The McDonald County Sheriff’s Office in Missouri has released a statement that brings the case of Shawna Beth Garber to an end. The case is now cleared by exception as the suspect in her murder passed away. “It is believed that Talfey Reeves (deceased as of November 15, 2021), picked Shauna up from the Tanglewood/Ginger […]
Forensic Genealogy
Methodology on Trial
The methodology of Investigative Genetic Genealogy will go on trial in Canada. The hearing is set for the week of June 19-23. The case is brought by the defense for double-murder suspect Leonard Cochrane. Cochrane is on trial for two counts of first-degree murder in the July 11, 1994 shooting deaths of Barry Buchart and […]
Identified: Joseph Augustus Zarelli
On Thursday, December 8, 2022, the Philadelphia Police Department announced the name of the child know as the Boy in the Box: Joseph Augustus Zarelli. He was four years old. On February 25, 1957 Joseph Augustus Zarelli was found dead inside a cardboard box that was left on an empty lot near then Susquehanna Road […]
Identified: El Dorado Jane Doe
We have the identity of the woman we came to know as El Dorado Jane Doe. Her first name is Kelly. Her family name is withheld for privacy reasons. Kelly (1968 – July 10, 1991) was the unidentified murder victim found in a motel room on July 10, 1991 in El Dorado, Arkansas. During the […]
The Ethics of Forensic Genealogy part 4
In part 4 of my series on Forensic Genealogy, we look at what is happening in Iowa. The Iowa Supreme Court, in a 4-3 split, decided on June 18, 2021, to ban police from searching the people’s uncollected trash without a warrant. In doing so they outlawed a decades old investigative technique. The Justices said […]
The Ethics of Forensic Genealogy part 3
Two US states have enacted bills to protect people’s privacy when the authorities use commercial direct-to-consumer DNA databases and forensic genealogy to solve old crimes. What happens when they use DNA databases? Police use DNA from an old unsolved crime scene and compare it to genetic online profiles in commercial DNA databases. They will try […]
Neosho Grace Doe is Shawna Beth Garber
Now officially identified as Shawna Beth Garber (born March 1, 1968) she was known as the ‘McDonald County Grace Doe’ and on my website as Neosho Grace Doe. Why did I give her that name? After her remains were recovered, Detective Lorie Howard sent them to Freeman Hospital in Neosho and the scans were sent […]
The Ethics of Forensic Genealogy part 2
In March 2019, I wrote about the Ethics in Forensic Genealogy. I indicated that while there was room for joy, because we would be able to solve old crimes, that there was also room for concern. In part 2, I’d like to highlight some of those concerns. Forensic Genealogy is not just instrumental in catching […]
DeAngelo Jr., Convicted Felon
It is a rainy day on the East Coast. It set the perfect mood to write the introduction to this post. Because today, the man who ruined so many lives, the man who has dominated his many victims’ lives, will finally slip into the abyss of oblivion. Hence forth, Joseph James DeAngelo Jr. is a […]
DNA profile breach
From TechCrunch: “GEDmatch, the DNA analysis site that police used to catch the so-called Golden State Killer, was pulled briefly offline on Sunday while its parent company investigated how its users’ DNA profile data apparently became available to law enforcement searches. The company confirmed Wednesday that the permissions change was caused by a breach.” GEDmatch […]