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!
This Laurentian University Researcher is Collecting DNA from the Air Inside Beehives (CBC – 11/18/2024)
Mateus Pepinelli says his research can help understand how climate change affects different plants
NYC Medical Examiner’s Staff are Still Identifying 9/11 Victims’ Remains – and Giving Answers to Loved Ones (CBS News – 11/17/2024)
Ellen Niven first thought something had happened to her son when two police officers came to her door as she was decorating the family’s Christmas tree.
Instead, the officers delivered shocking news about her late husband: his remains had finally been identified, more than two decades after he vanished during the 9/11 terror attack on the World Trade Center. Until December 2023, John Niven was among the more than 1,000 victims of the attack without identified remains.
The New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner continues to fulfill its promise to identify 9/11 remains for as long as there are families looking for answers.
Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office & FBI Leverage Othram’s Forensic Sequencing Platform to Identify a 2023 Assault Suspect (DNASolves – 11/18/2024)
In November and December 2023, two separate attacks were reported on the Cane Bay walking trail in Summerville, SC. Summerville is situated in three different South Carolina counties. The attacks took place in Berkeley County. The first incident occurred on November 27, 2023 when a 14-year-old girl was attacked from behind and assaulted on the trail near Shadybrook Drive and Cane Bay Boulevard. Six days later on December 3, a second incident was reported on the trail behind Bella Vista Court. A 15-year-old girl was assaulted. In both crimes, a suspect could not be identified.
In February 2024, evidence was submitted from one of the cases to Othram so that advanced DNA testing could be used to determine the identity of the suspect. Othram’s scientists used Forensic Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive DNA profile for the unidentified suspect. This profile was delivered to the FBI’s forensic genetic genealogy team so that a genetic genealogical search could be performed in hopes that new leads could be developed in the case, and a suspect could be identified.
Using these leads, a follow-up investigation was launched and potential relatives of the suspect were identified. This investigation led to the identification of 24-year-old Antjuan Xavier Reed. Reed has been charged with Assault and Battery first degree, Criminal Sexual Conduct with a Minor second degree, Kidnapping, and Assault and Battery third degree. Reed is being held at the Hill-Finklea Detention Center without bond.
DNA on Discarded Cigarette Helps Lead to Arrest in a 1981 Homicide (New York Times – 11/19/2024)
The 1981 fatal beating of a steelworker in northwest Indiana remained unsolved for so long that the son of the original detective on the case started reinvestigating it in 2018 — and helped solve it.
Blood from the crime scene and a discarded cigarette tossed out a vehicle window at a 2023 traffic stop in Illinois eventually led to the arrest of Gregory Thurson, 64, of Eugene, Ore., on Oct. 29 on a murder charge in the death of John Blaylock Sr., 51, who was killed in his apartment in Griffith, Ind.
That capped an investigation that began on Nov. 3, 1981. On Wednesday, Mr. Thurson, who was arrested in Oregon and extradited, is to appear in a Lake County, Ind., courtroom. His lawyer with the Lake County Public Defender’s Office could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.
It is unclear what the motive for the killing was and what relationship there may have been between Mr. Blaylock and Mr. Thurson.
Mississippi State Medical Examiner & Mississippi Bureau of Investigation Team with Othram to Identify a Teen Missing Since 1997 (DNASolves – 11/19/2024)
In 2018, the remains of an unidentified individual were transferred to the Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s Office so that an anthropological analysis could be developed in hopes that the individual could be identified. It was determined that the remains were that of an unknown Black male who was estimated to be approximately 15-24 years of age. Details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP132686.
In 2024, in an effort to resolve the mystery around the identity of these remains, the Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s Office and Mississippi Bureau of Investigation teamed with Othram in hopes that advanced DNA testing could help to determine who this young man was.
This case is part of Othram’s Project 525 initiative. Project 525, launched on May 23, 2024, in collaboration with RTI, which manages the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), aims to bring resolution to five hundred twenty-five juvenile cases published in NamUs. Funded largely through philanthropy and crowdfunding, this initiative aligns with National Missing Children’s Day, by focusing on bringing answers to families of missing and unidentified children. We deeply appreciate everyone who has supported or plans to support the Project 525 Fund, making this important work possible.
In June of 2024, the Mississippi Office of the State Medical Examiner submitted evidence to Othram’s laboratory in The Woodlands, Texas. Othram scientists were able to develop a DNA extract from the evidence so that a DNA profile could be built for the young man using Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing®. Once the DNA profile was built, Othram’s in-house forensic genetic genealogy team performed genealogical and records research in order to develop new leads in the case. Funding for this case was provided by Mississippi native and philanthropist, Carla Davis.
These new leads were provided to investigators, and a follow-up investigation was conducted. With the provided information, investigators were able to identify a potential relative of the young man. The DNA profile of the potential relative was compared to unknown man’s DNA profile using KinSNP® Rapid Relationship Testing. This investigation led to the identification of the young man as Stephen “Steve” Shawn Austin, born September 22, 1979.
