Could this dampen the current enthusiasm for DNA-based
family trees? A Californian serial killer may have been identified by genetic
samples that his distant relatives gave to a genealogy website, according to the New Scientist.
While most people would be happy to help track down a serial
killer, there are concerns this could be just the beginning of police using
commercial genetics services to investigate other, less serious crimes.
Currently, major DNA ancestry companies – such as 23AndMe – say they
generally resist police inquiries, unless they have a court order. However,
customers often choose to broaden their search for long-lost branches of their
family tree by uploading their raw DNA data into a free site called GEDmatch.
According to The
Mercury News, investigators in California used GEDmatch to help identify
the suspect they believe to be the so-called Golden State Killer.
This serial killer is thought to have committed more than 50
rapes and 12 murders across California in the 1970s and 80s. This week,
investigators arrested Joseph James DeAngelo, a 72-year-old former policeman,
and he has been charged with eight counts of murder.
They tracked him down by comparing samples taken from a
crime scene decades ago with genetic profiles of individuals on the GEDmatch
database.
The Sacramento investigators are not giving out details of
how exactly they did this. It’s possible that once they had found a partial
match on the database, they then used public records to identify related
individuals.
According to The
Sacramento Bee, the team’s suspicions were increased by the fact that
DeAngelo was in the right age range, and had lived in some of the places where
the attacks occurred. Before arresting him, they first covertly took a new DNA
sample from an item DeAngelo had discarded, to confirm the DNA match.
A statement recently posted on the GEDmatch website states
that people who are concerned about non-genealogical uses of their DNA should
not upload their DNA to the database, and should remove any DNA that has
already been uploaded.
To read more CLICK HERE
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment