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!
Suspect Arrested in 1990 Cold Case Homicide of 27-Year-Old Woman (Forensic – 4/13/2026)
Sussex County Prosecutor Daniel M. Perez announced that members of the Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office, the New Jersey State Police, the Vernon Township Police Department, and the Dare County Sheriff’s Office (North Carolina), have made an arrest in connection with the murder of Lisa Marie McBride, which occurred on or about June 23, 1990 in Vernon Township, NJ.
On April 10, 2026, at approximately 8:00 p.m., a multistate task force apprehended Robert William McCaffrey Jr. of Manteo, North Carolina. McCaffrey, who is 54 years old, formerly resided in Charleston County, South Carolina and Sussex County, New Jersey. He is currently detained in Dare County, North Carolina pending extradition to Sussex County, New Jersey, where he will face charges of Murder in the First Degree, Kidnapping in the First Degree, and Burglary in the Second Degree.
This decades-old cold case was solved through significant advancements in DNA technology, combined with the relentless investigative efforts of detectives in the New Jersey State Police, the Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office, and the Vernon Township Police Department. Robert McCaffrey Jr.’s arrest marks a major breakthrough, bringing long-awaited progress toward justice for the family of Lisa Marie McBride.
McBride would have been 27 years old when her remains were discovered in 1990.
Gulf Coast Body Farm: Training the Living to Help the Dead (Forensic – 4/13/2026)
It’s a warm, early morning when more than three dozen students and staff from Florida Gulf Coast University spread out across the Buckingham Environmental Forensics Facility. They’re here to search the “body farm” and sift through layers of sand and plant roots in search of skeletal remains.
With multiple, donated human skeletons strategically buried in various spots at the site in eastern Lee County, teams of students will work throughout the day with student and professional staff from FGCU’s Human Identity & Trauma Analysis Laboratory to uncover the planted “evidence.”
Heather Walsh-Haney, FGCU professor, forensics studies program coordinator and chair of the Department of Justice Studies, directs the activity of her staff and students from her forensic anthropology classes. Walsh-Haney, lab manager Micki Besse and lab coordinator Savanna Agilar will coach them all through the same careful choreography they bring to real crime scenes across Florida and the country.
It’s all part of an experiential program designed to “have them experience deeper learning that they can call upon when they’re out in the real world” of forensics, says Walsh-Haney.
DNA Links Deceased Suspect to 2 Cold Case Murders (Forensic – 4/13/2026)
DNA evidence has led detectives to identifying a suspect responsible for the murder of two young women in the 1990s.
Francis Schooley, who died in 2000 at the age of 39, has been linked through DNA evidence to the murders of 24-year-old Marebeth Welsh in 1993 and 16-year-old Jennifer Persia in 1994.
“Thanks to remarkable advances in DNA technology and diligent detective work, we have finally been able to bring answers to two families who have waited decades for justice,” said Camden County Prosecutor Grace C. MacAulay. “These cases never left the minds of our investigators, even as the years passed. We must commend Sergeant Dennis Convery and Detective Daniel Crawford for their unwavering commitment to the truth. No matter how much time passes, we will continue to pursue justice for every victim.”
While individual detectives in the Homicide Unit have always pursued cold case investigations as time allowed, the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office established a full-time, dedicated Homicide Cold Case Unit in January 2024. This group of investigators is tasked with focusing on investigations that have the potential to be furthered through advances in DNA testing and genetic genealogy.
Toronto Police Service Leverages Othram Technology to Identify a 1992 John Doe (DNASolves – 4/14/2026)
In July 1992, the remains of an unidentified individual were found in Lake Ontario Harbour in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Toronto Police Service responded to a call for a man’s body found in the water in the Inner Harbour area of Lake Ontario.
It was determined the remains belonged an adult man who had likely died weeks or months before being found. He was in his 20’s or 30’s, weighed about 160 lbs and stood about 5’10” tall. He had long dark brown hair. He was wearing two t-shirts, two pairs of jeans and two leather jackets. He also had white socks, blue and white running shoes, and a metal chain around his neck. There were no obvious signs of violent injury and the cause of death was determined to be drowning.
Despite a lengthy investigation, the man could not be identified and became known as Toronto John Doe (1992).
