Almost fifty years ago, three young girls hitchhiked from downtown Indianapolis to the eastern part of the city trying to get to an amusement park. Unfortunately, they never reached their final destination that evening. A man in his early 40s pulled over on the side of the road and picked them up. They quickly realized they were in danger when one of the girls noticed that the inside front passenger door handle was missing. The girls were driven to a cornfield in a secluded area of town. The youngest victim was sexually assaulted and stabbed in the throat and chest over ten times. The other two victims had their throats slashed and all three were left for dead.
Miraculously, all three victims survived this horrible ordeal. Somehow the two older victims were able to flag down a good Samaritan who was driving by and get help. For years, detectives worked on this case to try and identify the perpetrator. Evidence from the scene was tested and a DNA profile foreign to the victims was obtained. The DNA profile was uploaded to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), but no hits were obtained. In early 2023, the Indianapolis Metro Police Department reached out to DNA Labs International to pursue forensic investigative genetic genealogy testing options. The extract that had previously yielded the foreign DNA profile was submitted and testing was initiated. A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) profile was generated using the ForenSeq Kintelligence kit and the profile was uploaded to the GEDmatch Pro and Family Tree DNA databases. This led to a huge break in the case – after building out trees for nineteen significant genetic associations, two potential close relatives of the unknown profile were identified. Luckily, both individuals were very cooperative with the investigation and provided samples which were used to confirm the identity of the unknown profile using short tandem repeat (STR) testing.
Finally, after nearly fifty years of waiting, these three women had an answer. Cristina Servidio’s presentation will review the details of this case, the technology used that was able to solve this case from half a century ago, and how this technology can be used in other cold cases and current casework.
Can you give us a sneak peek into the main theme of your presentation and why it’s important for our audience?
I will be presenting the case of the Indianapolis Slasher who was finally identified after fifty years of searching. It’s my hope that by highlighting the technologies that were used for this case that others are made aware of what can be done in their own cases.
What inspired you to explore the topic of your presentation?
As forensic scientists, we are only one piece of the puzzle that each case becomes. However, our technologies can help investigators and provide leads that can help ultimately solve the case. This case was one of the most horrific ones that I have ever read about and the fact that the victims survived was a miracle. After everything they went through, I can’t imagine how they must have felt never knowing what happened to their attacker or wondering if he was going to come back and find them someday. Hopefully by using forensic genetic investigative genealogy (FIGG), we are able to solve these cases more quickly and provide some answers for the victims.
What’s one common misconception about your area of expertise you’d like to clarify?
Although this was a cold case, this technology can also be used for current casework including unidentified human remains and violent crimes especially in cases where there are no hits in CODIS.
Are there any resources or tools you recommend for those interested in learning more about your presentation topic?
There are many webinars that are available online regarding FIGG for free! That would be a great place to get some background on genealogy itself and how we are using it in forensics. There are also several press releases that have been put out about this particular case as well.
When you’re not working, what’s your favorite way to unwind or relax?
Right now, it’s running around chasing my 1-year-old daughter with my husband. She is a bundle of energy and keeps us very busy. We are loving every minute of it! I’ve also been going to F45 for the past few years to sneak a workout in after work and loving that!
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
One of my first supervisors that I had in the forensic field used to always remind us to never forget where we came from. Although many people move up in their career into supervisory or management type roles, I think it’s very important to still be active in the laboratory and still be aware of everything that is going on. It’s difficult to make good decisions on laboratory protocols that you aren’t performing anymore! If you are not able to get into the laboratory, then definitely make sure to incorporate feedback from those that are!
If you could only eat one dish for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Definitely Pizza! My parents used to joke that I was going to turn into a pepperoni growing up since I ate it so often!
What were you doing in 1989, when ISHI first started?
In 1989, I was a one-year-old running around Europe! My parents were stationed in Heidelberg, Germany, so we got to do a lot of traveling to different countries on the weekend. Unfortunately, we left when I was 2, so I only remember a few words in German!
Can you share a memorable moment from ISHI that has stayed with you?
There are so many to choose from, it’s really hard to pick one! The one that comes to mind right now is the Wednesday event night at ISHI in Orlando a few years ago. It was my first conference in person after the COVID outbreak and it really made me realize how important it is for all of us to get together and collaborate! Plus, the event was at Animal Kingdom at Disney – so that always helps as an avid Disney lover!
