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!
Developments in Cold Case of John Doe Found in Columbus (DNA Doe Project – 1/12/2026)
In 2007, a fisherman saw the body of a man floating down the Scioto River in Columbus, Ohio. This man had no identification on him, and in the eighteen years since he was discovered, no one has come forward to identify him. Now, thanks to the application of investigative genetic genealogy, new information has been revealed in the cold case of Franklin County John Doe 2007.
In 2022, the Franklin County Coroner’s Office brought this case to the DNA Doe Project, whose expert volunteer investigative genetic genealogists work pro bono to identify John and Jane Does. Efforts to identify the man have been complicated by a lack of DNA matches and the inaccessibility of records, but the team working on this case have now identified a number of locations and families that Franklin County John Doe has links to.
It appears that the unidentified man has roots in El Salvador and Honduras, and it’s possible that he moved to the US from one of these countries. In El Salvador, he has ties to the districts of San Luis de la Reina and Sesori in the department of San Miguel. In Honduras, he has ties to the districts of Camasca and Magdalena in the department of Intibucá.
Furthermore, the team on this case have discovered a number of families from these areas who the unidentified man has connections to. Surnames that appear in his family tree include Guzmán, Hernández, Orellana, Bolaños, Rivas and Rodríguez.
To uncover the identity of Franklin County John Doe, the DNA Doe Project is asking for the public’s assistance. People are encouraged to get in touch if they know of a man who hasn’t been heard from since 2007 and who has connections to one of these areas or surnames. They can either contact the Franklin County Coroner’s Office to share a tip or contact the DNA Doe Project directly at case-tips@dnadoeproject.org.
“My office is responsible for identifying any person who is found dead in our jurisdiction,” said Dr. Nate Overmire, the Franklin County Coroner. “We put ourselves in the situation, as if we lost a loved one. Our goal is to connect unidentified individuals with their loved ones so they can have closure.”
Members of the public can also help us solve this case in a different way, especially if they have roots in the regions of San Miguel, El Salvador or Intibucá, Honduras. Anyone who’s taken a consumer DNA test can upload it to the databases we have access to for our work – GEDmatch, DNA Justice and FamilyTreeDNA. Then, if they share DNA with the unidentified man, we’ll know that they’re a relative of his and this could lead us to his identity. Even if they’re only a distant relative, this still might help us – a single match is often all it takes to crack a cold case.
Researchers Create ‘Fantastic Four’ Chemical Standards for Forensic Science (Forensic – 1/12/2026)
Forensic science is a field that’s drawn more attention in recent years, thanks to the onset of true crime podcasts and the increase of television shows and films focused on the topic. A survey by Edison Research last year reported that 84% of the U.S. population ages 13 and up are “true crime consumers,” listening or watching these types of stories.
UCF’s College of Sciences and its National Center for Forensic Science (NCFS) are at the heart of the real science behind the real-life cases, along with the larger field that goes beyond criminal justice. Now, thanks to the work of UCF researchers, the field of forensic science around the world is receiving a massive boost of knowledge through the release of the “fantastic four” chemical standards; the four, hard biomaterials — nails, hair, bones and teeth — that provide a consistent and critical reference point for forensic anthropology and toxicology work.
Genealogy IDs Suspect in 1997 Cold Case Murder of Elderly Woman (Forensic – 1/12/2026)
Nearly three decades after the brutal murder of an elderly San Jose woman, advances in forensic science have led investigators to identify and arrest the suspect responsible for her death.
On Oct. 6, 1997, at approximately 12:25 PM, San José Police Department Officers responded to a report of a deceased person inside an apartment in the 40 Block of N. Jackson Avenue. Officers located 84-year-old Alice Sharitz, who lived alone, lying on the living room floor. A wooden-handled knife was embedded in her chest, and she had visible abrasions on both knees.
The homicide was reported by a neighbor who came to Sharitz’s apartment to deliver a card. Finding the front door ajar, he looked inside, saw her on the floor, and immediately called 911.
An autopsy revealed Sharitz suffered two stab wounds to the chest, multiple fractures, injuries to the neck, and numerous facial abrasions. The cause of death was determined to be multiple traumatic injuries. While processing the scene, investigators collected DNA, preserving it as potential evidence. But despite exhaustive investigative efforts at the time, the case went cold.
In 2021, a male DNA profile developed from the DNA collected from the crime scene was submitted for advanced forensic genetic genealogy analysis. In October 2024, the sample identified Joe Contreras as a potential source of the DNA.
