Wichita police study DNA technique that could help solve local cold cases
The Wichita Police Department is looking at whether an innovative but controversial investigative technique could be used to close local cold murder and rape cases.
Investigative genetic genealogy compares DNA samples taken from scenes of crimes to a public DNA database people use to find relatives, in the hopes of generating suspect leads for law enforcement. It can also be used to identify human remains.
Capt. Jeff Weible said the department isn’t ready to decide whether it will use the technique to solve any local crimes.
But it’s interested in what possibilities investigative genetic genealogy might open up.
To help find out how the technique could be used, the department co-hosted a two-day training conference on it this week that drew more than 60 people from law enforcement agencies and other organizations in Kansas, Wyoming and California to downtown Wichita.
The conference’s co-host, a Houston-based direct-to-consumer genetic testing company called Gene by Gene, is allowing law enforcement agencies to submit DNA samples and lab data files from certain kinds of cold cases. Gene by Gene then queries its DNA database, Family Tree DNA, for any matches that investigators can use to track down suspects or identify remains.
Gene by Gene lab director Connie Bormans said the company decided to open its database to law enforcement after news broke that investigative genetic genealogy in 2018 helped catch suspected Golden State killer Joseph DeAngelo, who is accused of at least 13 murders and dozens of rapes and burglaries in California in the 1970s and 1980s.
In the 18 months since, at least 70 cold cases including murders and rapes have been solved, conference presenters said Thursday.
“These are the ones where the perpetrators have really been living undetected — for decades, in some cases — and they are the ones that need to be brought to justice first,” Bormans said.
Bormans acknowledged that letting law enforcement access its database has been controversial. Its customers buy DNA kits and submit their samples, usually to help them find loved ones or build family trees.
Most don’t know or expect that their DNA profiles — even though uploaded into public databases — could be used to help track down a suspect in a criminal case.
But Bormans said Gene by Gene only allows law enforcement to use its services for what she calls the “most heinous crimes” — unsolved homicides, sexual assaults and child abductions — as well as to identify human remains.
And the agencies have to register with Gene by Gene before they can submit any DNA samples from their investigations.
Borman said Gene by Gene’s U.S. customers automatically give consent to let law enforcement search their profiles when they use the company’s services. But customers can manually opt out, if they have privacy or other concerns, she said.
Paul Holes, a retired cold case investigator who spent 24 years trying to track down the Golden State killer, said he thinks there’s a good chance investigative genetic genealogy can help solve Kansas cold cases.
“I’m excited about the idea of Family Tree DNA and Gene by Gene working with Kansas authorities in order to try to get closure for some of these victims’ families,” he said.
Weible said the Wichita Police Department plans to continue learning about investigative genetic genealogy and talk about whether it’s viable locally after the conference.
“This is some cutting edge, new advancements into solving violent crimes,” Weible said.
“We’re learning about the technique now. How (and whether) we implement that is going to be the next step.”
