Q&A January 2018
Added 2018-01-04 12:58:13 +0000 UTCAnother recorded Ask Me Anything session with Casefile team.
Apologies for the delay, we were supposed to record it in December but couldn't find a suitable time for everyone!
But here it is!
Thank you for sending the question, we answered them as best as we could:)
Comments
Thanks so much for answering all of my questions guys, it was so fun hearing Casey McCasefile pronounce my name! Cheers from Canada :)
Jennifer Murphy
2018-01-14 19:06:27 +0000 UTCOh wow thanks! That doesn’t amazing job of explaining it. I know in the case where they found the three women that were in the barrels they were able to use one of the persons DNA to identify them through a database like ancestry. But I think the main difference there is this was the victim they were trying to identify, and they had went through all of their means. It in turn, helped them also identify the perpetrator, but only because they knew the identity of the victims. But I could see how it would definitely be a slippery slope identifying family members of someone who has committed a crime, as that may not be something they want to know-and could change their lives in a lot of ways. Technically they were just submitting do you need to find out about their history, and also heritage. So I guess it does go beyond the consent. Super comprehensive answer though. Many times when I respond to emails from students asking simple questions, I can sometimes hit 2000 words. They find this funny. At least I’m not the only one.
Allison Deming
2018-01-12 13:57:50 +0000 UTCLate to the party, but I loved the AMA! Great to hear that you guys have similar tastes in movies and shows (love The Crown, too!). Mike: We were in Masuria on our honeymoon and it was really lovely! The Polish were friendly and really nice. Krakow also is lovely, I want to go back to Poland as well. Cheers from Germany, Anne
Anne Joroch
2018-01-10 07:06:41 +0000 UTCBasically with very strict privacy laws you can't just use ancestry.com to find DNA matches. There has to be a court order. You can find 100 of your distant relatives because A) you own the DNA and have agreed to put in in the database B) so have those other people - but police are not allowed to search those private records. Of all the legal means of DNA matching including familial DNA, they have tried absolutely everything. This is the (very long) synopsis I wrote for everyone after releasing the series! If it helps! 1. The DNA collected in Southern California murders matched 3x Contra Costa County mixed semen samples. Thus linking Southern California to Contra Costa. 2. All Contra Costa County cases were linked to Sacramento by MO only, one of the reasons to describe details of every attack was to present the evidence showing why investigators have linked all attacks. 3. Much of the physical evidence from Sacramento cases has been destroyed, likely the reason the "Excitement's Crave" poem has no original. Some detectives like Bevins did keep files and Shelby did too, but has since passed them onto current detectives.� It was routine practice to destroy evidence after a certain number of years/ statute of limitations runs out on a case. Not a 'mistake' made at the time. 4. The semen samples—for which there is not much left of—were mixed samples. This means they separated the females DNA from the EAR/ONS in order to get his DNA profile. 5. The Nationwide CODIS system in USA is cross checked every year (or more) for new matches; they have been checking for 17 years.� The last search was across over 16 million profiles. 6. The likelihood of getting a new direct match is slim because the probability of a 60+ year old committing a felony is small. There is a higher chance of getting a close familial match at this point. 7. Not all states have the same laws as to which criminals have their DNA taken. In California, it’s all people arrested for a felony but this is not the case across the whole country. 8. All states have a DNA database according to their own laws, and they send their results to the FBI national system. 9. The DNA evidence has also been fed into the Interpol worldwide database which covers numerous countries own database (including Australia). This is not routinely done with familial searches as this is an entirely different area of DNA matching. 10. The military have no database for DNA samples for criminal matters. Any DNA samples taken from their members have been stored for the purpose of soldiers possibly needing to be identified as a result of death in action. 11. The California DOJ will permit law enforcement to also conduct a “familial search” of the system for any people who have the potential to be closely related on the father’s side. This is a close relative. When California passed the law to allow familial searches, the first person’s DNA to be uploaded to the system was the EAR/ONS. This continues to be checked. 12. There are other types of DNA testing which includes Autosomal DNA testing, in private labs which also have separate, private databases. �But because the DNA samples are mixtures, meaning a mix of the EAR/ONS DNA, as well as the females DNA and the forensic genealogy labs, do not work with mixed samples, there is too much room for error and so labs don’t tend to work with mixtures. 13. Investigators cannot check private databases at this time nor can they cross check with private genealogy services like ancestry.com (privacy/legal reasons). Public databases, however, have and continue to be checked. If there was a serious suspect, yes, a warrant could be obtained. 14. By people in the community continuing to pursue personal genetic genealogy, like 23andMe, uploading their DNA to databases in order to trace their family history, a more distant relative may be found in the future. 15. Investigators currently have different means of collecting DNA from a POI (Person of Interest), they ask the person to volunteer if they believe it wont harm the case. They can ask family members to offer their DNA, they can apply for a warrant, they can collect a sample discarded by the suspect on public property if the sample was obtained according to the correct legal process. 16. Phenotyping is possible. This is the digital facial image that can be established to resemble the person from their genome. It delivers a composite based on hair colour, skin tone and other characteristics determined by genes. It can show whether the person is of mixed ancestry and where that ancestry lies. There has been no confirmation this is happening but it is possible. This has helped recently in cold cases but there is also evidence that it has hindered, when the perp was found and didn't resemble the image greatly.
Casefile True Crime
2018-01-09 00:01:07 +0000 UTCHi Allison, here is a very detailed response from Anna :)
Casefile True Crime
2018-01-08 23:58:08 +0000 UTCOn the east area rapist, they have DNA correct? They just do not have a match in the system. Is there any reason they could not run that DNA for relatives? Are used ancestery DNA recently to find out my heritage, and also find relatives. I had over 100 cousins show up. Even if this person didn’t have that many, that sort of familial match could seriously narrow down the subject pool correct?
Allison Deming
2018-01-05 12:43:26 +0000 UTCGreat listening... No listening to Case file for 5 years olds... HA
MMH
2018-01-04 18:37:45 +0000 UTCI really enjoy the AMA thanks. You guys are awesome.
Erica Ocaranza
2018-01-04 15:48:49 +0000 UTC
