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!
Toronto Police Service Leverages Othram’s Forensic Sequencing Platform in a 2008 Sexual Assault Investigation (DNASolves – 6/21/2026)
On March 12, 2008, a man entered a retail establishment in the area of The Queensway and Islington Avenue in Toronto, Ontario. Investigators alleged that the suspect sexually assaulted a lone employee before fleeing the scene. During the investigation, forensic evidence was collected and a male DNA profile was developed. Despite extensive efforts, no match was identified through traditional law enforcement DNA databases, and the case remained unsolved for years.
In 2025, investigators selected the case for advanced DNA testing and forensic genetic genealogy. To support the investigation, evidence from the case was submitted for Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® using Othram’s identify inference pipeline. Othram scientists successfully developed a comprehensive SNP profile suitable for downstream forensic genetic genealogy analysis.
The resulting data enabled Toronto Police Service investigators and forensic genetic genealogists to pursue new investigative leads that were not previously available. Those efforts ultimately led investigators to identify a suspect in the case.
On June 11, 2026, Toronto Police arrested 43-year-old Michael Robert Ashley of Burlington, Ontario, and charged him with sexual assault. According to police, Ashley was 25 years old at the time of the alleged offense. The arrest was announced by the Toronto Police Service on June 12, 2026.
Texas Rangers Expand Cold Case Program Across State (Forensic – 6/22/2026)
The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) is proud to announce the expansion of the Texas Rangers’ Unsolved Crimes Investigation (UCIP/Cold Case) Program, a specialized unit dedicated to solving cold case murders and sexual assaults across the state.
“For nearly 25 years, the Texas Rangers Cold Case Program has helped partner law enforcement agencies bring justice to victims and their families in every corner of Texas,” said Texas Ranger Division Chief Scotty Shiver. “The expansion of this program is a testament to the Rangers’ success in working alongside investigators and forensic scientists to identify and arrest criminals who, sometimes for many years, have believed they have gotten away with committing some of the most heinous crimes. As forensic science and technology continue to advance, so will our ability to make a bigger impact in our state – putting more violent criminals behind bars and making Texas communities safer.”
Under Senate Bill 1, passed by members of the Texas Legislature and signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott last year, the department was awarded funding to support new positions under the Texas Rangers’ Cold Case Program – bringing the number of personnel assigned to this specialized unit to 17 Rangers and three support staff, doubling the size of the program.
Utah Department of Public Safety and Garfield County Sheriff’s Office Teams with Othram to Identify a 1998 John Doe (DNASolves – 6/23/2026)
On June 2, 1998, the partially skeletonized remains of an unidentified individual were discovered in rural Garfield County, Utah, near the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. A member of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation found the remains during a search for three fugitives, and investigators began collecting evidence and investigating. The remains were determined to belong to an adult Hispanic male between 25 and 34 years old who was believed to have been at the site for approximately two years prior to discovery. No identification was found, and because of the condition of the remains, there was no way to identify the individual at the time.
Despite investigative efforts, the person could not be identified and became known as Garfield County John Doe (1998). Details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP9835.
Recently, the Utah Department of Public Safety State Bureau of Investigation 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. Law enforcement used this profile in a forensic genetic genealogy search to develop new investigative 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 person, who is now known to be Pedro Calderon Marioni, who would have been 31 years old at the time of his death.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Teams with Othram to Identify a Suspect in the 2005 Murder of Daniel Zeiszler (DNASolves – 6/23/2026)
On December 29, 2005, officers with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department were dispatched to an apartment on North Bruce Street in Las Vegas, Nevada. Upon the arrival of first responders, Daniel Zeiszler was found deceased inside his residence. The initial investigation revealed Zeiszler had been strangled with a telephone cord, and his Dodge Neon and house keys were missing.
During the follow-up investigation, detectives recovered surveillance video from a store of an unknown, white male, who had arrived driving the victim’s vehicle and used the victim’s bank card. On January 19, 2006, Zeiszler’s vehicle was found abandoned in Tennessee. The vehicle was processed, and a suspect’s DNA profile was recovered.
Although an STR profile was developed from biological evidence collected during the investigation and entered into CODIS, there was no match to a known individual.
