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!
DNA Evidence Connects Minneapolis Driver to Two Sexual Assaults a Decade Apart, Charges Say (CBS News – 7/20/2026)
A Minneapolis man is accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 2012 when he was working as a cab driver and a similar crime 10 years later when driving an Uber.
Angel Rodolfo Fernandez Morocho, 46, is charged with third- and fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct in the first case, and third-degree criminal sexual conduct in the latter, court documents filed Friday in Hennepin County show.
In each case, according to criminal complaints, a woman leaving downtown Minneapolis fell asleep in the back of a car — a taxi in 2012, and an Uber in 2022 — and woke up as the driver was sexually assaulting her.
In the 2012 assault, the victim took documents from the cab with the name “Angel Fernandez” on them, and authorities recovered a man’s DNA from the victim. She also described the cab as a Chevrolet Impala. Despite that, officials could not positively identify a suspect, according to the complaint. Eleven years later, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension matched DNA from the 2022 assault to the one in 2012. The case was reopened in 2025 amid an effort by local authorities to clear a backlog of sexual assault kits.
Cold Case Unit ID’s Teen Victim Found 650 Miles from Home (Forensic – 7/20/2026)
In September 1983, a truck driver in the South Florida Everglades made a grisly discovery: the remains of a murdered young woman. With practically no evidence to go off of, experts created a clay model of the victim’s face, but she remained nameless for decades.
Now, thanks to genetic genealogy, the victim has her name back—but there are still more questions than answers.
She has now been identified as Sheila Anne Nichols, a 16-year-old girl living in Decatur, Georgia with her family in 1983. So how did her body end up 650 miles away from home? Who killed her? And what happened to her sister, who also went missing around the same time?
Grant Helps Identify Teen Passenger Killed in 1978 Crash (Forensic – 7/20/2026)
On June 2, 1978, a Volkswagen Beetle carrying five teenage passengers was traveling westbound on Arlington Avenue in Riverside when the driver lost control, crossed the center divider, and struck a sport utility vehicle. The driver of the Volkswagen was the only survivor of that vehicle and told investigators at the time that he had met the male passenger only the day before, knowing little about him. The three other victims were identified at the time, but their families had no information about the fifth passenger.
Despite years of investigative efforts, the victim remained unidentified until now, nearly 50 years after his death. The Riverside Sheriff’s Coroner’s Bureau has identified the male victim of the fatal traffic accident as 18-year-old Mark Alan Smith.
With assistance from the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Missing and Unidentified Human Remains grant program, which provided the Riverside Sheriff’s Coroner’s Bureau with the resources needed to perform an exhumation, and the GenGenies, a non-profit corporation that funded the forensic genetic genealogy work that ultimately produced the leads needed to identify the victim, this identification would not have been possible.
On Flood Anniversary, University Remembers Anthropologist Who Advanced DVI Field (Forensic – 7/20/2026)
With the approach of the 50th anniversary of the Big Thompson Flood near Loveland, Colorado State University is remembering the role of the late forensic anthropologist Michael Charney, who led the successful identification of 139 recovered bodies – and, in the process, helped advance the field of disaster victim identification.
At the time, Charney was an anthropology faculty member at CSU and deputy coroner for Larimer County. As a physical anthropologist with expertise in human skeletal remains, he was quickly called to help identify flood victims. Through his response, he left his mark on Colorado history.
Charney worked with a forensic pathologist, who conducted autopsies to determine cause and manner of death, and a forensic odontologist, a specialized dentist who could compare physical remains to dental records. He would later urge law-enforcement and other agencies nationwide to improve and standardize victim identification using such scientific teams. He also advocated for policies that clearly outlined distinct roles and responsibilities in disaster victim identification.
Genetic Genealogy, DNA from Trash Help Solve Arlington Killing 14 Years After Woman Found Stabbed 100 Times, Police Say (CBS News – 7/22/26)
A renewed push by Arlington’s cold‑case unit has apparently solved one of the city’s most brutal homicides, 14 years after police say a woman was stabbed nearly 100 times in her apartment.
Arlington police have charged Mayra Velasquez, 42, with capital murder in the 2012 killing of Irasema Chavez, 32. Velasquez is being held in the Tarrant County Jail.
Clayton County Police Department Teams with Othram to Identify a 2024 John Doe (DNASolves – 7/21/26)
In February 2024, the skeletal remains of an unidentified individual were found in Jonesboro, a city in Clayton County, Georgia, just south of Atlanta. Two men were collecting deer stands near a creek in a rural part of the county when they found what they believed were human remains. The Clayton County Police Department responded and began collecting evidence and investigating. They collected the remains and a pair of black shorts and a pair of boxer underwear only. They determined the remains were an adult man, but few other details could be determined about the man, such as his approximate age.
Despite a lengthy investigation, the man could not be identified and became known as Clayton County John Doe (2024). Details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP123477.
In 2025, 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 Clayton County Police Department 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 skeletal remains, using Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive SNP profile for the man. This SNP profile powered a forensic search led by Othram’s in-house forensic genetic genealogy team, resulting in new investigative leads about the man’s identity.
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 Gerald Fletcher born on February 12, 1962.
Gerald Fletcher, a 60-year-old resident of Jonesboro, Georgia was last seen on September 30, 2022. He was walking in red shorts, a pink shirt and black slides near his residence on Flint River Road in Jonesboro, GA. He was reported missing in December 2022.
Funding for the advanced DNA testing and forensic genetic genealogy used in this case was provided by NamUs, a national clearinghouse that assists the criminal justice community with the investigation and resolution of missing, unidentified, and unclaimed persons cases across the United States and its territories. NamUs is funded and administered by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and is managed through a contract with Research Triangle Institute International. We are grateful for the support of RTI, NamUs, and the NIJ.
