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Familial DNA Database Searches

 
 

The advent of DNA-STR technology and the development of DNA databases have allowed investigators to search for genetic near matches to help solve crimes committed by relatives of people in the database. Siblings, parents, and offspring, can be linked to crimes because their relative’s DNA closely resembles DNA found at a crime scene. Familial DNA Database Searches are based on the fundamental principle that DNA profiles of people who are related are likely to contain similarities. Familial DNA database searches can inform two lines of inquiry: the identity of an individual who could be a sibling of the offender, or the identity of the offender’s parent or child. This investigative technique is most commonly used in the United Kingdom.

This webpage is dedicated to the dissemination of information about familial DNA searches in criminal investigations. If you have case studies where this technique was used or articles involving this topic, please send them to us so they can be included here.

Familial Search Presentations

Familial Search Presentation Tampa January 2009 familail DNA.pdf

Familial DNA Searching To Solve Unsoved Crimes - Rockne Harmon 2009

A Brief Description of Familial Searching – 2007

Familial Searching presentation by Mitch Morrissey at the Cybercrime and Forensic Sciences Executive Policy Forum, June 9 - 10, 2010, Snowbird, Utah. https://prezi.com/secure/05abb753f7a22852b6aa9749e3f18e8ef261eb01/

Familial DNA Search Policies

Successful Familial DNA Search Investigations

Below is a list of individuals who were identified using a combination of traditional investigative techniques and familial searches of DNA databases.

