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!
Chemung County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI Team with Othram to Identify a 2022 John Doe (DNASolves – 5/22/2025)
On November 8, 2022, deputies with the Chemung County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of human remains discovered in a wooded area off Lower Maple Avenue in the Town of Elmira. Investigators secured and processed the scene and subsequently transferred the remains for examination. The NamUs case ID for this investigation was UP102884.
Despite initial investigative efforts and the presence of skeletal remains, authorities were unable to determine the identity of the decedent using conventional forensic methods. In May 2024, the Chemung County Sheriff’s Office partnered with Othram, an accredited forensic laboratory specializing in human identification, based in The Woodlands, Texas. Othram used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to develop a comprehensive DNA profile suitable for genealogical comparison.
Once the DNA profile was built, it was provided to the FBI’s forensic genetic genealogy team, which performed a genealogical search to identify potential relatives. Using this information, investigators developed new leads that ultimately led to the positive identification of the decedent as Randy S. Seck. Seck was born in 1992 and is estimated to have been 30 when he went missing.
The Chemung County Sheriff’s Office has not released additional information regarding the circumstances of Seck’s death, and the investigation remains ongoing. Members of the public with relevant information are encouraged to contact the Sheriff’s Office to assist with the case.
Jackson County Medical Examiner’s Office Teams with Othram to Identify a 1983 Jane Doe (DNASolves – 5/22/2025)
In August 1983, the skeletal remains of an unidentified person were found on a sand bar along the south bank of the Missouri River in Jackson County, Missouri by a fisherman. The remains were partially buried in sand and caught on a pile of logs. The body was found with a red shirt and checked pants but no identification or valuables were found and the remains were transported to the Jackson County Medical Examiners Office. Investigators determined it was a woman and the amount of decomposition indicated she had been dead approximately a year. Despite an exhaustive effort by investigators, the woman could not be identified, and she became known as Jackson County Jane Doe.
In 2024, the Jackson County Medical Examiner’s Office teamed with Othram to use advanced DNA technology to help identify the woman. Evidence was submitted to Othram’s laboratory in The Woodlands, Texas. Othram scientists successfully developed a DNA extract from the forensic evidence and used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive DNA profile for the unknown woman. 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 woman. During the course of the investigation a potential relative was identified. The comprehensive profile for the Jane Doe was then compared to the potential relative using KinSNP® Rapid Relationship Testing. The KinSNP® analysis confirmed the relationship and helped investigators confirm the identity of the woman as Thelma (Horlock) Hill, who was born in Toronto, Canada on February 18, 1927. She was married to WIlliam Hill and had three children.
Skeletal Remains Found on New Jersey Beaches Decades Ago Identified as Captain of Doomed 19th-Century Ship (CBS News – 5/23/2025)
Skeletal remains found on New Jersey beaches decades ago have been identified as those of a 19th-century schooner captain, thanks to the investigative efforts of college students.
The ship, the Oriental, sank in 1844. The schooner was transporting 60 tons of marble from Connecticut to Philadelphia to be used in the construction of Girard College, which still operates today. The ship likely sprung a leak, according to a news release announcing the identification of the remains, and sank off the coast of Brigantine Shoal. All five crew members aboard the ship died.
The skeletal remains, including a skull, were found on a number of South Jersey beaches between 1995 and 2013. The set of remains became known as “Scattered Man John Doe.” Police efforts to identify the bones failed.
In 2023, the New Jersey State Police partnered with Ramapo College’s Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center. A sample from the bones was uploaded to genetic genealogy company Intermountain Forensics, which submitted it to DNA matching sites in February 2024. Meanwhile, students at Ramapo used the profile for research.
They found ancestry matches dating back to the 1600s, including genetic relatives from Connecticut. For the next year, students continued to find ties to Connecticut, and eventually they started looking at shipwrecks off the coast of New Jersey. They came upon two articles about the sinking of the Oriental. One article named the crew members aboard at the time of the sinking and another detailed the wreck itself.
