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!
Class of 2025: Kiersten Fultz Found Her Focus in Forensic Science (VCUNews – 1/16/2026)
The transfer student (and former ISHI Student Ambassador) is among the first graduates from VCU’s accelerated master’s program, and she is heading way out west to work as a DNA analyst.
Dubai Police Adopt Cutting-Edge DNA Science to Crack Complex Cases (Gulf News – 1/16/2026)
Dubai Police have strengthened their ability to crack some of the most challenging criminal cases with the introduction of forensic genetic genealogy, a cutting-edge technique that expands the reach of modern forensic science.
The initiative, rolled out by the Genome Centre at the General Department of Forensic Evidence and Criminology, underscores Dubai Police’s drive to stay ahead of evolving crime through innovation and science-led policing.
This Ancient Plant Helped Scientists Solve a Homicide Investigation. This is How (Discover Wildlife – 1/17/2026)
As one of the simplest plants on the planet, it’s easy to see why moss may be overlooked in favour of weirder-looking flora. But in a new study, a team of researchers has revealed the hidden importance of this unassuming-looking plant – as well as how it helped solve a homicide investigation.
Forenics Data Standards Development Underway (EIN Presswire – 1/19/2026)
The NIEMOpen Forensics Subcommittee successfully hosted a virtual Town Hall on December 8, 2025, marking a significant step forward in the mission to standardize forensic data exchange language. The event brought together a diverse group of participants from federal, state, and local government agencies, as well as partners from private industry, to advance the nationwide capability of sharing forensic evidence data seamlessly.
The Town Hall introduced the subcommittee’s leadership, which is chaired by the Defense Forensics and Biometrics Agency (DFBA). The leadership team also includes co-chairs from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ)/National Institute of Justice (NIJ), with an ombudsman from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). These officials are spearheading the development of essential data elements required for interoperability across different forensic science services and IT systems.
New Information Revealed in New Hampshire Cold Case (DNA Doe Project – 1/19/2026)
In 1994, police in Seabrook, New Hampshire seized a human skull from a local business. The business owner claimed he had purchased the skull in New York, but investigators were unable to determine where it originated. Now, thanks to the application of investigative genetic genealogy, new information has been revealed in the cold case of Little Lost Seabrook Doe. Additionally, a new facial reconstruction has been created by renowned forensic artist Carl Koppleman to show what she may have looked like.
In the decades since it was discovered, two forensic anthropologists have studied the skull and determined that it belonged to a girl aged 7-9 years old, who had likely died 2-10 years prior. They also found that the skull had been exposed to the elements for an extended period of time before being cleaned and displayed.
The New Hampshire State Police later brought this case to the DNA Doe Project, whose expert investigative genetic genealogists work pro bono to identify Jane and John Does, but efforts to identify this girl have been complicated by a lack of close DNA matches and little information about how her skull ended up in New Hampshire.
“When we started our work, we didn’t know what to expect,” said team co-leader Gwen Knapp. “The skull could be an historical specimen or imported from abroad, but it could also belong to a girl born and raised in the US. It’s a mystery.”
However, the team’s research has now led to a significant development. We now know that Little Lost Seabrook Doe is of Greek heritage, with strong ties to the island of Chios in particular. It’s possible that she lived and died in Greece before her skull was transported to the US, but it’s also possible that she was born and raised in the US to parents with roots in Chios.
Furthermore, the team on this case has discovered a number of families that this young girl has connections to, all of whom originate in Chios. Surnames that appear in her family tree include Kaitis, Kladia, Fafalios, Mathioudis, Palios, Stamoulis, Menis, Antokas and Sideratos.
SLO County Murder Went Unsolved for Decades. Now, Family Finally has Answers (The Tribune – 1/20/2026)
Priscilla Tate lived most of her life without knowing who killed her sister — until the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office finally solved the decades-old cold case. On Nov. 15, 1983, Dorothy “Toby” Tate was found fatally shot in a van parked in a turnout along Highway 1 about three miles north of Hearst Castle. But after some 40-odd years of no leads or suspects in the cold case, the Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday it had solved the murder, identifying the killers as two Texas men — both now dead — through DNA genealogy analysis of old forensic evidence.
