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!
Forensic Evidence Links Man to Fourth Murder in 1980s Cold Cases (WAVY10 – 11/13/2025)
It’s been 37 years of heartbreak and unanswered questions for the family of Laurie Ann Powell, who was 18 when she went missing, and less than a month later, found floating in the James River near Craney Island.
Some of those questions were answered Friday by Virginia State Police during a news conference, in which they announced that a fourth homicide, Powell’s, is connected to a former Northern Neck resident who died in 2017.
“We are here to announce that a suspect has been identified in the 1988 cold case of Gloucester County resident Laurie Ann Powell,” aid Virginia State Police spokesperson Robin Lawson. “Alan Wade Wilmer Sr. has been declared the person responsible for Powell’s homicide.”
Forensic evidence linked Wilmer Sr. to the 1988 death of Powell, then 18, who went missing March 8, 1988 and less than a month later, on April 2, 1988, was found floating in the water near Craney Island. Wilmer Sr. died alone in his Lancaster County home Dec. 15, 2017 at age 63.
How a Forensic Lab at UNT Health Fort Worth Helped Identify Central Texas Flood Victims (KERANews – 11/14/2025)
July 2025 will be memorialized as a tragic moment in the state’s history. Flooding in Central Texas took the lives of 135 people, including 37 children.
But while survivors and many others following the story remained frozen in shock and despair waiting for a semblance of good news, about 27 scientists at UNT Health Fort Worth worked around the clock testing forensic samples brought by Texas Rangers.
Lab workers from the school’s Center for Human Identification spent two weeks helping state officials identify remains, primarily using kinship DNA testing. Ultimately, the lab identified 47 people, said Michael Coble, executive director for the center.
The team worked overnight to get identifications completed and answers to families within 24 hours.
“When there’s a horrific event, time is of the essence,” said Krystle Rodriguez, a senior forensic analyst for the center. “When children are affected, it just really elevates what work we do and that it needs to be done quickly.”
The kinship tests compared DNA samples collected from victims to that of family members — either a parent, sibling or a child. The lab also used dental and fingerprint comparisons to help with identification.
Medieval Hungarian Duke was Murdered in a Brutal and Coordinated Attack, Forensic Analysis Reveals (LiveScience – 11/15/2025)
Forensic analysis of a 750-year-old skeleton has revealed that a Hungarian duke was brutally murdered by at least three assailants. Béla, Duke of Macsó, was stabbed more than two dozen times by weapons including a saber and a long sword, according to a new study.
“We reconstructed the order in which the blows landed by how they overlap and how a body would react, then what parts of the body would be exposed and suffer the next blows,” study co-author Martin Trautmann, an osteoarchaeologist at the University of Helsinki, told Live Science.
The team counted 26 injuries from about the time of death — nine to the skull and 17 to other bones. Their study is published in the February 2026 issue of the journal Forensic Science International: Genetics.
Meet the South Jersey Native Whose Genealogy Work has Solved Cold Cases, Reunited Families (Burlington County Times – 11/15/2025)
Eric Schubert found his life’s passion as a young boy researching about his grandparents, who had died years earlier. He nurtured it as a teenager and has been living the dream ever since.
The Medford native and 2019 Shawnee High graduate is a genealogy wiz who’s helped to reunite families, connect those who have been adopted with their blood parents and even solve cold cases as a forensic genetic genealogist.
Schubert, 24, a graduate of Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania, currently teaches a genealogy course at his alma mater. He’s in graduate school pursuing his master’s in history at Millersville University of Pennsylvania.
Fourth Victim Tied to Colonial Parkway Murders Serial Killer (Forensic – 11/17/2025)
The serial killer responsible for at least three of the Colonial Parkway murders has now been tied to a fourth victim through DNA.
Virginia State Police have identified Alan W. Wilmer, Sr., as the person responsible for the 1988 cold case murder of 18-year-old Laurie Ann Powell. If not for Wilmer’s death, charges would have been filed against him in connection with Powell’s murder. Wilmer died in 2017 at the age of 63.
The Colonial Parkway murders are the serial murders of at least 10 people in Virginia between 1986 and 1989. The killings are associated with the Colonial Parkway, a 22-mile thoroughfare that cuts through the Colonial National Historical Park and connects Jamestown, Williamsburg and Yorktown. The road is a popular “lovers’ lane,” frequented by young adults.
