On Tuesday, at the 2023 Human Identification Solutions (HIDS) conference, GTH-DNA will unveil the “DNA Hit of the Year.”
The DNA Hit of the Year program, now in its seventh year, is a global program established to demonstrate the power of forensic DNA databases to solve crime and identify missing persons. Every year, GTH-DNA partners with a group of international judges to determine which submitted case will be recognized.
Crime labs and police departments from all over the world submitted their impactful DNA database hit cases earlier this year. To be eligible for submission, cases had to be “cold hit,” where the criminal suspect was identified due to a match in the database where DNA from an unsolved crime scene was matched to a previously unidentified suspect in the database. Missing persons cases where a missing person was identified using a DNA database match were also accepted. The cold hit must have occurred between January 1, 2017, and September 2, 2022.
This year, there are six finalists for DNA Hit of the Year.
Case No. 1: Caroline Joy Schollaert
On Aug. 3, 2021, 26-year-old Caroline Joy Schollaert, a member of the U.S. Coast Guard, was shot and killed while confronting a thief trying to break into her car. The thief was connected to a burglary ring in the area. While the case was not a typical crime-scene-to-criminal-offender hit, the team was still able to solve it within days thanks to the perseverance and ingenuity of detectives at the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and forensic scientists at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Case No. 2: Murdered Newborn in Spain
Investigators in Spain used familial searching to find the murder suspect in the death of a newborn baby girl found in a dumpster in 2012. The baby died from head trauma and asphyxia immediately following birth. The only evidence from the crime scene was the baby’s DNA. Investigators were able to take advantage of changing technology and changing laws to execute a CODIS search that eventually pointed them in the right direction in 2020.
Case No. 3: IEDs in Bahrain
In response to increasing terrorism in her country, a forensic scientist in the Kingdom of Bahrain has developed new methodology to swab IEDs to capture as much DNA as possible. In 2020, Noora Al Snan was finally able to link 54 IEDs from 2015 to 2017 to one man—who was not in the DNA database.
Case No. 4: Denver Serial Killer
In February 2022, the Denver Police Department identified the suspect in the stabbing of four women to death in separate incidents between 1979 and 1981. What’s unique about the case is how the non-government investigative genetic genealogy team worked with the government DNA database to ultimately solve the crimes. Additionally, the identification via genetic genealogy and familial DNA research was a result of Denver’s Integrated Cold Case Project, a successful cold case model launced in 2004.
Case No. 5: Kidnap, Rape and Murder in South Africa
Almost 10 years ago, South Africa became one the first African country to pass DNA laws and establish a national DNA database program. While the country still has challenges, it has also been an inspiration to many other countries in Africa to follow suit. This kidnap, rape and murder case would grab headlines for months before it was ultimately solved by a match within South Africa’s DNA database program.
Case No. 6: Jewelry heist in Malaysia
In 2022, a jewelry store owner was robbed in broad daylight when he stopped at a gas station. Suspects in two cars surrounded his car, attacked him and stole 2 bags of jewels. The victim followed the suspects after the robbery, eventually causing a collision and the recovery of one of the cars used by the suspects. Forensic scientists recovered 7 DNA samples from the car, and within 48 hours, all suspects were brought into custody and two were matched to DNA database hits.
Check back later this week to see which case is announced as the 2023 Hit of the Year.