DNA is helping solve decades-old cold cases and giving names to those long-dead. But are forensic genealogists – and law enforcement – ready for the implications it could have on those still living?https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/jtes/dna-cold-case-crime-doe-project-genealogy?bftwnews&utm_term=4ldqpgc#4ldqpgc …
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The DNA Doe Project is one nonprofit leading the way. It's a network of volunteer genealogists helping law enforcement agencies solve cold cases, and its volunteers are devoted to the dead, rather than the living, putting names to unidentified bodies.pic.twitter.com/nVXonHgxp1
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Initially, the DNA Doe Project’s founders worried that their work could cause public outcry over privacy and consent. Then came the apprehension of Golden State Killer suspect Joseph James DeAngelo, whom investigators arrested with the help of a public genealogy database.
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In the past five months, genetic genealogy has become the wild west — made up largely of citizen scientists, amateur sleuths, and hobbyists turned professionals. The DNA Doe Project is a leading voice in pushing for it to be more scientific – and ethical.
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The DNA Doe Project has found itself in an ethical bind when approached by law enforcement. In one case, they were asked to identify an infant found frozen to death in 1988. But doing so could also mean legal repercussions for the mother, decades later.pic.twitter.com/Yo0M8M3eht
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The DNA Doe Project’s founders decided to stick to cases involving dead victims or unidentified remains if they were going to use the new GEDmatch technique deployed in the Golden State Killer case.
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Where previous forensic genealogy used the Y-DNA testing method, which only worked on men, GEDmatch can provide users (including police) a list of names and email addresses of living relatives, rather than just a possible surname dating back a dozen generations.
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Not every law enforcement official understands why this work requires experts. One agency asked why, instead of paying the DNA Doe Project $1,500, they couldn’t just spend $99 to stick their DNA sample in a vial and send it to http://Ancestry.com under an alias.pic.twitter.com/yreTrqBCqJ
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As for the infant found frozen to death, the DNA Doe Project didn't take the case. The mother could be young, she could have been coerced ... She’s still complicit in murder ... it’s not gonna be a poster-child case for getting the community on board with what we’re trying to do”
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Not everyone is so cautious. As the forensic genealogy field booms, at law enforcement agencies and on the internet, one expert warns: “You do need to be really careful. You could destroy someone’s life if you mess up.”
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The DNA Doe Project has closed about two of every three cases it takes, but it isn't always a happy ending. As the mother of a murdered woman said, "There is no closure. There’s closure for you because you’ll go on to something else, but I’m never gonna go on to something else."
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For the DNA Doe Project, the service they provide is worth the ethical minefield they must navigate. “You could argue that the greater good is in bringing killers to justice...It’s a much more subtle public good to name the nameless.”https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/jtes/dna-cold-case-crime-doe-project-genealogy?bftwnews&utm_term=4ldqpgc#4ldqpgc …
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