Category Archives: Transhuman News

Police have made an arrest in connection with the killing last summer of a 27-year-old Google employee as she was out jogging in broad daylight in Massachusetts.

Vanessa Marcotte went for a jog on Aug. 7 near her mother's home in the town of Princeton, about 60 miles west of Boston.

She never returned, and her body was found that night in a wooded area about a half mile from her mothers house.

Authorities announced at a press conference Saturday afternoon that they had arrested 31-year-old Angel Colon-Ortiz in connection with the crime.

"We got him," Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. said, followed by applause. "This has been a roller-coaster all along."

A DNA sample from Ortiz matched that found on Marcotte's hands, Early said.

Investigators said previously that Marcotte may have struggled with her attacker, and that whoever killed her received scratches, scrapes and bruises during the struggle.

After information was put out to the public recently about a possible suspect, a state trooper noticed a driver of a dark SUV in Worcester, Massachusetts, who matched the description of the suspect, Early said at the press conference Saturday.

The trooper wrote the license plate number on his hand, which led to Ortiz's arrest late Friday.

Early said initial evidence suggest Ortiz is from Worcester.

Ortiz is being held at Massachusetts State Police barracks in Millbury and is expected to be arraigned in district court on Tuesday. He is facing charges of aggravated assault, aggravated assault and battery as well as assault with intent to rape, Early said, noting that a murder charge is also expected to be added.

Police have said Marcotte was likely attacked between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. local time on Aug. 7.

Police sources have told ABC News there were signs Marcotte was sexually assaulted and that there were burns on parts of her body.

Marcotte may have struggled with her killer, according to the Worcester County District Attorney's Office. The unknown killer, only identified as a man, received scratches, scrapes and bruises during the struggle.

Early has said Marcotte, an account manager at Google in New York, frequently visited Massachusetts and was planning to return to New York City on the day of her death.

A Google representative described Marcotte in a statement as "a much loved member of the Google team" who was "known for her ubiquitous smile, passion for volunteer work and love of Boston sports. We are deeply shocked and saddened, and our thoughts are with her family and friends."

Her alma mater, Boston University, has paid tribute to her as well. "We're so terribly sad for her family and friends," Colin Riley, the executive director of media relations at Boston University, told ABC News in August. "They're in our thoughts and prayers."

Marcotte was murdered just five days after another female jogger was killed in the New York City borough of Queens. Police said Karina Vetrano, 30, was strangled to death on Aug. 2, while out for a jog along a path she often ran with her father.

Authorities in New York and Massachusetts do not believe the murders of two young women are related, but police in both states have been working together to solve the mysteries surrounding their deaths.

Early has said, "we haven't ruled anything out," in regard to the similarities in the two cases.

ABC News' Benjamin Stein and Aaron Katersky contributed to this report.

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Slain Massachusetts jogger's hands held DNA that led to suspect's arrest - ABC News

The rape and brutal murder of an elderly woman found stabbed to death in her home in San Diego, California, 25 years ago has finally been solved, thanks to cutting-edge DNA testing.

San Diego law enforcement announced the major break Friday in the quarter-century-old cold case killing of Angela Kleinsorge, 84. Her killer was Jeffrey Falls, a man who lived across the street from the victim,according to DNA testing and investigators.

'We Have Our Answer': Daughter of 1992 Murder Victim

"To learn that it had been a neighbor -- it was just horrifying to us," said the victim's daughter, Hedy Kleinsorge, at a press conference Friday.

Falls is no longer alive; he was killed in a 2006 crash. However, a rare procedure known as familial DNA testing helped San Diego law enforcement zero in on him as the killer.

The cold case finally began to crack in July 2016 when this type of advanced science came into the equation,according to authorities.

Cold Case Homicide Solved: DA Dumanis

At that time last summer, the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) and the San Diego District Attorneys Office submitted the cold case to the Department of Justice with a request for familial DNA testing, a process that allows investigators to widen their scope when searching offender databases.

Through the process, investigators may be able to identify people who are likely to be close relatives of a person who may have committed a crime.

