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!
Chemical Imaging Method Holds Promise for Separate Overlapping Fingerprints (PhysOrg – 9/13/2024)
A new study from the Department of Forensic Medicine at Aarhus University is the first in the world to analyze fingerprints on gelatin lifters using chemical imaging. This could be crucial in criminal cases where current methods fall short.
Danish police frequently collect fingerprints at crime scenes using so-called gelatin lifters. Unlike tape, these lifters are easy to use and are suitable for lifting fingerprints from delicate surfaces, such as peeling wall paint, and irregular objects like door handles.
Once collected, the fingerprints are photographed digitally so they can be processed through fingerprint databases. However, traditional photography cannot separate overlapping fingerprints, which are often found at crime scenes. Very faint prints are also problematic. As a result, many fingerprints that could otherwise contribute to investigations unfortunately have to be discarded.
Connecticut Forensic Science Laboratory opens in Meriden (WTNH8 Sun – 9/13/2024)
On Friday, an opening ceremony was held at the Connecticut Forensic Science Laboratory in Meriden, coinciding with National Forensic Science Week.
Pueblo County Coroner’s Office & Sheriff’s Office Team with Othram to Identify a 2017 John Doe (DNASolves – 9/14/2024)
In April 2017, the skeletal remains of an unidentified individual were discovered after a grass field fire in the city of Pueblo, Colorado. Pueblo is about 40 miles south of Colorado Springs. Investigators responded to the scene and determined that the remains were of an adult male who stood between 5’11” and 6’3” tall and was either of white or latino ancestry. At the time of the man’s discovery, there were no other identifying characteristics that could help identify the man.
After the remains were recovered, details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP65313. Despite investigator’s work to identify the man, his identity remains a mystery.
In 2023, the Pueblo County Coroner’s Office partnered with Othram to determine if advanced DNA testing can help to determine the identity of the man. Othram scientists will work to develop a suitable DNA extract that can be used with Forensic Grade Genome Sequencing® to develop a comprehensive DNA profile to be used in records research and forensic genetic genealogy. Anyone with information that could aid in the investigation is encouraged to contact the Pueblo County Coroner’s Office by calling 719-583-4673 and referencing agency case number 196-2017.
A New Kind of Database for National Cold Case Month (Forensic – 9/16/2024)
September 1, 2024 marked the start of the inaugural National Cold Case Month in the forensic community, with some well-known organizations joining the call to action.
The movement was launched this year by Solve the Case, a non-profit dedicated to finding missing persons and solving cases of murder and other serial offenses. The non-profit is headed by Dallas-Fort Worth police detective Aaron Benzick who has over 20 years of experience investigating hundreds of violent crimes. During the course of his professional career, Benzick has focused on mapping, testifying as an expert witness in location data mapping on cellular devices. He has also developed software used by city, state and federal law enforcement agencies for mapping location data.
Leveraging this experience, Solve the Case’s goal is to assist agencies in understanding and using technology in their investigations, as well as expanding awareness of unsolved cases.
“We provide free tools and services to collaboratively help unsolved cases of murder, missing persons and serial offenses,” reads the non-profit’s website. “We use the power of the internet to bring the community together to look at cases in new and innovative ways with investigative professionals.”
National Cold Case Month has already found many participants, including: The Genetic Justice Project, Medina County Sheriff’s Office (Texas), GEDmatch, Season of Justice, Ramapo College’s Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center, Othram, Calavaras County Sheriff’s Office (California) and more.
Genetic Genealogy Helps Name Suspect in 1993 Murder (Forensic – 9/16/2024)
Two weeks ago, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and Boone County Sheriff’s Office (Missouri) arrested 52-year-old Dana Shepherd in Columbia Missouri for the 1993 murder of Carmen Van Huss.
“This arrest, more than 30 years after the senseless murder of Carmen Van Huss, demonstrates the dedication and perseverance of IMPD detectives, the Marion County Forensic Services Agency, and the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office. It also is a testament to the power of genetic genealogy and analytic capability,” said Deputy Chief Kendale Adams of the Criminal Investigations Division of IMPD. “For 31 years, the family of Carmen Van Huss has been searching for answers and justice. While nothing can ever replace their loved one, we hope that today’s arrest brings them some measure of peace. We remain dedicated to bringing justice to all victims and will continue to pursue every lead, no matter how much time has passed.”
On March 24, 1993, Marion County Sheriff Deputies responded to an apartment in the 8200 block of Harcourt Road in Indianapolis, where they found Van Huss deceased. Her cause of death was later determined to be a homicide.
