Investigative genealogy helped FBI identify Lady of the Dunes
By Mike Sullivan, WBZ-TV
PROVINCETOWN - Evolving technology helped the FBI solve the longest unidentified homicide victim in the state. She was known as the Lady of the Dunes, now she has been identified as Ruth Marie Terry of Tennessee.
Terry died in 1974, and police believe her killer removed her hands to make it harder to identify her. The FBI used investigative DNA genealogy to track her down. It's the process of comparing DNA to a larger database.
"What we do is all about the quality and the quantity of the matches and being able to triangulate our way into a family tree to find the person we are looking for," explains Pam Lauritzen with the DNA Doe Project. The non-profit is one of the pioneers of investigative DNA genealogy.
Currently only two DNA tracing companies allow law enforcement to use their archives. Those two are GEDMatch and Family Tree DNA. For privacy reasons, big companies like Ancestry or 23 and Me do not allow law enforcement to use their data.
"Ancestry and 23 and Me have more than 20 million profiles, and the databases we are using have 8 million," said Lauritzen. "The more profiles mean a faster resolution and a more confident resolution of cases. Access to those databases would be a game changer for sure in investigative genetic genealogy."
Lauritzen says the FBI now has their own DNA genealogy team, however they are only allowed to work on violent crimes. The district attorney for the Cape and Islands wants to see legislators step up and expand the usage for law enforcement in Massachusetts.
"In an effort to have uniformity of use of this technique, we would like to see that legislation pass into law," adds Michael O'Keefe, Cape and Islands District Attorney.