Cold Case Sleuths Use DNA and Geneology to ID 1981 San Jose Murder Victim (San Jose Inside – 5/27/2025)
Using genealogy and DNA evidence, 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, the DA’s office announced today.. She was 54 years-old at the time of her murder, according to prosecutors.
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.
Exhuming the Past: Ex-Colombian Soldiers Help Recover Victims of Their Own Crimes (NPR – 5/27/2025)
As a government task force digs up mass graves in the search for civilians illegally executed during Colombia’s guerrilla conflict, they are getting some hands-on help from the perpetrators of these war crimes.
In a first for Colombia three former army soldiers, wearing white protective suits and armed with trowels and buckets, spent 10 days alongside forensic experts excavating dirt, removing bones and bits of clothing, and bagging up the remains of people killed during the war.
Ancient DNA Reveals a New Group of People Who Lived Near Land Bridge Between the Americas (AP News – 5/28/2025)
Scientists have identified a new pod of ancient hunter-gatherers who lived near the land bridge between North America and South America about 6,000 years ago.
Researchers are still charting how human populations spread across the Americas thousands of years ago, arriving first in North America before veering south. Groups that split off developed their own collection of genes that scientists can use to piece together the human family tree.
Discovered through ancient DNA, the group lived in the high plateaus of present-day Bogotá, Colombia — close to where the Americas meet. Scientists aren’t sure exactly where they fall in the family tree because they’re not closely related to ancient Native Americans in North America and also not linked to ancient or present-day South Americans.
The new study was published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances.
Forensic Scientist Backs New Knife Campaign by Survivor (Forensic – 5/28/2025)
A forensic science expert from De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) has partnered with Southport (The Netherlands) attack survivor Leanne Lucas to campaign for safer knives.
Leisa Nichols-Drew has carried out some of the most comprehensive research into the safety of round-tipped knives compared to pointed blades, finding them far less likely to penetrate materials.
Now Nichols-Drew has partnered with yoga teacher Leanne, who was critically injured in July 2024 when she was stabbed during the Stockport knife attack that claimed the lives of three children.
Leanne recently launched her Let’s Be Blunt campaign, calling for the widespread adoption of rounded-tip kitchen knives. She appeared across national media, with interviews in the Times, on ITV’s Good Morning Britain and on BBC News talking about the lasting effects of her experience last year.
The campaign draws on the independent academic research carried out by Nichols-Drew, who is a Chartered Forensic Practitioner and is an Associate Professor in Forensic Biology at DMU’s Faculty of Health and Life Sciences. The research from two separate studies conducted in Leicester by Nichols-Drew demonstrates that rounded-tip kitchen knives are a clear alternative to pointed-tip knife blades, offering an opportunity for crime reduction—a knife of culinary utility without the possibility of accidental injury, and with little or no value in violent crime.
Grant Allows Lab, Police to Exhume Body of 1984 Jane Doe for DNA Testing (Forensic – 5/28/2025)
On May 16, 2025, the Walker County Sheriff’s Office (Alabama), in collaboration with medical examiners and pathologists from the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences (ADFS) and the Jasper Police Department, exhumed the remains of a Jane Doe—an unidentified female discovered alongside Alabama Highway 5 in Walker County in October 1984.
Despite exhaustive efforts at the time of discovery, her identity has remained unknown due to the limited forensic technology available in the 1980s. This case has remained a deeply felt concern for investigators for over four decades, according to Cold Case Investigator Mike Cole.
“Recent advancements in DNA technology have significantly increased our ability to identify previously unidentified remains. A grant awarded to ADFS will now fund the advanced testing required— procedures which typically range in cost from $15,000 to $20,000,” said Cole.
Jane Doe was “adopted” by the Walker County community in 1984. Her funeral was attended by many local citizens, and funeral services were graciously provided by Fred Burke. Her foot stone is inscribed with the words: “Only God Knows.”
