Oct 14 2022

This Week in Forensic Science

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!

Cold Case Team Uses Genealogy to ID 2004 Rape Suspect (Forensic – 10/07/2022)

- The Denver Police Department (DPD) and Denver District Attorney’s Office announce the arrest of a suspect in a Denver sexual assault cold case from 2004. Jason Groshart was taken into custody earlier this week in Missouri thanks to the continued determination of investigators, DNA evidence, and investigative genetic genealogy DNA research.

A Dismembered Body That Was Found in St. Tammany 6 Years Ago Has Finally Been Identified (4WWL – 10/7/2022)

The St. Tammany Parish Coroner’s Office and the DNA Doe Project announced that they have positively identified the victim of a 2016 homicide investigation.
Officials identified the man as Kleanthis Konstantinidis.

In July of 2016, St. Tammany Sheriff’s Office discovered the dead body on Highway 90 near the Rigolets. The body was badly decomposed and the person appeared to have been deceased for several days. The victim’s arms were dismembered, and one leg above the knee was also dismembered, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
The coroner determined that the body was that of a male, approximately 5-feet-10, with a scar on his chest from prior open heart surgery.
In April 2019, the Biloxi Police Department found a human foot in a bucket during an investigation in Mississippi that had the same DNA as the body found in St. Tammany Parish in 2016.

A Device to Speedup the DNA Sample Turnaround Time (Forensic Yard – 10/08/2022)

Dr. Jamie Fredericks is the Director of Forensics Science at EKU. He said he is about three to six months away from an invention that could decrease the DNA sample turnaround. And if successful it could save precious time helping police catch their suspect.
The actual device hasn’t been fully developed, but Dr. Fredericks says the device they are testing is like a cotton swab, focused on extracting biological fluids. He said this faster process will help police agencies across the country decrease a massive backlog of untested sexual assault kits.

World War II Soldier’s Remains Return to Utah After Identification Through DNA Analysis (KCBY11 – 10/09/2022)

The family of 23-year-old Sgt. Elvin Phillips gathered at Salt Lake City International Airport on Friday to receive the casket with his remains after he died in a plane crash during World War II.
Phillips was serving as a B-24 gunner during Operation Tidal Wave when his plane crashed in Romania after it was struck by enemy anti-aircraft shells. His remains were buried in a Romanian cemetery for 74 years before being identified this year through DNA analysis.

Drenthe Rape Case has Investigators Looking for DNA Difference Between Identical Twins (NL Times – 10/10/2022)

- A rape case in Drenthe, in which the suspect blames his identical twin brother, had the Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI) trying to find a way to distinguish the DNA of identical twins. The NFI will present its findings in the court in Assen on Monday, RTV Drenthe reports.
  In July 2019, a man raped a 76-year-old woman in the De Strubben-Kniphorstbosch nature reserve. The police arrested 28-year-old Rick K. from Zuidlaren based on DNA found on the woman’s clothing. But K. insists that his twin brother is the culprit. In August 2020, the court postponed the case, asking for DNA research to try and identify the culprit.
  The NFI’s research took two years. The researchers looked for minute differences in the building blocks of the twins’ DNA. “Identical twins arise from one fertilized egg,” Arnoud Kal, DNA expert at the NFI, explained to the broadcaster. The egg divides into two different embryos, which then continue with their own cell division and copy the same DNA. “‘Reading errors’ can be made in the womb, and small differences can therefore arise.”

Jean Milne: Forensic Experts Review 1912 Murder of Heiress (BBC News – 10/11/2022)

- The unsolved murder of a wealthy heiress in Broughty Ferry in 1912 has been re-examined by forensic experts. Jean Milne was beaten with a poker and stabbed with a carving fork but no-one was ever convicted of the crime. Her body was found at the bottom of the stairs of her own home, covered in a blanket and in a room covered in blood.
  
  A new review of case files found fingerprints and the pattern of blood spatter was recorded – but it was not enough to identify a suspect. The case was examined by experts at the University of Dundee’s Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science and their results shared on BBC Scotland’s David Wilson’s Crime Files: Cold Cases.

DNA Cleared Adnan Syed, Prosecutor Says: ‘Serial’ Subject Served More than 20 Years in Prison (Forbes – 10/11/2022)

- Baltimore prosecutors on Tuesday dropped the charges against Adnan Syed, the subject of the popular podcast “Serial,” and apologized for the 23 years he spent in prison for a wrongful murder conviction, after another round of DNA tests cleared Syed from involvement in a 1999 killing. Mosby says prosecutors conducted new DNA tests for items from the crime scene that had never been tested before because the technology wasn’t available at the time of Syed’s trial, and found a “DNA mixture of multiple contributors” on Lee’s shoes, but not Syed’s DNA.

