logo
episode-header-image
May 2021
18m 11s

Family tree DNA data crack cold cases

Bbc World Service
About this episode

In the US - but increasingly in other countries too - cold case murder, sexual assaults, and unidentified person cases once thought unsolvable are being cracked thanks to the proliferation of public genetic databases. But with this success come deep worries for our DNA data. Ivana Davidovic talks to Brett Williams, the CEO of Verogen - the owner of GEDMatch consumer DNA database - about their business decision to cooperate with the police, privacy concerns and new opportunities opening up in countries like Mexico and Vietnam. We also hear from Tina Franke, whose daughter Christine Franke was murdered in Florida in 2001. She speaks of her relief at the unexpected progress in the investigation after almost two decades. Professor Andrew MacLeod tells us about his project - in conjunction with King's College London - to harness forensic genealogy to identify perpetrators of sexual violence in the aid industry. And law professor Natalie Ram explains the pioneering legislation being brought in the US state of Maryland designed to regulate the industry much more tightly.

PHOTO: Forensic scientist collecting evidence/Getty Images

Up next
Jul 10
Business Daily meets: Max Levchin
The fintech entrepreneur tells us about co-founding PayPal, and how an embarrassing personal moment when trying to buy a car, led him to start the buy now, pay later company Affirm.Produced and presented by Leanna Byrne(Image: PayPal Co-Founder & Affirm CEO Max Levchin in 2019. C ... Show More
17m 34s
Jul 9
The impact of 'thirsty' data centres
We're in the US state of Georgia, where huge data centres need water to keep cool. But how is this need for cloud storage and AI capability affecting local residents and the environment?Presenter: Michelle Fleury Producer: Nathalie Jimenez(Image: Georgia resident Beverly Morris l ... Show More
17m 50s
Jul 8
Does university still get you a well-paid job?
Graduates are facing one of the toughest jobs markets in decades. We hear from students in India, the US and UK about whether they feel a university or college degree is worth it as we discuss the cost of attending university around the world and what your job prospects might be ... Show More
17m 27s
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2021
Genetics and the longer arm of the law
It is almost 40 years since Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys discovered genetic fingerprints in his University of Leicester laboratory. Now DNA is an integral part of criminal investigations worldwide, providing vital evidence to secure convictions and exonerate the innocent.But the e ... Show More
38m 21s
Jan 2023
Episode 219: The advances in DNA technology helping to solve the world's most-puzzling cold cases
ONE was a high-flying 22-year-old career girl whose father was a multi-millionaire, the other a recently-divorced mother of four who was a popular social worker caring for underprivileged kids.Erin Gilmour and Susan Tice suffered terrible deaths just months apart in the 1980s in ... Show More
29m 54s
Jun 2022
Condo Killings
In May of 2011, high school sweethearts and avid church-goers, Bill and Peggy Stephenson, are found dead in their condo in Florence, Kentucky. The crime scene is so bizarre that the FBI has stated that the perpetrator has a pathology they only see in 1% of criminals. Detective Co ... Show More
30m 44s
Nov 2023
The Many Ways DNA Ties Bryan Kohberger to The Crime
Can the courtroom demeanor of an accused sway public perception and the course of a trial? This is one of the many questions arising from the recent court appearance of Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of a gruesome crime that captured the nation's attention. Former FBI Special A ... Show More
6m 18s
Jun 2019
A New Way to Solve a Murder, Part 1: The Genetic Detectives
A year after police used a genetic database to help identify a suspect in the Golden State Killer case, the same technique has been used to arrest dozens of people. Now, for the first time, one of those cases is headed to trial. In Part 1 of a two-part series, we look at the tool ... Show More
25m 26s
Jan 2022
Secret Sex Life Revealed After Millionaire Dentist-Wife "Commits Suicide" on African Safari With Hubby
On a big game trip to Zambia, Bianca Rudolph is killed by a gunshot to the chest. It's ruled an accident, Or was it suicide? That's something that husband, Dr. Lawrence Rudolph says was a possibility. Now, US investigators say Rudolph killed his wife in order to collect on her li ... Show More
39m 49s
Mar 2023
The First DNA Murder Conviction
After two teenage girls were murdered in their tiny English village, lead detective David Baker looks to Dr. Alec Jeffreys for help. Less than a dozen miles away from the crime scene, Jeffreys has been studying the human genome and developed a new technology called "DNA fingerpri ... Show More
53m 40s
Nov 2020
Valentine’s Dance abduction-murder solved by DNA? Bethany Decker disappearance: Boyfriend charged
Carla Walker was kidnapped from her boyfriend’s car after a Valentine's Day high school dance in 1974, and was found brutally murdered three days later. A Texas man has been arrested after the Othram Inc. forensic laboratory identified a genetic profile in the cold case. Plus, a ... Show More
55m 6s
Mar 2023
BEST OF CRIME WORLD: Why DNA evidence could solve the 'Kerry Baby' murder case (Repost)
The shock arrest of a man and a woman by officers investigating the case of the Kerry Baby could bring to an end the mystery of who the parents of the child are.But however Baby John came to wash up on a beach with multiple stab wounds remains a mystery. This week Crime World rep ... Show More
26m 12s
May 2019
Heart deaths, Organised crime and Gender data gaps
Are deaths from heart disease on the rise?This week the British Heart Foundation had us all stopping mid-biscuit with the news that the number of under 75s dying from cardiovascular disease is going up for the first time in half a century. It sounds like bad news – but is it?Does ... Show More
27m 57s