Author Profile

California Appeals Court Affirms Scientific Community’s Acceptance of STRmix
March 21, 2022
The California Court of Appeals has affirmed a lower court decision in the murder conviction of Alvin Larry Davis, ruling that DNA evidence produced through the use of STRmix forensic software “is generally accepted as reliable by the relevant scientific community.” read more
Hospital's BoD Steps in to Save SANE Program after Loss of State Grant Funding
March 21, 2022
Baptist Health Foundation Hardin’s Board of Directors announced that it will provide $121,000 to keep Baptist Health Hardin’s Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE)/Forensic program fully operational despite first-time reductions in state grant funding. read more
Q&A: How Dental Tech Upgrades Can Help Victim Identification
March 21, 2022
Forensic odontologist Line Staun Larsen recently received a grant worth 2 million in Danish Krone—about $300,000 USD—to examine whether 3D data from dental records can make the identification of victims more effective, especially those involved in major or mass disasters. read more
Genetic Genealogy IDs Suspect in 1988 Neighbor Killing
March 18, 2022
This process was so exhaustive, nine family trees were constructed with nearly 1,300 people connected to Robertson either through blood or marriage. read more
Study Reports Error Rates for Bloodstain Pattern Analysis
March 18, 2022
The error rates from so called “black box” studies like this are critical for the courts to understand the limits of the testimony given by forensic experts. read more
Study: 'We are Coming Up Short’ in Juvenile Justice
March 18, 2022
A research team tested whether the system affected those it was charged with rehabilitating by following adolescents prior to and after sentencing. read more
Finding Digital Evidence in Wearable Tech
March 18, 2022
If wearables become essential equipment for a broader swath of the population, it stands to reason that law enforcement officers and digital forensic analysts will start finding wearables as they investigate crimes. read more
‘Drug Checking’ Could Become Common as Opioid Crisis Worsens
March 16, 2022
Rapid detection strips fall into the broader category of “drug checking,” which uses simple identification methods to tell drug users exactly what is in the drugs they plan to take. read more
62 Years Later, 'Little Miss Nobody' is Identified
March 16, 2022
The Yavapai County Sheriff’s office said Tuesday the previously unidentified little girl whose burned remains were found over 60 years ago in the Arizona desert was 4-year-old Sharon Lee Gallegos of New Mexico. read more
Investigators Exhume Body of 1990 Homicide Victim in Hopes of Generating New Leads
March 16, 2022
At the Medical Examiner’s Office, the Sussex County Medical Examiner and a New Jersey State Police Anthropologist performed an examination and collected relevant evidence. read more
Non-profit to Help Las Vegas Police with Animal Abuse Cases
March 16, 2022
Hearts Alive Village has entered into a contract with Clark County to provide forensics veterinary medicine and care for animals who are suspected victims of abuse and neglect, the first non-profit to do so. read more
Counties that Rely on the Courts for Revenue Sentence More Women to Incarceration
March 16, 2022
In Washington state, many counties have supplemented their revenues through fines, such as traffic citations and court processing fees. Those counties have increased the rate at which they sentence women to jail. read more
Rape Victim Sues After DNA Used to Self-incriminate in Unrelated Case
March 14, 2022
The woman whose DNA from a sexual assault kit was used by San Francisco police to arrest her in an unrelated property crime six years later plans to sue the city. Three days earlier, San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin and California State Senator Scott Wiener announced legislation to ensure this invasion of privacy never occurs again. read more
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Teams with Othram to Identify Tortoise Reserve Doe
March 14, 2022
After 20 years, homicide victim Richard Wayne Guarro has been identified and an investigation into his death is in progress. read more
Genetic Genealogy Helps Oklahoma Cold Case Unit ID Dismembered Body Found in 1995
March 14, 2022
It was difficult to identify Bentivegna at the time because her feet, hands and head were removed from her body. read more
UK Police Force Sees Pay off From Digital Forensic Focus Over Past 2 Years
March 14, 2022
A recent investigation revealed a backlog of more than 20,000 digital devices waiting to be examined by forces across England and Wales. Nottinghamshire Police, however, have just 31 phones, tablets and computers waiting to be examined. read more
Forensic Psychiatry Expert Consults on Cases in Guantanamo Bay, The Hague
March 14, 2022
Charles Morgan is a national security professor at the University of New Haven and an expert on the impact that stress and harsh interrogation techniques can have on human memory. read more
Study Evaluates Prevalence of Violence in Missing and Unidentified Persons Cases
March 11, 2022
Researchers used text mining of NamUs case entries to classify cases as violent or nonviolent based on designated keywords, and then they examined additional case information to compare specific characteristics of violent versus non-violent cases. read more
Prosecutors Seek DNA Testing for Case Made Famous by 'Serial' Podcast
March 11, 2022
The two sides agreed the Baltimore City Police Lab should retest certain items collected as evidence in the 1999 killing of 17-year-old Hae Min Lee using DNA technology that was not available for Syed’s trials. read more
Genetic Genealogy Unravels ID of Jane Doe Once Thought to be Victim of Robert Lee Yates
March 11, 2022
For some period of time, Barnes was suspected to be another victim of the "Spokane Serial Murder," later identified as Robert Lee Yates, even though she did not fit the profile of Yates' other victims, due to similarities in the killers' methods. read more