It’s always been true that a family member’s guilty conscience could be a criminal’s ultimate downfall. Now, thanks to familial DNA matching, a brother or sister can be a snitch without ever saying a word. But what about that criminal’s cousin? Half-cousin? Third cousin twice removed?
Virginia’s Department of Forensic Science on August 19, 2013 that it had facilitated the arrest of a suspect through this very new and very controversial forensic tool. “Familial” DNA searches are sometimes used to help identify suspects whose DNA isn’t on record in agency databases through a near-match between crime-scene DNA and that of a suspect’s close relative whose DNA is on record. This would never be the only evidence used in a case, but it can help to focus an investigation and to avoid dead-ends when exact matches aren’t possible.
Read the full, original story here: The Flaws of Familial DNA Matching
