Genealogy

The outcome was not a given. Some legal scholars have suggested that law enforcement’s use of genetic genealogy may violate the Fourth Amendment. That constitutional right safeguards US citizens against warrantless searches and seizures by their government. Typically, courts have held that any expectation of privacy, and the attendant Fourth Amendment protections, evaporates when an individual voluntarily shares material or data with a third party, such as in social media posts or your cell phone’s location services.

Should the police be able to investigate your genetic family tree for any crime, no matter how minor? Someone broke into a church in Centerville, Utah, last November and attacked the organist who was practicing there. In March, after a conventional investigation came up empty, a police detective turned to forensic consultants at Parabon NanoLabs. Using the publicly accessible website GEDmatch, the consultants found a likely distant genetic relative of the suspect, whose blood sample had been found near the church’s broken window.

An upcoming murder trial, which will mark the first trial for a person linked to a crime by genetic genealogy is expected to set guidelines for the future of genetic genealogy in law enforcement. The trial for former truck driver William Earl Talbott II , who was arrested in May of 2018, could start as early as next week, according to the Vancouver Courier . He was linked to a decades-old cold case with genetic genealogy research. Even though his arrest came slightly after the arrest of the Golden State Killer suspect Joseph DeAngelo, he is expected to be the first suspect linked to a murder through genetic technology to make it to trial.

After two teens were identified as the robbers who broke into the home of a college student, the Schenectady District Attorney’s Office filed charges against Larrell Moody and Qaran West. The two teens, who are related, maintained their innocence throughout the investigation. Police took statements from the victims, who were eventually able to identify Moody and West as the perpetrators. According to the police report, a group of four college students gathered at an apartment where they were subsequently robbed of their cash, jewelry and electronics.

There are only a few hundred affiliate libraries in the country. The designation means local library patrons will now have greater and more convenient access to the wealth of genealogical resources available through FamilySearch. The popular web service has over 6 billion searchable names and 2 billion images of historical genealogical records—and you get the helpful assistance of library staff.