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!
From Argentina to NJIT: Fulbright Scholar Tackles Forensic Cases of the Unidentified (NJIT – 9/19/2025)
There are currently over 13,000 unsolved forensic cases aiming to identify unknown human remains in the U.S. alone (NamUs, 2025), but NJIT graduate researcher Maria Castagnola is helping pioneer new DNA-based forensic methods that may one day lead to breakthroughs.
Castagnola, a native of Argentina, arrived at NJIT in 2023 after earning a master’s in pharmacy and biochemistry from the University of Buenos Aires. Her academic journey took a leap forward when she was awarded a Fulbright scholarship — a distinction held by more than 60 Nobel laureates — which soon opened the door for research opportunities in the United States.
The move ultimately has brought her to pursue her Ph.D. under NJIT Assistant Professor of Chemistry Sara Zapico, whose research in the field of forensic epigenetics is exploring new ways to extract identifying information from human DNA that can assist in everything from C.S.I. cases to identifying victims of mass disasters.
“Being awarded the Fulbright allowed me to pursue research that truly matched my interests,” Castagnola said. “I was drawn to NJIT because of Dr. Zapico’s work in forensic epigenetics and how supportive she is as a mentor. It felt like the right place to take my work to the next level.”
Since, Castagnola has been advancing lab techniques to help forensic teams answer a critical question during investigations: How old was a person at the time of their death?
OSAC’s Wildlife Forensic Biology Subcommittee Develops Process Map (NIST – 9/19/2025)
The Organization of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC) for Forensic Science’s Wildlife Forensic Biology Subcommittee has developed a process map that captures the decision-making and process flow details most frequently encountered in wildlife forensic biology.
Process mapping is used to visually represent a workflow’s critical steps and decision points. Using standard symbols to describe each element in the process (e.g., inputs, outputs, decisions, and steps) allows others to understand a process and its components more easily and clearly than long-form documentation. The Wildlife Forensic Biology Process Map, which is intended to reflect current practices, provides a visual description of the steps most frequently encountered in the wildlife forensic biology process, such as the analysis and comparison of wildlife evidence, including species identification, sex determination, geographic origin, and familial relationship.
Remains of ‘Swamp Mountain Jane Doe’ identified after 49 years in Oregon (LIVE NOW FOX 4 – 9/19/2025)
Remains discovered in 1976 in Oregon’s Central Cascades have been identified as a woman who vanished in 1974.
DNA from her sister, along with a genealogy database, helped confirm the match.
The Linn County Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate the circumstances of her death.
A Woman’s Remains Were Found in Oregon in 1976. They’ve Been Identified 49 Years Later Thanks to DNA (The Columbian – 9/20/2025)
Valerie Nagle spent decades wondering what happened to her older sister who was last seen in Oregon in 1974. She searched online databases of unidentified persons cases looking for her and sent DNA to a popular ancestry website in the hopes of finding a match.
That all changed in June when authorities in Oregon called Nagle “out of the blue” to ask about comparing her DNA to a cold case known as “Swamp Mountain Jane Doe,” she said. Nagle’s DNA ultimately helped confirm that the remains of a woman found near a mountain creek in Oregon’s Central Cascades in 1976 were that of her sister, Marion Vinetta Nagle McWhorter.
Oregon State Police publicly released the news this week after the remains were identified in June.
Armed Forces Medical Examiner System Joins Colony Glacier Mission Search (Forensic – 9/22/2025)
It’s been 73 years since a C-124 Globemaster II, carrying 52 military members tragically crashed into Mount Gannett in the Chugach Mountains of eastern Alaska, forty miles from its destination of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.
It’s believed that the crash created an avalanche that, in some places, caused debris to be covered in hundreds of feet of drifted snow. Due to extremely challenging conditions, recovery efforts were terminated after one week, leaving the service members and their memories frozen in time for six decades. Then, in 2012, a survival raft was discovered on the north-flowing Colony Glacier, roughly twelve miles from the original crash site, just above Lake George.
Since the discovery, members from numerous organizations have gathered every summer to search the glacier for more remains, in Operation Colony Glacier; an effort to identify and bring home the men who perished. Among the organizations that are a part of the operation, the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System plays a crucial role.