  1. Joseph Kappen - three sixteen-year-olds, Sandra Newton, Geraldine Hughes and Pauline Floyd, were strangled and dumped in 1973. Their killer was never found until DNA testing and a familial search of the UK National DNA Database was conducted. The suspect’s DNA profile from the scenes did not match any offender profiles in the National DNA Database but there was a near match with Kappen’s son. Kappen had died some years earlier so a request was made to exhume his body for a DNA sample. The DNA sample taken from Kappen matched the suspect’s DNA profile from the three rape/homicides. News Report re Kappen.PDF
  2. Craig Harman - a brick was thrown through the windshield of the victim’s truck from a bridge above a highway, causing the victim to suffer a fatal heart attack. DNA from the brick was checked against the UK National Database but there was no exact match. Twenty-five people with similar DNA were located in the database and the defendant's relative was top of the list. A voluntary DNA sample from Harman was found to be a perfect match and, in the face of the evidence, he pleaded guilty to manslaughter. News Report re Harman.PDF
  3. Jeffrey Gafoor - a murder went unsolved for fifteen years. When authorities ran the DNA profile through the UK National Database the DNA profile of a fourteen-year-old boy was close. DNA from the boy's uncle Jeffery Gafoor matched exactly. When questioned, Gafoor admitted to the murder. News Report re Jeffrey Gafoor.PDF
  4. Jason Thomas Ward - 87 year-old Gladys Godfrey was raped and murdered in 2002. The same man attempted to rape another senior in April 2001. A familial search was conducted with DNA from the scenes and a relative of the perpetrator was found in the DNA database. Ward was located through this search and confessed. Press Release re Ward, Alderson.PDF
  5. James Ben Davies - between 1998 and 2000, a rapist committed three violent sexual assaults. The three offenses were linked by common DNA, but the rapist’s DNA was not in the UK National DNA Database. Familial searching led to a close DNA match with a family member whose DNA was on file in the database. Press Release re Davies.PDF
  6. Daniel Alderson - in 1992, an eighteen-year-old woman was raped and in 1997, a twelve-year-old girl was indecently assaulted. The same DNA profile was obtained in both cases. No match was found in the UK National Database. Familial searching was used to identify a close family member who had a DNA profile similar to the profile obtained from the incidents. Together with information about the physical appearance of the offender, investigators were led to Daniel Alderson. He was sentenced to six years in prison in November 2004. Press Release re Ward, Alderson.PDF
  7. Tahir Mahmood - a cab driver raped a woman passenger after driving her to an isolated spot. Initial checks with the UK National DNA Database failed to find a match. Scientists then came up with 700 possible "familial" DNA groupings. Detectives carried out an elimination process, excluding people because of their age, ethnicity or geographical location. They ended up with 30 suspects whose DNA was close to that of the rapist. Among them was a brother the rapist. Detectives obtained a swab from Mahmood and it matched the DNA from the rape. Report Mahmood.PDF
  8. James Lloyd - this rapist confessed to a string of attacks in the 1980s where he took the victim’s shoes as trophies. When DNA from his sister went into the UK National Database, there was a familial connection made to his DNA samples that had been taken at the time of the attacks. News Report re James Lloyd.PDF
  9. Russell Bradbury - No match for a rapist’s DNA was found in the UK National Database. Through familial searching the evidence found on the victim was linked to a member of the rapist’s family. Investigators then obtained a DNA sample from the rapist and, when it matched, he admitted to the rape and was sentenced. Press Release re Russel Bradbury.PDF
  10. Graham Darbyshire - in 2004, a cold case review led to an upgraded DNA profile from a semen stain in a 1995 rape. The profile was loaded onto the UK National DNA Database but it did not match anyone. However it did match the partial profile from a 1993 rape. Investigators utilized familial DNA searching followed by Y-STR testing to get to a relative of the rapist. This work lead to Darbysire’s conviction and life sentence. He had prior sexual assault convictions from 1971 and 1984. News Report re Darbyshire.PDF
  11. Geoffrey Godfrey - a 36-year-old mother of two was raped as she walked along a path. The rapist’s DNA was recovered but it did not match anyone in the UK National Database. After the arrest of a relative, a familial match led to Godfrey. Fourteen years after the rape Godfrey admitted his guilt in court. News Report re Godfrey.PDF
  12. Christopher Downes - in 2006, police started a cold case investigation into attacks on three women in Salisbury, England in 1984-85. Biological testing resulted in a DNA profile of the rapist, but no match was found in the UK National DNA Database. Familial DNA search disclosed a close DNA match with Downes’ son whose DNA was in the database. The investigation led to Christopher Downes. The day that Downes provided a DNA sample to investigating officers, he committed suicide. The sample Downes provided matched a semen stain found in 1984 at one of the three rape scenes in Salisbury.News Story re Downes.PDF
