Genetic genealogy leads to arrest in 1972 Washington killing

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Suspect Terrence Miller. Image: Snohomish Co. Sheriff's Office

Thanks to the same DNA technology that caught the Golden State Killer suspect, authorities in Washington state arrested a 77-year-old man in the 1972 killing of 20-year-old Jody Loomis, the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office said.

Previously, DNA evidence from the crime scene could only be compared to a specific suspect or put into limited national databases to find direct matches.

But with genetic genealogy, that same DNA evidence can be put into the free website GEDMatch, which then shows a list of extended family members who are related to the perpetrator. That allows investigators to begin zeroing in on those who may have had close contact with the victim.

Indeed, that appears to be just what happened in Loomis’ case. With the help of Parabon NanoLabs and genetic genealogist Deb Stone, investigators took evidence collected from the victim, turned it into a digital file containing DNA genotype data, and uploaded that to GEDmatch, police said.

Terrence Miller of Edmonds, Washington, was arrested at his house without incident and charged with first-degree murder in her killing. He is being held in the Snohomish County jail on $1 million bail, police said.

Read full, original post: A cold case killing from 1972 was cracked with the help of genetic genealogy

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