DNA Doe Project identifies John Doe found in Maryland in 1981 (DNA Doe Project – 1/20/2026)
Forty-five years after his body was found on the side of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, the DNA Doe Project has identified Greenbelt John Doe as 24-year-old Edward “Eddie” Octavis Devone. Devone, a native of Baltimore, was last seen by his family in the late 1970s.
On August 3, 1981, detectives with the U.S. Park Police recovered the remains of a young African-American man wrapped in a blanket alongside a Baltimore-Washington Parkway guardrail. Investigators determined that he was 15-25 years old, about 5’2” and weighed 106 pounds. The young man also had distinctive, severely deformed teeth with unusual lengths, odd angles, and gaps. His cause of death could not be determined.
Despite the continued efforts of the U.S. Park Police, the man’s identity remained unknown. In October 2024, after all traditional methods of human identification proved unsuccessful, the U.S. Park Police requested assistance from the DNA Doe Project, whose expert investigative genetic genealogists work pro bono to identify John and Jane Does.
The unidentified man’s DNA matches indicated he had roots in North Carolina, and it wasn’t long before the team on the case homed in on a family from the Fayetteville area. “We identified a couple from North Carolina as great grandparents of the unidentified man, so we knew that one of their children had to be his grandparent,” said team leader Matthew Waterfield. “But when we couldn’t find him among their descendants, we realized that something didn’t add up – it was like a branch of their family was missing.”
U.S Park Police detectives travelled down to Fayetteville, where they met with members of the family. Those conversations led to a crucial discovery – a century prior, in the 1920s, a young girl was adopted out of the family. While she remained somewhat in contact with her biological relatives, she didn’t stay in North Carolina – she moved to Baltimore.
With Baltimore only a short drive from where the young man’s body was found, the DNA Doe Project team and U.S. Park Police detectives zeroed in on this newfound branch of the family. Before long, they found out that the woman who moved to Baltimore had a grandson called Eddie Devone, born in 1956. When investigators spoke with Devone’s siblings, they discovered that he hadn’t been seen in nearly 50 years.
The family provided a photo of him as a young child, which is the only photo they still had of him. Further DNA testing ensued and, in December 2025, investigators confirmed that the man formerly known as Greenbelt John Doe was in fact Eddie Devone.
“Eddie’s story is heartbreaking, but it has been an honor to assist his family in finding answers,” said team co-leader Rhonda Kevorkian. “We were lucky to work with a law enforcement agency that went above and beyond to resolve this case.”
Metropolitan Nashville Police Department Teams with Othram to Identify a 1991 John Doe (DNASolves – 1/20/2026)
In January 1991, partial skeletal remains were discovered by a dog in a wooded area behind a resident’s home in Antioch, a Nashville neighborhood located about 12 miles southeast of Downtown. The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department responded to the scene, where a homeowner pointed authorities to a human skull. Investigators conducted a thorough search of the area and did not uncover any additional remains. The skull was sent to the University of Tennessee for anthropological examination. The analysis estimated that the individual was likely between 30 and 50 years old, and likely of White or Hispanic descent.
During an exhaustive investigation to identify the person, an anthropology examination incorrectly identified the skull as belonging to an adult female. Details of the case, including that the remains were a female, were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP1559. However, later DNA tests showed that the skull belonged to a male and the case became known as Davidson County John Doe (1991).
In 2023, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department 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. Othram’s in-house forensic genetic genealogy team used the profile in a genetic genealogy search to develop new investigative leads that were returned to law enforcement.
Using this new information, a follow-up investigation was conducted leading investigators to potential relatives of the man. Reference DNA samples were collected from a relative and compared to the DNA profile of the unidentified man. This investigation led to the positive identification of the man, who is now known to be Phillip Daniel Sydnor, who was born on June 21, 1950.
San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office Leverages Othram’s Identity Inference Platform to Identify a 1983 Homicide Suspect (DNASolves – 1/20/2026)
In November 1983, Dorothy “Toby” Tate was found dead in her van about three miles north of Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California. The 41-year-old woman from Estes Park, Colorado, had been shot in the head. Investigators with the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office searched the van extensively and collected blood samples believed to be from the killer. Detectives also noted that a camera was stolen from Tate’s van, which was traced to a pawn shop a few years later. However, by that time, the camera had changed hands multiple times and none of the transactions led to an arrest.
