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!
DNA, Facial Recognition Track Down Suspect in 1991 Kidnapping, Murder (Forensic – 4/29/2026)
Advanced DNA testing—funded by the community—and facial recognition technology have combined to identify a suspect in the 1991 kidnapping and murder of a mother of two. After years of searching, James Lawhead Jr., was finally arrested on Friday, April 24, 2026 for the kidnapping and murder of Cindy Wanner.
On Nov. 25, 1991, Wanner was feeding her 11-month-old baby at her sister’s home in the quaint neighborhood of Granite Bay, California, when she suddenly vanished. The baby was found crying in the highchair hours later, while Wanner’s shoes, coat and car were all left behind. Her disappearance in broad daylight sparked a massive investigation and shook the normally safe community.
Three weeks later, Wanner was found strangled to death in a remote area approximately 40 miles from where she was kidnapped. Pathologists believe she was kept alive for some time after she was kidnapped. There was no attempt to hide the body in the wooded area.
Investigators took samples from the body and collected numerous evidence, but no hits or leads were uncovered in the immediate aftermath of the crime.
Silsbee Police Department and Texas Rangers Team with Othram to Solve the 1988 Murder of Caroline Bolen (DNASolves – 5/01/2026)
On July 28, 1988, officers with the Silsbee Police Department were dispatched to a residence located at 1280 Cooks Road in Silsbee, Texas. When officers arrived, 26-year-old Caroline Susan Bolen’s body was discovered inside her home. The initial investigation revealed that Ms. Bolen had been brutally sexually assaulted and murdered by an unknown suspect. Tragically, her six-year-old son was left alone inside the residence with his deceased mother after the assailant left the scene.
Despite extensive investigative efforts and the development of initial leads, the case eventually went cold, though it remained open and under periodic review.
In 2019, the case was reassigned to Investigator Justin Holt of the Silsbee Police Department’s Special Assignment Unit. During the same time, the case was also being actively reviewed by Texas Ranger Brandon Bess with the Texas Rangers Company A Unsolved Crimes Investigation Program (UCIP).
An STR profile was developed from biological evidence recovered at the scene, including blood found beneath the victim’s fingernails and other biological evidence recovered during the autopsy. The STR profile was entered into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), but there was no match to a known individual. The investigators from the two agencies collaborated and began a comprehensive re-examination of the case, including the collection and reanalysis of physical evidence, as well as evaluating advancements in forensic technology.
Using funding provided by Season of Justice, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting unresolved violent crime investigations, investigators submitted evidence to Othram in October of 2022. At Othram, scientists work to build a SNP profile using Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing®. This profile was used in a forensic genetic genealogy search led by Othram’s forensic genetic genealogy team. This search provided law enforcement with new investigative leads.
These leads reinvigorated the investigation into identifying Bolen’s killer, leading detectives to relatives of her killer, who is now identified as Allen Wayne Mosley. Mosley lived on a street that ran adjacent to Bolen’s Silsbee, Texas home. At the time of the offense, Mosley was on court ordered supervision for a prior rape charge in Jasper County, Texas which involved the stranger abduction of a minor.
Investigators believe that Mosley traveled to Bolen’s home in the early morning hours of July 28, 1988. It was reported that the victim heard Mosley arrive at her home and she thought that it was her boyfriend, as she had visited his home earlier that evening. Mosley is believed to have forced his way into the home upon the victim coming to the door, where he then sexually assaulted Ms. Bolen, with her 6-year-old child present, before ultimately killing her by asphyxiation as she resisted, leaving behind critical biological evidence.
Witness information, from the time, indicated that a male subject matching Mosley’s description was observed leaving the residence the following morning. Mosley reportedly allowed a family member to drive his vehicle to Galveston the same morning, removing its presence from the area. It was learned that Mosley and his family relocated to Oklahoma after the killing of Bolen. Mosley died by suicide in 2006 while living in Tulsa Oklahoma.
IGG Center Students Help ID Suspect in 1999 Assault (Forensic – 5/04/2026)
Detectives with the Charlotte‑Mecklenburg Police Department’s (CMPD) Cold Case Unit, with assistance from CMPD’s Violent Criminal Apprehension Team (VCAT) and the Asheville Police Department, have arrested and charged Eric Lee Howard, 48, in connection with a 27‑year‑old sexual assault cold case.
On the night of Jan. 9, 1999, a resident of Charlotte, North Carolina reported that an unknown male had forced entry to her home wearing a ski mask and sexually assaulted her. DNA was collected from the victim and entered into the CODIS database using traditional DNA testing, but no hit was returned.
In 1999, a DNA profile was obtained from evidence and entered into CODIS. Cold case detectives continued investigating the case for decades.
In 2022, the DNA sample was submitted to Parabon Nanolabs for further testing and a SNP profile suitable for genetic genealogy was developed.
Later, in 2025, Ramapo College Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center was consulted and students in Ramapo’s IGG Bootcamp began work on the case. A number of volunteers continued work on the case following bootcamp, and an investigative lead was developed—which was then turned over to the investigating agency.
In 2025, CMPD Cold Case Detectives, with assistance from the Asheville Police Department, located Howard in Asheville, N.C. In 2026, additional DNA testing confirmed Howard as the suspect in the 1999 assault.
