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The Associated Press and the Everett Washington HeraldNet carry a story about a 30 year old double murder solved using Public Genealogy Sites similar to the Golden State Killer story carried here on SoylentNews.
Deaths of two Canadian visitors shopping in the Seattle area were unsolved since 1987.
The deaths remained a mystery for more than 30 years, until DNA led to a major breakthrough. A genealogist, CeCe Moore, worked with experts at Parabon NanoLabs to build a family tree for the suspect, based on the genetic evidence recovered from the crime scenes. They used data that had been uploaded by distant cousins to public genealogy websites. They pinpointed a suspect, Talbott, a trucker living north of Sea-Tac International Airport.
Police kept him under surveillance until a paper cup fell from his truck in Seattle in early May. A swab of DNA from the cup came back as a match to the evidence that had waited 30 years. Before then, Talbott had never been considered a suspect. Days later he was in handcuffs.
This time the police used Parabon NanoLabs (more well-known for generating facial models from mere samples of DNA) to build a family tree of the killer by submitting the 30 year old crime scene DNA samples to multiple genealogy sites.
Results from those sites were combined by a Parabon genealogist to map the family of distant cousins found in those data bases. Police were then able to narrow down the list using other methods unmentioned.
Neither article mentions if any family members were stalked by police while being eliminated as suspects, or whether any samples were submitted by other family members.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 17 2018, @07:57PM (2 children)
This is one of those new areas in forensics and law enforcement where I feel like the cure is going to quickly get worse than the disease.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by frojack on Sunday June 17 2018, @08:10PM
When they ask you for a DNA sample for exclusionary purposes you can bet it's going straight into a national database even when it does in fact exclude you.
Because, surely if your third cousin was a rapist, you must be too. /Sarcasm
So far police have been quite sensitive to the potential for abuse, but they've also been very circumspect about exactly what level of invasive or coersive investigation methods are employed. We've learned to be suspicious when police start keeping methodology secret.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Monday June 18 2018, @08:26PM
I bet you every time they've generated a model that's impressed anyone, they already had a related photo to work from.
Me, cynical?
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 17 2018, @08:47PM (7 children)
So, if I have a family member who committed a crime, and I want to turn them in without going to the police, I could just submit my DNA to one of those genealogy labs and just wait for science to run its course?
(Score: 2) by Arik on Sunday June 17 2018, @08:59PM
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 17 2018, @09:14PM (4 children)
Are you related to Trump?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 17 2018, @11:49PM (3 children)
No, but I was unaware that he left behind DNA. [shudder]
(Score: 2) by SpockLogic on Monday June 18 2018, @12:05AM (2 children)
Stormy, do you have a blue dress?
Overreacting is one thing, sticking your head up your ass hoping the problem goes away is another - edIII
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 18 2018, @09:49AM (1 child)
Define have
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Monday June 18 2018, @03:45PM
HAVE: (noun) one of two parts when something is divided in two.
People who think Republicans wouldn't dare destroy Social Security or Medicare should ask women about Roe v Wade.
(Score: 2) by looorg on Monday June 18 2018, @11:13AM
I guess that could be a way to do it. But are these "active cases" or "cold cases" (I'm guessing cold once since it was a unsolved murder in 1987) that are getting solved by getting data from genealogy databases so if you think a crime was committed now it might not help much. I just hope this won't mean that police be getting lazy and just starting to trawling genealogy sites for clues instead of normal work. I don't believe this will have a deterrence effect on murderers either, it's to far fetched and many steps of thinking ahead to probably have an effect (as in can't murder billy bob cause some day way into the future some potential offspring might submit dna to a website and they'll track it back to me ...)
(Score: 0, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 17 2018, @09:45PM (10 children)
Visitors to Kuwait get their DNA collected at the airport when they arrive. Everybody living there has their DNA collected, not just babies like in California.
I'm sure it helps. I suppose the really offensive part of the deal is that it is just decided by the people in charge; this is the sort of tradeoff that ought to be put to a vote.
(Score: 5, Informative) by captain normal on Sunday June 17 2018, @11:18PM (9 children)
Of course you're an AC. Trying pass of a baldfaced lie as as fact.
"If men were angels, government would not be necessary." James Madison
(Score: 2, Offtopic) by realDonaldTrump on Sunday June 17 2018, @11:54PM (8 children)
They call it SoylentNews because it's about the news. Discussion about the news. But you go, "oh, that's a lie!" just because you didn't hear a certain story in the news. And that's a terrible discussion. Sad! foxnews.com/travel/2016/04/21/kuwait-to-test-tourists-dna-before-letting-them-into-country.html [foxnews.com]
(Score: 5, Informative) by takyon on Monday June 18 2018, @12:32AM (1 child)
Kuwait: Court Strikes Down Draconian DNA Law [hrw.org]
Kuwait’s Constitutional Court: Mandatory DNA collection law is no good [arstechnica.com]
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2, Troll) by realDonaldTrump on Monday June 18 2018, @05:53PM
Too bad for folks in Kuwait. But in High Tax, High Crime California they still do the baby DNA database. Also New York!!!!
(Score: 1, Offtopic) by captain normal on Monday June 18 2018, @05:18AM (5 children)
I was really referring to "Everybody living there has their DNA collected, not just babies like in California"
But as pointed out below if you get all you so called facts from Faux News, You are headed into a very rude awaking sooner or later.
"If men were angels, government would not be necessary." James Madison
(Score: 2, Offtopic) by realDonaldTrump on Monday June 18 2018, @08:11AM (2 children)
Wow, you say a lot of VERY DUMB things. And "people" love you for it. That's very special. The headline says tourists. And possibly that's as far as you got. The story says "citizens, temporary residents and tourists." Anonymous Coward said "everybody living there." Same difference!!!!
(Score: 1, Offtopic) by DannyB on Monday June 18 2018, @03:55PM (1 child)
Trump can take comfort that God can use even a total and complete jackass. See story in Numbers 22 [biblehub.com] at verse 21.
However history and experience makes an occurrence of God using a jackass appear highly unlikely. We're skrooowed.
People who think Republicans wouldn't dare destroy Social Security or Medicare should ask women about Roe v Wade.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 18 2018, @07:00PM
God told Pat Robertson to run for President but then didn't tell anyone to vote for him. At least God has a sense of humor.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 18 2018, @04:03PM (1 child)
That user account is a complete troll and just makes up bullshit, stop replying to it.
(Score: 2) by realDonaldTrump on Tuesday June 19 2018, @12:44AM
And maybe he'll listen to you. Even though you're Anonymous Coward. Because you're telling him what he wants to hear.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 18 2018, @07:03PM
Neither article mentions if any family members were stalked by police while being eliminated as suspects, [...]
Or in more reasonable terms "if family members were staked out or followed while being eliminated as suspects," which is only stalking in the minds of extreme Libertarians, or if the police are engaged in extra-legal activities.
You might as well say "Neither article mentions if family members were abducted by UFOs while being eliminated as suspect, or whether cattle mutilations were up" for all the relevance it has.