  13. Baby Lara investigation – the remains of a six month-old baby girl were found entombed in a block of concrete in a garage in the village of Barepot, England. The remains had been there for up to 40 years. A familial DNA database search led to Anne Chadwick; her DNA profile indicated that she was either the baby’s mother or sister. Due to medical reasons, Chadwick could not have been the mother. Chadwick’s mother, Sheila Parker, had died years before and her remains had been cremated. Preserved histological samples from Parker were DNA tested and showed that Parker could not be excluded as the baby’s mother. Further DNA analysis concluded that the baby was probably the illegitimate daughter of Joe Thwaites and Sheila Parker, and the older sister of Anne Chadwick. News Reports re Baby Lara.PDF
  14. Derek Young - committed a series of sex attacks using a knife beginning in the 1990s. When the cases were reopened, investigators conducted a familial investigation which linked DNA from Young’s son, who was in the UK National Database, to DNA samples that had been taken at the time of the attacks. Young pled guilty to rape, attempted rape and indecent assault and was sentenced to 15 years. News Report re Young.PDF
  15. Bronagh Bond - abandoned her two new born infants, the first in 2003 and the second in 2006. DNA established that the babies were sisters and a familial DNA database search resulted in a close match with a man who lived near where the babies had been found. His four sisters all submitted to DNA tests and it was determined that one of the sisters, Bronagh, was the babies’ mother. News Report re Bond.PDF
  16. Dale Burrows - committed a rape in 1989, which went unsolved until investigators used a familial DNA database search that connected Burrow’s sister to DNA left at the scene of the attack. The sister’s DNA was in the UK database because of a minor offense. News Report re Burrows.PDF
  17. David Newton - stabbed and raped a sixteen-year-old girl in 1997 and stabbed and attempted to rape a fifty-two- year-old woman in 2006. The offender DNA profile found in both cases was the same. Although there was no match to the profile on the UK National DNA Database, there was a link to Newton’s son through a familial DNA search. Newton was charged and pled guilty in both cases. News Report re Newton.PDF
  18. Ronald Castree - West Yorkshire police in the UK reopened the sexual assault and murder of 11-year-old girl that occurred in 1975. The victim had been stabbed 12 times. A familial search was run on the National UK database to find a DNA code similar to that of the suspect. Before the follow-up investigation on the list of family candidates was completed, Ronald Castree’s DNA profile appeared in the database and matched the forensic DNA profile found in the case. Castree had been arrested for an alleged sexual assault and, although he was not charged, his DNA was entered in the national database. Castree received a life sentence. News Report re Castree.PDF
  19. Ian O'Callaghan - murdered and then mutilated a 66-year-old woman in a bus station bathroom in Manchester, UK in 1994. In 2006, a drunken driving arrest placed O'Callaghan into the DNA database and he matched the unknown DNA profile found on the victim's body. At the time of the match the Cold Case Review Unit was working through a Familial DNA list, which included O’Callaghan’s brother. Had he not been identified through the DNA database, the familial investigation would have led to O’Callaghan’s apprehension. He was convicted of the sexually motivated murder and sentenced to life in prison. News Reports re O'Calleghan.pdf
  20. Wayne Jarden - in 1988, broke into a 27-year-old woman’s home in Christchurch, New Zealand, tied her to her table and raped her. In 1996, Jarden broke into a 90-year-old woman's apartment and raped her. Both crimes remained unsolved and it was not until DNA tests in 2000 that investigators knew they had been committed by the same man. Jarden's DNA was not in database, but a familial search linked the DNA profile from the rapes to two of Jarden's relatives. One was Jarden's brother, Kevin Jarden, who was in the database for sexual crimes involving several young girls. After charges were brought against him, Wayne Jarden pled guilty to both two rapes. News Report re Jarden.pdf
  21. Daniel Cronin - police conducted a familial DNA search in the sexual assault of a 16 year-old school girl in South Wales, UK which occurred in 1995. The familial search lead to a relative of Cronin who was in the DNA database due to an arrest for a petty crime. The DNA collected from the sexual assault matched a sample taken from Cronin, who later admitted having consensual sex with the victim. Although the familial DNA investigation was successful, the jury acquitted Cronin of the rape based on a consent defense. News report re Cronin.pdf
  22. Robert Morley - raped/murdered a nine-year-old boy named Imraan Vohra in Lancashire England in 1985. The case remained unsolved for 24 years until Morley was identified as the killer though a familial DNA search and investigation. Morley died in 1997. News Report re Morley.pdf
  23. Rachel Davies - illegally disposed of the body of her stillborn baby in Alcester, England in 2006. DNA was obtained from both the baby and the bloodstained garments found with the body. A comparison of the two profiles revealed that the bloodstains must belong to the baby's mother. There was no match on a DNA search on the UK national database. A familial search for the baby's father was conducted using 50 percent of the baby's DNA profile - the part not inherited from its mother. This search led to the father who provided the name of Rachel Davies. Her DNA matched the DNA on the bloodstained clothes and proved she was the baby's mother. Davies pled guilty to concealment of the body. News Report re Davies.pdf