In 2025, as part of the Toronto Police Service’s humanitarian initiative, Project 31, 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 Toronto Police Service submitted forensic evidence to Othram’s laboratory headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas.
At Othram, scientists reviewed details of the case, determining that advanced DNA testing could help to identify the man. 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 Toronto Police Service’s forensic genetic genealogy team, resulting in new investigative leads about the man’s identity.
Using this new information, a follow-up investigation was conducted and this investigation led to the man’s relatives living in Western Canada. A DNA sample was obtained from a close relative and sent to the Centre of Forensic Sciences for comparison. The man is now known to be a man named Kevin, originally from Saskatchewan. His family was notified of his identification and provided with the details of his burial location. While Kevin was not reported missing, those who loved him had long feared what had happened to him as they had not heard from him in years.
Promega Expands Forensic Portfolio with Distribution Agreement for NimaGen’s IDseek® MPS Library Prep Kits (BusinessWire – 4/14/2026)
Forensic casework laboratories will now have access to NimaGen’s IDseek® massively parallel sequencing (MPS) kit portfolio through Promega Corporation, following a distribution agreement announced today between the two companies. The IDseek® line is powered by NimaGen’s patented Reverse Complement PCR (RC-PCR) technology to deliver the sensitivity and specificity required for challenging casework samples. These sequencing kits extend the existing Promega portfolio of sample preparation and capillary electrophoresis (CE)-based STR analysis tools.
“For decades, we have anticipated and responded to the technologies that forensic laboratories need to produce reliable results,” says Tim Kupferschmid, Senior Director of Genetic Identity at Promega. “With this agreement, labs that have long benefited from Promega reagents, instrumentation and support can continue relying on us as they expand their workflows with massively parallel sequencing.”
IDseek® Massively Parallel Sequencing (MPS) Kits
All IDseek® library prep kits are built on RC-PCR technology, which enables forensic MPS library preparation in a single closed-tube reaction. The workflow is designed for the sensitivity demands of forensic casework, including degraded and low-quantity samples, and produces high on-target read yields that maximize sequencing efficiency.
“This marks an important milestone in our growth, extending our sales reach and deepening our technical capabilities to better serve customers around the world,” says Pieter van Oers, Senior Manager of Business Development – Forensics at NimaGen. “Our RC-PCR library preparation technology fundamentally simplifies the MPS workflow, eliminating the complexity that has prevented many laboratories from transitioning to MPS. With our IDseek® MPS library prep portfolio, forensic scientists can now access the power of MPS with a workflow that resembles traditional CE methods, while increasing sample safety, sensitivity and discrimination power of forensic STR testing.”
Under the new agreement, Promega will distribute more than 20 products across seven product families. Examples of applications supported include:
Autosomal STR profiling (IDseek® OmniSTR™)
Y-chromosomal STR profiling (IDseek® mYSTR™)
Autosomal and Y-chromosomal STR profiling (IDseek® CombiSTR™ Plus)
Microhaplotype analysis (IDseek® OmniHAP™)
Identity informative SNP typing (IDseek® OmniSNP™)
Mitochondrial DNA sequencing (IDseek® Mitochondrial HVR and Full Genome kits)
Promega Support for Forensic LaboratoriesPromega has supported forensic laboratories for more than 30 years with products, instrumentation and technical expertise spanning the full workflow of human identification. For forensic laboratories evaluating the transition to MPS-based workflows, the ability to access NimaGen’s IDseek® portfolio through an established Promega relationship simplifies the path to MPS adoption. The Promega global distribution network, forensic-specific technical support infrastructure and decades of experience serving casework laboratories mean that laboratories can move into MPS with the same supplier accountability they already rely on for their CE-based workflows.
Suspect Identified in 2014 Brutal Stabbing of Devoted Father (Forensic – 4/15/2026)
After 12 years, investigators in California have identified and arrested a suspect in a murder police are calling “heinous” and “especially disturbing.”
On Nov. 13, 2014, 55-year-old Labh Nigah was stabbed to death in Sierra Linda Park. Nigah had just walked his son to the adjacent elementary school before being attacked in broad daylight.
Witnesses to Nigah’s murder included people in the park, teachers and school staff. Grade school students who were in the school yard also witnessed it.