The familial DNA results from this case matched a convicted offender who was dead, according to the DAs office.The results showed there was a high likelihood that a brother of that convict was the man who killed Kleinsorge.

As investigators researched this break in the case, they discovered the convict had two brothers: one who was alive, and another -- Falls, 42 -- who was killed in a 2006 motorcycle accident.

SDPD detectives were able to give the living brother a DNA test and he was eliminated as a suspect in the cold case. After that, it was time to test Falls.

The DAs office said the coroner gave tissue samples from Falls to SDPD Lab Criminalist Adam Dutra. The crime lab obtained a partial DNA profile from Falls tissue.

At this point, the breakthrough nearly 25 years in the making unfolded.

The DAs office said Falls DNA matched a sample collected at the scene of Kleinsorges slaying, pointing to him as her killer.

The likelihood ratio for kinship between the crime scene sample and Falls is in the quadrillions, San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis said at the news conference.

Finally, the case had been solved.

'Relentless Pursuit of Justice': SDPD Chief on Solving Cold Case

The Crime:

On Feb. 29, 1992, Kleinsorge was found dead in her home at 5600 Gaines Street, near Linda Vista Road.

Hedy, who called her mother every day to check on her, had spoken to her the day before the murder. On the morning of Feb. 29, Hedy called her mother three times, but got no answer.

"She knew something was wrong," said SDPD Chief Shelley Zimmerman.

Hedy rushed over to her mother's home. Immediately, she noticed something was amiss when she saw the garage light on and the blinds shuttered.

When Hedy went inside the house, she made the grisly discovery: her mother's body lay lifeless, on the floor, beside her bed.

Kleinsorge had been sexually assaulted and stabbed several times on her neck. According to investigators, the killer entered Kleinsorges home through a window and attacked her.

For decades, Kleinsorges murder remained unsolved. At the time, authorities said regular DNA testing did not match anyone in a statewide offender database.

Who Was Angela Kleinsorge?

Closure for the Kleinsorge Family:

District Attorney Dumanis and SDPD Chief Zimmerman led Friday's press conference, joined by a slew of other top-level homicide investigators, cold case detectives and forensics experts.

Zimmerman praised the tireless work of cold case investigators, including now retired Reserve Detective Holly Erwin.

This case, sat idle for over two decades. It would still be unsolved if it wasnt for the tenacious and persistent efforts of now retired detective, Holly Erwin, who became a reserve detective in order to continue working this case and also from our crime lab, Adam Dutra, said Zimmerman.

Their relentless pursuit of justice will now allow the Kleinsorge family to close a very painful, yet important chapter in their family history, the chief continued.

Dumanis said the familial DNA testing results have brought a measure of closure to the Kleinsorge family. Although a rare procedure, Dumanis touted the science as a way to propel an investigation forward and solve more crimes.

Kleinsorges surviving daughter, Hedy, and son, Roland Kleinsorge, attended Friday's announcement.

Hedy spoke about what this means for her family, pained for so long by her mother's murder.

"When you lose a loved one to a brutal and violent act, and theres no one charged with the crime, you often wonder if the criminal wakes up in the morning, thinks that he got away with murder or if he even gives it a second thought," said Hedy. "After 25 years, we have our answer. While we have only partial closure, at least we know Mr. Falls no longer thinks he got away with the rape and murder of our mother."

She thanked law enforcement for their work, especially Det. Erwin.

It is through her dedication to solve my mothers case that we are here today. Thank you, Holly, she added.

Who Was Angela Kleinsorge?

According to the police chief, Kleinsorge was born in Germany in 1907. She immigrated to the United States, where she met her husband, Paul.

The couple moved to California, started a landscaping business and raised their family in a modest home in the quiet San Diego suburb of Linda Vista. The couple lived the American Dream, and tried to give back to their community.

The Kleinsorges were founding members of the House of Germany at the International Cottages in Balboa Park.

They took tremendous pride in their German-American heritage, the police chief said.

Paul died in 1971. Angela Kleinsorge continued to live at the family's home, where, as she grew older, she settled into a quiet life.

She had a daily routine that included waking up at 6 a.m. for coffee and breakfast, watching soap operas and working in her garden.