21-year-old Colorado Sexual Assault Case Solved with DNA (CBS News – 9/22/2025)
Denver detectives recently connected a Missouri man to a 2004 sexual assault in Denver by secretly swooping in after the suspect’s meal and gathering his utensils for DNA testing.
Using a successful match between material on the utensils and two-decade-old evidence collected from the assault, 52-year-old Jason Groshart was sentenced last week to 32 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections. Groshart avoided trial by pleading guilty in July to one count each of felony kidnapping and sexual assault.
The details of the attack are chilling. On March 30, 2004, the female victim left her job early with a migraine headache and fell asleep at home on her bed. She was awakened by her dog’s barking. Her attacker, later identified as Groshart, was already in her bedroom, according to a case document.
Jackson County Medical Examiner’s Office Teams with Othram to Identify a 2021 John Doe (DNASolves – 9/23/2025)
In October 2021, the skeletal remains of an unidentified individual were found in a wooded area near the 8700 block of Troost Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri after an incarcerated individual told officials they saw a skull at the location. Several law enforcement agencies responded, including the Kansas City Police Department and the Jackson County Medical Examiner’s Office to begin collecting evidence as part of their investigation. Investigators found a skull and a jawbone but no other way to identify the remains. The Jackson County Medical Examiner’s Office determined the skull belonged to an adult, likely older than 50.
Despite a lengthy investigation, the person could not be identified and became known as Jackson County John Doe (2021). Details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP91507.
In 2023, the Jackson County Medical Examiner’s Office submitted forensic evidence to Othram in The Woodlands, Texas to determine if advanced DNA testing could help identify the person. 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 person. Othram’s in-house forensic genetic genealogy team used the profile in a forensic 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 person. Reference DNA samples were collected from a relative and compared to the DNA profile of the unidentified person. This investigation led to the positive identification of the person, who is now known to be Thomas Lee Baird, born January 4, 1962.
Exhumation of Oregon’s Oldest Unidentified Person After Body Went Missing in 1950 (Forensic – 9/24/2025)
On Monday, the partial remains of a woman known only as “Oak Grove Jane Doe” were exhumed at Mountain View Cemetery in Oregon City. The case is Oregon’s oldest unidentified person case and a nearly 80-year-old unsolved homicide.
On April 12, 1946, the partial remains of a woman were discovered in a burlap sack in the Willamette River south of Portland in Clackamas County. Additional remains were found in July and October of that year near Willamette Falls, the McLoughlin Bridge, and again near the original site. Clothing believed to belong to the victim was also recovered from the Clackamas River.
An examination revealed the victim was a middle-aged white woman, likely between 30 and 50 years old, and petite in stature. The cause of death was blunt-force trauma to the head. Following her death, the body was dismembered. The remains were placed in several burlap sacks before being discarded in the river.
The case drew national attention at the time, but her identity was never confirmed. In the 1950s, critical evidence, including the victim’s remains, went missing from law enforcement custody, with no documentation of their disposition. This halted further progress in the case.
University Brings Mobile Forensic Simulation Unit to Train Military Center (Forensic – 9/24/2025)
Texas A&M Health Center of Excellence in Forensic Nursing recently brought their mobile forensic simulation unit to Brooke Army Medical Center.
Four BAMC nurses completed the 12-week online training followed by hands-on learning in the mobile simulation unit to receive their Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner certification.
During the hands-on training, the nurses were required to conduct 10 in-person pelvic exams and three actual simulated forensic exams on male and female patients.
“This training provided the nurses with a portion of the exams they need to be eligible to become Adult/Adolescent SANE certified through the Attorney General of Texas,” said Jennifer Lopez, BAMC forensic healthcare program manager.
The types of mobile simulations included adult sexual assault, intimate partner violence and nonfatal strangulation assessment, trauma-informed communication and medical forensic photography.
National Forensic Science Association Names 2025 Unit of the Year (Forensic – 9/24/2025)
The Dallas Police Department Crime Scene Unit was named the 2025 Unit of the Year by the National Forensic Science Association and presented with a commemorative award.
