Skip to main content

DNA From Genealogy Sites Helped Investigators Zero In On ‘Golden State Killer’ Suspect


Joseph James DeAngelo, 72, was arrested in connection with the string of crimes on Tuesday.
 
California investigators were able to track down “Golden State Killer” suspect Joseph James DeAngelo using a relative’s genetic information stored in genealogical website databases, the Sacramento district attorney’s office confirmed to HuffPost on Thursday.

Police arrested DeAngelo, a 72-year-old former police officer, Tuesday in connection with the so-called Golden State Killer series of murders ― as many as 12 homicides, 45 rapes and several burglaries that investigators have spent decades trying to solve.

Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert said at a Wednesday news conference that investigators found DNA evidence linking DeAngelo to two of the unsolved murder cases.
Investigators believe those homicides are connected to at least 10 others committed by the same individual.

“We all knew that we were looking for a needle in a haystack, but we also all knew that the needle was there,” Schubert said.
Asked by reporters where officials had obtained DeAngelo’s DNA, Schubert would say only that they used a “discarded DNA sample.” More information, she said, would be forthcoming.
On Thursday, Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Grippi confirmed reports that investigators used DNA collected from one of the crime scenes decades ago and compared it to genetic profiles on genealogical websites. Such sites allow individuals to present DNA samples in order to learn about their family backgrounds and determine any genetic predispositions they may have.

Grippi would not comment on which sites were used in the investigation. But one such service, called GEDmatch, said in a statement on Friday that its database was used in the investigators’ search.
“Although we were not approached by law enforcement or anyone else about this case or about the DNA, it has always been GEDmatch’s policy to inform users that the database could be used for other uses, as set forth in the Site Policy,” the company said in a statement shared with HuffPost.
The statement added that site users should “understand the possible uses of their DNA, including identification of relatives that have committed crimes or were victims of crimes.” Those concerned by such potential uses, it said, should not upload their DNA to the database and/or remove already uploaded DNA.
Other well-known genealogical websites 23andMe and Ancestry said they were not involved in the investigation.

“It’s our policy to resist law enforcement inquiries to protect customer privacy,” a spokesperson for 23andMe said in a statement to HuffPost. “23andMe has never given customer information to law enforcement officials. Our platform is only available to our customers, and does not support the comparison of genetic data processed by any third party to genetic profiles within our database.”

Ancestry said in a statement: “We have not been in contact with law enforcement regarding the Joseph James DeAngelo case. Ancestry advocates for its members’ privacy and will not share any information with law enforcement unless compelled to by valid legal process.”
After narrowing in on family trees that were potential matches, investigators focused their search on DeAngelo, who had lived in the areas of the attacks and fit the age profile.

The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department then began watching DeAngelo and collected two DNA samples to cross-reference with the DNA from the crime scene, though officials did not elaborate on their methods for collecting those “discarded” samples.
Both results came back positive, leading to DeAngelo’s arrest Tuesday. He is scheduled for arraignment in Sacramento Superior Court on Friday.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Photos: World's richest man Jeff Bezos and new girlfriend spotted gazing into each other's eyes 3-months before he announced divorce from estranged wife

New photos of World's richest man  Jeff Bezos  and new girlfriend  Lauren Sanchez  enjoying a romantic dinner in  Los Angeles have surfaced online. The photos which were reportedly taken on October 30, 2018, shows the pair gazing adoringly into each other's eyes and laughing together.  A source said the couple were snapped while dining with a male and female companion at the Capo Restaurant in Santa Monica.  'They seemed to be in their own world,' the source told the National Enquirer. 'Bezos and Sanchez barely spoke to their two companions all night.'  The source said Bezos was close to Sanchez 'from the beginning, laughing and joking and whispering to her'.  'She was gazing into his eyes throughout the first part of the evening as they sat next to each other,' they added. 'It did not look like a business dinner, and he barely spoke to the male companion all evening.' The pair spent the night gazing i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Nigeria bans production of alcohol in sachets

  The federal government has concluded plans to phase out the sale and consumption of alcohol in sachets and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles.   The director-general of the National Agency for Foods and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Mojisola Adeyeye, disclosed this in a statement released.    According to Adeyeye, uncontrolled access and availability of high concentration alcohol in sachet and small volume PET or glass bottles contribute to substance and alcohol abuse in Nigeria. She said the food agency will no longer register new products in sachet and small volume PET or glass bottles with contents above 30 percent alcohol by volume (ABV). “These concerns relate to negative effects of irresponsible alcohol consumption on public health and on the safety and security of the public, alcohol being a toxic and psychoactive substance with dependence producing properties.   In regard to alcohol, major stakeholders have been engaged at ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Police arrest cyber criminals that transfer funds from stolen sim cards(photo)

Lagos State Police Command has arrested a 6 - man syndicate that specialised in robbing Lagosians of their mobile phones and turning over its SIM cards to hackers who get hold of the account details of its owners and transfer its balances to their accounts. Parading the group today, the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Imohimi Edgal disclosed that the syndicate comprised of three splinter groups visiting choice locations in the state to rob members of the public of their phones. He stated that six suspects have been arrested by the Decoy Team of Rapid Response Squad of the command in relation to the fraud. He noted that the group handed over the SIMs to another set of people that would through special computer apps get the bank account details of the owners and thereafter get the account balances. Edgal added that the balance of the account is now transferred into different accounts sourced by another set of suspects. According to the Commissioner, Nwanze Ifeanyi (27), Mart...
Post a Comment
Read more