When he was 17 years old, Steve was reported missing from El Paso, Texas in August 1997, where he lived with his mother. While a missing person case was filed by his mother with the El Paso Police Department, Steve was never seen or heard from again. If alive today, Steve would have been 45 years old.
Riverside District Attorney’s Office Partners with Othram to Identify the Suspect in the 1979 Assault & Murder of Esther Gonzalez (DNASolves – 11/20/2024)
In February 1979, the body of a young female was found off Highway 243 south of Poppet Flats Road near Banning, California. Banning is located in Riverside County. Investigators determined that the body was that of 17-year-old Esther Gonzalez. Esther was attacked and murdered while walking from her parents’ home in Beaumont to her sister’s home in nearby Banning. According to investigators, she had been raped and bludgeoned to death.
Esther’s body was found after an unidentified man called the Riverside County Sheriff’s Station in Banning to report finding a body. Deputies described the male caller as being argumentative, and he did not know if the body was that of a male or female. Five days later, sheriff’s investigators were able to identify the caller as Lewis Randolph “Randy” Williamson. Williamson was asked to take a polygraph test to which he agreed. Williamson passed the polygraph, leading investigators to clear him of any involvement in the crime.
Investigators continued to work on this case for years and eventually a DNA profile was developed from a semen sample recovered at the crime scene. This profile was entered into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). The CODIS search did not yield a match to a known individual. For 45 years, the identity of the person responsible for Esther Gonazalez’s rape and murder could not be identified.
In 2023, the Riverside County Regional Cold Case Homicide Team (RCCHT), which is comprised of members of the DA’s Office Bureau of Investigation, the Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner Department, the FBI, and the Riverside Police Department, once again partnered with Othram to use advanced DNA testing and forensic genetic genealogy to generate new leads in the case. Previously, RCCHT and Othram worked together to identify murder victim Juana Rosas-Zagal, as well as individuals in other unsolved cases.
Forensic DNA evidence in Esther’s case was sent to Othram and Othram scientists used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive genealogical profile. After successfully developing the DNA profile, it was returned to law enforcement investigators who used the profile in a forensic genetic genealogical search. The investigation led back to Lewis Randolph “Randy” Williamson–who died in Florida in 2014. Although he was initially cleared of the crime by polygraph in 1979, he was never cleared through DNA testing, as the technology to do so had not been developed at the time. With the assistance of the Broward County Sheriff’s Office in Florida, a blood sample collected during Williamson’s autopsy was sent to the California Department of Justice’s laboratory, where it was confirmed that Williamson’s DNA matched the DNA recovered from Esther Gonzalez’s body.
Tip, Fingerprint Comparison Lead to Arrest in 1978 Murders (Forensic – 11/20/2024)
The guiding principle of the Hampden District Attorney’s Office (Mass.) is to relentlessly pursue justice for the citizens of Hampden County, particularly those who are impacted by crime. This pursuit of justice is never easy, and it sometimes takes a long and circuitous route. After almost 46 years, an arrest has been made in the homicides of 18-year-old Theresa Marcoux and 20-year-old Mark Harnish.
On Nov. 19, 1978, the bodies of Theresa Marcoux and Mark Harnish were found just off Route 5 in West Springfield. Marcoux had attended East Longmeadow High School and was described as someone who loved to laugh and always had a smile on her face. Before her death, Marcoux was working at a local hardware store as a clerk in their pet department. Harnish had also attended East Longmeadow High School. He was known as a quiet, polite young man who had been working at a car repair shop in town. Tragically, their young lives were cut far too short by a horrendous act of violence.
On November 19, 1978, at approximately 9:30 a.m., an officer of the West Springfield Police Department was on patrol when he observed a 1967 green Dodge pickup truck parked in a roadway rest area on Route 5/Riverdale Street. The officer saw that the driver’s side window of the truck was damaged and noticed blood in and around the vehicle. The officer then discovered the remains of two individuals, one female and one male, just over a nearby guardrail. Each victim appeared to have sustained gunshot wounds.
The victims were identified as Theresa A. Marcoux, and Mark L. Harnish. Both were last seen alive on the morning of November 19, at approximately 12:30, leaving a party hosted by friends. The pickup truck was owned by Harnish.
Additional first responders were called, including detectives from the West Springfield Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police. The forthcoming investigation saw painstaking efforts to document and photograph the scene, with physical and biological evidence collected by investigators. The rest area was thoroughly searched for evidence, yet no firearm was recovered.
Investigators concluded that Marcoux and Harnish had been shot while in the passenger compartment of the pickup truck and their bodies were moved to the area where their remains were later discovered. Autopsies determined that the cause of death for each victim was multiple gunshot wounds. The medical examiner opined that their time of death was during the early morning hours of November 19. A witness who lived in the area also reported hearing multiple gunshots at approximately 4:00 a.m.
Spent projectiles were recovered from the victims’ remains and the passenger area of the pickup truck. Ballistics examination concluded that the recovered projectiles were all fired from the same unknown firearm which was capable of firing 38-caliber ammunition.