In addition to the unit receiving recognition, Dallas Police Department’s Latent Print Examiner, Elizabeth Molina, was recognized as Latent Examiner of the Year. She too was presented with a commemorative award.
Last week was designated National Forensic Science Week, a time to bring awareness to the public of the priceless contributions made by those individuals who work in the vocation of Forensic Science. Each year these individuals are recognized and celebrated for their hard work and dedication to the cause of justice through scientific investigation.
The Dallas Police Department congratulates Crime Scene Unit and Examiner Molina on a job well done.
“We sincerely thank you all for your tireless efforts in serving the people who live in, work in, and visit our great city. Your dedication and professionalism help make the Dallas Police Department one of the top-tier law enforcement agencies—second to none,” reads a statement.
Researcher Develops Methods, Uniform Standards for Chemical Forensics (Forensic – 9/24/2025)
In her doctoral thesis completed at the Finnish Institute for Verification of the Chemical Weapons Convention VERIFIN, University of Helsinki, Solja Säde developed methods of chemical forensics.
“The goal was to promote methodological development in the field overall and to facilitate the standardisation of methods,” Säde says.
The use and development of chemical weapons were prohibited under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) in 1997, and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was established to oversee this prohibition.
Chemical warfare agents have nevertheless been used, for example, in Syria in 2013–2018, in the assassination of Kim Jong-nam in 2017, in the poisoning of the Skripals in 2018 and in the poisoning of Navalny in 2020.
In addition, deployment of riot control agents occurred in Ukraine in 2024 and 2025, with Russia being suspected of the attacks, despite prohibition of the use of riot control agents in warfare by the convention.
“These events make it extremely important to develop methods of chemical forensics to determine the perpetrators responsible for using chemical warfare agents,” Säde says. “Forensic investigations can progress by analysing the by-products, impurities, degradation products and isotope ratios of chemical samples.”
Methods used for sample analysis include gas chromatography- and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, used also at VERIFIN, which is part of the OPCW laboratory network.
Cornell Alum Returns to Share Crime-Solving Algorithm in University Lecture (Cornell Chronicle – 9/24/2025)
Lawrence M. Wein ’79, a Cornell alumnus and the Jeffrey S. Skoll Professor of Management Science at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, will return to campus on Oct. 7 to deliver a public lecture on using algorithms to accelerate forensic genealogy.
His talk, “An Algorithm That Solves Crimes,” will take place from 4:15–5:15 p.m. in Gates G-01, with a livestream and reception to follow. The event is part of the Dean of Faculty University Lecture series and the Center for Data Science for Enterprise and Society’s Distinguished Lecture series.
Wein will describe a new approach to forensic investigative genetic genealogy that can identify suspects up to 25 times faster than standard methods. He and genealogist Barbara Rae-Venter – known for her role in solving the Golden State Killer case – have begun applying the algorithm to stalled cold cases.
Office of the State Attorney for the 4th Judicial Circuit and Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Teams with Othram to Identify the Suspect in the 1994 Murder of Tina Heins (DNASolves – 9/25/2025)
In April 1994, twenty-year-old Tina Heins was stabbed to death in the apartment that she shared with her husband, Jeremy Heins, in Jacksonville, Florida. Jeremy, who was in the Navy, was on active duty and aboard a ship the night of Tina’s murder. Jeremy’s brother Chad Heins, who was 19-years-old at the time, had recently moved to Jacksonville, and was temporarily living with Tina and Jeremy. On the night Tina was killed, Chad was asleep on the living room sofa when he awoke at approximately 5:45am to three small fires burning in the apartment. After extinguishing the fires and disabling the smoke alarm, Chad proceeded to check on his sister-in-law, when he found her body in her bedroom. Tina Heins had been stabbed 27 times.
Chad Heins was eventually arrested and convicted of Tina’s murder in 1996. In 2007, after serving 11 years of a life sentence, DNA evidence led to the dismissal of Chad’s case and he was released from prison. This DNA evidence, which was found in the apartment and on Tina, including under her fingernails, pointed to an unknown male suspect. An STR profile was developed and uploaded to CODIS, but there was no match to a known individual and the suspect’s identity remained a mystery.