Over the years, detectives interviewed dozens of individuals and followed up on hundreds of leads, however, eventually the case went cold.
Serial Rapist Receives Life Sentence in First Genetic Genealogy Jury Trial in Dallas County History (BJA – 9/16/2024)
In August 2024, Dallas County Criminal District Attorney John Creuzot announced that Christopher Michael Green would spend the rest of his life in prison after a Dallas County jury found him guilty of aggravated sexual assault. The 52-year-old defendant was charged in a 2005 cold case attack on a young mother whom he sexually assaulted at knifepoint. This case marks the first jury trial in Dallas County history to utilize investigative genetic genealogy (IGG) as an investigative tool to help identify the suspect.
Law enforcement first identified a suspect DNA profile in one of these cases back in 2001. Over the next 15 years, the same DNA profile appeared in five more cases. However, without a prior felony conviction, Mr. Green’s DNA was not in the national DNA database, precluding a match.
Scientists Sequenced the DNA of the ‘Last Neanderthal’—and It Alters Human History (Popular Mechanics – 9/17/2024)
In 2015, a paleoanthropology team discovered jaw remains of a roughly 42,000-year-old Neanderthal in France.
Over the next several years, the team, lead by Ludovic Slimak, found more of the Neanderthal’s remains and began to analyze its genome.
Despite its proximity to other groups of Neanderthals and the era’s modern humans, the lineage of the specimen, dubbed “Thorin,” found by Slimak managed to stay totally isolated from groups of other early beings.
Mississippi State Medical Examiner & Meridian Police Department Team with Othram to Identify a 2023 John Doe (DNASolves – 9/17/2024)
In November 2023, the skeletal remains of an unidentified individual were discovered by a Lauderdale County Deputy in a field while on patrol in Meridian, Mississippi. Meridian is a city about 92 miles east of Jackson. It was decided to let the Meridian Police Department make the recovery so as to not disturb the area any further. The remains were then taken to the MIssissippi State Medical Examiner where evidence of traumatic injury at or around the time of death was found. An assessment of the remains, looking at the skull bones and dental development, suggested the man was between 25 and 45 years old. No other identifying characteristics could be determined.
In May 2024, the Mississippi State Medical Examiner 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. The work was funded by philanthropist and Mississippi native Carla Davis.
Using this new information, a follow-up investigation was conducted leading investigators to potential relatives of the man. Reference DNA samples were 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 Geno L. Jones, born August 21, 1990. An investigation into his death continues.
Ontario Provincial Police & Toronto Police Service Leverage Othram’s Genetic Testing Platform to Identify a 2016 John Doe (DNASolves – 9/17/2024)
In October 2016, the remains of an unidentified individual were found on the shore of Lake Huron near Port Albert, roughly 16 km north of Goderich, Ontario Canada. It was determined that the remains were that of a male wearing a lifejacket. An investigation was launched, and police reached out to the public for information in hopes of identifying the man.
In 2023, the Ontario Provincial Police in collaboration with Toronto Police Service, submitted forensic evidence to Othram in The Woodlands, Texas in hopes that advanced DNA testing could help to identify the individual. Othram scientists used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive DNA profile for the unknown man. Once the profile was developed, it was returned to the Toronto Police Service for use in a forensic genetic genealogy search to develop new leads in the case.
Using this new information, a follow-up investigation was conducted leading investigators to potential relatives of the man. This investigation led to the positive identification of the man, who is now known to be Garnet Michael Nelson.
A month before Garnet was found, Sootoday.com reporter Jeff Klassen recounted meeting a man who introduced himself as “Mitchell Nelson.” Nelson was pulling a canoe hitched to a bicycle along the side of the Trans-Canada Highway near Espanola, Ontario, heading west. In the article, Nelson shared that he was born in London and had moved to Alberta during an economic boom. The article concludes with Nelson’s plan to pull his canoe to Manitoulin Island, then paddle across Georgian Bay and down the Lake Huron shoreline to visit his family in London, Ontario.
Although the news article had caught the attention of the Ontario Provincial Police, the investigation was anything but straightforward, according to Detective Inspector Randy Gaynor, the lead investigator. One major obstacle to definitively linking Nelson’s body to the man in the article was that he had used a different name during his interview with Klassen. Police said no foul play is suspected in Nelson’s death. Ultimately, it was Klassen’s article published in Sootoday.com combined with advanced DNA technology, that helped solve the mystery of the man’s identity.
