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!
Opinion: Who’s Afraid of Madeleine McCann? (Forensic – 6/30/2025)
Maddie McCann disappeared on May 3, 2007 from her family’s Praia da Luz holiday home in Portugal’s Algarve. The British blonde child with green-blue eyes was 3 years old.
Cadaver dogs Eddie and Keela alerted the police to human blood in the apartment. Floor tiles, skirting boards, wall swabs and curtain sections were collected for DNA. The dogs also alerted to luggage in the trunk of a rental car the family had hired three weeks after Maddie disappeared. In total, there were 18 evidence items, plus family references. The dogs got it right. British Forensic Science Service (FSS) scientists found DNA on the items. Their laboratory generated DNA data files. But they couldn’t interpret their DNA mixture data. “Inconclusive,” they said.
They deemed eight items “too complex” to interpret, and six “too meagre.” FSS scientist Dr. John Lowe could see parts of Maddie’s DNA in the data, but he couldn’t unmix the mixtures.
On a skirting board, the FSS reported “a DNA result from at least three persons too complex to permit a meaningful interpretation.” Lowe conceded, “we cannot separate the components out into individual DNA profiles.”
Lowe lacked the computer technology to transform complex DNA data into simple reliable answers. He could make no “meaningful interpretation” or “meaningful comparison.” In the blind eyes of the FSS, Maddie’s DNA evidence had vanished.
Spain’s Forensic Police Help Find Oldest Known Human Fingerprint (Forensic – 6/30/2025)
A unique archaeological find has recently expanded our knowledge of Neanderthals’ capacity for symbolic thought. The object in question is a granite stone, on which a red ochre dot was deliberately applied to reinforce the image of a human face. It is, to date, the oldest example of portable art associated with Neanderthals.
The most remarkable aspect of this discovery was the identification of a fingerprint in the pigment, at a level we have unequivocally dated to more than 42,000 years ago.
The fingerprint means the find is direct evidence of a symbolic action that we can attribute to a Neanderthal human (Homo neanderthalensis).
This discovery is the fruit of over two years of research, and was published in May 2025 in Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences. In addition to the team of archaeologists and geologists, our paper was co-authored by members of the Central Identification Unit of the General Commissary of Scientific Police, whose contributions were vital to the work’s success.
Remains Found in Rolled Up Carpet in 1997 Now Identified (Forensic – 6/30/2025)
In May 1997, skeletal remains were located in a field off of Haggerty Road in Plymouth, Michigan. The discovery was made in the west Detroit suburb when a man interested in purchasing the property was conducting a survey. The citizen reported coming across a piece of rolled up carpet that, when opened, revealed human skeletal remains along with several articles of clothing and jewelry. Authorities responded to the scene, and it was determined that the carpet and remains had been there for multiple years.
A death investigation was initiated, and investigators determined that the remains belonged to an adult male. It was estimated that the man was about 5’8” tall. The man’s weight was unknown but based on the size of shorts found on the body, investigators believed that the man was slim. It was determined that the man likely died due to a head injury and his death was ruled a homicide. Over the years, investigators pursued leads in hopes that the man could be identified, including investigating the origin of the gold class ring found on the man’s body, testing on the clothing and ballistics testing of a .357 slug found with the remains.
In 2015, traditional DNA testing was done and uploaded to CODIS was performed as part of the investigation into the man’s identity, but there was no match to a known individual. Details of the case were entered into NamUs as UP11420. For decades, investigators worked to identify the man including appealing to the public for any information that could be helpful.
In 2022, investigators with the Plymouth Township Police Department teamed with Othram to determine if advanced DNA testing could help to identify the long-unidentified John Doe. Forensic evidence was submitted to Othram’s laboratory in The Woodlands, Texas where DNA was extracted from the skeletal evidence. Using Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing, an ultra-sensitive comprehensive DNA profile was developed. This DNA profile allowed Othram scientists to confirm that the unknown man’s ancestry was African and not Caucasian.
The DNA profile was then submitted for forensic matching allowing Othram’s in-house forensic genetic genealogy team to develop new leads about the man’s identity. These leads were provided to law enforcement, who spearheaded a follow-up investigation leading to a potential relative of the man, who provided a reference DNA sample. The potential relative’s DNA profile was compared to the DNA profile developed for the unknown man using KinsSNP Rapid Relationship Testing. This investigation led to the identification of the man as Benjamin Harrison Fountain who was born on May 6, 1926.