She was beloved by her children, family and friends.

San Diego's Unsolved Cold Cases

Familial DNA Testing in California:

According to the DAs office, familial search requests filed with the California DOJs Familial Search Committee are evaluated on a case-by-case basis following a rigorous protocol. Approval is limited to cases involving major violent crimes with serious public safety risk and if all other investigative leads have been exhausted.

The DAs office said that since 2008, the California DOJ has received 134 cases for familial searching, conducted 172 searched and identified eight familial search hits.

The technique described by San Diego authorities as a frontier in the evolving world of forensice science was pioneered in the United Kingdom, helping with the first conviction using the technique in 2002. California was the first U.S. state to authorize the testing in 2008, followed by Colorado in 2009. It has since been used across at least eight other states, the DAs office said.

Famously, in February 2016, familial searching was used to solve the decades-old Grim Sleeper serial killings case out of Los Angeles. In that case, Lonnie David Franklin Jr. was charged with killing nine young women and a teenager and dumping their bodies in alleys and trash bins.

Franklin was identified as the killer when investigators matched crime scene DNA to DNA of Franklins son,which had been collected after a felony arrest and put into an offender database.

The DNA of Franklins son had similarities to genetic material left on the bodies of many of Franklins victims.

Franklin was sentenced to death in August 2016. Detectives believe he could have killed as many as 25 women from the late 1970s until his arrest in 2010. This includes the 14-year stretch from 1988 to 2002 when it is believed he took a break from serial killings, earning the nickname the Grim Sleeper.

Familial DNA Searching represents a significant advancement in forensic investigative tools available to law enforcement, said California Attorney General Xavier Becerra in a press release Friday. It can play a critical role in solving crimes, especially decades-old cold cases that could not be solved by the forensic techniques employed at that time. This technology goes a long way to giving victims families the closure they deserve.

Published at 1:00 PM PDT on Apr 14, 2017 | Updated 3 hours ago

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Cutting-Edge DNA Science Solves San Diego Cold Case Murder ... - NBC 7 San Diego

A married couple who struggled to conceive only discovered they were twins when they went through IVF.

The unnamed couple underwent the treatment to help them have a baby.

But doctors at the fertility lab noticed their DNA was abnormally similar.

At first, lab technicians believed the pair may be unwitting cousins, but soon ruled that out because the DNA was too similar.

Eventually doctors confronted the pair, who burst out in laughter when they were asked if they were related.

A doctor at the clinic in Jackson, Mississippi, told theMississippi Herald: Its just a routine thing and we wouldnt normally check to see if there was a relationship between the two samples.

But in this case the lab assistant involved was shocked by the similarity of each profile.

Adding to the compelling evidence was the fact the pair shared the same birthday and that friends had remarked how similar they looked.

The doctor who broke the news described how the wife pleaded with him to admit he was joking, but he added: I wish that I was, but they had to know the truth.

It soon became clear that the pair were in fact unwitting siblings both having been adopted as babies to separate families when their parents were killed in a car crash.

They later met at a university party and bonded over their similar backgrounds.

The unnamed doctor added: The husband said that a lot of people remarked on the fact they shared the same birthdays and looked similar to each other, but he said it was just a funny coincidence and that the couple were definitely not related.

The pair are now said to be re-considering their future together.

This story first appeared in The Sun.

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Couple finds out they are biological twins during IVF treatment - Fox News

NARRAGANSETT Sophomore students at Narragansett High School dedicated Wednesday to the study of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) as part of the schools 17th annual DNA Day Symposium. The all-day event turned Biology 1 students into scientists as they explored real-world application and bioethics of DNA. Four classrooms in NHS science wing became dedicated to the event, with one particular DNA-related activity happening in each room. Food was donated by Dunkin Donuts of Narragansett and Belmont. The day was opened with keynote speaker professor Ken Miller of Brown University, who told students he was not accepted into the ivy-league school based on knowledge, but on diligence, before launching into the history of the discovery of DNA and then elaborating on its contemporary use.