  24. David Lace - raped and murdered Teresa De Simone in 1979. Another man was convicted of the murder, but was exonerated by DNA after serving twenty-seven years in prison. A UK familial DNA database search resulted in a partial match to a sibling of Lace. A further sample was taken from another sibling, who was not on the database, to help confirm the familial match. Lace had committed suicide in 1988. His body was exhumed in 2009 in order to obtain a DNA sample. Lace's DNA match DNA found at the crime scene. News Report re Lace.pdf News_Report2_re_Lace.pdf http://fcpei.denverda.org/fcpei/Videos/De_Simone_30_years_later.html
  25. Luis Jaimes-Tinajero - pleaded guilty to two car break-ins in Denver, Colorado after he was linked to the crimes through a familial DNA search and investigation. Blood found at the scene produced a DNA profile that was submitted to the CODIS DNA database, but no match was found. A familial search software program, designed by the Denver District Attorney's Office and the Denver Police Crime Lab, indicated a strong likelihood that a brother of Jaimes-Tinajero was in the database because of a felony conviction. After further investigation, Luis Jaimes-Tinajero was identified and police obtained a court order for his DNA sample. His DNA perfectly matched the original car break-in and also linked him to a second car break-in. This is the first conviction in the United States where the results from a familial search software program aided in solving a crime. News Report re Tinajero.pdf
  26. Joseph Reekers - murdered Marie Jamieson in Auckland, New Zealand in 2001. In 2008 police retested a DNA sample found on her body but a search of the National DNA database failed to find a direct match. A familial DNA search identified a sibling of Reekers in the DNA database. The follow up investigation lead to Reekers, DNA confirmed he was the killer and he pleaded guilty to the murder. News Report re Reeker.pdf Reekers decision.pdf
  27. Paul Stewart Hutchinson - abducted, raped and strangled Colette Aram in 1983 in Keyworth, Nottinghamshire, in the UK. Miss Aram’s naked body was left lying in a field. In 2009, Hutchinson was connected with the crime came after DNA evidence from the scene was matched with one of his relatives whose DNA is on the national DNA database. He pleaded guilty to the murder and was sentenced to life in prison. News Reports re Hutchinson.pdf http://fcpei.denverda.org/fcpei/Videos/Hutchinson.htm
  28. Harry Musson – broke into the victim’s home and raped her in Barnsley, UK in 1990. The case went unsolved until DNA from the attacked was connected to Musson through a familial search which lead police to one of his relatives whose DNA was on the national DNA database. Musson pleaded guilty to the sexual assault and burglary and received a twelve year sentence. News Report re Musson.pdf
  29. Keith Davison - raped a waitress in Portsmouth, England in 1990; the crime went unsolved for twenty years. He was tied to the rape when DNA from his daughter was put into the National DNA Database and revealed a familial link to DNA from the rape. Davison denied the rape and was convicted after a trial. News Report re Davison.pdf
  30. Phil Collins - raped a 17-year-old woman in 1990 in Ipswich, UK. In 2009, Collins’ DNA was connected to DNA from the rape through a familial search after his son's DNA was entered into the UK’s National DNA Database. He denied the rape at trial but was convicted. News Report re Collins.pdf News Report re Collins1.pdf
  31. Lonnie David Franklin Jr. - the serial killer know as the “Grim Sleeper” was caught through familial DNA search after his son’s DNA uploaded into the California DNA database. Franklin’s arrest ends a twenty-five year investigation into the deaths of eleven people dating back to 1985. He last struck on Jan. 1, 2007. A twelfth victim escaped after she was shot and raped. All the bodies were found outdoors, often in alleys a few miles south of downtown Los Angeles. After the familial DNA database link, detectives used a piece of discarded pizza with Franklin's DNA to make the link to the DNA profiles from the crime scenes. News Report re Franklin.pdf
  32. Elvis Lorenzo Garcia - threatened a woman with a knife and raped her in Santa Cruz, CA in 2008. In 2010, a familial DNA search linked DNA evidence from the rape to Garcia's father who was in the California DNA database. Investigators then obtained a sample of Garcia's DNA, which matched the DNA from the rape. News Report re Garcia.pdf
  33. Robert Saint was convicted of a 1989 sexual assault that went unsolved until 2011 when a familial DNA search was conducted on the UK National DNA database using DNA recovered from the rape. Saint’s son was on the database and as a result of a familial search investigators made the connect to Saint. His DNA sample was obtained and matched the DNA from the rape. New Report re Saint.pdf Saint.wmv
  34. Michael Acey sexually assaulted a 10-year-old girl in 1984; the case went unsolved for nearly 30 years. In 2011, the DNA profile from the attack was compared to the UK national DNA database without success. A DNA familial search led to Acey, who gave a DNA sample which matched the profile from the attack. Acey was sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty. Acey.pdf