Investigators with the Sheriff’s Office submitted several items of evidence for traditional forensic DNA testing. A male DNA profile was successfully developed from the evidence, but the individual’s DNA profile did not match any known offenders in any DNA database, including CODIS. Despite exhaustive efforts by investigators, the case went cold. With no suspects in Toby Tate’s murder, the case remained unsolved for many years and was eventually reopened by San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Cold Case/Unsolved Homicide Detectives.
In 2023, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office teamed with Othram to determine if advanced forensic DNA testing could help establish the identity of Tate’s killer. The Sheriff’s Office submitted forensic evidence to Othram in The Woodlands, Texas so that a DNA profile could be developed from the forensic evidence. Othram scientists were provided with a DNA extract that was developed from the original crime scene evidence. From this, a comprehensive DNA profile for the unknown individual was built using Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing®. After successfully completing the process, local law enforcement coordinated a forensic genetic genealogy search, which generated new investigative leads in the case.
Throughout the investigation, investigators determined that two men were responsible for Toby Tate’s murder. Fingerprints recovered from a soda can initially found at the scene placed a man named Charley Sneed there. Using forensic genetic genealogy, which was powered by Othram’s forensic DNA sequencing platform, investigators identified Steven Richard Hardy as the second man responsible for Dorothy Tate’s murder.
“Both Hardy and Sneed were residents of Texas at the time and are now deceased. No evidence suggests the involvement of any additional suspects,” the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office announced. “The evidence indicates the crime was likely committed during a burglary or theft, as property belonging to the victim was later pawned in California.”
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and District 16 Medical Examiner’s Office Team with Othram to Identify a 2017 John Doe (DNASolves – 1/21/2026)
In September 2017, the remains of an unidentified man wearing a life jacket were found in the wake of Hurricane Irma in Big Pine, a rural area of Monroe County, Florida. The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office responded and began collecting evidence and investigating. They determined the remains were an adult man, between the ages of 45 and 75 years old, who stood about 5′ 10″ tall and weighed an estimated 115 lbs and had been dead about four days. He had gray or partially gray hair and a short beard and mustache that were gray to almost white. Following an autopsy, the Monroe County Medical Examiner determined the cause of death to be drowning and ruled the manner of death accidental.
Despite a lengthy investigation, the man could not be identified and became known as Monroe County John Doe. Details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP17238.
Recently, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, the District 16 Medical Examiner’s Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement submitted forensic evidence to Othram in The Woodlands, Texas 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 genetic genealogy search to develop new investigative leads that were returned to law enforcement.
Using this new information, a follow-up investigation was conducted leading investigators to potential relatives of the man. Reference DNA samples were collected from a relative and compared to the DNA profile of the unidentified man. This investigation led to the positive identification of the man, who is now known to be James Donald Schlake, born December 17, 1940.
“FDLE’s Key West Field Office and Forensic Services turned over every stone to identify Mr. Schlake,” said FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass. “Our statewide forensic resources and strong partnerships are critical to supporting Florida’s communities and law enforcement agencies. This collaboration helped bring long‑awaited answers to Mr. Schlake’s loved ones and to the Florida Keys community.”
Texas DA Launches New Cold Case Task Force (Forensic – 1/21/2026)
Tarrant County District Attorney Phil Sorrells is rolling out a new initiative dedicated to addressing unsolved homicides and other serious violent crimes.
He has created a Cold Case Task Force that will use advances in DNA technology and digital forensics to work closely with local police departments to identify offenders, hold them accountable, and bring long-awaited answers to victims’ families.
“This task force isn’t simply an investigative unit,” Sorrells said. “It’s a promise to victims, families, and Tarrant County residents that justice will always be pursued here.”
“Every victim deserves justice and every family deserves answers,” he said.
This task force of prosecutors and investigators will collaborate with law enforcement partners as well as forensic laboratories.
FBI Solves 1986 Colonial Parkway Murders (Forensic – 1/21/2026)
The FBI Norfolk Field Office, in coordination with our law enforcement partners, on January 20 announced the resolution of the 1986 cold case murders of Cathleen Thomas and Rebecca Dowski, victims of the Colonial Parkway murders.
Through persistent investigation and breakthroughs in forensic technology, the FBI has determined that Alan Wade Wilmer Sr. of Lancaster County, who died in 2017, murdered Thomas and Dowski. Wilmer Sr. is connected to a series of at least six murders and disappearances of young people in Virginia between 1986 and 1989.