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!
1983 Cold Case Murder Arrest (Linn County Iowa – 5/28/2025)
Linn County, Iowa sheriff’s deputies, assisted by deputies from the Multnomah County, Oregon Sheriff’s Office and agents from the Cedar Rapids, Iowa Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, arrested Michael S. Schappert, age 64, of Fairview, Oregon, for the December 23, 1983, cold case murder of Ronald Lee Novak.
On December 24, 1983, a friend found Novak, age 24, deceased in an unheated room in his home at 5044 Rolling Acres Rd, in rural Walker, Iowa, after what appeared to be an apparent robbery and/or burglary. He was found with his hands bound behind his back, was beaten about his head and face, and was shot once in the chest. At the time, the medical examiner ruled that Novak died from a combination of those injuries, shock, and hypothermia.
Schappert was recently identified as a suspect in this case through blood and touch/trace DNA located on both Novak’s clothing and a hammer believed to have been used in the attack, that were seized during the initial investigation in 1983. DNA Labs International was able to provide investigators with DNA testing and Parabon Nanolabs was able to provide investigators with genetic genealogy information which assisted in Schappert’s identification as a suspect in Novak’s murder.
The investigation has revealed that Schappert and others likely went to Novak’s home with the intent to rob him of money and marijuana. While it is believed that the public is not at risk, this case remains open, and we encourage anyone with any information relative to this investigation to contact the Sheriff’s Office.
A DNA Technique Is Finding Women Who Left Their Babies for Dead (New York Times – 6/03/2025)
Law enforcement investigators have been flummoxed for years by cases of newborn babies who were abandoned and apparently left to die. They are known as Baby Does: unidentified infants whose remains were discovered in wooded areas or garbage cans or roadside ditches. Such cases historically have been hard to solve.
That changed around 2019, when the police first used the enormous public DNA databases that have been created for amateur genealogists to trace their lineages as a resource to solve these crimes. Since then, law enforcement investigators have used the technique to identify nearly 40 women as the mothers of newborn infants who were found dead around the country, most of them decades ago.
Environmental DNA Floating in the Air Tracks Wildlife, Viruses — Even Drugs (UF News – 6/03/2025)
Dublin is known as a city where you can enjoy a few pints of Guinness, get a warm welcome from the locals and hear lively traditional music drifting out of pubs and into the city air.
But it’s not just music floating on the breeze. The air of Dublin also contains cannabis, poppy, even magic mushrooms — at least their DNA.
That’s according to a new study that reveals the power of environmental DNA, vacuumed up from the air, which can track everything from elusive bobcats to illicit drugs.
“The level of information that’s available in environmental DNA is such that we’re only starting to consider what the potential applications can be, from humans, to wildlife to other species that have implications for human health,” said David Duffy, Ph.D., a professor of wildlife disease genomics at the University of Florida and lead author of a new study showing the widespread utility of DNA vacuumed from the air.
Housed at UF’s Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience, Duffy’s lab developed new methods for deciphering environmental DNA, also known as eDNA, to study sea turtle genetics. They’ve expanded the tools to study every species — including humans — from DNA captured in environmental samples like water, soil and sand.
But these errant strands of DNA do not just settle into muddy soil or flow along rivers. The air itself is infused with genetic material. A simple air filter running for hours, days or weeks can pick up signs of nearly every species that grows or wanders nearby.
New Madrid County Sheriff’s Office, Southeast Missouri State University, & Missouri State Highway Patrol Team with Othram to Identify a 2022 John Doe (DNASolves – 6/03/2025)
In June 2022, the remains of an unidentified individual were found in the Mississippi River at Portageville, Missouri. Portageville is a city in New Madrid County in the southeastern border of Missouri. Deputies with the New Madrid County Sheriff’s Office responded and recovered the remains, which were transported to the medical examiner for autopsy. The remains belonged to a white male between the ages of 18 and 29, approximately 5’10” in height and were estimated to have been in the river for a minimum of two to three months. No signs of trauma were noted. A traditional STR DNA profile was developed for comparison to missing persons, but no matches were returned.
Over the next two years, New Madrid County law enforcement officials worked diligently to identify Portageville John Doe, looking into potential missing persons matches and following up on tips provided by the public. Unfortunately, none of these leads resulted in a positive identification. Details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP96458.
In June of 2024, New Madrid County Sheriff’s Office Detective Jackie Hays contacted Dr. Jennifer Bengtson, professor of anthropology at nearby Southeast Missouri State University, to consult on the case. Dr. Bengtson and her students traveled to Portageville and met with Detective Hays and Coroner George Delisle to examine the remains and select samples for further testing. They completed an updated dental inventory and analysis and then entered the data into NamUs. They also prioritized forensic samples for advanced DNA testing. Working with the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the New Madrid County Sheriff’s Office teamed with Othram to use advanced DNA technology to help identify the man. The forensic samples were sent to Othram, where scientists were able to build a comprehensive profile using Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® despite significant DNA degradation. Othram’s in-house forensic genetic genealogy team worked to develop new leads in the case, which were returned to investigators.
Following up on these leads, Detective Hays discovered that one of the potential relatives in the genealogy report had made social media posts regarding a missing relative who matched the demographic profile developed for Portageville John Doe. Investigators interviewed these relatives and collected familial reference samples for confirmation testing using Othram’s KinSNP® rapid relationship testing. This testing confirmed that Portageville John Doe is Robert J. Eaton, a 26-year-old man who was reported missing from Elizabeth, Indiana, in February of 2022. Details of his missing persons case were entered into NamUs as MP89682. According NamUs, he was last seen playing at the Caesars Casino in Elizabeth, Indiana on February 20, 2022. The report noted that Eaton did not have a vehicle, and that he typically traveled by cab service.