“This was a truly heinous crime,” said Oxnard Police Chief Jason Benites. “It was one of those cases seasoned veteran homicide detectives found to be especially disturbing.”
When police arrived on scene, they found Nigah near a walking path in the park with multiple stab wounds to the torso. A lengthy blood train ran west from the crime scene.
The killing occurred in a public park adjacent to the school while it was in session and was witnessed by individuals in the park as well as nearby school staff and students. Despite lifesaving efforts, Nigah was pronounced deceased at the scene.
A significant amount of forensic evidence, including DNA, was collected at the scene. In the aftermath, police interviewed numerous people, released composite sketches, and asked the public for help, but no leads were produced. A DNA profile was uploaded into CODIS at the time, but there were no matches and the case went cold.
With technology rapidly advancing, investigators searched for new leads in recent years. Ultimately, the FBI’s Genealogy Task Force and Family Tree Analysis Program lead to the relative of a suspect in Houston, and later a sibling of that same man still located in Oxnard.
In the lab, scientists combined evidence from the park’s walking path into a DNA profile matching the suspect. They were even able to extract a sufficient sample from where the alleged stabbing took place.
“None of this would have been possible without Ventura County Forensic Scientists Krista Kanka. She responded to the crime scene back in 2014, completed the DNA profile testing, and has worked closely with detectives on this case ever since,” said Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko.
On April 2, 2026, detectives arrested suspect Jose Antonio Jimenez, 32, and charged him with murder for the 2014 killing of Labh Nigah. At then time of arrest, Jimenez was still living in Oxnard.
Genealogy IDs Suspect in 1983 Kidnapping, Murder of Teenager (Forensic – 4/15/2026)
Michigan State Police investigators assigned to the Third District Cold Case Unit have resolved the 1983 kidnapping and homicide of 16-year-old Sheri Jo Elliott bringing closure to a case that had remained unsolved for more than 40 years.
Elliott was reported missing after she failed to return home from school in Flint on Nov. 16, 1983. She was last seen waiting for the bus. Community members and local authorities thoroughly searched the area for days. Her body was discovered four days later along a rural roadway in Blumfield Township, Saginaw County. She had suffered multiple gunshot wounds and investigators determined she had been sexually assaulted. Despite extensive efforts, the case went cold due to limited forensic technology available at the time.
In 2023, detectives reopened the investigation and reexamined evidence using modern forensic science. Working in partnership with the MSP Forensic Science Division and Othram, investigators utilized Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing to develop a profile of an unidentified suspect. This work led detectives to focus on Roni Collins, 75 of Grand Blanc.
Cold Case Unit Arrests Suspect in 1992 Assault of Teen (Forensic – 4/15/2026)
On April 9, 2026, the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office issued the following charges against Miguel Canizares, 56 years of age, of the 7500 block of Spring Stuebner Road, Spring, TX 77379:
Two counts of Sodomy
One count of Sexual Abuse 1st Degree.
On October 5, 1992, during the early evening hours, 14-year-old Juvenile Victim was walking home from Parkway North High School after attending a soccer game. As she approached a wooded area near the school, she was grabbed from behind by an unknown male.An unknown male pulled her into the wooded area, forced her to undress, and assaulted her while threatening bodily harm.
The suspect threatened the victim again before allowing her to run away.
On April 9, 2026, at approximately 8:20 a.m., Miguel Timothy Canizares, was taken into custody in Shenandoah, Texas without incident.
DNA Doe Project identifies John Doe found in Tucson in 1988 (DNA Doe Project – 4/15/2026)
Nearly four decades after he was murdered and buried in a shallow grave, the DNA Doe Project and their agency partners have identified Three Points John Doe as Rogelio Morales Caudillo. Rogelio was just 17 years old when he vanished from Tucson in 1986, and it would be another two years before his body was found in a remote desert area of the city.
On April 5, 1988, partial skeletal remains were discovered buried in a remote desert wash area in Tucson, Arizona. The area is located south of Valencia Road near Ryan Airfield. Investigators determined that he was male and that he died 1-2 years before his body was discovered. They also estimated that he was just 17-18 years old at the time of his death.
The Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner later brought this case to the DNA Doe Project, whose expert investigative genetic genealogists work pro bono to identify John and Jane Does. Once a DNA profile had been generated, it became immediately clear to the team assigned to the case that the unidentified male was of Mexican descent.
