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!
Lion DNA Helps Convict Poachers for First Time (BBC – 2/19/2026)
Lion DNA has been used to successfully prosecute poachers for the first time in the world, it has emerged.
Wildlife crime experts have only just revealed how they were able to identify the individual animal from body parts found in a suspect’s village, as they matched a profile on Zimbabwe’s lion database.
A blood sample had previously been taken from the male lion, which was being tracked by authorities in Hwange National Park – using a radio collar.
Two poachers were convicted for the 2024 incident and sent to prison in what is thought to be the first prosecution of its kind.
Relentless Investigation Leads to Arrest in 35-Year-Old Murder Case (Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department – 2/19/2026)
Detectives with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s (CMPD) Cold Case Unit have arrested and charged a suspect, Marion Gales, 63, in a 35-year-old homicide cold case.
On Friday, July 27, 1990, at approximately 9:59 p.m., dispatchers received a call from Edward Friedland who stated someone had killed his wife. Charlotte Police Department Officers, MEDIC and Charlotte Fire Department responded to the scene and located the victim, Kim Thomas, deceased within the residence.
Homicide Detectives responded to investigate. The victim was transported to the Mecklenburg County Medical Examiner’s Office for autopsy, and the manner of death was ruled homicide.
For more than 35 years, detectives from our Homicide Unit and Cold Case Unit have continued investigating this case and have submitted numerous items of evidence for lab testing as new technology became available.
Putnam County Sheriff’s Office & District 7 Medical Examiner’s Office Team with Othram to Identify a 1981 Homicide Victim (DNASolves – 2/19/2026)
In October 1981, the skeletal remains of an unidentified individual were found in a wooded area, about 30 feet away from the Old San Mateo Road in Palatka, Florida. The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office responded and began collecting evidence and investigating the case as a homicide. They determined the remains were that of a White adult man under the age of 60. He was likely 5′ 5″ to 6′ 0″ tall and weighed 200-250 lbs. The man was found with no clothing on his remains and a pair of size 40 underwear found nearby.
Despite a lengthy investigation, the man could not be identified and he became known as Palatka John Doe. Details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP102330.
In 2023, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office and the District 7 Medical Examiner in Volusia County reopened the case in an attempt to determine the man’s identity. His remains were exhumed from a pauper’s grave in Palatka’s Oak Hill Cemetery. At that time, officials noted that the case was being treated as a suspicious death investigation until new information proved otherwise.
Forensic evidence gathered during the exhumation was submitted to Othram in The Woodlands, Texas in March of 2024 to determine 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 forensic search to develop new investigative leads that were returned to law enforcement.
Using this new information, investigators conducted a follow-up investigation, identifying potential relatives of the Palatka John Doe. Reference DNA samples were collected from a relative and compared to the DNA profile of the unidentified man using Othram’s KinSNP® rapid relationship testing. This comparison along with the investigative efforts of law enforcement led to the man’s identification as Patrick Nordin.
Born in Erie, Pennsylvania in March or April of 1942, Patrick Nordin was adopted at a young age. His post-adoption name and adoptive family is not known. Investigators continue their search to find Patrick’s adoptive family so that his remains can be returned for final disposition, and the investigation into his death can continue.
This Powerful Forensic Tool is Cracking Cold Cases — but Price Tag is Often an Obstacle (NBC News – 2/21/2026)
That unusual funding source reflects what experts say is the often grim financial reality for many seeking to use the technique, which surged in popularity after the arrest of the “Golden State Killer” eight years ago and has been used to solve more than 1,600 cases in the U.S. and Canada, according to an ongoing tally updated earlier this year by a criminology professor at Douglas College in Canada.
Authorities investigating the possible abduction of Nancy Guthrie are also exploring the possibility of using the method, which relies on traditional genealogical research and modern DNA analysis to unravel unsolved crimes and cases of unidentified human remains.
