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!
Investigators, Forensic Technology Help Identify Woman in 1968 Cold Case Murder in Will County, Illinois (CBS News – 7/25/2025)
The Will County Coroner’s Office released a major development in a half-century-old cold case.
On Thursday, the office released the name of the woman who was murdered in the county in 1968.
During that time, the headline read, ‘Woman found dead.’ Detectives in 1968 didn’t know much more than that.
“It states in the report they did go back to look for any evidence, and they didn’t find anything,” cold case investigator Bill Sheehan said. “We could tell you that there was blunt force trauma, so she died that way.”
Tucson Murder Suspect Identified through Genetic Genealogy, Arrested (Tucson.com – 7/26/2025)
The suspected killer of a 32-year-old woman whose body was found in a Tucson wash has been identified more than a year later through genetic genealogy, Tucson police announced Saturday.
The hunt for Casandra Poole’s killer began on March 13, 2024, after her body was discovered near a wash at East Stella Road and South Wilmot Road, where police were sent to conduct a wellness check. She had been stabbed.
Although a DNA profile was captured following the discovery of Poole’s body, no hits were found in local, state, national and international DNA index systems, police said. Former partners, friends, family members and acquaintances of Poole were also compared to the known sample and cleared.
Investigators Identify Body Found in 1994, Exhumed Last Fall (Forensic – 7/28/2025)
Sheriff Dave Marshak, along with law enforcement, medical and genealogical partners, is pleased to announce a positive identification in a decades-old John Doe case.
A previously unidentified body exhumed last fall from an unmarked grave in a North St. Louis County cemetery was identified as Benny Leo Olson from Illinois.
Olson’s body was found in the Mississippi River south of Festus in September 1994 and buried in 1995. Numerous unsuccessful efforts were made through the years to identify him, but recent advancements in DNA technology ultimately proved successful.
Sheriff’s Office Detective Lee Morris and Analyst Heather Missey partnered with Division Director Kathleen Diebold Hargrave of the Regional Medical Examiner’s Office, Forensic Genetic Genealogist Alyssa Feller, Forensic Anthropologist Dr. Lindsay Trammell of the St. Louis County Office of the Medical Examiner, and Captain Jerry Endicott, Jail Administrator of the Madison County Sheriff’s Office.
The team’s medical and genetics experts worked to extract and sequence Olson’s DNA. The law enforcement team members then scoured databases and records to match the profile to a person.
In the end, the team is proud of what they accomplished.
Tempe Police Department Rolls Out ‘Overhauled’ Forensic Services Unit (Forensic – 7/28/2025)
After a two-year overhaul led by Police Chief Ken McCoy, the Tempe Police Department is proud to announce the official launch of its new and improved Forensic Services Unit, now staffed by four fully-trained and highly-educated Crime Scene Specialists (CSSs).
The team began responding to scenes on Monday, June 16, 2025, bringing a new level of professionalism, expertise, and forensic capability to the department and the community it serves.
When McCoy took the helm of the department in 2023, the Forensic Services Unit was in dire need of reform. Among the issues: no formal policies and procedures, expired or inadequate equipment, and a lack of advanced training requirements. Recognizing the critical role forensic services play in modern policing, McCoy made the bold decision to pause operations and rebuild the unit from the ground up.
Alameda County Sheriff-Coroner & California DOJ Team with Othram to Identify a 2008 John Doe (DNASolves – 7/28/2025)
In September 2008, the skeletal remains of an unidentified individual were found floating at the Alameda Marina in Alameda County, California, which is in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. It was determined that the remains were that of an adult male. The remains were found with a white or gray sock and and size 8.5 Vision brand skateboard shoe. Despite extensive investigative efforts, the person’s identity remained unknown and the case went cold.
In 2024, the Alameda County Sheriff-Coroner and California Department of Justice partnered with Othram to employ advanced forensic DNA analysis in hopes that the John Doe could be identified. Forensic evidence was submitted to Othram’s laboratory in The Woodlands, Texas where scientists used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive DNA profile suitable for genealogical research. Othram’s in-house forensic genetic genealogy team then used the profile in a genetic genealogy investigation to develop new leads in the case.
These leads allowed investigators to conduct follow-up inquiries that guided them to potential relatives of the John Doe. KinSNP® Rapid Relationship Testing was then used to compare the unknown man’s comprehensive DNA profile to that of a potential relative. The KinSNP® analysis helped to confirm a genetic relationship, leading to the identification of the man as Esteban Pablo, a 20-year-old man who was last seen in Alameda County in September 2007, one year prior to his remains being found.
Funding for the advanced DNA testing and forensic genetic genealogy used in this case was provided by NamUs, a national program 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 (RTI). Othram is grateful for the support of RTI, NamUs, and the NIJ.
Yavapai County Office of the Medical Examiner Teams With Othram to Identify a 2015 John Doe (DNASolves – 7/28/2025)
In May 2015, the remains of an unknown individual were found under a tree next to the Verde River in Camp Verde, a small town south of Sedona in Yavapai County, Arizona. Authorities, including the Yavapai County Office of the Medical Examiner and the Yavapai-Apache Police Department, responded to the scene where they found a man estimated to be between 40 and 75 years old. He was about 5’10” and was wearing clothes including jeans with a 36 inch waist and an alligator-print belt. He was also wearing size 13 Merrell brand hiking boots.
Despite extensive investigative efforts, including publicizing a sketch of what the man may have looked like when he was alive, this individual remained unidentified for almost a decade and he became known as Yavapai County John Doe. The man’s case was entered into NamUs as UP52930.
