Welcome to CrimeBench

Throughout the last 3.5 years or so, I am proud to have assisted in resolving dozens of law enforcement cases through the use of investigative genetic genealogy (IGG). In some instances, such as the Lavender Doe case (covered excellently here), I have led teams of extremely dedicated volunteer genetic genealogists at the non-profit DNA Doe Project to successful identifications of Jane and John Does. In many others, through my role of Director of Lab and Agency Logistics at DNA Doe Project, I have mainly shepherded precious evidence samples through the lab pipeline and performed the much needed bioinformatics analysis to make use of these challenging samples. In still others, through my company Saber Investigations, I have assisted other organizations doing IGG work. In these cases I often consult on lab decisions and again, perform the often overlooked bioinformatics work required to go from sequencing data to a file that can be uploaded to genealogy databases.

Through this work, I have also had the exciting opportunity to make a number of media appearances to discuss various cases I’ve worked on with the DNA Doe Project. These have ranged from numerous local TV news interviews, to publications such as The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and even true crime shows such as Dateline and Citizen PI. While it is undoubtedly cool to be on a show like Dateline (and virtually meet Keith Morrison), I am also very aware that getting DNA Doe Project’s name out there any way possible, is a great way to help further our mission.

It is through these experiences that I hope to bring a fresh and interesting perspective to this blog. I plan to spend a lot of time “peeling back the curtain,” so to speak, on what it’s like behind the scenes in the field of investigative genetic genealogy. Due to my background, I plan on dedicating a lot of these posts to the more technical and science-y aspects of this work – topics like DNA extraction, sequencing, bioinformatics, new innovations in the field of human ID, and more. However, I also hope to have some light and fun posts, such as what it’s really like to be on a true crime show. I very likely may even have some posts simply on cases I found especially interesting.

Here are a few of the ideas I have for potential future posts:

• The pre-IGG process: from evidence delivery at the lab to upload to the genealogy databases
• Case study: The Hudson OH John Doe born in the 1700s
• What it’s like to be on a true crime show
• Comparison of SNP arrays to whole genome sequencing
• Bizarre cases and situations I’ve across in this work
• What the heck is imputation?
• Innovative approaches to human ID such as skin microbiome signatures and protein analysis

Hopefully whether you are a true crime enthusiast interested, genealogist looking to break into the IGG field, or even an experienced investigative genetic genealogist, there will be something that may be of interest. Welcome to CrimeBench.

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