In December 2024, with the assistance of Dallas Police Department of Oregon, a DNA sample was obtained from Contreras, and in February 2025, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Crime Lab confirmed the DNA profile from the crime scene matched that of Joe Contreras.
Following the DNA confirmation, San José Police Detectives, along with an investigator from the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office Cold Case Unit, traveled to Dallas, Oregon. Contreras was extensively interviewed and Detectives determined Contreras was responsible for the death of Ms. Sharitz.
Police Officially Tie Yogurt Shop Killer to Another Murder (Forensic – 1/12/2026)
In September 2025, Austin police announced they had finally identified the man responsible for assaulting and murdering four teenagers in 1991—a case that would go on to be called the “yogurt shop murders.”
The big break came when an Austin detective re-tested the .380 shell casing recovered from the yogurt shop—the only physical evidence. In a matter of hours, the detective was notified of a “hit” to an unsolved 1998 murder in Kentucky. Further investigation revealed a match of the suspect’s Y-STR profile to another unsolved murder in South Carolina.
Back in Austin, the lab confirmed Robert Eugene Brashers’ Y-STR profile in the sexual assault kits of the four teenagers. The lab also retested the fingernail clippings of one of the girls and generated an STR profile. That STR profile was compared directly to Brashers—and matched. At this time, DNA from the 1998 unsolved Kentucky murder was also directly compared with Brashers and he cannot be excluded as the perpetrator.
On Wednesday, DNA analysis completed by DNA Labs International using evidence from the Kentucky victim’s post-mortem sexual assault kit confirmed what was expected—43-year-old Linda Rutledge was another victim of Brashers. The serial killer has now been connected to eight murders, although police suspect there are more.
Bureau of Indian Affairs Missing and Murdered Unit and Pinal County Medical Examiner’s Office Team with Othram to Identify a 2024 John Doe (DNASolves – 1/12/2026)
In February of 2024, the partial skeletal remains of an unidentified individual were found in a desert area in Sacaton, a small town in Pinal County, Arizona. The Gila River Police Department and the Pinal County Medical Examiner’s Office responded and began investigating and collecting evidence. Investigators determined that the remains belonged to an adult man between the ages of 18 to 70 years old whose ancestry could not be definitively determined. Investigators believe the man died sometime in the preceding three to five years. Despite a lengthy investigation, the man could not be identified and became known as Sacaton John Doe. Details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP117598.
As part of Operation Spirit Return, the Bureau of Indian Affairs Missing and Murdered Unit and the Pinal County Medical Examiner’s Office submitted forensic evidence to Othram in The Woodlands, Texas in December of 2024 where scientists determined that advanced DNA testing could help to identify the man. At Othram, scientists successfully developed a DNA extract from the provided evidence and then used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive DNA profile for the man. Othram’s in-house forensic genetic genealogy team used the profile in a genetic genealogy search to develop new investigative leads that were returned to law enforcement.
During the course of this investigation, investigators received a lead that positively identified the man who is now known to be Glenn Thomas Tate, Jr. When he was last seen on July 22, 2020, Tate was 35 years old. At the time, he was seeking medical treatment from a medical facility on the Gila River Indian Reservation. Tate was enrolled with the Gila River Indian Community of the Gila River Indian Reservation and also a descendant of the White Mountain Apache Tribe of the Fort Apache Reservation. He was reported missing and his name was entered into NamUs as MP116130.
How 1 DNA Entry Narrowed Genetic Genealogy Investigation into Lawrence Sexual Assault Cold Cases (KSHB41 – 1/12/2026)
A genetic genealogy expert says one DNA entry narrowed the investigation into David Zimbrick’s alleged connections to two sexual assault cold cases involving children in Lawrence.
The Lawrence, Kansas, Police Department (LPD) worked with Parabon NanoLabs to identify the family tree of the DNA profile obtained from a crime scene at Naismith Valley Park in 2000.
DNA Doe Project Identifies Homicide Victim Found in Illinois in 1966 (DNA Doe Project – 1/14/2026)
Sixty years after his body was discovered, the DNA Doe Project has identified Geneseo John Doe as Ronald Joe Cole. Cole was only 19 years old when he vanished from Fillmore, California in 1965, with his remains being found thousands of miles away in Illinois the next year. His half-brother, David LaFever, was previously named by investigators as the prime suspect in both Cole’s disappearance and the murder of his brother-in-law.
On October 27, 1966, a postman discovered a human skull near a creek southeast of Geneseo, Illinois. The FBI determined that a bullet hole at the base of the skull was the cause of death and that the man had died 1-5 years earlier. After a search of the area, investigators located further skeletal remains, and it was determined that they belonged to a 16-30 year old man.