In 2023, the Yavapai County Medical Examiner once again teamed with Othram to leverage advanced DNA testing to assist in the identification of the unknown man. Forensic evidence was submitted to Othram’s laboratory in The Woodlands, Texas where scientists successfully developed a DNA extract from skeletal remains and used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to develop a comprehensive DNA profile. Othram’s in-house forensic genetic genealogy team then used the profile in a genealogical search to generate new investigative leads in the case, including the identification of potential relatives of the unidentified man.
During this investigation, John Doe’s potential brother was identified. Unfortuantely, the man’s potential brother was killed in a hit and run accident in South Carolina in April 2020. Following the hit and run accident, the Oconee Coroner’s Office in Seneca, South Carolina had preserved a dried blood sample from the deceased man’s to maintain a record of his identity. The Coroner’s office provided a portion of that card to Othram so that KinSNP® Rapid Relationship Testing could be performed.
Using the provided blood card, scientists at Othram were able to build a DNA profile that was compared to the John Doe’s DNA profile using Othram’s KinSNP® Rapid Relationship Testing. This comparison confirmed a biological relationship and the unidentified man in Arizona is now identified as Michael Wayne Mest, who was born on August 9, 1964. Mest was born and raised in Kentucky and was known to be living in Tucson, AZ in 1999. He was known to be in Camp Verde in 2010 and 2012.
DNA Doe Project identifies 1984 homicide victim as missing 14-year-old girl Remains found in a dumpster in Phoenix identified as Renee Nilsson (DNA Doe Project – 7/30/2025)
More than 40 years after her remains were found in a dumpster in Phoenix, the DNA Doe Project has identified Del Rey Jane Doe as Renee Isabel Nilsson. Nilsson, who was only 14 years old at the time of her murder, was reported missing two weeks before her body was found. Her family reported that she left her house to go swimming and never returned.
On June 10, 1984, the partial remains of an adolescent girl were found in a dumpster in an industrial area of Phoenix, Arizona. She was believed to be Caucasian and approximately 5’4” tall with brown hair. Though she was initially thought to be older, it was later estimated that she was likely 16-18 years old. It was quickly established that she was a victim of homicide, but investigators were not able to uncover her identity at the time.
In 2023, the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office brought this case to the DNA Doe Project, whose expert investigative genetic genealogists work pro bono to identify Jane and John Does. The lab work for this case was fully funded thanks to generous support from a family foundation, and by May 2024, a DNA profile had been developed for the unidentified girl.
Unusually, the Jane Doe had some relatively close DNA matches, while it was also clear that she had ancestors from both Sweden and Canada. The team got to work and quickly identified two families who the unidentified girl was related to. They then found a marriage record which showed that a man from one one of those families had married a woman from the other family in Los Angeles, California in 1968.
But this couple had only had one daughter, and it appeared that she had married in 1987 – three years after Del Rey Jane Doe was found. However, the team continued looking into her and eventually realised that there was more to the story. She had not gotten married in 1987; someone else had done so using her identity. In fact, the girl in question – Renee Isabel Nilsson – had been missing since May 1984.
“When her remains were found in 1984, Del Rey Jane Doe was believed to be substantially older than 14,” said team leader Trish Bird. “But science has now caught up, with modern forensic anthropology and investigative genetic genealogy finally leading us to Renee.”
Further DNA testing later confirmed that Del Rey Jane Doe was in fact Renee Isabel Nilsson. The investigation into her murder is ongoing, and the public is encouraged to contact the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office if they have any relevant information.
The DNA Doe Project is grateful to the groups and individuals who helped solve this case: the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office, who entrusted the case to the DNA Doe Project; Astrea Forensics for extraction of DNA, sample prep, and whole-genome sequencing; Kevin Lord for bioinformatics; GEDmatch Pro and FTDNA for providing their databases; our generous donors who joined our mission and contributed to this case; and the DNA Doe Project’s dedicated teams of volunteer investigative genetic genealogists who work tirelessly to bring all our Jane and John Does home.
NIST Developed an SRM to Aid the Forensic Analysis of Firearms and Toolmarks (NIST – 7/30/2025)
When a gun is fired, microscopic markings are left on the expelled bullet and cartridge case. Forensic firearm and toolmark examiners compare these markings to connect a firearm to ballistic evidence found at a crime scene. Forensic laboratories are adopting a new generation of instruments that enables measurement of the three-dimensional (3D) surface topography of these bullet and cartridge case markings. NIST developed an SRM that enables forensic laboratories to evaluate the accuracy of the instrument height measurements and establish traceability of measurement results.
A unit of SRM 2323 consists of an aluminum cylinder with three nominal steps of 10 µm, 50 µm, and 100 µm. The top of the cylindrical base is threaded to receive a nylon cap to protect the step height surfaces when not in use. A major challenge in developing SRM 2323 was the large variety of measurement instruments used in forensic labs, some having sample form factor limitations (i.e., they can only receive ballistic-related samples) and some with measurement surface limitations. To address the form factor challenge, the SRM was fabricated with dimensions similar to a shotgun shell. To improve measurability, the steps have a small level of roughness and are separated by sloped surfaces.
The critical surfaces of the SRM were machined using single-point diamond turning (SPDT), generating four adjacent pads that comprise the three certified step heights. The surfaces were etched to introduce a small degree of roughness. Calibration of the SRM 2323 step heights was completed using a commercial coherence scanning interferometry (CSI) microscope.