DNA: ID

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Melinda Salazar and Carrole Ann White Oct 07, 2024

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Episode 120 Melinda Salazar and Carrole Ann White

Starting in 2017, someone started killing women in southwest Detroit, MI. The killer struck at night, and always used the same weapon – his car. Detroit police realized that they had a serial killer on their hands. His MO was always the same – pick up a white, female sex worker; have a sexual encounter with her in his vehicle; and then, run her down with that vehicle and rob her. He was brazen, ruthless, and active, with at least five cases fitting his MO. Despite all the trappings of modern technology at detectives' disposal, they could not identify the Hit and Run Killer. Finally, the application of forensic genealogy in an active investigation gave detectives what they needed – a name. This episode features an exclusive interview with CeCe Moore on her genealogy analysis, and brings to listeners a case that received very little media coverage.

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Doe: ID 'Chimney Doe' Ronnie Joe Kirk Sep 30, 2024

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Episode 119 Doe: ID 'Chimney Doe' Ronnie Joe Kirk

In 1989, a custodian in a music store in Madison, Wisconsin discovered human remains in the chimney. At first, it was not clear that the remains were of a male or female, and remnants on clothing though to be a dress fueled confusion. An expert told police that the remains certainly belonged to a man, but since there was no ID with the body, they had no idea who the person was, nor did they know how their body had managed to get down the very small opening of the chimney, or if he was a homicide victim. For years the case remained a mystery, and the man was named 'Chimney Doe'. Eventually, DNA & genealogy proved that the remains were that of Ronnie Joe Kirk who dropped from sight in 1970 after losing contact with his family. Kirk was born in Oklahoma and is known to have travelled through Alabama, California, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas and Wisconsin. Authorities now know who he is, but how his remains got where they were found, and whether or not he's a homicide victim, remain a mystery and police are still trying to put the pieces together. Chimney Doe now has his name back; it's Ronnie Joe Kirk, and this is his story.

Donna Sue Hyatt Sep 23, 2024

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Episode 118 Donna Sue Hyatt

Donna Sue Hyatt was a loving daughter, sister, mother and grandmother who faced some challenges in life. She relied on her friends, family and faith to help her put a smile on her face every day, and she was always friendly, chatty and sunny – until someone murdered her on her living room floor. There were plenty of suspects both in Donna Sue's life and in the larger Carlsbad, NM area she called home. But police could not pin the crime on any one of them, although they had their suspicions. Eventually the case went cold. DNA testing in 2010 revived the case, but could not solve it. It would take the advent of forensic genealogy to link a repeat offender to Donna's brutal slaying – someone who had gotten away with it before.

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Doe ID: 'Rhinelander John Doe' Norman Grasser Sep 16, 2024

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Episode 117 Doe ID: 'Rhinelander John Doe' Norman Grasser

On March 19,1980, a deceased man was found off of Highway 17, between Rhinelander and Eagle River in Wisconsin. He carried no ID, and the authorities came to the conclusion that he had died as a result of hypothermia, perhaps after falling in the cold and never waking up. The man didn't appear to have the ideal clothing or shoes for walking out in such a cold area, and he didn't carry any ID. After feeling comfortable that they had resolved how he died, the authorities struggled to find anyone in the area who they felt could be a match for him, and his prints were not found to be a match to any on file. The dead man was dubbed 'Rhinelander John Doe'. Finally after advancements in DNA and genealogy, authorities decided to make a new attempt to ID Rhinelander John Doe, and in In January 2023, the Oneida County Sheriff's Office enlisted the assistance of Ramapo College of New Jersey Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center to help solve the case. The plan worked, and Rhinelander John Doe was identified as Norman Grasser of Chicago. Just how he came to be in Wisconsin remains a mystery. His family had searched for him after filing a missing persons report, but unfortunately, authorities in Chicago never linked their missing persons case to the John Doe in Wisconsin. 'Rhinelander John Doe' finally has his name back; it's Norman Grasser, and this is his story.

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Terry Paquette Sep 09, 2024

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Episode 116 Terry Paquette

Terry Paquette worked 60+ hours a week as manager of the Lil Champ convenience store on Clarcona Ocoee Road in Lockhart, FL. It was there that he was stabbed 73 times in the store bathroom in 1996. The investigation was approached from several angles, including that Terry was slain in the course of a robbery, or that he was killed in a hate crime. Detectives investigating the case over the years felt certain that Terry knew his killer, but a thorough dissection of his personal life failed to turn up any viable suspects. When forensic genealogy came along, it pointed to someone detectives had never heard of – someone who had more connection to Terry and the Lil Champ than anyone had guessed.