For more information on familial DNA searches in criminal investigations see:

  1. Finding Criminals Through DNA of Their Relatives, F. Bieber and C. Brenner, and D. Lazer, Science 312, June 2, 2006. http://www.hks.harvard.edu/davidlazer/files/papers/Lazer_Bieber_Science_DNA_June2006.pdf
  2. Jules Epstein, “Genetic Surveillance” - The Bogeyman Response to Familial DNA Investigations", Widener Law School Legal Studies Research Paper Series no. 08-47, (2008).
    Epstein.pdf
  3. Dangerous Relations – Familial DNA Searching, Damian Small, Investigative Practice Journal, 12/13/07. Dangerous relations - Police Professional Dec 07-1.PDF
  4. CBS News Sixty Minutes report entitled “A Not so Perfect Match,” an examination of familial searching of forensic DNA databases (July 2007). http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/23/60minutes/main2600721.shtml
  5. Familial DNA Searching, It's all in the family, Suzanna Ryan, LawOfficer.com, 10-21-08 http://www.lawofficer.com/news-and-articles/columns/ryan/familial_dna_searching.html
  6. A short description of Familial DNA Searching in the UK, Mitch Morrissey, 6-07-08 http://fcpei.denverda.org/fcpei/Videos/explaination%20of%20UK%20familial%20searches.html
  7. Familial searches and cold hit statistics http://www.bioforensics.com/conference08/Familial_Searches/index.html
  8. Summary Report of the Virginia Scientific Advisory Committee’s Subcommittee on Familial Searches, presented to the Scientific Advisory Committee at its meeting in Richmond, Virginia on August 7, 2007. subcommitteerpt.pdf
  9. Tracing a crime suspect through a relative, LA Times, Dolan and Felch, 11/25/08. LA Times Story re Familial Searches.pdf
  10. Familial DNA: It’s All in the Family, Lerch, Burke, and Owen, Police and Security News, pp. 56-60, September/October 2008 2007 familial dna.pdf
  11. DNA Databases and Familial Searching, Owen, and Burke, Criminal Law Bulletin, 43, 617-629,
    Owen, Burke Familial_DNA.pdf
  12. Specificity of sibship determination using the ABI Identifiler multiplex system, Reid, Wolf, Kraemer, Lee, Baird and Lee, J Forensic Sci. 2004 Nov ;49 (6):1262-4. JFS_Sib_Paper.pdf
  13. Inferring relationships between pairs of individuals from locus heterozygosities, Silvano Presciuttini, Chiara Toni, Elena Tempestini, Simonetta Verdiani, Lucia Casarino, Isabella Spinetti, Francesco De Stefano, Ranieri Domenici, Joan E Bailey-Wilson, BMC Genetics 2002, 3:23 (20 November 2002). Inferring relationships.pdf
  14. Finding Criminals Through the DNA of Their Relatives - Familial Searching of the California Offender DNA Database, Steinberger and Sim (2008). CDAA familial search article.pdf
  15. New Frontiers in Forensic DNA Analysis: Implications for Canada's National DNA Data Bank, Sonya Norris, Social Affairs Division, 3/3/2009. New Frontiers in Forensic DNA Analysis.pdf
  16. The State of Colorado‘s DNA Familial Search Policy, Colorado Bureau of Investigations Policy Statement, 10/22/09. CBI DNA Familial Search Policy Oct 2009 - Signed.pdf
  17. The Evolution of DNA Databases: Expansion, Familial Search, and the Need for Reform, Seringhaus, DePaul University College of Law Center, symposium 2009. Seringhaus.pdf
  18. Probable Bonds: A Genetic Tattle Tale Based on Familial DNA, Jessica D. Gabel, Hastings Women's Law Journal, Forthcoming; Georgia State University College of Law, Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2009-23. (2009) Gabel.pdf
  19. Familial DNA searching can provide investigative leads in unsolved cases and also exonerate deserving inmates, Rockne Harmon, Guest Column, LA Daily Journal, Vol. 123 NO.185, 9-24-10. Harmon Guest Column re Familial DNA 9-24-10.pdf
  20. Familial DNA Testing Scores A Win in Serial Killer Case, Greg Miller, Science, Vol. 329, 7-16-10. Familial DNA Testing Scores.pdf
  21. Familial DNA Database Searching, Cantrell, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Journal of Public Inquiry, Spring/Summer 2010, http://www.ignet.gov/randp/sp10jpi.pdf Cantrell article.pdf
  22. Virginia to Begin Using Familial DNA Searches, Announced by Virginia Bob Governor McDonnell 3-21- 2011 Virginia FS announcment.pdf
  23. Familial DNA Searching: A Powerful Tool That is Seldom Utilized by Law Enforcement, Rockne Harmon, IHIA Newsletter Vol. 3, Issue 1, 2011 IHIA FS article.pdf
  24. Am I My Brother’s Keeper?: Familial DNA Searches in the Twenty-First Century, McCarthy, Notre Dame Law Review, Vol. 86:, page 382, 3/38/11 McCarthy.pdf
  25. Familial DNA Searching: What Every Prosecutor Should Know About This Powerful Forensic Tool, Morrissey, The Prosecutor, Vol. 45, Number 3, 9/2011 Familial Searching The Prosecutor Vol. 45 Number 3 Sept 2011.PDF