This 2024 Sexual Assault Awareness Month special release podcast episode includes a transcript of the audio, in which the guests discuss their team-based approach for investigating sexual assault cold cases that goes beyond reliance on DNA evidence which is not often available.
In this 2024 Sexual Assault Awareness Month special release episode, Just Science host, Jason Chute, speaks with members of a multidisciplinary team (MDT), Erin House, Special Assistant Attorney General in Michigan; Richard Johnson, Kalamazoo SAKI Investigator; and Lindsey King, Kalamazoo Community-based Victim Advocate, to discuss their team-based approach for investigating sexual assault cold cases that often do not include DNA evidence. They also talk about the situations in which DNA is and is not relevant, and the importance for investigators and prosecutors to utilize a variety of methods to bring a sexual assault case to justice. The expert guests lay out the process behind how their team first approaches a cold case, examples of case success stories, and how a multidisciplinary approach ensures that a detailed protocol is followed in order to ensure consistency in the investigative process, including victim notification and interactions.