A new forensic tool
How does genealogy work and how effective is it
Yulia Krasilnikova, Hi-tech+
About 100 thousand violent crimes have not been solved in the USA alone, and at least 40 thousand bodies have not yet been identified. Many cases will soon get underway thanks to the growing popularity of home DNA tests. The favorite hobby of American pensioners is the main driver of the revolution in criminology.
Breakthrough in criminology
The revolution in criminology was talked about after the capture of the "Golden State Killer" – a violent criminal who committed more than 60 murders and rapes in the USA in the 70s and 80s. The police received DNA samples of the killer during the period when the investigation was underway, but it was not possible to find this person then.
The GEDmatch website, which many people use to search for relatives, helped to reveal the identity of the criminal. The platform has identified a person with similar DNA – a relative of the killer. Through him, the researchers got on the trail of the suspect and arrested him. The killer of the Golden State turned out to be a former policeman Joseph James DeAngelo, who turned 72 in 2018.
As he notices New York Times, in recent years, investigators have increasingly turned to genealogical sites. The innocent hobby of many pensioners turned out to be a valuable tool for conducting an investigation.
The breakthrough came thanks to cheap and affordable DNA tests - for just $1,000 today, you can get a detailed decoding of your own genome.
Many used the test results to find relatives or biological parents. The data was attached to an account on the site to compile a pedigree – so the probability of finding a grandnephew or a missing father increased significantly.
Often curiosity led to the disclosure of family secrets that a person did not even know about.
Geneticists quickly realized that the technology could also be used in criminology. So the company appeared Parabon, which is now investigating a whole series of "grouse" – unsolved crimes committed 30-50 years ago.
The technique has already helped to carry out 49 genetic identifications and detain 17 suspects. Parabon also examines the remains of children who could not be identified. Last year, technology helped identify 15 people.
The number of cases the company is working on has already exceeded 300.
Parabon acts selectively. Investigators armed with new genetic tools are interested in unsolved murders and rapes, as well as bodies that have not yet been identified.
Native criminals
Users of genealogical sites often do not suspect that they are helping to uncover "capercaillie". Moreover, some unknowingly "hand over" their relatives. After all, it is not so difficult to establish a connection based on genetic data.
Sometimes you can track the pattern even by the DNA of a fourth cousin or sister. According to some estimates, each of us has about 800 relatives from this category.
Platforms for compiling a pedigree try to warn about cooperation with law enforcement agencies. Both GEDmatch and FamilyTreeDNA admit that the police and special services use their bases.
Interestingly, the departments have access to state DNA databases. But it is usually forbidden to search for suspects through their relatives in them. Genealogical sites have no such restrictions.
The technology is used not only to work with old crimes, but also to investigate new cases. Formally, the methodology is not regulated in any way, but in the future the use of genealogical sites may be equated with the search for evidence in social networks.
Investigators claim that they do not have access to information about the genome. They only get information about possible matches.
According to recent studies, the DNA of 90% of Americans of European descent will soon be able to be identified using genealogical sites. This means that in the case of a crime, it will be extremely difficult to escape from justice.
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