In January 2002, former fashion writer Christa Worthington was stabbed to death in the small coastal town of Truro, Massachusetts. One important clue to the killer’s identity was the presence of semen on her body. After searching in vain for her murderer for 3 years, state and local police decided to gather DNA samples from all 790 of the village’s full-time male residents. They hoped to identify the person who had sex with Worthington shortly before her death, even if he wasn’t the killer. Police fanned out to local businesses, the town dump, and other locations to gather cheek swabs.
The decision to conduct a DNA dragnet divided the town’s male population.
Some were outraged. They contacted the police and the American Civil Liberties
Union