“Although we had no close DNA matches, our research indicated that Three Points John Doe had roots in Sonora, Mexico,” said team leader Lance Daly. “We identified a family of interest and eventually began finding descendants of theirs who had moved from Sonora to Arizona, so we focused on the branches that ended up in the Tucson area.”
A team worked on this case for five months, using Mexican birth records and American obituaries to construct a family tree for the unidentified male. Eventually, they narrowed in on a particular branch of the family and contact was made with a potential relative. This relative didn’t know of any missing family members but she promised to ask around, which led to a crucial revelation – the disappearance of Rogelio Morales Caudillo, a cousin of hers who’d vanished in 1986.
“Although this relative was not aware of anyone missing, her decision to ask some of the older members of her family led to someone who did know of a missing cousin,” said team co-leader Emily Bill. “Thanks to a single question, Rogelio’s family finally has the answers they’ve been seeking for nearly 40 years.”
Shortly afterwards, with the genealogical evidence and the timing of his disappearance lining up, Rogelio was presented to the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner as a possible candidate. Further DNA testing facilitated by the Pima County Sheriff’s Department later confirmed that Rogerlio Morales Caudillo was, in fact, the boy formerly known only as Three Points John Doe.
The DNA Doe Project is grateful to the groups and individuals who helped solve this case: the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner, who entrusted us with this case; the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, for their assistance in confirming the identification; the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, for the support they provided; Bode Technology for DNA extraction; Genologue for sequencing; Kevin Lord for bioinformatics; GEDmatch Pro, DNA Justice and FamilyTreeDNA for providing their databases; 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.
Hood River County Sheriff’s Office and Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office Team with Othram to Solve the 1958 Martin Family Disappearance (DNASolves – 4/16/2026)
On December 7, 1958, the Martin family of Portland, Oregon, disappeared in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. 54-year-old Kenneth Martin; his wife, 48-year-old Barbara; and the couple’s three daughters, 14-year-old Barbara, who was known as “Barbie”, 13-year-old Virginia, and 11-year-old Susan, took a day trip to gather greenery for Christmas decoration and were never heard from again. Kenneth and Barbara’s son, Donald, was in the United States Navy and stationed in New York State at the time of the disappearance.
Several months after the family’s disappearance, the bodies of Susan and Virginia were discovered on the shores of the Columbia River, roughly thirty miles apart from each other. Despite an exhaustive investigation including extensive dive operations over the years by both the Hood River County and Multnomah County Sheriff’s Offices, the bodies of Kenneth, Barbara, and Barbie were not recovered, their vehicle could not be found, and the case went cold. Details of the case, and the three missing people, were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP149885, UP149889, and UP149893.
In late 2024, Archer Mayo, a private search and recovery diver, located what he believed to be the Martin vehicle, a 1954 Ford station wagon, upside down in a large underwater pit in the Columbia River. In March 2025, the Hood River County Sheriff’s Office attempted to pull the car to the surface using a crane. Unfortunately, the crane only succeeded in pulling the undercarriage off the rusted 1950’s vehicle, leaving the passenger cabin upside down in the underwater pit. The diver continued to explore the wreckage. In August 2025, he located human remains, which were turned over to the Hood River County Sheriff’s Office.
In late 2025, investigators teamed with Othram to leverage technology that could help to identify the human remains. Officials with the Hood River County Sheriff’s Office and Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office worked together to submit forensic evidence to Othram’s laboratory headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas.
At Othram, scientists reviewed details of the case, determining that advanced DNA testing could help to identify the remains found in the river. Despite the fact that these skeletal remains were under water, likely for decades, Othram scientists successfully developed a DNA extract from the provided skeletal remains. Using Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing®, a comprehensive SNP profile was built for the individual.
Subsequently, a reference DNA sample belonging to a relative of the missing Martin family members was collected and their DNA was sequenced. The relative’s DNA profile was compared to the DNA profile of the unknown person using Othram’s KinSNP® Rapid Relationship Testing. This comparison assisted investigators in the positive identification of the remains, which are now known to belong to Kenneth Martin.
The Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office has ruled that, based on the circumstances of the search and recovery, all remaining family members–Ken, Barbara, and Barbie–are now considered identified.