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!
How Discarded Chewing Gum Helped Convict a Serial Rapist of Two Cold Case Murders (CNN – 5/10/2026)
Susan Logothetti and two colleagues stood outside the yellow home in Everett, Washington, donning T-shirts and holding flyers promoting a chewing gum company.
Mitchell Gaff opened the door wearing pajama pants, welcomed the trio into his house and agreed to a taste test, sampling different sticks of gum with enthusiasm, Logothetti recalled of the January 2024 encounter.
When the time came for Gaff to try a new flavor, one colleague held out a small dish, Logothetti said.
“I remember watching him spit the first piece of gum into the ramekin and seeing the saliva, and it was very hard for me to contain my excitement,” Logothetti told CNN.
Gaff had unknowingly given three undercover detectives the DNA they needed to confirm his connection to a 1984 rape and murder, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed in March. The “gum ruse” is cited in the affidavit.
Gaff, 68, a convicted rapist, admitted April 16 to the killing of Judy Weaver and also of Susan Vesey four years earlier, court documents said. A judge on Wednesday sentenced Gaff to a minimum of 50 years and maximum of life in prison, according to an Everett police news release.
From the Vasa to Cold Cases: She Brings Traces Back to Life (Uppsala University – 5/11/2026)
From an inspiring lecture in molecular biology in the early 1990s to some of Sweden’s most high-profile criminal investigations. Marie Allen, Professor of Forensic Genetics, has devoted her career to pushing DNA technology to its limits in order to repeatedly revive what was once thought lost to history.
Genealogy ID’s Suspect in Teen’s 1986 Murder after Wrongful Conviction (Forensic – 5/11/2026)
The Montgomery County (Texas) Sheriff’s Office (MCSO), in collaboration with the Texas Rangers and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, have reached a definitive milestone in a cold case spanning nearly four decades. Authorities have identified and arrested Bobby Charles Taylor, Sr. for the 1986 murder of 16-year-old Deanna Ogg. This significant breakthrough marks the end of a long search for answers in a case that had remained unsolved since the mid-1980s.
Trafficked Pangolin DNA Reveals Hotspots of Illegal Wildlife Trade (Forensic – 5/11/26)
Small samples of DNA can reveal hotspots and trade routes in the illegal wildlife trade, according to a study published May 7th in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Sean Heighton and Philippe Gaubert of the University of Toulouse and the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, France and colleagues.
Pangolins are among the most prominent victims of illicit wildlife trafficking, accounting for nearly a third of recorded international seizures in recent years. In many places, their meat and scales are prized for food and traditional medicine. Genetic data can be valuable for tracing trafficked animals to their place of origin, but this method is hindered by difficulties in obtaining genetic samples of pangolins. In this study, Heighton and colleagues overcame this barrier by employing a gene-capture method to recover usable genomic information from degraded pangolin samples.
The team sequenced DNA from more than 700 samples of Sunda, Chinese, and white-bellied pangolins from museum collections, field-sites, bushmeat markets, and international trade seizures. Using the genetic data from samples of known geographic origin (museum and field specimens), the authors built a genomic “reference map” which helped them to trace each trafficked pangolin back to its likely origin. These data revealed several hotspots of illegal pangolin collection, including southwest Cameroon, Myanmar, and several localities across Africa. The genetic record also tracks major trade routes across the borders of China and between Indonesian islands. Crucially, the results also pinpoint wild populations that are exploited for both domestic and international trade, revealing the interconnectedness of these markets.
DNA Reveals Identities of 4 Sailors from Doomed 1845 Franklin Expedition (CNN – 5/12/26)
Researchers have identified the remains of four members of a doomed 19th century expedition in the Arctic by matching DNA to the sailors’ living descendants — and solved a case of mistaken identity along the way.
The four sailors were part of Sir John Franklin’s 1845 expedition to find the Northwest Passage, a sea route north of the Canadian mainland and Arctic Circle that connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans via the Arctic Ocean. British naval officials, merchants and polar explorers prized unlocking the passage because it would provide a shorter trade route between Europe and Asia.
The expedition’s two ships, the HMS Erebus and the HMS Terror, were carrying 129 crew members when the vessels became trapped in Arctic ice for nearly two years before crews deserted them in April 1848. The remaining 105 men dragged sledges of supplies overland along the west coast of King William Island, in what’s now the territory of Nunavut in Canada, but none survived.
DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office Teams with Othram to Identify a 1996 John Doe (DNASolves – 5/13/26)
On June 22, 1996, the remains of an unidentified individual were discovered in Decatur, Georgia shortly after a shooting on Ansley Street. The DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office investigated the case. Investigators determined the individual was an adult male who had died from a gunshot wound after entering a residence. The man was found wearing a dark colored pullover shirt with the logo “Conversion Experience” and a pair of dark blue/black sweatpants. He was also wearing a pair of purple, black, and gold colored Nike athletic shoes. No identification was found and there was no way to identify the man at the time.
Despite investigative efforts, the man could not be identified. Details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP99143.
In September 2025, the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office submitted forensic evidence to Othram where scientists successfully built a comprehensive DNA profile for the man using Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing®. Othram’s in-house forensic genetic genealogy team used the profile in a genetic genealogy search to develop new investigative leads that were returned to law enforcement.
Using this new information, a follow-up investigation was conducted leading investigators to potential relatives of the person. Reference DNA samples were collected from potential relatives and compared to the DNA profile of the unknown person using KinSNP® Rapid Relationship Testing. This investigation led to the positive identification of the person, who is now known to be Jerome Scott, born November 11, 1954.