Genealogy In Cold Cases

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Pages: 8

The lack of technology in many cold cases is the reason they’re left unsolved. Because of this, these cases should be opened based on improved DNA and genealogy, advances in forensic analysis, and the closure and justice brought to these victims' families. Genealogy in cold cases plays an important role in murders where little evidence can be found. One example of this is the Golden State Killer, aka Joseph James DeAngelo, who was charged with 13 murders and 13 rape charges from 1975 to 1986. For many years, he was able to get away with these crimes because law enforcement lacked advanced technology at the time. Even with the missing fingerprints, there was no available police database that had his fingerprints, which made it even harder to …show more content…
The FBI found the identification number and found who rented the truck, a man named Mohammed Salame. On the rental papers, they found the same chemicals from the crime on the papers: nitric acid, “Traces of a nitrate explosive were found over a wide area, especially on the remains of a van. Mohammed Salameh had rented the van in Jersey City, and nitrate traces left by his hands were found on the rental agreement” (FBI 1). DNA analysis is important, especially in cases where chemicals or things that the naked eye cannot see are present. Forensic analysis advances further than just bombings and murder cases, but also our historical figures and American history. Hew Morrison uses DNA analysis to recover historical figures from many decades. This was possible using CT scans, paintings, tapestries, sculptures, and accurate historical accounts. In 2022, he would recover and make an accurate depiction of the first pregnant mummy found in ancient Egypt and also be responsible for the accurate depiction of a seventh-century teenage girl named the "Trumpington …show more content…
In 1996, he was accused of murdering his 17-year-old girlfriend and making threats against her the night before she was murdered. He would be convicted for this crime because of the bite marks on her body and two men "claiming" he confessed that he murdered the woman, “confessions received from mentally ill or youthful individuals, misidentification through a police artist's sketch, cross-racial misidentification, and misappropriation of forensic evidence such as unreliable bite identification used in the Gauvreau arrest” (Gazette Editorial). Twenty-one years later, they found the real killer and cleared Gauvreau of any charges. With the Innocence Project being established and Keith Gauvreau getting the justice he deserves, this sheds light on how technology impacts people's lives in life-or-death situations. Forensic evidence can keep communities protected because newer methods and technological advances are more accurate. With cases being handled with more science, we have more proof that the person being convicted is the actual perpetrator. Without our advances, criminals would commit more crimes, terrorizing our communities. “When a crime's true perpetrator is not identified, communities are less safe” (Neufeld