Beyond The Horizon
ICYMI: How A Family Tree And Genealogy Led Authorities To Kohberger
Genealogy is used in solving crimes by tracing the lineage of DNA found at crime scenes to identify possible suspects and then confirming or excluding them through further DNA testing. This method, called genetic genealogy, involves comparing the crime scene DNA profile to publicly available genetic genealogy databases, and then using traditional genealogical research to identify potential relatives of the person whose DNA was found at the crime scene. The goal is to find a close relative of the person whose DNA was found, and then work backwards to identify the person responsible for the crime. This approach has been successfully used to solve a number of cold cases, particularly in the United States.
In this episode, we see how this applies to the Bryan Kohberger arrest and how a new trend using genealogy to solve current cases is beginning to emerge.
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to contact me:
bobbycapucci@protonmail.com
source:
How a suspect was identified in the Bryan Kohberger case (wpbf.com)
- Duration:
- 13m
- Broadcast on:
- 16 Jul 2024
- Audio Format:
- mp3
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More savings and more inspiring flavors make shopping king supers worth it every time. King supers, fresh for everyone, fuel restrictions apply. What's up everyone and welcome back to the program. We know from the affidavit that the FBI and the Moscow Police Department used genealogy to capture Brian Kohlberger. And they did that by entering the DNA they found on that knife sheath into public genealogy databases. And those came back with a hit on Brian Kohlberger's pops. And then using all of that information weaved together with everything else that they have found and everything else that they came up with, they were able to get a probable cause warrant signed by a judge. And a lot of that had to do, obviously, with the results that came back from the genealogy. If it wasn't for that knife sheath that was there, they would have had no idea who did this. At least not that we know of. Again, we don't know what results they have behind the scenes. But as far as for public consumption, there's no way without that knife sheath that they would have had a strong enough case for a judge to sign off on probable cause. Because there wasn't enough there, right? All of that stuff that we have as far as him being there a whole bunch of times previously. That can be explained away by his defense team saying, oh Brian Kohlberger was over there because maybe you wanted to move into a house in the neighborhood. Or insert reason here. But what you can explain away is the DNA on that knife and not an explanation that anyone's going to buy anyway. Now if you want to be contrarian and play devil's advocate, you can say that Brian Kohlberger was over there for a party and that's how his DNA got on that sheath. But always remember you can say whatever you want. You can come up with whatever excuse you want to come up with to explain away your behavior. But you're going to need evidence to back that up. No jury is just going to take your word for it. If that was the case, why even have the trial? You just walk in there and tell the jurors, this is all BS. I'm out of here, you guys have a great week. But that's not how it works. You have to back up what you say in that courtroom and big accusations. Well, they require big evidence. And for the prosecution, it all started with this genealogy. So let's get into this article from WPBF.com down in West Palm Beach in Florida. And let's see what they came up with about the genealogy tests and capturing Brian Kohlberger. Headline. How a family tree and DNA identified Idaho murder suspect, Brian Kohlberger. Detective sent DNA to a private lab in one of the first cases of using genealogy to solve a hot case. This article was authored by Terry Parker. And usually when they're using this genealogy the way they used it in this instance, they're usually doing that to solve a cold case. So like the headline says here, the first time that they're using genealogy or one of the first times to help solve a case that is active and hot. And as the technology continues to advance, I would expect to see more of it pop up for cases like this that are currently active and being investigated. When Moscow, Idaho detectives enter the horrifying crime scene where four university students were found mysteriously stabbed to death on November 13th, they discovered a major clue. A K bar knife sheath lying on the bed next to one of the bodies. But the DNA they found on that sheath led them nowhere at first. So if you don't have any priors and you haven't had your DNA put into the system as in being arrested or something like that, well, it's not going to pop hot when they run it in CODIS. And CODIS is the system that they use to see if it's somebody who has been registered before. That way they can narrow down their subjects. Alright, so let's run this DNA and if it comes back as somebody in the database, well, that'll be the person we need to go get. But Brian Koberger obviously had no criminal record in the past, so he wasn't somebody that was in CODIS. Instead, they were at a loss. They didn't know what to do. They had the DNA, but it wasn't leading them anywhere at that time. So whose DNA was it? That's when investigators came up with a novel idea that up until now was typically used in cold cases. They sent the DNA to a private lab to see if they could find a match on a public ancestry database and it worked. Genetic genealogy was crucial in identifying the defendant in the Idaho murder case. Said Palm Beach County state attorney Dave Ehrenberg. So this dude ended up getting caught because somebody in his family, his dad, his sister or whatever, they did one of these genealogical charts and here you go. It ended up coming back pop and hot and that DNA that was left on that knife sheath, well, it ended up leading them straight to Brian Koberger. And him being a criminologist, he had to know that he wasn't in CODIS, right? And that his DNA would be unknown, but he didn't expect this curveball. He didn't expect them to use something like ancestry.com or one of these public databases that they used. And I'm guessing he didn't expect to leave that nice sheath at the scene of the crime. According