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!
‘A Killer in the Family’: Former Denver DA Co-Founds Familial DNA Search Company (The Denver Channel – 9/27/2018)
“We can completely revolutionize the DNA database in this country,” said Mitch Morrissey, who co-founded United Data Connect, Inc., which sells familial DNA screening software.
Go Inside Texas’ DNA Lab Where Scientists Work to Identify Human Remains (NBCDFW 5 – 9/27/2018)
Fort Worth is home to UNT’s Center for Human Identification — they also run the Texas missing person’s DNA database
ISHI 2018: Copan’s Solution for Mass Casualty DNA on the Fly (Forensic Magazine – 9/28/2018)
One of the major pragmatic devices showcased at ISHI is a collection tool developed in Europe that combines forensic needs, accelerated speed, and advanced genetic analysis to respond to mass casualty incidents—like American mass shootings.
Report: 1000s of DNA Profiles Missing from Databases (Forensic Magazine – 10/1/2018)
Thousands of DNA profiles legally required to be collected from adults arrested for felonies or convicted of some misdemeanors in Ohio are missing from state and national crime databases, according to a newspaper network’s investigation.
How a DNA Test from a 2003 Rape Case Led to a Prime Suspect Currently in Prison (Fremont News Messenger – 10/1/2018)
Because of an initiative from Attorney General Mike DeWine’s office, a rape case unsolved since 2003 now has a prime suspect.
North Carolina Launches Sexual Assault Kit Tracking System (WFAE 90.7 – 10/1/2018)
The North Carolina sexual assault tracking system launches Monday. It allows victims of sexual assaults who get a forensic exam to track where their evidence is and if it’s been tested. Idaho, Arkansas and a few other states have similar systems.
OKC’s DNA Solutions Puts Forensic Science Expertise to Work Identifying Criminal Suspects, Victims (Newsok – 10/2/2018)
In today’s episode, our narrator, Brandt Cassidy, Ph.D., laboratory director for DNA Solutions and technical leader for the forensic work conducted by the company, describes a challenging case where evidence was sent to Oklahoma City by the U.S. Attorney’s office in Phoenix.
45 Years After a Sperry Woman’s Violent Death, DNA Testing Has Investigators Seeking Tulsa Man (Tulsa World – 10/2/2018)
Using newly tested DNA evidence, the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office’s Cold Case Task Force reportedly has linked a suspect to the 1973 homicide of Veda Woodson. Investigators are now seeking 78-year-old Stanley Clabough, who is believed to live in the Tulsa area.
Familial Searching, Exhumation of Dead Suspect Solve 1985 Murder, Rape (Forensic Magazine – 10/3/2018)
Familial searching, and the exhumation of a man dead more than two decades, solved a cold case rape and murder from 1985 in the San Ramon Valley, according to California authorities.
New Research Aims to Help Catch Child Killers (Forensic Magazine – 10/3/2018)
“There is very little research on the decomposition of juvenile and infant remains, but it’s important to understand the rate and progress of this process – it can provide crucial information about when victims died and their remains disposed of,” says Ann Ross, a professor of biological sciences at NC State and first author of a paper on the work.
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