Author Profile

Backlog Testing Hits to Suspect in 1993 Sexual Assault of a Minor
July 07, 2021
On Jan. 24, 1993, the Ketchikan Police Department responded to a report of a 14-year-old female who was sexually assaulted near Ketchikan High School. The perpetrator was a stranger to the victim. read more
Parabon Adds Identifying Details to Child Remains Found in Oregon in 2020
July 07, 2021
The Oregon State Police is seeking public assistance with information that may help investigators with identifying the female child remains found in Lincoln County. read more
Forensic Team Heads to Canadian Town Destroyed by Wildfire
July 07, 2021
A forensic team arrived Saturday in a Canadian town destroyed by wildfire to confirm reports that two people were killed during the blazes which forced residents to abandon their homes with just a few minutes notice several days ago. read more
U.S. Damage Appears Minimal in Kaseya Ransomware Attack
July 07, 2021
The company whose software was exploited said fewer than 1,500 businesses worldwide appeared compromised but cybersecurity experts caution that the incident isn’t over. read more
Q&A: Data Extraction Methods for Today and Tomorrow
July 02, 2021
Long before we had literal computers in our pockets, digital forensic investigators were working to clone vital information from servers and hard drives. read more
Genetic Genealogy Helps ID 2-Year-Old Found in 1963
July 02, 2021
The unidentified 2-year-old boy was wrapped in multiple layers of blankets, bound with wire, and weighted down with iron molds to keep his body hidden. read more
'Septic Tank Sam,' Found in 1977, Identified
July 02, 2021
Investigators determined that the man, nicknamed Septic Tank Sam due to the circumstances of discovery, had been brutally tortured before his murder. read more
California Crime Lab Gets DNA Grant for New Equipment, Personnel
July 02, 2021
The Forensic Services Division of the Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff was awarded $376,101 in grant funding from the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) DNA Capacity Enhancement for Backlog Reduction Program. read more
SAFE-T Center Awarded Grant to Expand Training, Establish Workforce Advancement
July 02, 2021
A $1.5 million, 3-year grant will allow SAFE-T to identify and partner with six new rural or underserved community hospital sites in Pennsylvania using innovative telehealth technology. read more
Maryland, Montana Become First States to Restrict Genetic Genealogy Searches
June 30, 2021
Maryland and Montana have become the first U.S. states to pass laws that make it tougher for law enforcement to access and search consumer DNA databases for forensic genetic genealogy, or investigative genetic genealogy, purposes. read more
University's Law Center has New Home for Forensic, Courtroom Training
June 30, 2021
The Children’s Law Center finally has a permanent home, complete with mock courtroom and crime-scene apartment for forensic training purposes. read more
Connecticut to Use COVID-19 Money for Crime Prevention, Rapid DNA, Ballistics
June 30, 2021
The money from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act will be used to help pay for community outreach programs, regional law enforcement task forces and specialized police positions and fund real-time access to data from rapid-DNA and ballistics testing. read more
Forensic Economist: $2.5B to Abate Opioid Crisis in West Virginia Community
June 30, 2021
A 15-year plan to abate the opioid crisis in a West Virginia community will cost local officials $2.5 billion, a forensic economist has testified. read more
Verogen, QIAGEN Partner on New NGS Human ID Workflow
June 30, 2021
QIAGEN and Verogen Inc. have announced a partnership to provide laboratories with superior tools and comprehensive support for implementing next-generation sequencing (NGS) human identification workflows. read more
Bullet Found in Remains of Possible Tulsa Race Massacre Victim
June 28, 2021
The remains of a Black male with a bullet lodged in his left shoulder have been recovered by the team searching for, excavating and analyzing skeletal remains found in a mass grave of possible Tulsa Race Massacre victims. read more
International Collab IDs Man Found Near Canadian Lake in 2016
June 28, 2021
Initially, aerial, water, and ground searches were conducted to try and locate any sort of additional information regarding the man’s identity, yet these efforts were unsuccessful. read more
DNA Samples Collected From Family Members to Aid Condo Collapse ID Efforts
June 28, 2021
Rescuers swept the mound with dogs trained to sniff out humans and used a microwave radar device developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab and the Department of Homeland Security that “sees” through up to 8 inches of concrete. read more
University of Arkansas Awarded Grant to Study State’s Prison Culture and Climate
June 28, 2021
The Arkansas Department of Corrections has awarded the University of Arkansas at Little Rock a multi-year contract of more than $453,000 to study and assess prison culture and climate in Arkansas. read more
DNA Matters: How Complex DNA Evidence Exonerates the Innocent
June 25, 2021
Traditional methods of DNA interpretation are limited, and do not use all the data. Imagine a medical world without doctors, where technicians take superb X-ray images, but there are no radiologists to read them. read more
Professor Develops New Computer Program Interview Tool
June 25, 2021
The Forensic Interview Trace (FIT) is a secure computer program designed to record the structure, content and characteristics of a forensic interview, involving victims, witnesses, suspects and persons of interest. read more