31-Jan-2024

TrueAllele helps resolve Texas double murder DNA case

In 2010, Mary Goodman (41) and her daughter Brianna (16) were shot to death in their in Beaumont, Texas home. Witnesses identified Joseph Colone as the shooter. Prosecutors said suspect Colone killed the mother because she was going to testify against him in a robbery case; the daughter just happened to be at home.

DNA mixtures were found on a glove and towel left at the crime scene. Different crime laboratories generated DNA data, attempting mixture interpretation with different software. Colone was convicted in 2017, and sentenced to death.

In Colone's 2022 appeal, issues arose with DNA analyst testimony, possible contamination, and evidence mishandling. In 2023, the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office reached out to Cybergenetics for a TrueAllele reanalysis of the DNA data.

TrueAllele computation connected Colone to the glove and towel. The match statistics ranged from thousands to trillions. The defendant challenged the reliability of the DNA evidence. But in December 2023, during the Texas Daubert hearing, Colone (45) pleaded guilty to the murders. He was sentenced to 30 years.