As we prepare to move into a new year, let’s take a look back at Forensic’s most popular news of the year, while reflecting on how far forensic science has come in the last 12 months. As in past years, genetic genealogy continues to soar, elevating forensic science to a higher level. However, the popularity and success of the technique is being met with increasing calls for safeguards.
1. Ancient DNA Reveals the World’s Oldest Family Tree
Published on January 12: Analyzing ancient DNA from a Neolithic tomb in Britain, an international team of geneticists and archeologists mapped out the family tree of a group of 27 close biological relatives who lived around 3700 BC. Working with the bones and teeth of 35 individuals buried in a single cairn, the research team successfully extracted enough DNA to determine that most of the individuals descended from four different women who had children with the same man.
2. 'Boy in the Box' is Identified as Joseph Augustus Zarelli
Published on December 8: Earlier this month, the former “Boy in the Box” was identified as Joseph Augustus Zarelli, born Jan. 13, 1953. Colleen Fitzpatrick, Misty Gillis and Identifinders International identified not only Joseph, but also the boy’s now-deceased birth mother and father, as well living siblings on both sides.
3. Use of ‘Zombie Drug’ Increasing, Now Linked to 1 in 3 Overdoses in Philly
Published on February 3: Philadelphia has a “zombie drug” problem, and experts are concerned it is going to start rapidly spreading to other parts of the U.S.—just as the drug infiltrated the City of Brotherly Love from Puerto Rico about 5 years ago. Xylazine is a non-opioid sedative, painkiller and muscle relaxant that is used in veterinary medicine. It can dangerously lower blood pressure, heart rate and breathing. It has also been linked to open skin ulcers.
4. The Fifth Victim of the Happy Face Killer Finally Gets Her Name Back
Published on April 20: In April, 29 years after her murder, the DNA Doe Project (DDP) and cold case detectives at the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department identified the once-unknown woman as Patricia Skiple. She is believed to be serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson’s fifth victim—of eight. Two victims, one found in Blythe, California and another in Crestview, Florida, are still unidentified.
5. Could Genetic Genealogy Provide a Lead in JonBenet Ramsey Case?
Published on January 5: On the 25th anniversary of JonBenet Ramsey’s murder, the Boulder Police Department released a statement saying they are “actively reviewing genetic DNA testing processes to see if those can be applied to this case moving forward.”
6. Brand New Deterministic Software Can Deconvolute a DNA Mixture in Seconds
Published on March 29: In groundbreaking work that has the potential to completely upend forensic DNA analysis, a particle physicist has developed technology that can deconvolute a DNA mixture of up to 8 people in less than one minute—in a deterministic manner.
7. Expert Testimony Bill Passes Public Safety Committee Before Being Put on Suspense File
Published on January 24: Senate Bill 467 seeks to expand the definition of false evidence by making the following inadmissible in a pre- and post-conviction: expert opinions based on flawed scientific research or outdated technology that is now unreliable or moot; expert opinions about which a reasonable scientific dispute has emerged regarding its validity; expert opinions that fail to use valid methodology, research, peer-reviewed studies, or scientifically sound data. The California bill has been placed on the suspense file in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
8. Project Wants to Make Honey Bees New Partners in Crime Fighting
Published January 26: In a new project, researchers from a number of different fields are now working in unison at George Mason University’s Science and Technology campus to see if the honey produced by bees after feeding on flowers can help investigators better locate missing persons.
9. New York Court Shuts Down Familial DNA Matching
Published May 9: In May, just a year and a half after Bronx investigators used familial DNA for the first time to arrest a man for the 1999 rape and murder of a 13-year-old girl, an appeals court halted the use of the technique.
10. Rape Victim Sues After DNA Used to Self-incriminate in Unrelated Case
Published March 14: 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. Days later, California legislatures announced legislation to ensure this invasion of privacy never occurs again.