seen in the local area before.
Decades later, the Phoenix Police Department brought this case to the DNA Doe Project, whose expert volunteer investigative genetic genealogists work pro bono to identify John and Jane Does. A team of volunteers began working on this case in June 2020, but they soon ran into multiple roadblocks.
“This case faced certain challenges that we often encounter in African American research,” said Harmony Vollmer, team leader. “African Americans are underrepresented in the DNA databases we have access to, while part of the devastating impact of slavery was to rip families apart and leave few traceable connections between their descendants.
Nevertheless, the team assigned to this case persevered and, in January 2025, this hard work paid off. The team came across a woman who was born in Mississippi but who’d moved to Michigan as a young child. Her name was Monique Boggs, and further DNA analysis soon confirmed that she was the woman formerly known only as Monique Phoenix Jane Doe.
“She was a distant cousin of multiple DNA matches to the Jane Doe, and she appeared to have fallen off the radar in the 1990s,” said case manager, Eric Hendershott. “But the most striking detail was that she had changed her name in the 1980s to Monique – the same name written on the purse found with our Jane Doe.”
The DNA Doe Project is grateful to the groups and individuals who helped solve this case: the Phoenix Police Department, who entrusted the case to the DNA Doe Project; HudsonAlpha Discovery for extraction and sequencing; Kevin Lord for bioinformatics; GEDmatch Pro and FamilyTreeDNA for providing their databases; our generous donors who joined our mission and contributed to this case; and our dedicated teams of volunteer investigative genetic genealogists who work tirelessly to bring all our Jane and John Does home.
Michigan State Police Teams with Othram to Identify the Suspect in the 2011 Murder of Andrea Eilber (DNASolves – 3/03/2025)
As if being a world leader in understanding and utilizing DNA wasn’t a high-enough achievement, the Department of Defense (DoD) DNA Operations division within the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System (AFMES) has set the bar to a whole new level.
Michigan State Police Teams with Othram to Identify the Suspect in the 2011 Murder of Andrea Eilber (DNASolves – 3/3/2025)
On November 14, 2011, 20-year-old Andrea Eilber was found bound to a chair and shot in the head at her aunt and uncle’s home in Mayfield Township, Michigan. Eilber had been house-sitting while her relatives were out of town. When she failed to respond to calls and messages, concerned family and friends launched a search. Her car was discovered abandoned on a nearby road, and when authorities entered the home, they found her murdered.
Initial investigations led police to her then-boyfriend, Kenneth “KC” Grondin, who was arrested and charged with the crime. Although Grondin was convicted following a 12-day jury trial in 201, his conviction was overturned in 2018. Grondin was set for a retrial, but proceedings were delayed as new evidence emerged.
One piece of evidence in the case was a cigarette butt found at the crime scene. In 2011, forensic testing identified a single male DNA profile that did not match anyone known to be connected to the case. Over the years, investigators compared the DNA profile to many individuals, but they found no matches.
In 2022, the Michigan State Police submitted the forensic evidence to Othram’s laboratory in The Woodlands, Texas. Othram scientists used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to develop a comprehensive DNA profile from the cigarette butt. Othram’s in-house forensic genetic genealogy team used the profile in a forensic search and developed new investigative leads which were returned to law enforcement.
A follow-up law enforcement investigation led to Chadwick Shane Mobley as a potential contributor of the DNA from the cigarette butt. At the time of the murder, Mobley worked as an EMS technician in Pontiac, Michigan and lived in nearby Auburn Hills. Mobley’s name never surfaced during prior investigations, making forensic genetic genealogy an important tool in helping to identify him as suspect in the case.
Once Mobley was identified, law enforcement in Utah and Montana worked with the Michigan State Police to conduct surveillance on him. Mobley, a long-haul truck driver, was living out of his truck and rarely disposed of items that could provide discarded DNA. Despite these challenges, authorities eventually obtained a confirmatory DNA sample, which matched the crime scene evidence. In June 2023, Mobley was arrested in Montana and later extradited to Michigan to face murder charges.
