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New Mexico Begins Construction of New State Crime Lab
February 24, 2021
The new facility will support New Mexico law enforcement and criminal justice agencies and court systems by analyzing forensic evidence collected at crime scenes and provide testimony in court. read more
Medical Examiner Says Office ID'ed 'Many More' COVID-19 Deaths Than Reported
February 24, 2021
Gill said many of the cases were discovered during investigations of remains about to be cremated, a procedure the office often conducts to make sure a homicide has not occurred. read more
DNA Identifies Ohio Woman Missing Since March
February 24, 2021
Experts working for the Ohio Attorney General’s Office have identified a woman whose body was found in the Mahoning River this past summer, and authorities are asking for the public’s help in determining what happened to her. read more
First Report on Mass Shootings from Columbia University Database
February 24, 2021
Sontrary to popular belief, serious mental illness was present in only 11% of all mass murderers and in only 8% of mass shooters. read more
Corey Pickett Case Puts New Jersey Courts and TrueAllele Head-to-Head
February 24, 2021
After a successful appeal by the defendant, state attorneys have filed a motion to reconsider the use and evaluation of probabilistic genotyping software TrueAllele in the case of Corey Pickett, a man charged with murder in New Jersey. read more
3500 Series Genetic Analyzer from Thermo Fisher Scientific
February 24, 2021
The Applied Biosystems™ 3500 Series instruments were the first genetic analyzers designed with a specific feature set and workflow for human identification (HID) applications. The complete system combines the instrument with Applied Biosystems™ reagents, consumables, and software, as well as industry-leading support providing an integrated HID solution that significantly improves ease of use and application efficiency. read more
Tennessee Police Exposed to Fentanyl During Arrest
February 22, 2021
It was determined the arrestee had busted up several bags of white powder that were previously hidden on her person. read more
First DNA Learning Center Opens in Nigeria
February 22, 2021
Students will learn the same lessons as students receive at the Cold Spring Harbor facility, including DNA Science, Genome Biology, DNA Barcoding, DNA Metabarcoding, and World of Enzymes. read more
First-of-its-kind Digital Forensics Facility Opens in Australia
February 22, 2021
The purpose-built facility is the first of its kind in Australia and enables officers to securely conduct investigations into sophisticated technology-enabled crime. read more
Even Without DNA Results, Kenneth Nixon Released After 15 Years in Prison
February 22, 2021
The WMU-Cooley Innocence Project worked with the Wayne County Conviction Integrity Unit to DNA test the Molotov cocktail used to start the fire. No DNA results were obtained. However, there was other new evidence. read more
The Forensic Sciences' Toxic Entanglement with the Myth of Objectivity
February 22, 2021
“Scientific objectivity.” It’s a concept as old as the Enlightenment and a mainstay of mid-20th-century approaches to science, thought to be a core tenet of forensic scientific analysis and testimony. It’s also a myth—and it’s dangerous. read more
Exchanged Needles Reveal Opioid, NPS Trends
February 19, 2021
Needle-exchange programs in cities can provide vital information about intravenous (IV) drug use, as well as more comprehensive opioid monitoring and real-time surveillance of emerging trends and novel psychoactive substances (NPS), according to the preliminary results of such a program in D.C. read more
DNA Links Man to 1992 Killings of Indiana Woman, Girl, 4
February 19, 2021
A Tennessee man charged in the July 1992 killings of an Indiana woman and her 4-year-old daughter was linked to the deaths by a new analysis of DNA collected from the mother’s body, court records show. read more
Man Gets 45 Years in Prison for Assault Case Solved with Genealogy
February 19, 2021
A man has been sentenced to 45 years in prison for sexually assaulting a woman in a 2012 Butte County case that was solved using forensic genealogy. read more
Project to Improve Communication Between Agencies in Joint Emergency Response Scenarios
February 19, 2021
The research project will seek to rectify the current inability of first responders (i.e., police, fire and emergency management services) to use their CAD systems to electronically exchange information with other CAD systems during a joint emergency response. read more
Million-year-old DNA Reveals How Mammoths Evolved
February 19, 2021
An international team of researchers has sequenced DNA recovered from mammoth remains that are up to 1.2 million years old. read more
NamUs May Get a New Managing Entity in April
February 17, 2021
In December 2020, the National Institute of Justice put out a request for proposals to manage NamUs. The acceptance period has now ended and today, NIJ said they expect to award a new contract for services by April. read more
British Columbia Police Debut New Forensic Firearms Lab
February 17, 2021
The BC Provincial Forensic Firearms Laboratory (PFFL) will be a centralized firearms intelligence hub, helping increase police capacity to analyze illegal firearms that were used for criminal activity and seized by police. read more
Verogen Debuts New Forensic Genetic Genealogy Workflow
February 17, 2021
The ForenSeq Kintelligence Kit pairs with GEDmatch PRO to provide a fit-for-forensic-purpose workflow that generates investigative leads, minimizes privacy concerns and maintains chain of custody. read more
New York State Police Ask for Info in 1992 Baby Jane Doe Cold Case
February 17, 2021
More than a year after she was abandoned, forensic specialists found the remains of “Baby Jane Doe” in February 1992. She was 7-10 days old at the time of death. read more