Fountain, who was drafted to serve in World War II, was born in Virginia and later lived in West Virginia and finally in Detroit. Had he been alive when his body was found, Fountain would have been in his 70s. An investigation into Fountain’s death continues. Anyone with information is urged to contact Plymouth Township Police by calling (734) 354-3250.
How Killer who Went Undetected for Decades was Caught (BBC News – 6/30/2025)
Ryland Headley must have thought he had got away with murder until police came knocking on his door almost 58 years after his crime.
The violent death of Louisa Dunne, 75, at her Easton house in Bristol in 1967 sent shockwaves through her community and sparked a manhunt that saw palm prints taken from 19,000 men.
However, her killer slipped through the net. More than half a century later, he was living in the quiet market town of Ipswich, 200 miles from the murder scene.
But a marriage of old and new policing meant 92-year-old Headley has now been convicted of Mrs Dunne’s rape and murder following a trial at Bristol Crown Court.
The jury’s guilty verdict is believed to have set a new record for a conviction in a cold case, and as investigator Joanne Smith put it, is proof offenders “can never stop looking over their shoulder”.
When the Evidence Lies: UNODC Gathers Global Experts to Tackle Integrity in Forensic Science (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime – 7/2025)
Imagine a courtroom where the most crucial piece of evidence is a laboratory report. The analyst’s signature is there. The science appears sound. A conviction follows. But what if the test was manipulated or never conducted at all?
Across the world, justice systems rely on forensic evidence that must be accurate, impartial and incorruptible. Yet from flawed drug analyses to falsified results, forensic science has its vulnerabilities.
“Forensic laboratories, like any other institution, are subject and vulnerable to corruption—including infiltration by organized crime groups,” said Zorana Markovic, Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Officer at the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
When the integrity of forensic science is compromised, the consequences can be devastating: wrongful convictions, eroded public trust and systems that fail those they are meant to protect.
These risks are particularly acute in the context of the synthetic drug problem. The rapid emergence of new substances places laboratories under intense pressure, while still demanding the highest standards of transparency and accountability.
“When forensic integrity is compromised, justice is compromised,” said Justice Tettey, Chief of the UNODC Laboratory and Scientific Services Branch. “Our systems are only as strong as the science on which they rely.”
That urgency brought an international panel of experts to Vienna last month, where UNODC convened a second meeting to advance work on a handbook to strengthen integrity in forensic science. The handbook is set to be released in September, after which UNODC will develop training for practitioners in the field.
Madison County Sheriff’s Office Teams with Othram to Identify a 1990 Homicide Victim (DNA Solves – 7/01/2025)
In July 1990, the remains of an unidentified individual were discovered by a road maintenance crew in a soybean field in Troy, Illinois. Troy is a city located in Madison County and is about 20 miles east of St. Louis, Missouri. Troy is considered part of the St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area. The Madison County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene and determined that the remains were those of an unclothed white female. The woman was estimated to be between 25 and 35 years old, stood 5’5” tall, and weighed 130 pounds. Investigators believed she had been killed two to three days prior to being discovered, having sustained multiple stab wounds to her neck and torso.
At the time of the woman’s discovery, she had red/auburn hair tied in a ponytail and a single piercing in each earlobe, with an upper denture plate. Near the body, investigators found a pink T-shirt with blue palm trees and “Florida” printed on the front, a white bra made in the Philippines, white Pebble Beach sandals with side buckles, and a white metal or silver ring with a heart-shaped turquoise stone that had been worn on her right finger.
Forensic sketches and composites depicting the woman’s likeness were developed and released to the public in hopes that it would assist in generated leads about the woman’s identity. In March 2016, details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP14919. Despite extensive efforts by law enforcement investigators to identify the woman, no matches were found, and the case went unsolved for thirty-five years.
In 2024, the Madison County Sheriff’s Office 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 forensic evidence, and then used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive genealogical profile for the unknown woman. Othram’s in-house forensic genetic genealogy team then used this profile to conduct genetic genealogy research, ultimately providing new investigative leads to law enforcement.
Using this new information, a follow-up investigation was conducted leading investigators to potential relatives of the woman. Reference DNA samples were collected from the potential relatives and compared to the DNA profile of the unknown woman using KinSNP rapid relationship testing. This investigation led to the positive identification of the woman, who is now known to be Wynona Nadine Michel, born August 23, 1959. She was 30 years old when she was murdered. An investigation into the Michel’s murder is underway and anyone with possible information about the crime is urged to call the Madison County Sheriff’s Office.