DNA is Often Used in Solving Crimes. But How Does DNA Profiling Actually Work? (The Conversation – 10/11/2022)

- DNA profiling is frequently in the news. Public interest is sparked when DNA is used to identify a suspect or human remains, or resolves a cold case that seems all but forgotten.
  Very occasionally, it is in the media when the process doesn’t work as it should.
  So what is DNA profiling and how does it work – and why does it sometimes not work?

Astrea Forensics, Intermountain Forensics Partner to Form IGG Satellite Lab (Forensic – 10/12/2022)

- Intermountain Forensics has announced the formation of a dedicated satellite lab for forensic investigative genetic genealogy laboratory processing with partner Astrea Forensics.
  This strategic partnership brings with it the highest level of expertise in full genome recovery from the most difficult and degraded DNA samples, including use of the Single Reaction Single-Stranded Library (SRSLY) technology. This game changing and proprietary technology has been engineered to produce the complex DNA libraries needed for forensic genetic genealogy in under three hours from far less than one nanogram of DNA input.

Idaho State Police Forensic Services and Twin Falls County Sheriff’s and Coroner’s Office Team with Othram to Identify a 2014 Jane Doe (DNASolves – 10/12/2022)

- Twin Falls County Sheriff’s & Coroner’s Office, Idaho State Police Forensic Services (ISPFS), Idaho Cold Case Advanced DNA Methods Working Group (ICCADM), and Rocky Mountain Information Network (RMIN), a part of the national Regional Information Sharing System (RISS), funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), are pleased to announce they have solved a 2014 unidentified, deceased female case.
  In December 2021, The Idaho Cold Case Advanced DNA Methods Working Group (ICCADM) contacted investigators and offered their assistance. In April 2022, forensic evidence from unknown woman was sent to Othram. Othram scientists used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive DNA profile that could be used in a genetic genealogy search. Othram used forensic genetic genealogy to produce an investigative lead.
  The investigative lead was return to law enforcement and the resulting information from this work gave deputies the information they needed.

Hancock County Sheriff’s Office and the Indiana State Police Partner with Othram to Identify 1994 Jane Doe (DNA Solves – 10/12/2022)

- In October 1994, human remains belonging to an unknown woman were found in a wooden area under a bridge in Hancock County Indiana. Investigators thought that the remains were likely there for several months before discovery. The woman had appeared to be a white female with short brown hair, stood approximately 5’1” to 5’4” in height, and was between 30-50 years old at the time of death. Hancock County detectives subsequently opened an investigation into the unknown woman’s death. The unknown woman became known as Hancock County Jane Doe. For over two decades, investigators diligently pursued all leads regarding the woman’s identity.
  In August of 2021, Hancock County Sheriff’s Department Investigator Ted Munden contacted Joanna Johnson – a forensic scientist with the Indiana State Police Laboratory – and inquired about advanced forensic tools such as forensic genetic genealogy, that might help generate new leads in the case. The two agencies teamed up and the Indiana State Police Laboratory performed an initial DNA extraction on the remains.
  In March 2022, the DNA extract from the ISP Laboratory was sent to Othram’s forensic laboratory. Othram scientists used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive DNA profile for the woman. A few months later, Othram returned the DNA profile to investigators so that they could continue the investigation. The Hancock County Sheriff’s Department, working in conjunction with the Indiana State Police Laboratory used genetic genealogy to develop investigative leads pointing to the unknown woman’s identity.

Will County Coroner’s Office Teams up with Othram to Identify a 1974 John Doe (DNASolves – 10/13/2022)

- In November 1974 hunters stumbled upon the discovery of skeletal remains in the creekhead of a partially wooded area in Channahon, IL. There was a crop field in the area and a motel near I-55 and I-80. Based on the advanced stage of decomposition, investigators estimate that that the unknown man’s death could have occurred up to two years prior to his discovery.
  Over the years many tools were utilized to attempt and identify the unknown man. This includes anthropological analysis, CODIS testing, and forensic facial reconstructions. The case was also entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP5212.
  In June 2021, the Will County Coroner’s Office, as part of an ongoing collaboration with Othram, submitted skeletal remains to Othram’s lab. Othram’s scientists used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive DNA profile. Othram’s in-house genealogy team used this profile to conduct genealogical research and develop investigative leads. The costs associated with Othram’s laboratory testing and genealogical research were funded through a DNASolves crowdfund.
  Othram returned leads to the Coroner’s Office and the investigation continued. Discussions with potential family members and confirmation DNA testing eventually revealed that the unknown man was Donald M. Rozek of Harvey, Illinois.