NCJ Number
206159
Journal
Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 31 Issue: 6 Dated: June 2004 Pages: 10,12,14,16,17
Date Published
June 2004
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article describes a DNA test under development that is capable of confirming some of a suspect’s physical characteristics, such as genetic heritage.
Abstract
The article opens with a description of a murder case in which a young woman was stabbed to death and police were investigating several suspects. Blood collected at the murder site revealed two types of blood, the victim’s and presumably, the murderer’s. Blood typing revealed that the second blood type was Type O and a black hair found on the victim suggested the suspect to be black-haired. DNA typing by PCR and STR revealed a match to the primary suspect in the case, who also had black hair and Type O blood. But did the police have the correct suspect? DNA testing under development by DNAPrint Genomics Inc. will have the capability of providing even more information about criminal suspects, such as eye color, hair color, and genetic heritage. The genetic heritage testing, called DNAWitness, will enable investigators to determine the suspect’s specific population group and will even be able to identify whether the suspect is a mixture of one or more ethnic groups. How this type of testing might impact criminal investigations is considered by applying DNAWitness information to the case at hand. If investigators in the case study had access to DNAWitness technology, they would know that the suspect’s ancestry is 25 percent Asian. Upon investigation, the officers discovered that the grandmother of the primary suspect was Japanese. The DNA tests being developed by DNAPrint Genomics Inc. are still being assessed to determine their predictive value. DNAWitness is currently being used in New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago by special task groups, medical examiners, and sheriff’s offices. In Baton Rouge, LA, DNAWitness led investigators to turn their attention to the correct suspect in a series of murders; the DNA testing showed the killer was 85 percent African-American and 15 percent Native American, ruling out the Caucasian suspects the police had been targeting. Figures