A familial DNA search has helped authorities in Virginia to find and arrest a suspect.The Virginia Department of Forensic Science confirmed the arrest. But officials would not provide details at the request of a local prosecutor and the law enforcement agency that requested the search, the Richmond Times-Dispatch (http://bit.ly/1eWLqxK) reported.
Several cases linked by DNA appeared to have been the work of the
same person, said Brad Jenkins, program manager for the department’s
forensic biology section. He did not specify the type of crime or
crimes.
“We conducted a familial search and came up with a possible relative of the perpetrator. Police did their investigation and we did additional DNA (testing) and a person was arrested,” Jenkins told the newspaper.
Virginia is one of only a handful states that use the genetic material from relatives to track suspects in violent crimes who have left DNA at a crime scene but whose genetic fingerprint is not contained in any database.
Some states have shunned the controversial approach to track violent offenders because of privacy or fairness concerns. It was approved for use in Virginia in 2011.
Virginia, a national leader in DNA testing, requires that persons convicted of certain crimes provide a sample of their DNA for inclusion in a state databank. When DNA found at a crime scene does not match any genetic fingerprint in state or national databases, investigators often run into a dead end in important cases that have gone cold.
Under the familial DNA program, genetic profiles left at crime scenes can be used to find near-matches in databases that could be a suspect’s close relative. Then investigators hunt down the suspect to get his or her DNA sample for a traditional DNA test.
In California, a familial DNA search led to the arrest in 2010 of a suspect in the “Grim Sleeper” slayings in the Los Angeles area. Investigators were led to Lonnie Franklin Jr. after his son was arrested on an unrelated matter and swabbed for DNA. The sample came back as similar to evidence in the serial killings. Franklin has pleaded not guilty to 10 counts of murder and one attempted murder charge.
Source: Associated Press
“We conducted a familial search and came up with a possible relative of the perpetrator. Police did their investigation and we did additional DNA (testing) and a person was arrested,” Jenkins told the newspaper.
Virginia is one of only a handful states that use the genetic material from relatives to track suspects in violent crimes who have left DNA at a crime scene but whose genetic fingerprint is not contained in any database.
Some states have shunned the controversial approach to track violent offenders because of privacy or fairness concerns. It was approved for use in Virginia in 2011.
Virginia, a national leader in DNA testing, requires that persons convicted of certain crimes provide a sample of their DNA for inclusion in a state databank. When DNA found at a crime scene does not match any genetic fingerprint in state or national databases, investigators often run into a dead end in important cases that have gone cold.
Under the familial DNA program, genetic profiles left at crime scenes can be used to find near-matches in databases that could be a suspect’s close relative. Then investigators hunt down the suspect to get his or her DNA sample for a traditional DNA test.
In California, a familial DNA search led to the arrest in 2010 of a suspect in the “Grim Sleeper” slayings in the Los Angeles area. Investigators were led to Lonnie Franklin Jr. after his son was arrested on an unrelated matter and swabbed for DNA. The sample came back as similar to evidence in the serial killings. Franklin has pleaded not guilty to 10 counts of murder and one attempted murder charge.
Source: Associated Press
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