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!
Cybergenetics Launches TrueAllele Investigative Database (TA-ID) to Help Law Enforcement Turn “Inconclusive” DNA Into Suspect Leads and Case Connections (Police1 – 5/15/2026)
New investigative DNA database helps agencies find suspect leads and case connections from low-level, partial, mixed, and previously “not searchable” DNA results.
Infamous ‘KFC Murders’ Left 5 Abducted and Executed. It Took Over 40 Years to Identify Every Suspect (People – 5/16/2026)
Five people were abducted from a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in Kilgore, Texas, during a 1983 robbery before being found shot to death at a remote oil field
Two men were convicted in the killings in 2007 and 2008, but investigators said a third DNA profile remained unidentified for decades
Authorities said advances in DNA genealogy ultimately identified Devan Riggs as the alleged final perpetrator years after his death
Genealogy Identifies Deceased Suspect 40 Years Later (Forensic – 5/18/2026)
Forty years ago, on May 14, 1986, the Wenatchee (Washington) Police Department responded to a report of a deceased individual behind the Stanley Center. The victim was identified as Carol Traicoff and was determined to have been murdered.
At the time, detectives pursued all available investigative leads; however, no suspect was positively identified. The crime scene was thoroughly processed, evidence was collected and submitted to the FBI for forensic analysis, and the surrounding area was canvassed for witnesses and additional information. Unfortunately, the forensic testing available at that time did not produce any leads sufficient enough to solve the case.
Over the following two years, investigators pursued numerous leads, conducted multiple interviews, and administered several polygraph examinations, but were still unable to identify a suspect. Since the initial investigation, numerous officers and detectives have reviewed the case, but little to no new information was developed and no arrests were made.
In January 2023, now-retired Detective Sergeant Weatherman, began reviewing the case and identified further investigation opportunities with the help of Washington State Patrol Crime Lab Forensic Scientist B. Wright.
Evidence, originally collected in 1986, was submitted for further examination with improved modern testing; these tests located DNA of an unknown male. Weatherman worked with the Department of Justice and the Washington State Attorney General’s Office to locate funding for further forensic genetic genealogy testing.
In July 2024, the DNA was submitted to Othram through the WSP Crime Lab for further testing. In December 2024, genealogy results were provided that identified possible family lineage and showed a main geographical genealogy within the continental United States and Canada.
The DNA results were submitted to Canada for comparison in their equivalent system of CODIS. On February 24, 2025, the WSP Crime Lab reported that Henry B. Leland of Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada was identified as the suspect. Leland passed away in December 2007.
Hewitt conducted further investigation and identified Leland’s sister, the only known living biological relative. She was contacted in Gold Bar, Washington, and assisted with the investigation. Leland’s identity was further confirmed through comparison of her DNA.
Based on the investigation, it is believed that on or around May 14, 1986, Leland killed Traicoff. There is no current evidence to suggest another suspect and it is believed that Leland and Traicoff were alone at the time. This investigation is now considered officially closed.
DNA Connects 1.3 M Living Relatives to 17th-century Maryland Settlers (Forensic – 5/18/26)
As the United States prepares to mark its 250th anniversary, researchers from 23andMe Research Institute, Harvard University, and the Smithsonian Institution have teamed up to study one of the country’s founding settlements: St. Mary’s City, Maryland.
Established in 1634, St. Mary’s City was the first English settlement in the colony of Maryland. Despite existing written records and the ability of many present-day Americans to trace their ancestry to the historic city, many gaps remain in our knowledge of this early founder population.
Published in Current Biology, the study focuses on the genetic ancestry of 49 colonists who were buried in St. Mary’s City’s Chapel Field cemetery between 1634–1730.
Project 31 Update: DNA, Imaging Name 2021 John Doe (Forensic – 5/18/26)
On Sept. 16, 2021, the Toronto Police Service was called to the area near 30 Carl Hall Road. A construction crew installing a fence had found a human skull in thick brush near the new fence line. Police, under the supervision of the Office of the Chief Coroner, cut back the brush to reveal the skeletal remains of a person.
The death investigation by the Office of the Chief Coroner/Ontario Forensic Pathology Service and Toronto Police Service determined that the death was not suspicious. The examination indicated that the unknown man had likely been deceased for several years prior to discovery.
Attempts to identify him through conventional investigative techniques proved unsuccessful.
In 2022, this case was selected for investigation using investigative genetic genealogy (IGG). A DNA profile of the unidentified man was obtained and uploaded to public-facing databases on Dec. 21, 2022.
Students Identify Jane Doe Found Deceased at Bus Stop (Forensic – 5/20/26)
A middle aged woman woman passed away on or about Feb. 8, 2023 at a bus stop located at 711 West Grande Avenue in Phoenix, Arizona. Her death was investigated by the Phoenix Police Department and the Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner but as she was carrying no identification and her fingerprints did not match to any known person, she remained unidentified.
The case was referred to the Ramapo College Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center in 2024 and in September of that year, a blood sample for Jane Doe was sent to Genologue in Tucker, Georgia for DNA extraction and whole genome sequencing. Sequencing data was later sent to Parabon Nanolabs for bioinformatics and a genotype profile was successfully developed.
This case was initially worked by students in the Fall 2024 Investigative Genetic Genealogy Certificate Program. A small number of volunteers continued work on the case after the program concluded, and in July of 2025 a candidate—Jennifer Ann Koons of Phoenix, Arizona—was identified.
Detective Scott Fey of the Phoenix Police Department collected a reference sample for a known family member of Koons, which confirmed her identity in February of 2026.