Remains of British Man Identified 12 Years After Death Thanks to New Technology (Times and Star – 7/01/2025)
The remains of a British man who was found dead in Arizona 12 years ago have been identified thanks to new DNA technology, researchers have said. Michael Hill, 75, died in February 2013 whilst visiting a friend in the United States.
Having gone to his friend’s home with no belongings other than his clothes, and without close relatives to identify him, Mr Hill remained known as the “Maricopa County John Doe 2013” for more than a decade after his death.
But researchers from the UK and US managed to restore Mr Hill’s identity using a new method called Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG), which combines DNA analysis with genealogical searches – making him the first UK citizen to be identified through this technique.
First Human Genome from Ancient Egypt Sequenced from 4,800-Year-Old Teeth (Nature – 7/02/2025)
Teeth from an elderly man who lived around the time that the earliest pyramids were built have yielded the first full human genome sequence from ancient Egypt.
The remains are 4,800 to 4,500 years old, overlapping with a period in Egyptian history known as the Old Kingdom or the Age of Pyramids. They harbour signs of ancestry similar to that of other ancient North Africans, as well as of people from the Middle East, researchers report today in Nature.
Setting the Standard and Ensuring Justice (Syracuse University STEM – 7/03/2025)
Everyone knows DNA plays a crucial role in solving crimes—but what happens when the evidence is of low quantity, degraded or comes from multiple individuals? One of the major challenges for forensic laboratories is interpreting this type of DNA data from crime scenes and comparing it to known profiles or databases. Traditional methods, although tried and true, can be improved, which is why DNA sequencing is now being considered by forensic laboratories across the country.
Last year marked the first time that evidence from Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) was used in court to help clarify the circumstances of a crime in Kern County, California. Using NGS, the Kern Regional Crime Lab was able to analyze over 150 genetic markers from a single evidence sample—compared to just approximately 24 with previous methods—helping to establish the key details in a murder investigation.
Never before had NGS, a form of DNA testing that allows researchers to obtain higher-resolution data by analyzing more genetic markers, even from low-quantity or degraded samples, been used in a criminal case in the United States. Because the legal system is slow to adopt new technologies until accepted in court, this landmark proceeding opened the door for the broader application of this innovative technology, which now promises to transform the future of forensic science. The College of Arts and Sciences’ Forensic and National Security Sciences Institute (Forensics Institute) is leading the effort to bring this advancement to New York State, recently hosting the nation’s first sequencing training for forensics professionals from public crime labs across the state.
How New DNA Science Could Help More Families of the Missing (New York Times – 7/04/2025)
The world is facing an abundance of tragic events that produce large numbers of the dead and missing people, including wars in Ukraine, Myanmar, Sudan and the Middle East, as well as wildfires and storms accelerated by climate change.
The technology of DNA-led identification is advancing rapidly — linking relatives across time and with more degraded remains, with the potential to bring names to more of the lost, and closure to more families.
A recent breakthrough by forensic scientists working with the bones of unidentified Vietnamese soldiers from the Vietnam War reflects a broader surge of innovation. With further development, scientists believe, emerging methods of DNA sequencing could bring clarity to many more challenging cases involving unidentified human remains.
An Oregon Woman Disappeared 42 Years Ago. DNA Advancements Lead to Ex-Boyfriend’s Indictment on Murder. (CBS News – 7/04/2025)
A 72-year-old man was indicted on murder charges this week in connection with the disappearance of his former girlfriend 42 years ago after new DNA evidence emerged.
Teresa Peroni was 27 years old when she disappeared on or around July 4, 1983, in Selma, Oregon. According to the Josephine County Sheriff’s Office, she was last seen with her then-boyfriend Mark Sanfratello, who was 29 at the time, walking into a wooded area while attending a party.
Malaysian Scientists Discover Bed Bugs Can Play Role in Forensic Investigations (Asia News Network – 7/04/2025)
They can be found everywhere – airport lounge sofas, bus seats, and even hotel and hostel beds.
But who would realise that bed bugs can play a role in forensic investigations.
Scientists discovered that the blood they consume has the DNA of people whom they fed on.
A Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) team began studying the role of these blood suckers after collecting specimens at airport lounge sofas in 2014.
Their study was published in Scientific Reports.
USM researchers reported that Cimex hemipterus – a common tropical bed bug species – can retain human DNA in their guts for up to 45 days after feeding.
In a subsequent research paper published in Forensic Science International last August, the USM team outlined a practical field protocol for collecting and analysing tropical bed bugs as forensic evidence.
