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!
Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Leverages Othram to Identify a 2021 John Doe (DNASolves – 1/22/2026)
In June 2021, the skeletal remains of an unidentified individual were found in Canal Point, Florida. A skull washed ashore along the eastern shoreline of Lake Okeechobee. The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Violent Crimes Division along with the Palm Beach County Office of the Medical Examiner responded and began collecting evidence and investigating. They determined that the skull likely belonged to a White or Hispanic adult man, who was probably between the ages of 39 to 69 years old.
Despite a lengthy investigation, the man could not be identified and he became known as Palm Beach County John Doe. Details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP110477.
Recently, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Unit 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. That profile was returned to the Sheriff’s Office for forensic genetic genealogy.
A follow-up investigation was conducted leading investigators to potential relatives of the man. Reference DNA samples were collected from potential relatives and compared to the DNA profile of the unknown man using KinSNP® Rapid Relationship Testing. This investigation led to the positive identification of Palm Beach County John Doe, who is now known to be William Wolfgang McKinnis, a native of Boston, Massachusetts who was born on May 18, 1969.
William McKinnis, a veteran of the United States military, lived a transient lifestyle and was estranged from family. Records indicate that McKinnis traveled between Cocoa, Florida and Hollywood, Florida in the summer of 2019. The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office is seeking information from anyone who may have known or encountered McKinnis from 2019 to 2021 and has information as to what may have caused his death.
Tommy Lee Walker Exonerated 70 Years After Execution for Rape and Murder of Venice Parker (ABC News – 1/22/2026)
Tommy Lee Walker was declared “innocent” by a Dallas court on Wednesday, 70 years after he was executed for the rape and murder of Venice Parker. The court said his 1954 conviction and 1956 execution were “profound miscarriage[s] of justice.”
Walker, a Black man who was 19 years old at the time of his conviction, was found guilty in the rape and murder of Parker, a white woman who was killed in 1953 near Dallas Love Field airport.
DNA from Hair Leads to Suspect in 1980 Murder of 2-year-old and Aunt (Forensic – 1/26/2026)
DNA from hair recovered from a crime scene 45 years ago has finally provided answers in the chilling murders of a 23-year-old and her 2-year-old nephew.
On Nov. 12, 1980, Lynn Vest and her nephew Jeremy Pickens went missing after leaving to run errands. Their bodies were found the next day in the trunk of Vest’s car. Vest had been sexually assaulted and strangled, while Pickens has suffocated in his aunt’s car. Missing from the scene were Vest’s credit card, money, and her wedding ring.
While there was little evidence at the scene, two hairs were preserved, as well as DNA from the sexual assault kit performed on Vest postmortem.
In 2010, a DNA profile was developed from the kit, but it yielded no matches. In 2019, the Homicide Case Review Unit began exploring investigative genetic genealogy techniques.
In 2025, a DNA profile from a hair found on Vest led to the identification of Charles William Elliott as a suspect. Subsequent analysis confirmed Elliot’s DNA matched that found in Vest’s sexual assault kit.
Police say Elliott had been in and out of jail across the country. He died in 2000 while incarcerated.
Despite the identification, the case remains open as investigators believe one more person could be involved in this crime. Witness accounts suggest Elliott may not have acted alone, noting two black males in a white car following Lynn.
Elmira Police Department and the FBI Team with Othram to Solve the 1964 Murder of 12-Year-Old Mary Theresa Simpson (DNASolves – 1/27/2026)
On March 15, 1964, Mary Simpson was last seen walking home after visiting relatives near East Market and Harriet Streets in Elmira, New York. When she failed to return, her father reported her missing that evening. Four days later, on March 19, Mary’s body was discovered in a wooded area near Combs Hill Road in Southport by a man hiking with his sons. Her remains had been partially concealed under debris and large stones. Investigators determined she had been sexually assaulted and strangled; and her mouth had been stuffed with twigs and dirt.
Despite an intensive investigation involving hundreds of interviews over the decades, the case went cold. But in 2023, Elmira Police, with assistance from the FBI, reopened the case using modern forensic methods. In February 2023, forensic evidence from the case was submitted to Othram’s laboratory in The Woodlands, Texas. Othram scientists developed a usable DNA extract from the evidence and applied Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive DNA profile of the unknown suspect. We want to express gratitude to Season of Justice (SOJ) for assisting with funding for this case.
This profile was used by the FBI’s forensic genetic genealogy team in a genetic genealogical search to generate new investigative leads. Working with Elmira Police and the FBI, investigators narrowed in on a potential suspect. Further investigative work confirmed the identity of the individual believed to be responsible for Mary’s murder. Although the suspect is now deceased, law enforcement is expected to announce their identity at a press conference scheduled for February 10, 2026, at the Chemung County District Attorney’s Office.
Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office & New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator Team with Othram to Identify a 1999 Jane Doe (DNASolves – 1/27/2026)
On November 16, 1999, the remains of an unidentified woman were discovered by hunters in Sandoval County, New Mexico, located just west of Albuquerque and Santa Fe. The Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office and the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator responded and began investigating and collecting evidence. Along with skeletal remains, investigators found a blanket and pieces of clothing, but those clues did not help identify the woman. Investigators estimated that the woman was 23 and 60 years old and likely stood 5’1″ to 5’6″ tall.
Despite years of investigative efforts, with few clues to go on, the woman’s identity remained a mystery and she became known as Sandoval County Jane Doe. Details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP10294.
In November 2024, the Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office working with the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator submitted forensic evidence to Othram in The Woodlands, Texas to determine if advanced DNA testing could help identify the woman. Othram scientists successfully developed a DNA extract from the evidence and then used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive DNA profile for the woman. Othram’s in-house genealogists used the profile in a forensic genetic genealogy search to develop new investigative leads that were returned to law enforcement.
These leads reinvigorated the long-unsolved investigation, and providing investigators with new clues about the woman’s ancestry and identity. A follow-up investigation ensued, leading to potential relatives of the woman. A reference DNA sample was collected from a relative and compared to the DNA profile of the unidentified woman using Othram’s KinSNP® rapid relationship testing. This comparison positively identified the woman as 19-year-old Jeanette Maria De La Cruz.
Jeanette De La Cruz, from Albuquerque, NM, was last seen on October 20, 1999. She was reported as missing with details of her disappearance entered in NamUs as MP1127 by the Corrales Police Department. From the start of the investigation in 1999, the Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office investigated this case as a possible homicide. After Jeanette De La Cruz was identified, detectives have now concluded that Jeanette De La Cruz died at a private residence. Two men at the residence panicked and took her body to the rural area to bury her. They will not face any charges in the case.
Why Solving Cold Case Killings Just Got Much Harder for Police (CBC News – 1/28/2026)
racking cold case killings, sometimes decades after the fact, has always been a difficult task for police. But the challenge has recently become much steeper. That’s because of new limits on their best tool — genetic genealogy, which uses tiny snippets of DNA to track down killers via distant family relations.
The U.S.-based website Ancestry.com is the world’s largest repository of public genealogical records, pulling together birth, death, marriage, immigration and other documents from across the globe. And it has become a go-to-source for police forces seeking to map out family trees.
But a recent update and clarification to the company’s terms of service now explicitly bans law enforcement from accessing the paid-subscription site without first obtaining a court order, making detectives’ research process harder.