When investigators processed the pickup truck, they located a latent print in what appeared to be blood on the passenger-side vent window. Marcoux and Harnish were eliminated as a possible source of this latent print. Over the years as the investigation continued, this latent print was entered into the Massachusetts Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), and was also manually compared with approximately 70,000 known fingerprint cards. As of October 2024, there was no match.
Despite the continual efforts of investigators over the past few decades, and the concerted efforts of the Hampden District Attorney’s Office in the last several years, the case was not any closer to any conclusions. However, in just the last month, information was received from an individual who provided investigators with the name of Timothy Scott Joley and information as to Joely’s purported involvement with the deaths of Marcoux and Harnish.
Two law enforcement investigators, with extensive experience in fingerprint analysis, comparison, evaluation and verification were enlisted. They were provided with Joely’s fingerprint identification card and compared the previously unknown latent print recovered from the passenger vent window of Harnish’s pickup truck. Each investigator determined that the fingerprint originated from Timothy Joely’s left thumb. Investigators have also learned that Joely was a licensed gun owner in November 1978, and that he purchased a Colt handgun approximately one month before the murders of Marcoux and Harnish.
Based upon these very recent developments, investigators sought a complaint and arrest warrant charging Timothy Scott Joely, age 71, of Clearwater, Florida, with the murders of Theresa Marcoux and Mark Harnish in 1978. A two-count murder complaint and arrest warrant for Joely was issued by the Springfield District Court on Oct. 29, 2024.
On October 30, Joley was arrested at his residence in Clearwater, Florida and was held, without bond, at the Pinellas County Jail. On November 5, Joely appeared before a Circuit Judge in Pinellas County, Florida and waived extradition. Joley will be returned to Massachusetts in the coming weeks to face these charges.
Safeguarding Forensic Science Professionals (National Institute of Justice – 11/21/2024)
Forensic science professionals are vital personnel in the criminal justice system who routinely operate in high-stress environments. The forensic science field comprises many distinct professional roles, including civilian and sworn employees of law enforcement agency crime laboratories, police forensic units (such as crime scene units and fingerprint units), and associated medical examiner or coroner offices.
This article was authored by NIJ staff and was originally published in Police Chief, a publication of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and is reprinted with permission.
No matter where they practice, all forensic professionals are expected to be perfect in their work. They are called upon to make “zero errors,” process cases quickly to meet investigators’ needs and court deadlines, provide expert testimony in adversarial settings, and address ever-growing case backlogs in offices that are typically understaffed and under-resourced. These demands can lead to stress and burnout.
Further, forensic science professionals are exposed to unique work stressors that can result in vicarious trauma that affects their personal health and wellness:
Direct, on-site exposure to violent crime and death scenes experienced by crime scene investigators.
Exposure to graphic multimedia evidence from crimes against victims, including children, experienced by digital evidence examiners.
Exposure to physical evidence from crime scenes, such as bloody clothes, experienced by laboratory workers.
Despite these professionals’ daily encounters with work stressors, agencies and government programs often overlook their forensic workforce when developing health and wellness resources. In contrast, police and corrections officers’ significant exposure to work-related trauma is widely recognized. That awareness has given rise to substantial research that produced promising practices to improve those officers’ health and wellness.For example, it is well understood that police and corrections officers have an increased risk of occupational and organizational stress; chronic disease related to untreated stress, physical inactivity, and obesity; poor sleep quality; mental health disorders; substance misuse; burnout; and suicide.[1] The physical and mental health effects of work-related stress and repeated exposure to trauma negatively affect decision-making processes and behaviors, which may further impact public safety and community trust.[2]
However, the field is just beginning to acknowledge the unique need for a better scientific understanding of the impact of trauma exposure on forensic professionals. One question is whether and how resources developed for policing professionals apply to the forensic workforce, especially civilian personnel who operate behind the scenes, yet are vital to the administration of justice.
Genetic Genealogy Can Stop Violent Criminals and Free the Wrongly Convicted (Scientific American – 11/21/2024)
Since 1989, 3,615 individuals convicted of crimes have been exonerated in the U.S., freed after their conviction was reversed. Post-conviction DNA testing played a part in 606 of these exonerations.
Brothers Robert and David Bintz became the latest additions to this disturbing list on September 25, after investigative genetic genealogy (IGG)—which relies on genealogical and genetic data to reverse engineer family trees—helped reveal the true perpetrator of the crime. In many ways, their cases are typical of other wrongful convictions: false confessions and jailhouse informants provided the primary evidence against them at trial. Yet their stories are unusual because of the underlying investigative method essential to their exonerations.
The Bintz brothers are only the third and fourth individuals exonerated with the help of IGG. While the revolutionary investigative technique has, since its inception in 2018, primarily helped identify human remains and perpetrators of violent crimes, the dual exonerations of the Bintz brothers demonstrate its power as a tool of justice generally. It’s one that more wrongful conviction organizations should pursue.
