News

1994 Matilda Doe finally has a name (Ottawa Co, MI)

In January 2022, a Minnesota woman named Shelly Rae Kephart, also known as Shelly Rae Christian, was identified as the ID of Matilda Doe, a 1994 cold case from Ottawa County, MI. The ID was made using a DNA profile generated from her skeletal remains. Investigative genealogists from DNA Doe Project used this profile to identify close relatives, later confirmed by police.

As WoodTV states:

“Local police formed a task force in 1996 to investigate the deaths, which remain unsolved.

…

Then in February 2021, sheriff’s detectives, while working with the DNA Doe Project, sent some of the remains to Astrea Forensics to get a DNA sample, court records show.

DNA Doe Project conducts genealogical testing to identify cold case victims. The nonprofit says since starting its work in 2017, it has been able to identify victims in about 65% of the cases it has taken on.

Astrea Forensics, founded in 2019, uses proprietary methods to recover genetic profiles from rootless hair and other degraded samples.”

IGG used to ID 1997 remains of Stephanie Renee Judson

For the past 25 years, her remains had been known only as Ada Bones Jane Doe. This week, the DNA Doe Project (DDP) along with Kent County Sheriff’s Office announced the identification of skeletonized remains that were discovered in 1997 in Ada, Michigan, as Stephanie Renee Judson.

Multiple labs were involved in obtaining DNA with which to generate a SNP profile suitable for upload to genetic genealogy databases. Our lab at Astrea Forensics participated in the DNA extraction of the remains (tooth and femur) in 2020. HudsonAlpha Discovery Labs combined samples and enriched, successfully generating enough data for Kevin Lord of Saber Investigations to develop a DNA profile that could be uploaded to GedMatch. It took genealogists only one week to arrive at a candidate, later confirmed with a buccal swab from a family member.

The New York Times dives into the story of three cold cases in Newton County, Indiana. Read how the application of genetic genealogy has already helped to identify two of the three murder victims - the last victim still unknown… for now.

Investigators across the US are turning to labs like ours that perform DNA services for purposes of genetic genealogy. Astrea Forensics specializes in obtaining DNA from ancient remains and as such, is the go-to laboratory for the most degraded of forensics samples.

2016 homicide victim identified with genetic genealogy

On February 5, 2021 the Louisiana State Police (LSP) and DNA Doe Project (DDP) announced the identity of the skeletal remains found in Evangeline Parish in 2018 as those belonging to Erica Nicole Hunt, who went missing in Opelousas, Louisiana in 2016.

After previous attempts at DNA extraction, DDP and LSP sent skeletal remains to our lab at Astrea Forensics in August 2020. We extracted DNA from a premolar tooth and a vertebral body using our specialized workflow for skeletal remains. The samples were sequenced in September. DDP commenced genetic genealogy research in November 2020. Atypically, a single DDP volunteer spent approximately 49 hours researching the case and successful in identifying Jane Doe with the help of a number of agencies and individuals.

Read more about the success story here: dnadoeproject.com

Young couple identified, victims of 1976 homicide, Sumter County

The Sumter County Sheriff’s Office and the DNA Doe Project announce the identities of two victims of a 1976 double homicide as Pamela Buckley and James Freud.

The skeletal remains of Sumter County Jane and Jock Doe arrived at the Astrea Forensics lab in July 2020. Our scientists processed the remains using our specialized DNA extraction procedure. The DNA extracts were sent for sequencing shortly thereafter.

Read more about the success stories at DNA Doe Project: Sumter Jock Doe 1976 and Sumter Jane Doe 1976

The DNA Doe Project acknowledges the contributions of those groups and individuals who helped solve this case: the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, especially Investigator Charles Bonner; Matt McDaniel for his unwavering interest in seeing the case solved; the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children; DNA Solutions in Oklahoma City and Astrea Forensics in Santa Cruz, California for extraction; HudsonAlpha Discovery for sequencing; Kevin Lord of Saber Investigations; GEDmatch and Family Tree DNA for providing their databases; and DDP’s dedicated teams of volunteer genealogists who provided SCSO with the names of the victims.

Serial killer's youngest victim identified through genetic genealogy

After 37 years, the King County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) and the DNA Doe Project (DDP) announce that Wendy Stevens has been identified as one of the many victims of Washington state's Green River Killer. Our laboratory at Astrea Forensics received skeletal samples from the 1984 Jane Doe in April via KCSO and DDP. We performed DNA extractions using methods optimized for archaeological human remains and other ancient DNA samples, and sent to Discovery Life Sciences for sequencing and analysis.

As always, this case was solved thanks to the contributions of many people and agencies. Read more about the entire success story here: DNA Doe Project: Bones 10 84-054800 Jane Doe 1984

NCMEC Case# 1151977

Park County John Doe 1974 Identified with Genetic Genealogy

In 1974, Park County found John Doe’s remains in a mountainous region outside of Grant, Colorado.

Read the recent press release from the DNA Doe Project describing the many efforts taken to identify Anthony John Armbrust, Jr.

At Astrea, we used 150 mg of bone powder for the DNA extraction. We generated SRSLY NGS libraries and sequenced on an Illumina MiSeq for QC. We determined the human DNA content was approximately 50% - a GREAT candidate for generating a whole-genome SNP profile and for genetic genealogy.

Precious Jane Doe identified after 43 years

The genome data generated from rootless hair samples allowed Dr. Ed Green and the Astrea pipeline to produce a genotype file for forensic genetic genealogy. This led Barbara Rae-Venter to identify Sonohomish County’s “Precious Jane Doe” as Lisa Roberts, 43 years after her murder. Congratulations to Sonohomish County and so many others involved in the case over the decades.

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