On February 17, 2025, the Michigan Attorney General’s Office announced that Mobley pleaded no contest to first-degree premeditated murder, felony murder, and felony firearm in Lapeer County’s 40th Circuit Court. His sentencing is scheduled for April 15, 2025, where he faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
New Haven Police Department Teams with Othram to Solve the 1999 Kidnapping of a Toddler (DNASolves – 3/4/2025)
In October 1999, twenty-three-month-old Andrea Michelle Reyes was abducted by Rosa Tenorio, Andrea’s non-custodial parent. The incident took place in New Haven, Connecticut where an investigation was launched. It was learned that Andrea was taken to Mexico by her mother, where she has lived for the past 25 years in Puebla, a city of more than 1.5 million people located southeast of Mexico City.
In 1999, a felony warrant for Custodial Interference was issued for Rosa Tenorio (pictured below) in the case of Andrea’s abduction. Over the years, Andrea’s father searched tirelessly, but never heard from his daughter or her mother. The New Haven Police Department investigated Andrea’s kidnapping along with other agencies. Several age-progressed images of the girl were created over the years illustrating what she might have looked like at various ages. Details of Andrea’s missing person case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as MP3324.
Searches for Andrea took individuals to Mexico to her reported location, but her whereabouts remained a mystery. The New Haven Police Department began to reinvestigate the open case in 2023, which resulted in Andrea making contact with the man she believed to be her father. In an effort to confirm the woman’s identity, the New Haven Police Department teamed with Othram to evaluate the potential familial relationship.
The woman provided a DNA sample, which was compared to Andrea’s father’s DNA profile using KinSNP® Rapid Relationship Testing. This comparison supported a father/daughter relationship, confirming that the woman who reached out is, in fact, the nearly two-year-old girl kidnapped in October of 1999. Andrea Reyes, who is now 27 years old, resides in Mexico.
Albany Police Department and the FBI Leverage Othram’s Genetic Testing Platform to Identify a 1997 Baby Doe (DNASolves – 3/5/2025)
On September 7, 1997, city workers found the body of a newborn wrapped in a charred cloth near the Moses statue in Albany, New York’s Washington Park. The baby, later called “Baby Moses” by investigators, weighed 9 pounds and 3 ounces. It was determined that Baby Moses was been born alive and healthy. There were no signs of injury or natural health conditions that could have caused his death. Despite extensive investigative efforts, no leads surfaced, and the case went cold.
In 2020, the Albany Police Department partnered with the Cold Case Analysis Center at the College of Saint Rose to take a fresh look at the case. As DNA technology had significantly advanced since 1997, forensic specialists extracted a usable DNA profile from preserved evidence. In 2022, Othram was retained to develop a comprehensive DNA profile for the unknown infant. Once the profile was created, it was provided to the FBI’s forensic genetic genealogy team, which used it to conduct a forensic database search. The search ultimately led to the identification of a relative, and after further investigative work, police determined that Keri S. Mazzuca was the infant’s biological mother.
With this new lead, Albany police began conducting surveillance and collected discarded items from Mazzuca’s residence to obtain a confirmatory DNA sample. The results conclusively identified her as the child’s mother. On September 6, 2024, Mazzuca was arrested and charged with second-degree murder, tampering with physical evidence, and concealment of a human corpse.
Following her arrest, authorities learned more about the events that took place 27 years earlier. Mazzuca admitted that she suffocated her newborn son shortly after birth and, in an effort to destroy evidence, attempted to burn the body before leaving him in Washington Park. The crime shocked the Albany community, and those who had worked the case over the years described it as one of the most haunting unsolved mysteries in the city’s history.
On February 13, 2025, Mazzuca pled guilty to first-degree manslaughter and tampering with physical evidence in Albany County Court. As part of the plea, she admitted to killing her newborn son and concealing his body. She now faces up to 25 years in state prison, with sentencing scheduled for April 18, 2025.