Some government grant funding is available, said David Gurney, director of the Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center at New Jersey’s Ramapo College, but the amount of money provided by the federal government and states “is not even scratching the surface.”
In many instances, that means crowdfunding has been the solution. Tracey Dowdeswell, the criminology professor in Canada, estimated that roughly 120 of the 1,600 cases in her database were crowdfunded, though she said that number is likely an undercount and she cautioned that many cases often have several sources of funding.
DNA Doe Project identifies woman murdered in California in 1980 (DNA Doe Project – 2/23/2026)
Nearly half a century after her body was discovered in a high school parking lot, the DNA Doe Project has identified Ventura County Jane Doe as Maricela Rocha Parga. Born in Mexico but later a resident of Los Angeles, Parga was 22 years old and pregnant when she was killed by Wilson Chouest, who was convicted of her murder in 2018. Her identification was the product of seven years of genealogy research, making this the toughest case ever solved by the DNA Doe Project.
On July 18, 1980, the body of a young woman was found in the parking lot of Westlake High School in Ventura County, California. She had been raped and murdered a few hours beforehand, and it appeared that she had been killed elsewhere before her body was brought to the school. It was also determined that she was around four months pregnant at the time she was murdered.
Decades later, her killing was linked to another cold case. A different Jane Doe had been found in Kern County just four days prior, and DNA evidence suggested that the two women had been murdered by the same man. In 2015, Wilson Chouest was arrested and charged with these two murders, before being convicted of both in 2018. Finally, by 2021, the DNA Doe Project was able to identify the Jane Doe found in Kern County as Shirley Soosay, an Indigenous woman from Alberta, Canada.
In spite of all these breakthroughs, Ventura County Jane Doe remained unidentified. The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office had brought this case to the DNA Doe Project in 2018, and it was soon apparent to our team that the unidentified woman had roots in Mexico. But with only distant DNA matches and scant public records to work with, solving this case became the largest and most labour-intensive endeavour in the history of the DNA Doe Project.
“For seven years, I worked almost every week trying to solve the mysteries presented by this case,” said researcher Carl Koppleman. “I often wondered, after the passage of so many years, whether our Jane Doe still had living family members searching for answers.”
Over the course of seven years, the team on this case built a family tree comprising over 125,000 people. Over forty DNA Doe Project volunteers worked on this case, devoting thousands of hours of their own time pro bono in an effort to give Ventura County Jane Doe her real name back. Investigators from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office worked tirelessly alongside our team to follow up on leads and gather additional information to aid our research, with their hard work proving invaluable to our efforts.
Finally, after years of research, the team began to home in on the family of the unidentified woman. A couple born in the late 1800s in the Mexican state of Zacatecas were identified as the likely great grandparents of Ventura County Jane Doe, at which point the team and investigators began tracking down their descendants. On 9 December 2025, investigators spoke with a great grandson of this couple, and he shared some critical information – his sister, Maricela Rocha Parga, had been missing since 1980.
Maricela was born in 1958 in Monterrey, Mexico, but she later moved with her family to Los Angeles. Following her disappearance, her siblings spent years looking for her, but they were never able to find out what happened to her. After speaking with investigators, two of Maricela’s siblings immediately booked flights and flew to California the next day, where they provided DNA samples. These samples were later used to confirm that the woman known for decades only as Ventura County Jane Doe was in fact Maricela Rocha Parga.
As Demand Rises, Students are Playing Larger Roles in Cold Cases (Forensic – 2/23/2026)
On a cold morning in December 2025, six forensic anthropology students from Western Carolina University entered the woods of Ellerbe Creek with five of their professors and a group of Durham Police Department officials.
They combed the wilderness in a long line, slowly and methodically, searching for what small clues the forest floor kept. A piece of plastic. A length of fabric. What might’ve been trash on another day, but now presented as evidence.
It took hours, block by block on an expansive grid, until a somber moment of discovery broke their rote, when Kayleigh Best, director of the forensic anthropology program, discovered the remains of an individual Durham Police investigators had been searching for since 2023.
