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30-Jun-2022
DNA matching database solves car theft
In the second half of 2015, a rash of car thefts struck multiple Cleveland, Ohio westside suburbs. Believed to be the work of a gang, the Cuyahoga County Regional Forensic Science Laboratory (CCRFSL) was tasked with processing the large amount of DNA evidence. Their goal was to find DNA connections that could help stop these crimes.
The police collected over 100 evidence items from 37 separate incidents. This evidence would be challenging to interpret. For example, some steering wheel swabs contained little DNA (low level data) and many contributors (too complex).
CCRFSL was still bringing its TrueAllele Casework system onboard. Without TrueAllele, they were forced to interpret their DNA data using older manual methods. A gang round up provided a set of 38 suspect references for comparison.
Expending great human effort, the lab was able to issue reports for all cases in two months, with an additional month for some supplemental reports. However, they knew several samples were either inconclusive, due to too little data, or uninterpretable, due to a high number of contributors.
CCRFSL asked Cybergenetics to conduct an automated property crime study. Cybergenetics would process the same car theft DNA data using their TrueAllele Casework technology, unmixing complex data into simple genotypes. Their TrueAllele Database would automatically compare these genotypes to find DNA connections.
CCRFSL sent Cybergenetics their electronic DNA data. The TrueAllele supercomputer got to work. TrueAllele Casework automatically transformed complex data into probabilistic genotypes. TrueAllele Database automatically compared all evidence and reference genotypes. Cybergenetics finished the project in under a month.
The TrueAllele Database produced highly informative DNA match results. It didn't discard samples because of too little DNA or too many contributors. TrueAllele found more matches to more suspects than before. The Database linked multiple suspects to the same crime scene, and linked several suspects to multiple cases, finding new leads.
For thirty mixtures initially reported as inconclusive, TrueAllele found a DNA association. With twelve initial exclusions, TrueAllele returned informative DNA matches. TrueAllele wasn't just faster and easier to use. The computer also extracted the full measure of DNA information from the evidence, leaping over the limitations of simpler methods.
Our automated matching database, together with automated genotype separation, lets users to find more DNA information with less effort. Property crime DNA data is complex, with low peak heights and many contributors. But the automated TrueAllele system empowers the investigator to easily get all the DNA information.
The TrueAllele Database system can interpret and match any complex DNA evidence – handgun evidence, degraded mass disaster samples, or retail theft touch data. TrueAllele database leads further an investigation, while TrueAllele casework reports inform scientist testimony.