TrueAllele solves 1963 Winnebago cold case using “inconclusive” DNA

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11-Jul-2017

Pittsburgh's public radio news station posts DNA interview

Pittsburgh, PA

Journalist Megan Harris highlighted a Criminal Injustice podcast episode in her WESA article, "DNA analysis isn't foolproof, but one Pittsburgher says it could be." In the episode, host David Harris interviews Cybergenetics Dr. Mark Perlin. They discuss the old FBI method for DNA analysis, and how the TrueAllele® method improves justice.

Dr. Perlin said more crime could be solved, and more crime prevented, with wider use of TrueAllele computing. He gave an example from an Allegheny County double homicide.

"In the case of the Wolfe sisters, there was a hat left by Allen Wade a month before the murders occurred," said Dr. Perlin. "Using technology like TrueAllele would have detected that the burglar was Allen Wade. He would have been found on a real DNA database and apprehended, and these murders would never have occurred."

The Allegheny County crime lab examines DNA mixtures using the FBI's failed data-discarding method. Their TrueAllele system has sat unused for ten years, despite free training and help from Cybergenetics. The District Attorney's Office has had to turn to Cybergenetics TrueAllele services in over 60 criminal cases to overcome the lab’s inability to interpret DNA evidence.

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