News

Somerton Man, Australia's Oldest Cold Case, Solved with DNA from a Single Hair

After 74 years of mystery, Australia’s oldest cold case has been solved. In July 2022, researchers Derek Abbott from the University of Adelaide, and Colleen Fitzpatrick of Identifinders International announced the identity of Somerton Man as Carl “Charles” Webb. The identification was made from the DNA extracted, sequenced and genotyped at Astrea Forensics from a single 5 cm rootless hair strand.

But more mysteries remain! Check out the Smithsonian Magazine write-up or the New York Times article on this fascinating case that has caught the attention of world for over 7 decades.

Dawn Olanick ID'd and Suspect Charged in 1982 Case (Warren Co, NJ)

The Warren County Prosecutor’s office and New Jersey State Police announced today at a press conference the identity of Dawn Olanick, known for 40 years at “Princess Jane Doe”.

Dawn was discovered in a cemetery July 15, 1982, in Blairstown, NJ, the victim of a grisly murder, her face beaten and unrecognizable. The Warren County Prospecutors’s Office, New Jersey State Police and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children - literally scores of investigators over the years - never stopped pursuing the identity of the body or her killer. By being open to new technology, their dedication paid off.

The new genetic testing and genealogy work took less than one year to complete, from start to finish.

From the press release at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC):

With the help of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, Princess Doe’s molar and eyelash were submitted to Astrea Forensics in 2021, for possible DNA extraction. 

“What is so special about Astrea is that they are able to extract DNA from samples that are degraded or otherwise would provide no value,” said Carol Schweitzer, forensic supervisor at NCMEC. "We knew that if anyone could get the information that was needed, Astrea could.” 

And they did. 

Astrea Forensics’s genealogy file was delivered to NCMEC and genetic genealogy services were offered pro bono by Jennifer Moore of Investigative Forensic Technologies.

Within days, IFG discovered Dawn’s name. Within two months, her identity was confirmed.

We want to especially thank the NIJ grantee that subcontracted Astrea Forensics thereby allowing us to offer genetic services pro bono in aid of solving this case.

Not only did Dawn Olanick get her name back, the alleged murderer has been charged with the crime.

Peggy Dodd ID'd after 38 Years using Hair DNA (Fort Bend, TX)

In partnership with Intermountain Forensics, read more about the team, including Detective Scott Minyard and the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office investigators, whose efforts resulted in the successful identification of Peggy Anne Dodd, a woman whose body was found 38 years ago in Fort Bend, TX.

In 2021, Astrea extracted DNA from a single rootless hair ~4.5 centimeters in length. This hair contained hundreds of millions of unique human DNA molecules and allowed us to reconstruct 4.6x coverage of the human genome. We used these data to generate a SNP profile compatible with genetic genealogy databases, and returned the file to Intermountain Forensics to continue their work.

We want to thank Arc Bio, the entity that subcontracted Astrea Forensics to help their R&D efforts, resulting in our ability to offer our genetic services pro bono to IMF and Fort Bend County.

Bibb County teenager identified after 60 years

We are excited to learn about the identification of Daniel Paul Armentrout, an Alabama hitchhiker who was killed in a car crash in 1961, never identified until now. The story is described in detail in a New York Times article this month.

In February 2021, Astrea was sent bone powder from a tibia and a tooth root sampled from the Bibb County Doe. We extracted DNA using 100 mg of bone powder from each sample, yielding a total of >5 ng and >40 ng of DNA, respectively.

As announced by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children: “Genealogy efforts led by Identifinders International LLC developed the resulting lead but a significant amount of work by others helped pave the way. #NCMEC worked alongside Bibb County in 2016 and exhumed the remains so that contemporary biometric and forensic testing could be applied. Astrea Forensics and Hudson Alpha Discovery developed the sufficient DNA file used for the genealogy research; and listeners to Gray Hughes Investigates YouTube channel raised the funds needed to cover the expenses. Every resolve is a team effort lead by talented professionals motivated to give these unidentified children their names back.

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

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