While Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG) has been widely used in the United States since 2018 and has been implemented in Canada, Australia, Sweden, and several other countries, the United Kingdom (UK) has seemingly remained reluctant to implement this advancement in human identification. However, in 2025 the first case of a citizen of the UK was resolved via a partnership between Ramapo College of New Jersey’s Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center and Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) in Sheffield, UK.
Michael Sidney Hill was an elderly UK citizen who was traveling in the United States when he passed away due to illness in 2013. Although a friend who he was visiting provided a name and possible date of birth for the man, his identity was not able to be confirmed by traditional means of investigation.
In 2024, the Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner referred the case to Ramapo College of New Jersey’s IGG Center, who collaborated with staff from SHU to implement advanced DNA testing and IGG to resolve the case. With this partnership as well as additional assistance from researchers in the UK, Michael Sidney Hill was identified in July of 2025 — the first UK citizen to be identified with IGG.
Still today, the UK has yet to adopt IGG to resolve cases of unidentified human remains and violent crimes, but this case provides a proof of concept that it is fertile ground to implement IGG for humanitarian and justice-related purposes.
Cairenn Binder of Ramapo College Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center will describe this interesting case and the potential implications of IGG adoption in Europe and the British Isles, while UK expert Craig Paterson will describe the current barriers to implementation of IGG in the UK.
While Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG) has been widely used in the United States since 2018 and has been implemented in Canada, Australia, Sweden, and several other countries, the United Kingdom (UK) has seemingly remained reluctant to implement this advancement in human identification. However, in 2025 the first case of a citizen of the UK was resolved via a partnership between Ramapo College of New Jersey’s Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center and Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) in Sheffield, UK.
Michael Sidney Hill was an elderly UK citizen who was traveling in the United States when he passed away due to illness in 2013. Although a friend who he was visiting provided a name and possible date of birth for the man, his identity was not able to be confirmed by traditional means of investigation.
In 2024, the Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner referred the case to Ramapo College of New Jersey’s IGG Center, who collaborated with staff from SHU to implement advanced DNA testing and IGG to resolve the case. With this partnership as well as additional assistance from researchers in the UK, Michael Sidney Hill was identified in July of 2025 — the first UK citizen to be identified with IGG.
Still today, the UK has yet to adopt IGG to resolve cases of unidentified human remains and violent crimes, but this case provides a proof of concept that it is fertile ground to implement IGG for humanitarian and justice-related purposes.
Cairenn Binder of Ramapo College Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center will describe this interesting case and the potential implications of IGG adoption in Europe and the British Isles, while UK expert Craig Paterson will describe the current barriers to implementation of IGG in the UK.
Workshop currently at capacity. A waitlist is available to join on our registration page.
Assistant Director, IGG Center and the Director of the IGG Certificate Program
Cairenn Binder is the Assistant Director of the IGG Center and the Director of the IGG Certificate Program. Cairenn has been at the forefront of IGG since its inception, applying genetic genealogy to identify human remains with the nonprofit organization DNA Doe Project from 2018 through 2023.
