ASSOCIATE Magazine FBINAA Q3-2024

Continued from "Catapulting Criminal Investigations", on page 36

and unidentified human remain cases where all traditional investigative leads have been fully exhausted.

Hundreds of tips were followed up on and over the course of days and weeks that followed; suspects were identified and each, one-by-one, were eliminated. As the days and weeks passed, so did the months. Months soon turned into years, and the case went cold…ice cold! In 1987, the day of this attack, I was a senior in high school. In June of that year, I would graduate from Hauppauge High School in New York. Just two years and a few months later, I would join the policing profession on a Monday morning, actually on September 11th, 1989, and over the course of the decades, I would move through various assignments and be trusted in several supervisory and command positions. I would ultimately have the privilege of attending the 269th Session of the FBI National Academy in 2017. Soon after returning from the NA, I would get assigned to the Major Crimes, Cyber and Forensics Bureau. Although I was briefed on several notable current and unsolved cold cases, unfortunately, the rape case from 1987 didn’t make the list. In 2018, I monitored the breaking developments out of Sacramento, California regarding the arrest in the decades old Golden State Killer case. Intrigued by the science and technology, I immediately realized a new science entered the policing profession, and it was dubbed Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy, also known as FIGG. As soon as I learned of this new investigative strategy for unsolved cases, I thought...this is a game-changer! After a review, I released we not only had the unsolved 1987 rape case, with offender DNA on file, but we also had other important unsolved cases; other rapes, homicides and more than a dozen unidentified human remains (UHR). Each case was as important as the other—it was time to get to work in Fairfax County! - Embrace technology advancements such as FIGG - Don’t give excuses to lack of funding or personnel - Gather a team (sworn, professional staff and/or vetted volunteers or retirees) of highly motivated personnel, train them, and watch them solve the unsolved Not only was the unsolved 1987 rape case solved, many more were too! Across the United States alone, more than a thousand cases have been solved utilizing FIGG. After nearly 50 years, the monster who stabbed three young girls and raped one of them in a brutal Indiana attack was identified using FIGG. Although the attacker, Thomas Edward Williams , died in 1983, the three survivors — who never gave up hope that their 1975 case could be solved — 'played dead' so that Williams would stop stabbing them. The fingerprint was a powerful tool in solving crime, and still is today, then DNA and now, Genetic Genealogy. This technology comes with some public scrutiny, but receives overwhelming support from the public at large. In 2019, the Department of Justice (DOJ) put our Interim Guidelines for the use of FIGG in criminal investigations. Our profession works better when there are guardrails and policies that assist in the important mission of the crime fight. This technology can only be used on violent crimes such as unsolved murders, rapes I stress three main points while embracing this new crime solving tool; Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy:

Akin to recently developed facial recognition protocols, The result of FIGG is an investigative lead, not sufficient to warrant an arrest or indictment. The Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy process is complex and requires work by law enforcement, lab personnel, crime scene technicians and genealogist(s). When an investigative lead is generated, law enforcement is notified for a one-to-one comparison: using conventional DNA testing. I always recommend that the local prosecutor handling the case be notified of investigative steps and developing strategy. The workflow for Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy (FIGG) in current or cold cases involves several key steps: 1. CODIS Query: The first step is to query the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), a national DNA database maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). This query aims to identify any DNA profiles linked to offenders in violent crimes such as murder, rape, or unidentified human remains. 2. State Familal Search: If the CODIS query does not yield any correlations, in states where familial search is permitted, it can be performed to look for first degree relatives (parent, child, sibling) in CODIS to the unknown profile. State familiar searches involve comparing DNA profiles against state-specific databases. 3. SNP DNA Profile Creation: An accredited laboratory creates a suitable DNA profile from the evidence or sample obtained in the case. This DNA profile is then uploaded to GEDmatch, one of the databases that permits law enforcement searches. 4. GEDmatch Upload: Once uploaded to GEDmatch, law enforcement can compare the DNA profile against other profiles in the database to identify potential Genetic associations, or commonly known as "matches.” GEDmatch will return a list of genetic associations for further genealogical research. 5. Genealogical Research: Genealogists work closely with law enforcement to analyze the genetic matches and build a family tree. This involves tracing common ancestors and branching out to identify relatives of the individual represented by the DNA profile. 6. Detective Involvement: Detectives may be asked to seek out possible individuals identified in the genetic tree and obtain a consensual DNA sample from them. This helps to fill gaps in the genetic tree and further refine the search for the offender or the identity of unidentified human remains. 7. Collaboration and Legal Procedures: Throughout the process, collaboration between law enforcement, forensic experts, genealogists, and legal authorities is crucial. Legal procedures and ethical guidelines must be followed to ensure the admissibility of evidence and protect individuals' privacy rights. 8. Case Resolution: The ultimate goal of FIGG analysis is to assist in resolving the case by identifying the offender in violent crimes or establishing the identity of unidentified human remains, leading to further investigative and legal actions as necessary. Absolutely, supporting victims and survivors of unsolved cases should be a paramount priority throughout the investigative process. It's crucial to remember that

continued on page 39

38 FBINAA.ORG | Q3 2024