Florida Police Clear Rape Case Because Suspect Submits DNA to Genealogy Website

Fourteen years ago, a young woman was sexually assaulted and her case went unresolved for years. In the absence of suspects, the police left the case open but motionless until Jared vaughn, 44 years, entered into its own DNA in one genealogy site.

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The victim was studying at University of Tampa when she was raped. Moments before the crime was committed, the young woman witnessed the Pirates of Gasparilla Party. Subsequently, he decided to walk home.

The victim told police that, during the trip she was tired and drunk. It is in this circumstance that met his attacker which was offered to take her home to be safe.

According to the police, the victim called her boyfriend. She spoke to him on the phone as the man walked beside her and even put him to talk to greet the groom and give him peace of mind.

However, as soon as they arrived in your room, the situation turned violent and the man attacked her. He hit her, sexually assaulted her and left, according to the statements of Ruben Delgado, Tampa Police Chief.

Although the police have recovered the DNA of the aggressor but did not find any match and they dropped the deal. But last year, they wondered if they could use a new tool to solve the crime.

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At 2018, the state of Florida became the first to establish your own legal genealogy unit. Within a year, advances in DNA technology helped police identify four suspects and resolve cases that had occurred earlier. over a decade.

In a case of kidnapping and sexual assault of 1998 which was solved by this unit, the police started the program FDLE Genetic genealogy research. They also used him in a 2007 rape tracked down on genealogy sites como GEDmatch, Ancestry DNA, ADNTRO, My Heritage and FamilyTree.

Soon after, they had a result. A man from West Virginia named Jared vaughn had sent his DNA to Family tree.

Tampa police compared the sample of Vaughn with him DNA collection originally at the scene of the crime: “It was a coincidence of one in 700 billion “.

“The victim can now have some closure in her life,” Delgado said.

To date, the forensic genealogy helped resolve seven cases in the state of Florida. DNA from genealogy sites in the United States has solved dozens of cases, including that of Joseph James DeAngelo Jr. known as Golden State Slayer in 2018.

Despite the results, the practice was and still is controversial. According to a recent poll, 48% of respondents said to agree with what DNA sites share their data with the police; about a third considered that the practice was unacceptable and about 18 percent said they weren’t sure.

For the police, however, DNA testing is a powerful new tool.