In 2024, the Henry County Sheriff’s Office brought the case to the DNA Doe Project, whose expert volunteer investigative genetic genealogists work pro bono to identify Jane and John Does. A DNA profile was generated from the man’s remains and uploaded to GEDmatch, which revealed a number of DNA matches in the 2nd to 3rd cousin range.
“We are very grateful for the relatives who chose to upload their DNA results to GEDmatch,” said team leader Gwen Knapp. “Unusually, our team had good matches on both the father’s side and the mother’s side to work with.”
After just a few days of research, the team began to home in on the family of the unidentified man. That was when they found information online about a member of this family, Ronald Joe Cole, which stated that he was a murder victim whose body had never been discovered. Further research revealed that he was a long-standing missing person who had last been seen six decades ago, and further DNA testing later confirmed that Geneseo John Doe was in fact Cole.
Cole was living with his half-brother, David LaFever, at the time of his disappearance. LaFever and his wife Margaret were arrested in 1983 on other charges, after which it emerged that LaFever had previously confessed to murdering his brother. Furthermore, Margaret’s brother had gone missing in 1977, and in 1984 his body was found in a shallow grave near the LaFevers’ former home. The police named LaFever as the prime suspect in both cases, but he was never charged with either crime.
The DNA Doe Project is grateful to the groups and individuals who helped solve this case: the Henry County Sheriff’s Office, who entrusted the case to the DNA Doe Project; Astrea Forensics for DNA extraction; Azenta Life Sciences for sequencing; Kevin Lord for bioinformatics; GEDmatch Pro for providing their database; our generous donors who joined our mission and contributed to this case; and the DNA Doe Project’s dedicated teams of volunteer investigative genetic genealogists who work tirelessly to bring all our John and Jane Does home.
Transfer DNA: An Updated, Unbiased Term for Touch/Trace DNA (Forensic – 1/14/2026)
Forensic scientists have long recognized the phenomenon and probative value of DNA transferred to people or objects through direct or indirect contact1. Various terms have been utilized by the forensic community over the past decades to include Touch, Trace, and Wearer DNA. However, the need for standardized terminology still exists in order to avoid any implicit bias by forensic analysts with regards to the exact biological origin, amount, and method of transfer of this DNA. This is especially important when considering the interpretation and weight of forensic evidence by jurors. Current terminology may result in laypersons assigning too much, or too little, value to forensic evidence. Herein, we will explore the most commonly used terms and their associated issues.
In order to prevent any ongoing confusion or biases within the scientific and legal community, we propose the use of “Transfer DNA” to serve as an all-encompassing term for DNA that has transferred from one surface/person to another, and where the biological source and mechanism of deposition cannot be definitively attributed.
2006 John Doe Identified as Presumed-dead Oregon Mayor (Forensic – 1/14/2026)
In November 2006, the skeletal remains of an unidentified individual were found on a beach in Taholah, an unincorporated village on the Quinault Indian Reservation, in Grays Harbor County, Washington. Grays Harbor County is on the Pacific coast of Washington near Seattle. The Grays Harbor Sheriff’s Office and the Grays Harbor County Coroner’s Office responded and began collecting evidence and investigating. They determined the remains were an adult man, likely aged 20 to 60 years old or older. The man was about 5′ 9″ tall and weighed an estimated 170 to 180 lbs.
Despite a lengthy investigation, the man could not be identified and became known as Grays Harbor County John Doe (2006). Details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP139985.
In 2025, the Grays Harbor County Coroner’s Office, collaborating with the King County Medical Examiner, submitted forensic evidence to Othram in The Woodlands, Texas. Scientists at Othram determined if advanced DNA testing could help identify the man. Othram scientists successfully developed a DNA extract from the provided evidence and then used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing to build a comprehensive DNA profile for the man. Othram’s in-house forensic genetic genealogy team used the profile in a genetic genealogy search to develop new investigative leads that were returned to law enforcement.
Using this new information, a follow-up investigation was conducted, which led investigators to potential relatives of the man. Reference DNA samples were collected from a relative and compared to the DNA profile of the unidentified man. This investigation led to the positive identification of the man, who is now known to be Clarence Edwin “Ed” Asher, born April 2, 1934.
