Idaho police used controversial DNA genealogy in identifying suspect [Video]

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Suspect Bryan Kohberger was reportedly linked to the crime scene of the November student killings through DNA.
• Idaho police ran DNA found at the crime scene to a public genealogy database, which eventually led them to Kohberger.
• Another link was found in a white Hyundai Elantra similar to the one observed near the house around the time of the crime.

Idaho police reportedly found the connection between the suspect and the student killings by using the controversial DNA method that identified the Golden State Killer.

Police uploaded DNA found at the crime scene to a public genealogy database. A hit led them to the suspect, ABC News and Fox News reported.

Bryan Kohberger, 28, was arrested in his parents’ Pennsylvania home on Friday. He has been charged with burglary and four counts of first-degree murder. University of Idaho college students Ethan Chapin, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, and Xana Kernodle, 20, were stabbed to death at an off-campus residence on November 13.

According to CNN, the FBI tracked Kohberger across the country, following him for four days before arresting him. Kohberger was detained at the Monroe County Correctional Facility and is expected to waive his extradition hearing to return to Idaho sooner.

Kohberger was “shocked” by the arrest, his lawyer told CNN.

According to Moscow Police Chief James Fry, Kohberger’s arrest also led them to another link to the crime scene: a white Hyundai Elantra similar to the one observed near the house around the time of the crime.

The practice of using genealogy databases in criminal investigations is both praised and questioned.

In the Golden State Killer cold case, investigators used the GEDMatch database to identify Joseph James DeAngelo. He was convicted of murder in 2018 and is now serving multiple life sentences.

According to the University of Chicago Law Review, there must be legal standards for using genetic data in a way that protects individual privacy. Some states, such as Maryland, Montana, and Utah, have already established laws governing the use of genetic data in solving crimes in 2021.

Experts have previously advised caution to those who send their DNA to genealogy companies.

Former NYPD Sgt. Joseph Giacalone, who used to lead the Bronx’s cold case unit, told Insider that other factors can complicate the use of DNA.

Giacalone, who now teaches at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, pointed out that since investigators are “dealing with a college house,” where there are “lots of people coming and going,” it’s likely that there are “lots of mixtures in there with DNA.”

Source: Insider