News

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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