The work was led by entomologist Assoc Prof Dr Abdul Hafiz Ab Majid and his postdoctoral researcher Dr Lim Li from the School of Biological Sciences.
Together, they extracted DNA from bed bugs, which had been fed human blood under controlled conditions.
Woman Murdered in 1980s Double Homicide Now Identified (Forensic – 7/07/2025)
One of the two women found murdered in the basement of a Charlotte Avenue home in 1987 has now been identified as Sheila Cummings, 23, of Elgin, Illinois.
The two victims were murdered by James Shaffer, who confessed to the killings after they were discovered in shallow graves within the dirt floor of the basement years later.
This past January, both unidentified women were disinterred for contemporary forensic analysis. Two days prior to the collection of DNA samples, a woman called the Cold Case Unit after seeing information online and reported her mother had been missing since 1984.
The DNA samples were collected from Sheila Cummings’ daughters and were returned last week as a confirmed match.
Investigative work still continues to identify the other victim, known as “Lil Bit,” whose new forensic rendering was publicly released in April. She was a 20–40-year-old black female who stood at 5’7” and had an open-faced gold overlay on her right lateral incisor. She was also discovered wearing a copper Grim Reaper ring.
California’s Monterey County Cold Case Taskforce Teams with Othram to Identify a 2021 John Doe (DNASolves – 7/07/2025)
In October 2021, the skeletal remains of an unknown individual wearing a one-piece jumpsuit/fleece longjohns (likely an undergarment for a scuba diving dry-suit or a survival suit) were found after becoming entangled in a fishing net just beyond the boundaries of California’s Monterey Bay. The remains were given to the Monterey County Coroner’s Division in Moss Landing, California. Investigators determined that the remains were likely a man who was 35 to 50 years old. He was likely between 5’8″ and 6’3″ tall. He was found with five keys and two coins but no identification.
Despite an extensive investigation, including a thorough search by the Missing and Unidentified Persons Section of the California Department of Justice, the man could not be identified and the case went cold. Details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP99784.
In 2022, the Monterey County Cold Case Taskforce, which is comprised of the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office, Sheriff-Coroner’s Office, Monterey Police Department and is assisted by the California DOJ Bureau of Forensic Services, teamed with Othram in The Woodlands, Texas to determine if advanced DNA testing could help identify the man.
Forensic evidence was submitted to Othram’s laboratory, where scientists used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive DNA profile for the unknown man. Othram’s casework costs for the case were provided by the Roads to Justice (RTJ) program. Othram’s in-house forensic genetic genealogy team then used the profile in a genetic genealogy search to develop new leads in the case. These new leads were provided to investigators with the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office.
Using this new information, a follow-up investigation was conducted leading investigators to potential relatives of the man. A reference DNA sample was collected from a relative and tested using KinSNP® Rapid Familial Relationship Testing, which allows investigators to infer kinship in both closely and distantly related individuals. This comparison led investigators to identify “Sandholdt Doe” as Jeffrey Lyndon Hulliger, who was born on May 30, 1960.
Hulliger was 36-years-old when he was lost at sea with a friend while fishing in Monterey Bay on January 14, 1997. His friend and boatmate, Greg Mitchell, has never been found. After the duo sent out a distress signal from their boat, “The Salmon Patty”, the Coast Guard attempted to locate the vessel, which was reported to have been taking on water.
According to newspaper accounts at the time, the Coast Guard launched a multi-day search with volunteers, two Coast Guard cutters, a helicopter and an airplane in an effort to rescue the men. Their boat was equipped with a life raft, two survival suits and an electronic satellite beacon. No signal from the beacon was ever received. Only debris was found, and both men were presumed drowned, but neither the boat nor their remains were located in the search.
Two years after Jeffrey Hulliger disappeared, his brother, who was also a fisherman, said in a newspaper interview that he tried to convince Jeffrey Hullger to not go out fishing for black cod that day because the weather was so bad. John Hulliger said he believed that his brother and Greg Mitchell drowned when their boat capsized in 18-foot waves off Point Reyes.
When it was discovered that Jeffrey Hlliger’s remains had been floating around Monterey Bay for 24 years, he also became known as the “Ancient Mariner” a reference to the famous poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” which recounts the experiences of a sailor who has returned from a long sea voyage. Hulliger’s identification is also featured by the Cold Case Project of Monterey County, a non-profit dedicated to raising funding to solve cold cases.