In late 2023/early 2024, police tied three specific murders—two previously associated with the Colonial Parkway murders, and one not—to Wilmer through DNA analysis. Now, nearly two years later, the Virginia State Police have confirmed Powell as another victim of Wilmer and the Colonial Parkway murders.
Police Make Arrest in 2004 Homicide Following International Search for Suspect (Forensic – 11/17/2025)
Chicago Police Department (CPD) detectives have secured murder charges against a suspect who fled the country during an investigation that began more than two decades ago. This investigation led to an international search for the suspect, which involved multi-agency collaboration from Chicago to South America.
On Dec.18, 2004, 40-year-old Kent Projansky was shot and killed inside his apartment in the 1100 block of N. Dearborn in the city’s Near North neighborhood.
Officers from the 18th (Near North) District and Detectives from the Area Three Detective Division responded and immediately began processing the scene for evidence that was crucial to later identifying and apprehending the offender, including two shell casings that were found near the victim.
Within the first few days of the investigation, police responded to a report of a duffel bag that was found inside a garbage can on the city’s Northwest Side. The duffel bag contained bloody clothes and a firearm that matched the type of firearm used in Projansky’s murder. Now-retired Police Officer Christopher Lappe was monitoring the police radio when the duffel bag was recovered and, knowing about the murder, notified detectives and forensics personnel about the possible connection. The duffel bag was processed by the Illinois State Police (ISP) Crime Lab and was determined to be linked to the ballistic evidence recovered from the scene of Projansky’s murder.
University, Police Partner to Advance Cold Case Investigations (Forensic – 11/17/2025)
The University of Central Oklahoma’s W. Roger Webb Forensic Science Institute (FSI) and the Midwest City Police Department (MWCPD) have partnered to expand the Cold Case Task Force Collaboration (CCTFC), enhancing forensic support for Oklahoma law enforcement agencies in solving unsolved cold cases.
Through this collaboration, UCO faculty and students assigned to the FSI’s Cold Case Investigations course will review actual cold cases provided by MWCPD. Serving in an advisory capacity, the teams will analyze case materials and make recommendations for evidence suitable for further forensic testing.
Marine Biologist Develops Rapid DNA Tool to Combat Illegal Shark and Ray Fin Trade (FIU News – 11/17/2025)
Every year, thousands of shark and ray fins are smuggled across international borders, hidden in plain sight in shipping containers or mislabeled among other cargo. For authorities tasked with stopping illegal wildlife trade, determining what’s inside those shipments has long been nearly impossible — until now.
A breakthrough DNA-recognition tool developed by FIU marine biologist Diego Cardeñosa could change that, giving law enforcement the power to identify protected species on the spot and catch traffickers in the act. Cardeñosa conducts his research as part of FIU’s Global Forensic and Justic Center and the Institute of Environment. Designed for field use rather than a lab, his portable and cost-effective device gives officers a critical advantage in fighting wildlife crime — one of the most lucrative forms of illegal activity in the world, worth an estimated $20 billion a year. Analyzing a tiny tissue sample, Cardeñosa tested 55 shark and ray species, including 38 protected under CITES, the international treaty that regulates trade to protect species from extinction.
For someone who has dedicated his life and career to protecting these endangered animals, the new device is another front in that battle. It builds on a previous “DNA toolkit” Cardeñosa’s team developed in 2018, which could identify nine of the 12 species protected under CITES at the time. Today, the list has grown to 149 species, accounting for 68% of the global fin trade. Now, the device can even flag unknown species not in the database, giving authorities a way to catch unexpected or illegal shipments before it’s too late.
Loyola Forensic Science Students help Howard County Police Identify Victim in County’s Oldest Cold Case (Loyola News – 11/18/2025)
Loyola forensic science students played a pivotal role in helping to identify a woman whose identity has been a mystery since her death in 1971.
As interns for the Howard County Police Department, the students documented and digitized evidence, reevaluated fingerprints from more than 50 years ago, and leveraged genealogy and AI technology. As a result, police were able to identify the woman as Sadie Belle Murray, born Sept. 7, 1924, in Pennsylvania, who at the time of her death in 1971 went by Sarah Belle Sharkey.
The Jane Doe case was the county’s oldest cold case homicide.
Howard County Police announced the identification in September 2025, which not only solved the 54-year-old mystery of Sharkey’s identity, but also reunited two of her surviving adult children, who had been unaware of what had happened to their mother.