Ed Asher was declared legally dead in 2006 after he was presumed to have drowned while crabbing in Tillamook Bay on Sept. 5, 2006. Born and raised in Oregon, he opened the Asher’s Variety Store in Fossil, Oregon in 1965 and worked as a lineman for the Fossil Telephone Company before retiring in 1995. He was also a past mayor of Fossil. He was 72 years old when he died.
Grays Harbor County Coroner’s Office and the King County Medical Examiner’s Office Team with Othram to Identify a 1995 John Doe (DNASolves – 1/13/2026)
In May 1995, a human jaw bone was found on the beach at Damon Point in Ocean Shores, Washington. Ocean Shores is a city in Grays Harbor County, located west of Seattle. The Ocean Shores Police Department and the Grays Harbor County Coroner’s Office responded to collect evidence and investigate. It was determined that the jaw bone had washed ashore and there was no way to identify the person, whose sex and ancestry were unknown.
Despite a lengthy investigation, the case went cold and the person became known as Ocean Shores Doe (1995). Details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP13642.
In April 2025, the Grays Harbor County Coroner’s Office and the King County Medical Examiner submitted forensic evidence to Othram in The Woodlands, Texas to determine if advanced DNA testing could help identify the person. Othram scientists successfully developed a DNA extract from the provided evidence and then used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive DNA profile for the person. Othram’s in-house forensic genetic genealogy team used the profile in a genetic genealogy search to develop new investigative leads that were returned to law enforcement.
Using this new information, a follow-up investigation was conducted leading investigators to potential relatives of the person. Reference DNA samples were collected from a relative and compared to the DNA profile of the unidentified person. This investigation led to the positive identification of the person, who is now known to be Bruce Joel Andrews born on December 16, 1948. Bruce Andrews went missing while fishing at the Westport Jetty on July 30, 1974. He was 25 years old.
DNA Doe Project Identifies Jane Doe Killed in 1982 Hit and Run (DNA Doe Project – 1/13/2026)
More than 40 years after she was killed in a hit and run on the Pacific Coast Highway, Laguna Beach Jane Doe has been identified as Virginia Irene Nelson. Known as ‘Ginny’ to her family, Nelson was 46 years old at the time of her death. Although she was from Yonkers, New York, she was last known to be living in Fresno prior to her death.
On January 30, 1982, a passing motorist spotted the body of a woman on the side of the Pacific Coast Highway in Laguna Beach, California. When investigators arrived at the scene, they found that she had died just hours beforehand, having been the victim of a hit and run. She was Caucasian and investigators estimated that she was between 50 and 65 years old.
The DNA Doe Project regularly takes on cases that have been long cold, and this case is a great example of how the techniques used in investigative genetic genealogy can create leads that investigators have been waiting for, sometimes for their entire careers. In the case of Laguna Beach Jane Doe, investigators had a good deal of information about the unidentified woman. She had a recognizable face, dental work, fingerprints, and surgical scars. But as she had no documentation of her identity, the investigation went cold and would remain so for more than four decades.
In November 2023, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office brought the case to the DNA Doe Project. A team of volunteer investigative genetic genealogists then worked on her case at a retreat in Texas and, over the course of a single weekend, they were able to uncover the true identity of Laguna Beach Jane Doe.
A relative of the unidentified woman had uploaded his DNA profile to a database that permits the upload of law enforcement cases. His profile, along with other DNA matches, led DNA Doe Project researchers straight to the correct family, where the team first came across Virginia Irene Nelson.
“Close matches do not always guarantee a quick or easy resolution,” said Jeana Feehery, team co-leader. “But in this case, we were fortunate to not only have high matches on both sides of her family, but family members who also publicly shared family trees that helped us make those connections.”
Nelson was born in 1935 in Jacksonville, Florida, but she grew up just outside of New York City in Yonkers. She later moved to California as she was living in Fresno by 1967, though this discovery was only made thanks to a newspaper article which reported her being mugged while living in Fresno that year. After that, she seemed to disappear from public records.
The team also noticed that Nelson’s paternal grandparents were both Scandinavian immigrants to the US – the DNA results for Laguna Beach Jane Doe had suggested substantial heritage from this region.
“Based on the estimated ancestry, we knew that Virginia had significant Scandinavian ancestry,” said Taed Wynnell, who worked on this case. “We were able to quickly identify a few matches which also had Swedish ancestry, but finding the connection between them proved difficult.”
With multiple DNA matches now tied to Nelson’s family, she was presented to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office as a potential candidate. Investigators then contacted a living family member of hers, whose DNA profile was compared to that of the unidentified woman. This comparison confirmed that the woman formerly known only as Laguna Beach Jane Doe was indeed Virginia Nelson.