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Doe ID 'Rock Collection John Doe' Captain Everett Leland Yager Sep 02, 2024

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Episode 115 Doe ID 'Rock Collection John Doe' Captain Everett Leland Yager

A strange mystery unfolded after a boy in Arizona inherited a rock collection from his grandfather in 2002. The boy's mother while looking through the collection found something disturbing; something she knew was not a rock. It was a partial human jawbone containing several teeth. She contacted the Yavapai County Sheriff's office about the disturbing find. It was theorized at first that the remains could have come from a nearby Native American burial grounds, but they soon discounted that theory, and without any kind of clues to go on, they dubbed the remains 'Rock Collection John Doe'.

In 2023, The Ramapo College of New Jersey's Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center, decided to take on identifying the remains. They were successful; the remains belonged to a Captain Everett Leland Yager. There was just one problem, Captain Yager had died in plane crash in California in 1951, and he was laid to rest in his home state of Missouri. The identification of the Captain's remains solved one mystery, but opened up another; how did Captain Yager's jawbone wind up in Arizona decades after he was laid to rest in another state?

After more than two decades, 'Rock Collection John Doe' finally has his name back; it's Captain Everett Leland Yager, and this is his story.

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Michella Welch Aug 26, 2024

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Episode 114 Michella Welch

In this episode we cover the conclusion of the Michella Welch case. If you haven't listened to the Jenni Bastian case, (ep113) please go listen to that one first, as many details about Michella's case are addressed there. Michella would finally see justice of her own in 2022, nearly 40 years after her murder became inseparably linked to Jenni Bastian's. And, we talk to Detective Lindsey Wade about her role in solving these cases, and her brilliant book, "In My DNA: My Career Investigating Your Worst Nightmares."

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Jennifer Bastian Part 2 of 2 Aug 19, 2024

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Episode 113 Jennifer Bastian Part 2 of 2

This is the conclusion of the Jennifer Bastian case. If you have not listened to part 1 yet, stop now and go back and listen to that part first.

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Jennifer Bastian Part 1 of 2 Aug 19, 2024

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Episode 113 Jennifer Bastian Part 1 of 2

On March 4th, 1986, the unthinkable happened for the Bastian family of Tacoma, WA. Their sweet, energetic and athletic little girl Jenni, age 13, didn't come home from a bike training session in Point Defiance Park. Police believed Jenni and her bike had been taken from the park by a predator, and the FBI counseled the family to await a ransom call. But the call never came. And when Jenni was found murdered and hidden in a cleverly disguised cave among the brush, her case joined another horrific child murder in being attributed to a child serial killer plaguing Tacoma. Michella Welch had been killed just four months earlier in another Tacoma park, and her case, too, was unsolved. For the next quarter century, Tacoma investigators pursued the child killer who had taken two of Tacoma's innocents in such brutal fashion. But with the advent of modern DNA testing and analysis came answers – and they were not what anyone was expecting.

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Doe: ID Possible LISK Victims Karen Vergata and Valerie Mack Jun 24, 2024

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Episode 112 Doe: ID Possible LISK Victims Karen Vergata and Valerie Mack

During the 1990's and 2000's, the remains of several murder victims; mostly female sex workers, were found on Long Island's beaches. To police it seemed clear that they were the victims of a serial killer, or even more frightening, two serial killers who were dumping victims in the same area. The killer or killers, were given the moniker LISK, or Long Island Serial Killer. Many of the victims were identified, but while police hunted for the killer, they also needed to ID the rest of the victims, and they succeeded finally in identifying two of them; Karen Vergata and Valerie Mack.

Finally, in 2023, an arrest was made following a lengthy investigation of a suspect; architect Rex Heuermann. Searches of his home and vehicles, as well as an extensive investigation, seem to have uncovered a treasure trove of evidence pointing to his involvement in many of the murders. As the suspect awaits his day in court, police continued to try and ID the remaining Doe victims. For now though, Karen Vergata and Valerie Mack have their names back, and this is their story.

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