First Successful Use of a Low Stringency Familial Match in a French Criminal Investigation

• NCJ Number: 246870
• Journal: Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 59 Issue: 3 Dated: May 2014 Pages: 816-819
• Author(s): Emmanuel Pham-Hoai M.S.; Frank Crispino; Greg Hampikian Ph.D.
• Date Published: May 2014
• Length: 4 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

We describe how a very simple application of familial searching resolved a decade-old, high-profile rape/murder in France.

Abstract

We describe how a very simple application of familial searching resolved a decade-old, high-profile rape/murder in France. This was the first use of familial searching in a criminal case using the French STR DNA database, which contains approximately 1,800,000 profiles. When an unknown forensic profile 18 loci was searched against the French arrestee/offender database using CODIS configured for a low stringency search, a single low stringency match was identified. This profile was attributed to the father of the man suspected to be the source of the semen recovered from the murder victim Elodie Kulik. The identification was confirmed using Y-chromosome DNA from the putative father, an STR profile from the mother, and finally a tissue sample from the exhumed body of the man who left the semen. Because of this identification, the investigators are now pursuing possible co-conspirators. Abstract published by arrangement with Wiley.