Volunteers use DNA Technology, Artificial Intelligence to Find Fishermen Lost in North Sea Decades Ago (CBS News – 7/08/2025)
Jan van den Berg stares out at the sea where his father vanished seven decades ago — lost in a storm just days before his birth. Now aged 70, he clings to the hope of finding even the smallest fragment of his father’s remains.
In Urk, a fishing village in the northern Netherlands, the sea has long been the lifeblood for families — but has often taken loved ones in return.
Some bodies never surfaced. Others washed ashore on German or Danish coasts and were buried in unnamed graves.
Despite the tragedy, Van den Berg — the last of six children — became a fisherman like his brothers, defying their mother’s terror that the North Sea would claim her sons too.
The Tough Lessons that Build Resilience in Forensic Science Students (Times Higher Education – 7/07/2025)
To deliver an authentic curriculum in a discipline such as forensic science, teaching sensitive topics is essential. Discussions on violence, trauma, socio-economic disadvantage and substance misuse impart knowledge, help build future employment skills and, importantly, shape how students respond to challenging realities.
But this is no easy task. Educators must carefully balance making students feel secure and supported while also preparing them for the complexities ahead.
Should such challenging material be included in curricula at all? Exposing students to distressing material could cause unnecessary harm, potentially triggering negative emotional responses or exacerbating existing trauma, some argue.
Challenging students with these real-life, complex issues at university, however, offers a safer, controlled environment in which to grapple with them. At my institution, forensic science educators collaborate with criminal justice colleagues, teaching victimology, to provide carefully designed case studies that mirror the realities of professional practice, framed within a trauma-informed approach. Colleagues in Criminal Justice have invested significant effort in developing effective trauma-informed strategies and forensic science has drawn on their expertise to ensure students feel supported while building the resilience required for emotionally demanding careers.
Gunshot Victim Identified after 36 Years (Forensic – 7/09/2025)
Remains of a man found in White County 36 years ago have been identified as 30-year-old Karl Brian Hooten of Vilonia.
The remains had been unidentified since they were discovered on April 20, 1989, off Swinging Bridge Road in Antioch. An autopsy performed at the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory determined the victim had been shot. Investigators determined Hooten lived in Faulkner County at the time of his death.
In 2024, the victim’s DNA was submitted to Othram forensic lab in Woodlands, Texas, where scientists developed a comprehensive DNA profile.
In January 2025, results from the testing alerted investigators to potential familial DNA matches with the unidentified victim. White County Sheriff’s Office detectives and investigators from the Arkansas State Police (ASP) Criminal Investigation Division (CID) Cold Case Unit conducted interviews and collected additional familial DNA samples, which were submitted for examination and comparison. On June 13, 2025, the victim was identified as Hooten.
Ukraine: DNA and Dignity for the Deceased (Forensic – 7/09/2025)
After the escalation of armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine, forensic facilities seeking to manage the deceased with dignity were nearly overwhelmed. To identify those who have died, DNA is key.
Not being able to help others – that was Nataliia’s greatest fear when the fighting in Ukraine escalated.
As the chief forensic expert of the comparative DNA testing department at the State Scientific Research Forensic Centre (SSRFC), she has since found a way to support those affected by the armed conflict.
“The least we can do for the dead and their relatives is to return the bodies to families for burial,” she tells us.
Yet before families can be informed that a deceased loved one has been identified and receive their remains, there is a long and complex process that needs to happen first. Nataliia’s work with DNA is key to that.
University Gets $10 M to Expand Forensic Institute (Forensic – 7/09/2025)
Rep. Erick Harris (R-Edmond) praised the $10 million appropriation to expand the University of Central Oklahoma’s Forensic Science Institute. The funding is included in House Bill 2766, the Fiscal Year 2026 general appropriations bill, and will be distributed by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education (OSRHE).
“I was proud to have the opportunity to work with my colleagues in the Edmond delegation and our friends at UCO to secure this additional funding,” Harris said. “The support of this investment reaffirms what we already know: that the Forensic Science Institute plays a vital role serving our communities, supporting law enforcement and public safety, training Oklahoma’s students and advancing the field of study. I look forward to seeing the positive impact this investment will have on the future of justice in Oklahoma and beyond.”
The UCO FSI, which opened in 2009, trains students for careers in local, state, tribal and federal law enforcement. UCO FSI is home to more than 1,000 students and nine degree programs, including bachelor’s degrees in Forensic Investigations, Digital Forensics, Forensic Molecular Biology and Forensic Chemistry.