One of the activities consisted of gel electrophoresis a DNA fingerprint lab in which students prepare gels and compare the DNA of two suspects to determine the DNA fingerprint of the perpetrator of a crime scene. The event was facilitated by teachers Kathy Couchon and Adam Reis with assistance from NHS seniors Kieran Maynard, Katie McLeod, Kristen Parenteau, Finnian Duncan and Sam Reddington.

We have multiple stations and different groups carrying out gel electrophoresis, said sophomore Aidan Capaldi. We are breaking down the two DNA samples in the gel and trying to figure out which one matches the sample from the crime scene.

Biology students were also able to extract the DNA from fruit an activity which would allow the students to examine the DNA itself and also serve as an example that DNA exists in all living things. This process is similar to the scientific operation of extracting DNA for analysis, and was headed up by NHS teacher Eric Zabel.

The RI State Police also made a visit to the high school, with Detective Sergeant John Grassel giving a presentation and a follow-up Q&A session on the polices use of DNA to solve major crimes in Rhode Island. Grassel took students through a series of five cases and explained how DNA analysis had led to arrests and convictions, and how its application served as a better means of evidence against a suspected criminal than other, more fickle methods, such as eyewitness testimony.

Physical evidence is very important to us, he said. Narragansett is a great school, and theres probably never any fights. But lets say there was a fight, which probably starts out as someone pushing someone else into a locker. By the end of the day, its being characterized as an all-out brawl and everyone is saying who won, and, depending on who you ask, its a different person. This is why we try not to rely on eyewitness testimony too much and focus more on physical evidence.

The final activity of the DNA Day Symposium involved a discussion on applying ethics to the field of DNA science, facilitated by NHS senior project coordinator John OBrien and student teacher Molly Silvia. The discussion centered around the book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, an African-American woman who died of cervical cancer at Johns Hopkins University in 1951 and, unbeknownst to her or her family, some of her cancer cells were extracted and used by university researchers to develop an immortal cell line. This advancement in the field would later go on to be used in the development of polio and HPV vaccines.

Some consider Lacks contribution one of the most important events in modern medical history, said NHS science teacher Kathleen Couchon. But her family never knew of her cell removal until the author of the book contacted them in the 1970s.

A long-time staple for NHS Bio 1 sophomores, Couchon went on to say that DNA Day sticks in the minds of the students who participate.

Students appear to truly enjoy the day, she said. It is an opportunity for a hands-on application of important science content, discuss careers in forensics and related occupations and discuss the bioethics of an important issue, the use of human cells and tissue in research. Past students often discuss the day as a highlight.

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NHS sophomores dedicate a full day to DNA - Ricentral.com

PHOENIX - New technology could help Mesa police find a man who sexually assaulted a 4-year-old in January after breaking into the home in the middle of the night.

Mesa police have released a DNA phenotype snapshot an image generated by predicting a person's physical appearance based on their DNA.

When police have a crime on their hands with very few leads on a suspect, the DNA left at a crime scene can help them find their criminal.

"DNA: it's a blueprint. It contains all the information about that person. You just read it to help them figure out who that person was," said Ellen Greytak, director of bioinformatics at Parabon NanoLabs.

They came up with technology that some police departments are now using, including Mesa police.

"What we can do is take that DNA, do a separate analysis, and then predict information about that person; their ancestry, pigmentation, shape of face. And from that, the investigators can narrow down the suspect list," Greytak said.

She said the technology doesn't provide definitive answers, but it helps police focus their investigation by the process of elimination based in science.

"[For example] we might not be able to say for sure that this person has blue eyes versus green eyes, but they're definitely not brown," Greytak said.

Parabon already has a large database of DNA from people whose appearance they already know to help in the prediction.

"We know their eye color, for example, so we've used that data to pull out the parts of the DNA that you tend to see in people in blue eyes and that are different from DNA you see in people with brown eyes, for example," Greytak said.

Testing costs police departments $3,600.

Parabon has about 100 cases going right now since they've begun working with police departments around the U.S. in late 2014.

So far one snapshot has helped in a suspect being caught and prosecuted, Greytak said.

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New technology could help authorities identify suspects without ... - ABC15 Arizona