Investigators submitted the unidentified STR profile to Othram in September 2024. Othram used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to develop a comprehensive SNP profile from the evidence. This profile was used in a forensic genetic genealogy search led by Othram’s in-house forensic genetic genealogy team, which generated new investigative leads. Investigators used these leads to advance their investigation, which ultimately identified the individual related to the murder of Daniel Zeiszler. Unfortunately, the individual identified died in 2020.
DNA Doe Project identifies pregnant Jane Doe murdered in 1975 (DNADoeProject – 6/23/26)
More than fifty years after she was murdered and her body left in the Mississippi River, the DNA Doe Project and their agency partners have identified Jane Clinton Doe as 15-year-old Cheryl Lynn Edwards. Edwards, a native of San Diego, was living in Waukegan, Illinois when she disappeared in 1975.
On April 11, 1975, fishermen in Clinton County, Iowa found the remains of an African American girl in the Mississippi River. She was estimated to be between 12 and 23 years old, and it was determined that she had died sometime in early 1975. Her death was ruled a homicide, as she had been killed by a gunshot wound to the head. Furthermore, an autopsy found that she was approximately 10 weeks pregnant at the time she was murdered.
With support from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, the Iowa Department of Public Safety later brought this case to the DNA Doe Project, whose expert investigative genetic genealogists work pro bono to identify Jane and John Does. The case was then selected to be launched at the DNA Doe Project’s annual in-person gathering in Texas.
In October 2025, a team of sixteen genealogists from three countries came together over a weekend to work on this case. They began their research on a Friday evening, and within a matter of hours they had made a breakthrough.
“We identified a couple from Louisiana and figured out that they had to be the grandparents of this girl,” said team co-leader Monique Platt. “Then we realised that they’d eventually settled in the Kenosha area of Wisconsin – just a few hours east of where our Jane Doe was found.”
The following morning, the team continued their research, focusing on the children of this couple. They soon discovered that the eldest child had served in the US Navy and lived all over the US during his time in the military. This made him trickier to trace, but they did find evidence that he was living with his wife and sons in Waukegan by the 1970s. Later that day, a member of the team made a crucial discovery – he also had a daughter.
“We found a birth record for a daughter of his, who was born in 1959 in a Navy hospital in San Diego,” said team member Trish Bird. “Her name was Cheryl Edwards, and it seemed like she had just vanished from the records in the 1970s.”
With the evidence lining up, Cheryl was presented to the Iowa Department of Public Safety as a possible candidate the very next day. A DPS investigator then visited a family member of Cheryl, who confirmed that she had disappeared decades ago. Further DNA testing later confirmed that Cheryl was, in fact, the girl formerly known only as Jane Clinton Doe.
The DNA Doe Project is grateful to the groups and individuals who helped solve this case: the Iowa Department of Public Safety, who entrusted us with this case; the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office and the Waukegan Police Department, for their role in confirming this identification; the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, who funded the lab work and the database upload fee; Astrea Forensics for the lab work; 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 Jane and John Does home.
New Center Puts Unique Expertise at Investigators’ Fingertips (Forensic – 6/24/26)
The newly established Center for Forensic Sciences (CFS) in Georgia Southern’s College of Science and Mathematics is primed to make the University’s experts available to an expanded range of law enforcement agencies across the Southeast. The center will bring faculty from all corners of the University together to assist law enforcement agencies while giving students real-world experience as they work alongside investigators in the lab.
Ed Mondor, the interim director of the CFS, says that the multidisciplinary approach will be crucial to its success.
“The forensic sciences draw on a wide range of disciplines from anthropology to chemistry,” said Mondor. “Here at Georgia Southern, we’re bringing those fields together to tackle complex problems in a more unified way.”
As the only forensic entomologist in Georgia, Mondor has worked with both local and state investigators for almost 15 years to solve homicide cases using insect evidence. Now he is bringing together the full resources of the university so that investigators can quickly access specialized knowledge only an advanced research university can provide.
1991 Doe Identified as Likely ‘Mommy and Clyde’ Victim (Forensic – 6/24/26)
Remains found in a dumpster in Inglewood, California in 1991 have now been identified as Elmer Holmgren, a lawyer who disappeared after working with suspected serial killer Sante Kimes.