Eight cold cases unfold: The evolution of justice through DNA technology
These articles describe how new forensic and DNA technologies have helped investigators resolve long-unsolved cases. Each story shows law enforcement reopening cold cases as tools improved. Investigators matched decades-old evidence with DNA profiles and genealogical methods to identify victims or arrest suspects.
In one case, police arrested a former restaurant worker after using new DNA tests to connect him to a double homicide from 1991. In another story, detectives charged a Missouri man with the 1993 stabbing of a college student after matching his DNA to evidence from the crime scene. Investigators also used genealogical DNA to identify remains found in an Indiana cornfield as a South Carolina man missing since the late 1980s. In a fourth case, police combined DNA and family reference samples to identify a woman found in a Missouri creek bed two decades ago. Advances in DNA technology and forensic genealogy now allow law enforcement to revisit old evidence, identify victims, and charge suspects after years or decades with no answers. These cases show the changing process of seeking justice as investigative tools evolve.
NO. 1: 85-YEAR-OLD ARRESTED 33 YEARS AFTER WOMAN FOUND HUSBAND, MOM DEAD, CA COPS SAY
The man was a suspect from the outset, prosecutors said. | Published July 17, 2024 | Read Full Story by Daniella Segura
NO. 2: STORE CLERK, 27, SHOT DEAD WITH SHOTGUN, MISSOURI COPS SAY. ARREST MADE 39 YEARS LATER
The woman was discovered partially in the beverage cooler after being shot in the back of the head, authorities said of the 1985 killing. | Published July 31, 2024 | Read Full Story by Mike Stunson
NO. 3: DAD FOUND COLLEGE STUDENT STABBED 60 TIMES IN 1993, COPS SAY. NOW MISSOURI MAN CHARGED
The 19-year-old victim was discovered naked on the floor of her apartment with stab wounds across her body, police say. | Published September 3, 2024 | Read Full Story by mstunson@mcclatchy.comMike Stunson
NO. 4: REMAINS FOUND IN INDIANA CORNFIELD OVER 30 YEARS AGO NOW ID’D AS SC MAN, OFFICIALS SAY
Children reportedly found the remains in a shallow grave. | Published September 3, 2024 | Read Full Story by mstunson@mcclatchy.comMike Stunson
NO. 5: HUMAN REMAINS — FOUND 20 YEARS AGO IN AL — IDENTIFIED AS RUNAWAY INMATE, OFFICIALS SAY
The man had been using a fake name after escaping a jail in Mississippi, officials said. | Published February 11, 2025 | Read Full Story by Natalie Demaree
NO. 6: AFTER NEARLY 23 YEARS, INVESTIGATORS ID MISSING WOMAN FOUND IN METRO-EAST CREEK BED
Investigators “began taking a new look at the investigation in recent years, as advancements in DNA technology provide new opportunities for further analysis,” police chief says. | Published March 14, 2025 | Read Full Story
NO. 7: ARREST MADE IN 2007 KILLING OF YOUNG COLORADO MOM, OFFICIALS SAY. ‘ALWAYS HAD FAITH’
“We never gave up hope.” | Published March 18, 2025 | Read Full Story by Sara Schilling
NO. 8: WOMAN WAS RAPED, KILLED MORE THAN 45 YEARS AGO, MARYLAND COPS SAY. NOW, NC MAN CHARGED
The woman’s family said in a statement shared by police that the recent arrest has given them “a sense of closure” that they “never thought possible.” | Published March 18, 2025 | Read Full Story by Natalie Demaree
The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories listed were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.