Trigger warning: This post contains details of specific crimes that are related to sexual assault and murder.
In 1992, an 84-year-old grandmother was brutally assaulted and killed in California. For 25 years, the mystery of her death went unsolved—and her killer unapprehended—due to the lack of physical evidence to tie him to the crime. Twenty-five years later, police paid a visit to a pizza party where they found sufficient evidence to arrest her murder.
At first glance, the murder and the pizza party seem unrelated. However, there is a link: familial DNA. Familial DNA testing has traditionally been used for a multitude of reasons, such as to identify potential genetic predispositions and to structure family trees. However, with advancements in technology, law enforcement agencies are now utilizing familial DNA testing to identify serial killers. San Diego police found a familial DNA connection suggesting a biological brother was responsible for the 1992 rape and murder of 84-year-old Angela Kleinsorge. In order to confirm that the DNA belonged to the suspect, police went undercover to a birthday party and collected Lonnie Franklin’s leftover pizza crust and utensils. The DNA was a match, and Franklin was arrested a mere two hours later. He was eventually tied to ten murders and has since been suspected of more. He is now known as the “Grim Sleeper.”
This is not the first time that familial DNA has been used to identify a serial killer. Last year, a man was identified as the “Golden State Killer” (AKA “East Area Rapist” or the “Original Night Stalker”) through a familial DNA match. He had gone undetected for 39 years. The DNA from crime scenes were entered into two online genealogical services to build a genetic profile and find relatives. Once Joseph DeAngelo was identified as a suspect in the Golden State murders, he was surveilled, and genetic material was collected from his car door and a tissue from his trash can outside. He was arrested the next day. DeAngelo, now a 79-year-old retired police officer, broke into the homes of four couples and two single women to rob them. He sexually assaulted the women, and all six of his victims were shot or beaten to death. He is suspected of up to 12 murders in total and at least an additional 45 rapes.
Thanks to familial DNA testing, two serial killers who were flying under the radar for decades were apprehended. While this is a testament to the clear benefits of using familial DNA in criminal investigations, there are three arguments against the use of genealogy services for DNA identification.
First, some have argued that using familial DNA to identify serial killers is unethical because it violates an individual’s genetic privacy. However, a counterargument is that the person knowingly submitted their DNA for the websites to use and agreed to the terms of use agreement. The genealogical service spoke out about the use of their website in the identification and subsequent arrest of Joseph DeAngelo. They stated that while the database was not created for this purpose, the terms of use agreement indicates that the database could be used for other purposes.
Second, others claim that sometimes questionable methods are used to collect DNA evidence. In the Franklin case, the defense argued that he was not finished with his food, and therefore the DNA was illegally obtained. Further, Franklin’s defense team explained that Franklin had a reasonable expectation that his trash would be thrown away, not collected, and that his trash and leftovers would not be able to be tied to him. The judge dismissed Franklin’s objection to the legality of DNA collection.
Third, the technique of matching DNA markers does not always lead to valid results, as large percentages of the population can share many specific DNA markers. This third argument emphasizes the risk of using genealogical services when there is a chance that the analysis could lead to misleading results. Now, this sort of error probably would not be too devastating if your family tree results were incorrect. But, it could be life altering for an individual who was wrongly arrested or convicted of a crime based on erroneous results. While the three arguments outlined above seem to be valid, at least on the surface, this is the most significant negative impact to consider.
So, do the costs of familial DNA testing in criminal investigations outweigh the benefits? In my opinion, no. If a serial killer is apprehended & convicted, and justice is served as a result of familial DNA testing, law enforcement should use all of the resources available.
My question to you is, do you think it is ethically sound to use a genealogy website to identify potential serial killer suspects, or should law enforcement only rely on police databases? Should law enforcement use everything at their disposal to identify and apprehend serial killers?
Please comment on the article what thoughts you might have; I am interested in hearing what everyone thinks.
Edited by Clara Boothby and Rachel Skipper
I would want to know if I’m related to a serial killer; especially one who has already been executed, and when there are still several unsolved crimes where that serial killer is a suspect. If it would help, I would let them use my DNA to see if that serial killer that I’m related to actually did it, or if it was someone else. But that’s just it; consent. Consent is key. Of course, I’m a lot younger than most serial killers, so I doubt I would be wrongfully accused lol. I think it would help in that regard, as well as in regard to having DNA samples submitted to police and FBI so that they can grow their databases. I feel law enforcement should use everything at their disposal. People are already so touchy about doing these ancestry tests, but what they don’t realize is that every time they’ve had their blood drawn, it has probably been stored in a database somewhere.