It’s the same practice that led to the high-profile conviction of “Golden State Killer” Joseph James DeAngelo in 2020. Simultaneously, the technology allowing forensics experts to repair and analyze DNA samples – and compare them to the public databases of DNA samples – has only improved. Millions of people have taken samples of their own DNA in search of more information about their ancestry, with many choosing to allow their genetic information to be used in police investigations. In the years since, however, the science of forensic genealogy has become a powerful tool for police across the country. It was a feat not possible with the forensic technology available in 1959.Īlthough it ruled out one leading suspect, the DNA sample turned up no matches in the federal government’s DNA database, once again leaving police with little evidence to go on. The key development in the 9-year-old’s murder case didn’t come until more than 40 years after her killing, when investigators were able to isolate a DNA sample from semen found on her clothing.

The 1959 murder of Candice “Candy” Elaine Rogers was solved by Spokane police thanks to the burgeoning science of forensic genealogy, which taps into DNA records in search of a match with samples taken from a crime scene. As police worked for decades to find a little girl’s killer and speculation often ran rampant, John Reigh Hoff never made it onto a list of suspects or into a newspaper story.īut in the new world of forensic genealogy, his name almost instantly rose to the top.

Spokane review geneology