Cook County Medical Examiner Teams with Othram to Identify a 2025 Homicide Victim (DNASolves – 2/24/2026)
On May 29, 2025, a train conductor walking the tracks was investigating a foul odor when he found a human torso partially buried in a shallow grave. The discovery was made in a wooded area near East 93rd Street in Chicago, Illinois. The Chicago Police Department responded and began an investigation. Investigators believed that the remains belonged to an adult man who had a partial beard with long, dark dreadlocks held in a ponytail.
Police opened a homicide investigation, as they sought to identify the man as well as the circumstances surrounding his death. When conventional forensic methods failed to identify the man, investigators immediately turned to advanced DNA testing at Othram and entered details of the case into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP144839.
In October 2025, the Cook County Medical Examiner submitted forensic evidence to Othram in The Woodlands, Texas where scientists used advanced DNA testing to build a DNA profile for the man, using Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing®. During the course of the investigation, investigators identified a potential relative of the man. This relative provide a reference DNA sample, which was compared to the DNA profile of the John Doe using KinSNP® Rapid Relationship Testing.
This comparison coupled with the investigative efforts of law enforcement allowed for the positive identification of the man as Chicago resident, Isaiah Terrill Hall. Hall was last seen on April 27, 2025 at around 2:00 am in the 500 block of W. 125 Place in Chicago. Hall’s disappearance was reported to the Chicago Police Department, whose investigation into Hall’s murder is ongoing.
Pierce County Sheriff’s Office Teams with Othram to Identify a 2019 Homicide Victim (DNASolves – 2/25/2026)
On August 28, 2019, an unidentified woman’s remains were found in a sealed yard debris container on 9th Street East near Lake Tapps, WA in Pierce County. An excavator operator working in the area noticed the container, thought it was suspicious, and alerted authorities by calling 911. Investigators with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene and began an investigation.
The woman wore blue cloth pants, a navy blue pullover sweatshirt with an American Flag logo, and a tank-top/camisole. Her body had been wrapped in a blanket with duct tape and placed into the container. The woman’s death was classified as a homicide. Despite investigative efforts, the woman could not be identified and she became known as Pierce County Jane Doe. Details of the case were entered into NamUs as UP72248.
With the woman’s identity a mystery, 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 Pierce County Sheriff’s Office 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 woman. Othram scientists worked to develop a DNA extract from the provided skeletal remains, using Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive SNP profile for the woman. This SNP profile powered a forensic search led by Othram’s in-house forensic genetic genealogy team, resulting in new investigative leads about the woman’s identity.
Using this new information, a follow-up investigation was conducted leading investigators to potential relatives of the woman. This investigation led to the positive identification of the woman, who is now known to be Linda Lee Schock, born February 14, 1966.
Columbus County Sheriff’s Office and North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation Team with Othram to Identify a 1979 Baby Doe (DNASolves – 2/26/2026)
In January 1979, the remains of an unidentified newborn baby were found in a plastic bag in a landfill in Whiteville, a town in Columbus County, North Carolina. The Columbus County Sheriff’s Office responded and began collecting evidence and investigating. They determined the infant was a newborn baby girl.
Despite a lengthy investigation, the newborn could not be identified and became known as Whiteville Baby Doe (1979). Details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP102485.
In 2024, 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 Columbus County Sheriff’s Office and North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation 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 baby. Othram scientists worked to develop a DNA extract from the provided histopathology blocks, using Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive SNP profile for the newborn. This SNP profile powered a forensic search led by Forensic Genetic Genealogist Leslie Kaufman, resulting in new investigative leads about the baby’s identity.
Using this new information, a follow-up investigation was conducted leading investigators to potential relatives of the baby. This investigation led to the positive identification of the child’s mother, who is now known to be Cathy McKee.
McKee, now 69, was recently arrested and charged with felony concealing the birth of a child. In 1979, McKee would have been about 22 years old.