to a source close to the investigation, the private lab entered the DNA into a public ancestry database and within days cousin matches were showing up. Genealogists then start the tree with the closest cousin they can. We use tools such as ancestry.com to help build those trees. So once you get this individual's name, you can start building their family tree. And there's a lot of public records, said forensic scientist Julie Sikorsky of the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office. They should have used some of those forensics to arrest Jeffrey Epstein. I guess that's a story for a different time, huh? Meantime detectives were still looking for other clues, and they got a big one. Surveillance cameras caught a white Hyundai Elantra driving around the crime scene at the time of the murders. On November 25th, police asked other law enforcement to be on the lookout for white Elantras. And four days later, Washington State University police say they found at least one registered to Brian Coburger. And that was the beginning of the end for Coburger. You had the car, you had the genealogy, and those are two gigantic mistakes that are definitely going to lead back to you. And once they get a whiff of who you are, forget it. They're going to pull that curtain back and they're going to expose your whole ass life. And that's what's happening to Brian Coburger right now as we speak. We might not be seeing it publicly, but behind the scenes, forget it. They're dissecting this guy's whole entire life. Every move that he ever made that's ever been documented is being dissected. This summer, saddle up with the only sportsbook where you can bet on horse racing, FanDuel. Right now, new customers can get a no sweat first bet up to $500. Just download the app or go to fanduel.com/horses to score your no sweat bet up to $500. 21+ and present in Colorado. Offer valid on first real money wager of $5 or more. Verified FD Racing account required. Bonus issued a non-withdrawable racing site credit that expires seven days after issuance. Max refund $500. Restrictions apply. See terms at racing.fanduel.com. Gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER. Save big this summer with great deals. All in the King Supers app. Get select varieties of powerade or body armor super drinks for $0.79 each. Then get 16 ounce packs of organic strawberries for $2.49 each. All with your card and a digital coupon. Shop these deals at your local Kroger today or tap the screen now to download the King Supers app to save big today. King Supers. Fresh for everyone. Prices and product availability subject to change. Restrictions apply. See site for details. But did that mean anything to the police at the time? Apparently not because police made a public plea for information about white elantras on December 7th. They began sorting through over 22,000 registered elantras. It was the proverbial needle in a haystack. And that's where genetic genealogy became so crucial. A source says within days the lab handed over the tree leading to the Kroger family and their only son Brian who drives a white elantra. And now you find out that he's living less than 10 miles away. You've got a prime suspect said retired FBI agent John McVay 100%. When all of that starts to add up and then once you're onto his scent, you start to pull that skin back and peel each one of those layers back like an onion and things start to really fall in place. Detectives got search warrants for Kroger's phone and started tracking him. He drove home to Pennsylvania with his father for Christmas and agents retrieved some of the family's trash. They ran DNA on it and find Kroger's father Michael is likely to be the father of whoever left the DNA on the knife sheath. They arrest Brian Kroger the next day. Now with such a high profile case, I think that police departments all across the country are going to want to try and follow the lead in Idaho because it's incredibly powerful said Aaron Berg. And law enforcement like any other profession is a monkey see monkey do kind of business. If something works, the other departments other agents and other facilities are going to implement the things that worked to try and give them a better chance at clearing these homicides and solving some of these crimes. Rapid results in a baffling case that could have taken months to solve or even gone cold. Mike they says this tool could change crime solving forever and should have a chilling effect on criminals because you never know when they're going to knock on your door and say, Hey, we got a match said make they you might wonder why there is no mention of genetic genealogy in the probable cause arrest affidavit. Well, that's for two reasons. One, police don't need to include every lead they get that brings them to their suspect just enough to convince a judge to sign the arrest warrant. Number two law enforcement has been divided on whether revealing this information might lead to people being reluctant to sign up for ancestry databases if they think it might be used to solve criminal cases. Right now, only two public genealogy databases allow law enforcement to use their data and in one of them you have to consent to your DNA being used by police. But some experts say people already have so much personal information online and so many used ancestry kits that it's becoming a lesser concern. Aaron Berg agrees. Many people don't care if their DNA eventually helps find and convict a distantly related killer. I mean, I wouldn't if they use my DNA and it was in a system to catch some distant relative of mine who's out there murdering people or causing mayhem. Lock them up. I'm a big believer in play stupid games and you win stupid prizes. So don't come crying to me if my DNA is used to track you down if you're out here killing people and causing all kinds of mayhem. All right, folks, well, that's going to do it for this episode and it's always interesting to get some more context on that genealogy and the forensics because most of us don't know a lot about that stuff, right? We know what we see on TV or what we might have read. So anytime we can get an expert to weigh in on that, it's always something that I like to add to the catalog. All right, folks, that's going to do it for me. All of the information that goes with this episode. Well, that can be found in the description box.