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!
Marshall University Forensic Science Center Receives $2.5 Million to Expand DNA Testing (Marshall.edu – 10/05/2026)
The Marshall University Forensic Science Center (MUFSC) has been awarded a $2.5 million grant from the Department of Justice (DOJ) for the Forensic Genomic Institute project.
The DOJ funding will support the MUFSC’s capacity to generate SNP DNA profiles to support forensic investigative genetic genealogy (FIGG) testing in West Virginia.FIGG uses the SNP DNA data and genealogy research to try to help identify unknown individuals in unsolved forensic cases.
The grant was supported by U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia.
“The Marshall University Forensic Science Center has established itself as a leader in our state and around the world,” Capito said. “I know the impact that their work has on our criminal justice system and in support of victims of crime and law enforcement. This allocation will help support the Forensic Genomic Institute project and will allow the center to better educate the databases they are supplying.”
New Jersey State Police Leverages Othram’s Identity Inference Pipeline to Identify a 1981 John Doe (DNA Solves – 10/05/2026)
On May 22, 1981, the body of an unidentified man was recovered from the Atlantic Ocean off Atlantic City, New Jersey. The discovery was made by individuals in a recreational boat, approximately one mile offshore from Raleigh Avenue in Atlantic City. Investigators believed that the man died several weeks before his remains were recovered.
Traditional forensic DNA testing was performed, and an STR profile was CODIS. However, there was no match and these efforts did not reveal his identity. Details of the case were entered into NamUs as UP2888.
In January 2026, Othram received forensic evidence in the case, submitted by New Jersey State Police. Othram scientists developed a DNA extract from the evidence and used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to develop a comprehensive single nucleotide polymorphism profile for the man. The resulting SNP profile was transferred to law enforcement for use in a forensic genetic genealogy search.
This search provided law enforcement with new leads in the case, which pointed to the man likely being Glen Napoleon Burbage, who was born on April 12, 1921, and had been missing since March 23, 1981.
The investigation determined that Burbage was a retired U.S. Coast Guard Chief Warrant Officer from Charleston, South Carolina. He had traveled by air to Atlantic City in March 1981 and was never heard from again.
To confirm the identification, the New Jersey State Police Missing Persons Unit worked with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division to obtain a reference DNA sample from one of Mr. Burbage’s living relatives. This comparison confirmed that the unidentified man was Glen Napoleon Burbage.
‘She knew she had something really important on her hands’: Rosalind Franklin Figured Out DNA’s Helical Structure Before Watson and Crick, Study Suggests (LiveScience – 10/06/2026)
Rosalind Franklin, whose photographs of the molecular structure of DNA led to a 1962 Nobel Prize for three other scientists, knew that her famous images held the secret of the double helix, new research suggests.
An examination of archival material reveals that Franklin’s Photograph 51, which was taken in May 1952 and later published to show the double-helix structure, was specifically taken for the purpose of publication — not, as some narratives have held, an experimental shot that Franklin believed was insignificant. The new research revealed that Photograph 51 was a new exposure of a sample Franklin had already photographed. She started Photograph 51 the same day she saw that photograph, Photograph 49.
“She took it because she wanted to get a really refined version,” said study co-author Alistair Sponsel, a historian of science at the Science History Institute in Philadelphia. Making the effort to take a better photograph of the same sample is “a sign she knew she had something really important on her hands,” Sponsel told Live Science.
Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office & District 13 Medical Examiner Team with Othram to Identify a 2008 John Doe (DNASolves – 10/06/2026)
On February 14, 2008, the body of an unidentified man was found floating in the Alafia River in Riverview, Hillsborough County, Florida. The Hillsborough County Medical Examiner’s Office investigated the case.
The man was described as a White male between 45 and 60 years old. He was approximately 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighed 141 pounds, with white or gray hair and brown eyes. His face was recognizable when he was recovered, and all parts of his body were present. However, investigators were unable to determine his identity.
Despite continued investigative efforts, the man remained unidentified and became known as Riverview John Doe. Details of the case were entered into as NamUs UP868.
Recently, the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner’s Office, District 13, submitted forensic evidence to Othram in The Woodlands, Texas. Othram scientists used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to develop a comprehensive single nucleotide polymorphism profile for the unidentified man.
Othram’s forensic genetic genealogy team used the SNP profile in a genetic genealogy search and developed new investigative leads, which were returned to investigators.
Using this new information, investigators conducted a follow-up investigation that led them to potential relatives of the unidentified man. The investigation resulted in his positive identification as George Hayward Coy Jr., who was born on February 19, 1962.
Monroe County Sheriff’s Office & FDLE Leverage Othram’s Identity Inference Pipeline to Identify a 1999 Jane Doe (DNASolves – 10/07/26)
On September 29, 1999, the remains of an unidentified woman were discovered aboard a derelict cabin cruiser floating off Sigsby Bay, approximately 150 yards north of Rat Key near Key West, Florida.
Authorities were directed to the vessel by an anonymous caller who claimed to be the woman’s boyfriend and stated that she was suicidal. The woman’s remains were found in an advanced state of decomposition, making her unrecognizable. Investigators estimated that she was between 35 and 45 years old.
Efforts to identify the woman, including fingerprint analysis, were unsuccessful. Despite continued investigative work, the case went cold, and she remained unidentified for decades. She became known by the alias “Cinnamon.” Details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System as NamUs UP6210.
In 2026, investigators with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, working with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office and the Monroe County Medical Examiner’s Office, submitted forensic evidence to Othram in The Woodlands, Texas.
Othram scientists used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to develop a comprehensive single nucleotide polymorphism profile for the unidentified woman. FDLE’s forensic genetic genealogy team used the SNP profile in a genetic genealogy search and developed new investigative leads.
Using these leads, investigators conducted a follow-up investigation that resulted in the identification of the woman as Cumie Doylene McCutcheon. Her death iss believed to have resulted from a possible overdose involving amphetamines and alcohol, and suicide was considered a possible manner of death.
Pennsylvania’s First Statewide Sexual Assault Kit Tracking System (Forensic – 10/07/26)
Last week, Governor Josh Shapiro signed Act 122 of 2024 into law, launching the Commonwealth’s effort to establish a statewide sexual assault evidence tracking system and build a more accountable process for survivors.
The Shapiro-Davis Administration is now putting that law into action, with Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) working alongside hospitals, law enforcement agencies, forensic nurses, and laboratories to pilot the system in Erie, Lancaster, and York Counties before its statewide launch in December.