Entomologists, Students Working on Florida-specific Database (Forensic – 7/22/26)
When investigators arrive at a crime scene, some of the most valuable witnesses aren’t people,they’re insects. At Florida A&M University’s College of Agriculture and Food Sciences, researchers are studying how insects colonize decomposing remains to help forensic investigators estimate time of death and strengthen criminal investigations across Florida.
Forensic entomology, the study of insects as they relate to criminal investigations, plays an important role in reconstructing the events surrounding a death. By identifying the types of insects present, understanding when they arrive and studying their life cycles, scientists can provide critical information that supports death investigations and helps law enforcement establish a more accurate timeline of events.
CODIS Match Leads to Arrest of Suspect in 1988 Cold Case Homicide (Forensic – 7/22/26)
Nearly 38 years after the murder of Diane Matthews, the Orlando Police Department has charged a suspect in the case.
Through advancements in forensic technology, modern DNA testing, and decades of investigative work, detectives established probable cause to charge Willie J. Carpenter with first-degree murder. Carpenter was arrested on July 9, 2026, by the U.S. Marshals Service North Carolina Regional Task Force and is currently awaiting extradition to Orlando.
Matthews was found murdered on Sept. 8, 1988, inside the answering service where she worked in downtown Orlando. The injuries to her face were so severe that she was unrecognizable; however, an employee was able to identify her by her hair.
Following the homicide, detectives conducted multiple witness interviews and collected physical evidence, including fingerprints and DNA samples, from the scene. At the time, DNA technology was not routinely used in criminal investigations. Detectives preserved the biological evidence and continued to pursue leads for years, but no suspect was identified, and the case eventually went cold.
More than two decades later, investigators received a significant lead when Carpenter’s DNA was entered into CODIS following an unrelated arrest in North Carolina for a sexual offense involving an underage female. Carpenter’s DNA was identified as a potential match to biological evidence collected during Matthews’ homicide investigation.
1981 Jane Doe ID’ed as Millionaire Whose Murderer was Already Convicted (Forensic – 7/22/26)
In an usual sequence of events, forensic genetic genealogy has now identified the remains of a homicide victim from 1981—even though a suspect was convicted of her murder 45 years ago.
The woman has been identified as 80-year-old Thelma Gaston of Los Angeles County, California. Lawrence Remsen, the man convicted of her murder, was described as her “sometimes companion.” Police ultimately discovered the then-39-year-old Remsen was after Gaston’s reported $20 million fortune (about $77 million today).
Killer Identified in Decades-Old Cold Case Murder in Springfield (NBC Boston – 7/23/26)
The killer in a decades-old murder case out of Springfield, Massachusetts, has been identified, the Hampden District Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday.
Joseph James Ceravolo Jr. has been identified as the person responsible for the 1995 murder of Celestina Perez.
Ceravolo died in 2013 of natural causes.
“Although we may never know every detail of what happened that night or what motivated this brutal act, the evidence establishes that Joseph James Ceravolo Jr. assaulted and killed Celestina Perez in the early morning hours of June 2, 1995,” Hampden District Attorney Anthony D. Gulluni said. “If Ceravolo were alive today, he would be charged with the murder of Ms. Celestina Perez.”
The district attorney’s office said they were able to determine that Ceravolo was Perez’s killer through extensive investigative work that involved he use of forensic testing.
Perez was 24 years old and the mother of four young children when she was killed. Her body was discovered in a ravine by two men walking through Gurdon Bill Park in Springfield on the afternoon of June 2, 1995.
Three Cold Cases Solved Through DNA Technology (Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office – 7/23/26)
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Unit, in partnership with the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner’s Office and forensic genetic genealogy experts, has identified three previously unidentified decedents in separate cold cases dating back to 2005, 2011, and 2012. These identifications were made possible through advances in DNA technology, forensic genetic genealogy, and the continued dedication of investigators committed to providing answers to families.
Idaho State Police Forensic Services Ranks Among World’s Most Efficient Crime Laboratory Systems (Idaho State Police – 7/23/26)
Idaho State Police Forensic Services (ISPFS) has once again been recognized as one of the world’s most efficient crime laboratory systems, underscoring its longstanding commitment to scientific excellence, operational performance, and public service.
ISPFS received the prestigious Foresight Maximus recognition through Project FORESIGHT, an international benchmarking initiative that evaluates efficiency, quality, productivity, and performance across forensic science laboratories worldwide.
This year, ISPFS ranked fourth globally among participating forensic laboratory systems. More than 220 laboratories submitted data during the previous reporting cycle, placing ISPFS among the world’s leading forensic science organizations.
Brazil Uses Forensic Science to Trace Gold’s Origin and Tackle Illegal Mining in the Amazon (ABC News – 7/24/26)
Brazil is using forensic science to tackle illegal gold mining in the Amazon, a top threat to the rainforest, Indigenous groups and other communities there that has accelerated deforestation and driven mercury contamination to dangerous levels.
The work takes place at the National Institute of Criminalistics in Brasilia, the country’s capital, where federal police have set up a “gold lab” that collects and analyses samples from across the country.
The objective is to determine if a newly acquired sample — gold seized in a police raid, for example — comes from a protected area, meaning it has been illegally mined. It’s called “gold fingerprinting” — tracing the origin of gold samples with high precision.
At the lab, sparkling gold flakes are kept in tiny, coin-shaped vessels, but the most valuable thing about them is the data they hold. Each speck is unique because while it forms in nature, inside a rock or a riverbed, the gold deposits absorb particles from the area, such as traces of silver and copper.