Report Highlights Types of Stress Affecting Forensic Scientists (Forensic – 11/19/2025)
New Griffith University research investigated the types of stress factors that affect police staff working in forensic services who typically examine crime scenes, analyze evidence, and often encountered distressing material.
Jacob Keech from Griffith’s School of Applied Psychology said that while police agencies have commonly focused on the impact of trauma exposure, his study aimed to see how broader organizational and occupational demands affect forensic staff wellbeing and identify the workplace resources that could help protect against stress and burnout.
Toronto Police Service Leverages Othram’s Genetic Testing Platform to Identify a 2008 John Doe (DNASolves – 11/19/2025)
In March 2008, the remains of an unidentified man were found in the area of Bloor Street East and Parliament Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Toronto Police Service responded and began collecting evidence and investigating. A coroner’s investigation determined the death was not suspicious. Despite a lengthy investigation, the man could not be identified and became known as Toronto John Doe (2008).
In 2023, the Toronto Police Service submitted forensic evidence to Othram in The Woodlands, Texas where scientists determined that advanced DNA testing could help to identify the man. Othram scientists successfully developed a DNA extract from the provided evidence and then used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive DNA profile for the man. 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.
The man’s biogeographical ancestry coupled with initial genealogy findings indicated that the man was from Europe, which resulted in a bulletin being circulated among online groups from a specific region in Europe. Shortly thereafter, two tips were provided: one from Ontario and one from oversea. These tips that the unknown man could be a man named Alcides.
Using this new information, a follow-up investigation was conducted leading investigators to potential relatives of the man living overseas. Reference DNA samples were collected from a relative and compared to the DNA profile of the unidentified man. This investigation led to the positive identification of the man, who is now confirmed to be Alcides. Alcides was from Portugal and in his 50’s when he died, according to media reports.
His family was notified of Alcides’s identification and also provided with the details of his burial location. Alcides was never reported missing, but those who loved him always wondered what happened to him as they had not heard from him in years, according to the Toronto Police Service.
This investigation was made possible through a grant provided by the Ontario Solicitor General and the collaborative efforts of the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service, the Toronto Police Service, Othram, the National Centre for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains and the Centre of Forensic Sciences.
Decades of Mystery Ends as 1982 Jane Doe is Identified Through DNA (The Vidette – 11/19/2025)
An unidentified woman’s remains were found along U.S. Route 136 in McLean County in 1982. The individual, previously referred to as “McLean County Jane Doe,” was recently identified through investigative genetic genealogy to be 39-year-old Linda Cecilia Haddad.
On Feb. 2, 1982, the woman’s body was found hanging from a telephone pole between Leroy and Farmer City, Ill. After further investigation, it was determined that she had died of suicide.
For the next 42 years, the McLean County Coroner’s Office chased every lead, but they were unable to confirm her identity.
While many individuals came forward to report the woman, nobody was able to provide any identifying information about her.
Moxxy Forensic Investigations Investigative Genetic Genealogist Bryan Worters explained that there were numerous pieces of evidence filed by the McLean County Coroner’s Office and the agency that was in charge of the case in 1982.
Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office Teams with Othram to Identify the Suspect in the 2001 Murder of Herman Wilder (DNASolves – 11/19/2025)
In May 2001, 56-year-old Herman Wilder was beaten with a wooden stake and killed outside his apartment in Dahlonega, a small city in Lumpkin County, Georgia, about 70 miles north of Atlanta. The Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office responded and began collecting evidence and investigating the homicide. It was determined that the blood from an unknown individual was on the wooden picket and on a hat belonging to the suspect that were located at the scene. Both items were tested for DNA and the unknown profiles from the wooden picket and the hat matched. An STR profile was uploaded to CODIS but there was not a match to a known person. Despite an exhaustive investigation, the suspect could not be identified and the case went cold.
In 2023, the Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office submitted forensic evidence to Othram in The Woodlands, Texas where scientists determined that advanced DNA testing could help to identify the suspect. Othram scientists successfully developed a DNA extract from the provided evidence and then used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive DNA profile for the suspect. 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 suspect. Reference DNA samples were collected from a relative and compared to the DNA profile of the unidentified suspect. This investigation led to the positive identification of the suspect, who is now known to be Carroll Dean Burrell, who was 41 years old at the time of the attack. Burrell, who has since died, is not believe to have known Herman Wilder. Burrell had a history of mental health issues and was known to have exhibited delusional and violent behavior.