How Courts Decide When Computer DNA Evidence is Reliable (Forensic – 5/04/2026)
When one side in a legal dispute wants to call an expert to testify at trial, the opposing side can challenge the reliability of the expert’s scientific evidence. If the opposition wins their challenge, the evidence is blocked, and the jury will not hear it.
The Daubert standard provides a legal framework for deciding whether a forensic science technique is sufficiently reliable evidence. A trial judge serves as the gatekeeper, applying the admissibility standard to an expert’s methodology. Unlike earlier standards, Daubert emphasizes scientific testing.
On March 26, 2026, the federal Third Circuit Court issued an appellate decision in US v. Anderson. Their precedential opinion affirming the reliability of Cybergenetics TrueAllele probabilistic genotyping software is a model Daubert ruling. The judges clearly explain the science and law, review the defendant’s unpersuasive arguments, apply the Daubert standard, and conclude that “TrueAllele is reliable enough to be admissible at trial.”
Goncalves Family Launches Foundation to Fund DNA Testing (Forensic – 5/06/2026)
On Nov. 13, 2022, Steve and Kristi Goncalves’ lives were changed forever by a senseless act of violence. Their daughter Kaylee, and three of her friends, were brutally murdered by Bryan Kohberger at their off-campus house at the University of Idaho.
Genetic genealogy helped the FBI zero in on Kohberger as the perpetrator. And now, Steve and Kristi want to ensure every family has access to modern forensic science capable of identifying perpetrators and delivering answers and justice regardless of their ability to pay for testing.
In honor of Kaylee, Steve and Kristie have launched the “Murder Has a Name” foundation. The soon-to-be non-profit funds advanced forensic DNA testing in violent crime investigations, helping remove financial barriers so cases can benefit from the most modern technology available.
Genealogy Identifies Teen John Doe Found in 1993 (Forensic – 5/06/2026)
On Aug. 30, 1993, partial human remains were discovered during the clean-up of a dump site located off Beardsley Road, a short distance north of Wright Road, in an unincorporated area of Ventura County outside the City of Camarillo. The Ventura County Medical Examiner responded to the scene and collected the remains for further analysis. The Medical Examiner confirmed the remains were human and sent them to be analyzed by an anthropologist. The partial human remains were determined to be the lower leg bones of a male subject and to be that of a male individual between the ages of 13 and 18 years old.
Details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP128289.
In March 2025, the Ventura County Medical Examiner provided the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office forensic evidence to submit to Othram Labs to determine if advanced DNA testing could aid in identifying the remains. 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 then provided the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Unit with new genealogy leads to help with the identification.
DNA Leads to Suspect in 1994 Double Homicide (Forensic – 5/06/2026)
On the morning of May 23, 1994, officers with the Stockton Police Department responded to a construction site at Spanos Park in Stockton, California where two men were found deceased. Lawrence Loehr, who worked security at the construction site, along with his friend, Eugene Cates, had been murdered. Cates had stopped by Loehr’s workplace to visit after finishing work at a nearby convenience store. Both Cates and Loehr were criminal justice students at San Joaquin Delta College with hopes of one day working in law enforcement.
Investigators collected forensic evidence from the scene and worked tirelessly to identify a suspect in the case. Despite investigative efforts, the case remained unsolved for 32 years.
In 2025, investigators with the Stockton Police Department and San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office teamed with Othram to utilize advanced forensic DNA testing and forensic genetic genealogy. Evidence from the original investigation was submitted to Othram’s laboratory in The Woodlands, Texas for analysis.
New AI Model Reads DNA Sequences to Reconstruct Ancestry (Forensic – 5/06/2026)
Researchers at the University of Oregon have developed an artificial intelligence tool that can read genetic code the way large language models like ChatGPT read text. Scanning the genome for biological mutation patterns, the computer model traces pairs of genes back in time to their last common ancestor.
It’s the first language model designed for population genetics, said Andrew Kern, a computational biologist in the UO College of Arts and Sciences. As described in a paper published April 10 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the AI tool offers scientists a fast and flexible alternative to classical methods for reconstructing evolutionary history.
In practice, it can help researchers like Kern understand when disease-resistance genes emerged in a population, for example, or when species evolved key traits.
Columbia County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Team with Othram to Identify a 1978 John Doe (DNASolves – 5/06/2026)
On November 24, 1978, the skeletal remains belonging to an unidentified individual were found in a wooded area near a rest area on the westbound side of Interstate 75 in Lake City, Florida. Officers responded and began collecting evidence and investigating. A small bit of clothing was found near the remains, which were scattered and partially buried under soil and pine needles. A forensic anthropology investigation determined the remains were that of a White adult man, likely between the ages of 35 and 50 years old when he died.
Despite a lengthy investigation, the man could not be identified and became known as Lake City John Doe. A composite sketch was developed and released to the public, but it did not result in the man’s identification. Details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP6246.
In 2025, investigators teamed with Othram to leverage identity inference, a process that enables investigators to identify individuals from DNA evidence, even when there is no known reference sample to initially compare against. Officials with the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement worked together to submit forensic evidence to Othram’s laboratory headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas.
At Othram, scientists worked to develop a DNA extract from the provided forensic evidence, using Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive SNP profile for the man. This SNP profile powered a forensic search led by Othram’s in-house forensic genetic genealogy team, resulting in new investigative leads about the man’s identity.
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 Lonnie “Lonny” N. Reeves, born on November 21, 1943. A family member who had not seen Reeves since 1970 provided a DNA sample that confirmed his identification.