Months of Analysis by 9 Genealogists Identifies Man after 3 Decades (Forensic – 6/04/2025)
After more than three decades, a man found deceased off the coast of Clearwater, Florida, in 1993 has been identified.
On Nov. 29, 1993, the body of an unidentified man was discovered floating in the Gulf near the east side of the Clearwater Pass Bridge. He was declared deceased at the scene, and a subsequent investigation uncovered neatly folded clothing on the shoreline near a lifeguard tower at the south end of Clearwater Beach, believed to possibly belong to the deceased man. While an autopsy proved to be inconclusive in determining the manner and cause of death, foul play was not suspected in the man’s death.
With no identification made at the time, the man became known as “Pinellas County John Doe 1993.” Authorities determined that the body belonged to a white male between the ages of 60 to 80 years old, stood approximately 5 feet 4 inches tall, weighed 118 pounds, and had blue eyes with short gray hair.
In a renewed effort to bring answers to the case, Moxxy Forensic Investigations, in collaboration with the Clearwater Police Department, utilized investigative genetic genealogy as a means to provide investigators with a lead about the man’s identity. Upon receiving a DNA profile of the unidentified man, it was uploaded to GEDmatch Pro, a DNA database that allows members of the public to share their DNA to be utilized in law enforcement cases.
Cold Case Unit Hopes ID of 1981 Murder Victim Leads to Suspect (Forensic – 6/04/2025)
Using genealogy, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Cold Case Unit has identified a woman whose dismembered torso and religious pendants were found in a San Jose field in 1981.
The woman is Vivian Moss. She was 54 years-old at the time of her murder.
Cold Case team members and Moss’s surviving family are hoping the identification will lead them to Moss’s killer. They are asking the public to come forward with any new information about Moss and her tragic fate.
The DA’s Office featured the case in a video released in October 2023, hoping someone could identify her.
“Vivian Moss was her name. My Office knows it. I know it. Her family knows it. And now our community knows it. One day soon, I hope we will know the depraved person who took her life and left her in a field, hoping she would be forgotten. If her murderer is still alive, they will know that we don’t forget in Santa Clara County,” said District Attorney Jeff Rosen.
AI Shows Promise in Evaluating Complex Forensic Evidence (University of Reading – 6/05/2025)
An international research collaboration involving scholars from several countries has revealed that artificial intelligence (AI) systems, particularly those enhanced with specialised forensic knowledge, can substantially improve the evaluation of forensic evidence in legal contexts. This study utilized Large Language Models (LLMs) as research “participants”, repeatedly presenting them with experimental materials while their memory was reset between trials.
The study, published in the Journal of Psychology and AI, was led by researchers Francesco Pompedda (INVEST Research Flagship Centre, University of Turku, Finland) and Pekka Santtila (NYU Shanghai, China), alongside an international team.
This research replicated exactly a previous human participant study by Garrett et al. (2020) examining how mock jurors evaluate firearm examiner testimony. Using advanced LLMs as participants informs on how AI systems process complex legal information compared to human decision-making. This research arrives at a critical juncture, as courts worldwide grapple with the so-called ‘CSI effect,’ wherein jurors often overestimate the reliability of forensic evidence.
DNA Doe Project identifies Jane Doe found in Washington in 2013 Remains found in woodland identified as Jennifer Vawter (DNA Doe Project – 6/06/2025)
More than a decade after her body was discovered in Thurston County, Washington, Peter Kalama Lane Jane Doe has been identified as Jennifer Elaine Vawter. Vawter was born in 1981 in Oregon, and her last known residence was in Yelm, Washington, just a few miles from where her remains were found.
On November 9, 2013, a dog returned to its home near the Nisqually Indian Reservation with a human leg bone in its mouth. The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office then conducted a search of the area, recovering additional human remains. A forensic scientist determined that the remains belonged to a Caucasian woman who was between 30 and 60 years old when she was killed and dismembered.
Years later, this case was brought to the DNA Doe Project, whose expert volunteer investigative genetic genealogists work pro bono to identify Jane and John Does. A DNA profile was generated from the Doe’s remains and uploaded to GEDmatch and FamilyTreeDNA, but it then became clear that this would not be a straightforward case.
“This case was complicated both by very distant matches in general and by recent immigration from Poland on one side of the family tree,” said Harmony Vollmer, the team co-leader. “But in spite of these hurdles, our team persevered.”
The team on this case built out a family tree for the Doe that eventually grew to contain over 12,000 people. Finally, after months of research, they made a crucial connection. A marriage announcement from 1960 recorded a couple marrying in Indiana, and the team’s research connected the Doe’s DNA to the families of both the husband and wife.
After this breakthrough, it wasn’t long before the team discovered that this couple had a granddaughter, whose last known residence was just miles from where the Doe’s remains were found. Her name was Jennifer Elaine Vawter, and the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office later confirmed that she was indeed the woman formerly known as Peter Kalama Lane Jane Doe. Investigators are asking the public to come forward with any information they have related to her death.
This identification was only possible due to the hard work of the DNA Doe Project’s volunteers, who had a top DNA match of just 43 centimorgans to work with. Cairenn Binder, the then co-team leader, said that despite the low matches, “the dedicated and skilled genetic genealogy team for this case did not give up, and eventually identified Jennifer”.
