DNA Phenotyping Service - Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association

PHIA ARTICLES
The Parabon® Snapshot™ DNA Phenotyping Service
Conduct your investigation more efficiently and close cases faster with
Snapshot DNA Phenotyping.
The Snapshot DNA Phenotyping Service, offered by Parabon NanoLabs in Reston, VA, allows
investigators to get more out of their DNA evidence. Snapshot predicts the physical appearance and
ancestry of an unidentified person of interest using DNA evidence left at a crime scene. Law
enforcement agencies throughout the US and internationally are teaming up with Parabon NanoLabs to
use the Snapshot technology to generate leads and narrow suspect lists in a wide variety of criminal
investigations including burglaries, sexual assaults, unidentified remains and homicide cases. With
Snapshot, you can avoid the high cost of chasing false leads and focus your investigation.
Background: The Snapshot technology has been developed over the past five years with
funding support from the US Department of Defense (DoD). By using deep data mining and advanced
machine learning algorithms, Snapshot accurately predicts genetic ancestry, eye color, hair color, skin
color, freckling, and face shape in individuals from any ethnic background, even individuals of
complex mixed ancestry. DNA carries the genetic instruction set for an individual's physical
characteristics, and by "reverse-engineering" the DNA, Snapshot is able to predict the physical traits of
a person of interest. Starting with only a small quantity of extracted DNA, Parabon scientists analyze
its genetic content with Snapshot and produce a scientific report containing the physical trait
predictions of the person of interest - including confidence intervals AND high-probability exclusions
to help you prioritize leads. Snapshot also has a kinship module that can determine if two or more
DNA samples are related out to six degrees of relatedness (e.g., second cousins once-removed).
Case Studies: Snapshot has benefited many cases since its release to law enforcement in
December of 2014. Most agencies have chosen to keep the critical information produced by Snapshot
confidential, however, a few agencies have decided to publicly release the Snapshot composite
associated with particular cases in the hope of generating leads. One of the publically released cases
was a homicide that occurred in 2009 in Moss Bluff, Louisiana. After interviewing over 20 suspects of
the Hispanic community, the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office contacted Parabon NanoLabs to
perform DNA Phenotyping. DNA from the case was analyzed and Snapshot determined the person of
interest to be of European descent with fair to very fair skin and blue or green eyes - not an individual
of Hispanic descent once believed to have been related to the crime. While releasing the composite
during a press release on Sep 03, 2015, Sheriff Tony Mancuso from the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s
Office stated, “We are excited about this [Snapshot] result. It totally redirects our whole investigation
and will move this case in a new direction.” He continued, “This is a very exciting time for us in law
enforcement… it [Snapshot] gives us a little more hope to solve crimes like this.”
If you are interested in learning more about Snapshot DNA Phenotyping and how
it may benefit your cases, please contact us at 703-689-9689 x205 or visit our
website at https://snapshot.parabon-nanolabs.com/. To read more about how
other agencies have used Snapshot, visit https://snapshot.parabonnanolabs.com/posters.
Organ Matter Left on Bullets Proves Wife
Gunned Down Husband, Research Says
Tue, 12/15/2015 - 12:31pm
Seth Augenstein, Digital Reporter
Editor's Note: This reporting is a follow up to an original exclusive story documenting German
research using organ matter on bullets to determine their trajectory through the body. Read the
original story here.
(Photo credit: Journal of Proteome Research)A 63-year-old man was shot twice by his wife while he
was driving his car. He stopped the car, and while still bleeding, was able to flee on foot from his
murderous spouse.
But the husband didn’t make it far. He was shot three more times out on the street, and died.
Of interest to investigators was the nature of the crime – and specifically, which of the five bullet
wounds proved to be the fatal shots.
A German team used the killing as a real-world example of a new technology published in a
groundbreaking new study that claims to use proteins left on bullets or knives to determine what
organs they pierced. They’ve had surprisingly promising results determining which organs they passed
through – be that the heart, liver, kidney, or other vital tissues.
The researchers, led by Sascha Dammeier, at the Center for Bioinformatics Tubingen, tracked the
three bullets found outside the body – and determined their exact path through the victim’s body. The
three shots would have all been fatal: one traveled through the liver and into the right atrium, another
struck the upper arm and blasted through the lung and heart, and the third whisked through the aorta
and trachea.
“Valuable additional information was provided for the coroner towards the assignment of specific
projectiles to distinct ascent channels,” the scientists write. “Thus was postulate that our method could
set new standards in forensic analysis and, consequently, in jurisdiction.”
The team started out by firing 7.62 mm ammunition through the organs of dead cows and pigs. Some
79 samples yielded the identification of more than 1,750 proteins which produced a chemical signature
that became identifiable. They determined they could use mass spectrometry to measure and describe
the proteins found on the bullets to determine which bullets had passed through which organs about 99
percent of the time.
But they needed a real case – so they analyzed three of the five bullets the wife had shot through her
husband. There was too much contamination – from the scene, from blood flow, and other variables –
to allow them to determine the protein signature alone on its own. But they took the chemical
signatures on the bullets and worked backward to determine where the shots penetrated, based on the
protein mix on each. This led to a complete reconstruction of the crime, despite the contamination.
“Although most cases will include additional challenges, such as contamination with carious organic
materials at the crime scene, or protein degradation as a consequences of late recovery or inadequate
collection or storage of evidence, in the real crime case, our approach enabled the assignment of
projectiles for two out of three penetrating defects of the corpse successfully.”
Dammeier told Forensic Magazine in an email that the practice could be of particular use in the U.S.
where guns and gun deaths are more common than in European countries without many firearms.
“The actual level of predictability (in practice) strongly depends on the influence of contaminations,
e.g. by other organs, dirt, blood, etc.,” the scientist said.
Amid the chaos of a gun homicide involving multiple shots and multiple shooters, reconstructing
exactly which shots proved fatal can prove a daunting case.
But using mass spectrometry on the trace proteins on the bullet can determine what organs they passed
through with startling new accuracy, according to a study in the Journal of Proteome Research.
The mass spectrometry method was used on bullets fired through pig and cow parts – and the scientists
were able to identify the correct organ more than 99 percent of the time, they said.
The method could prove to be a breakthrough in complex killings, the authors conclude.
“It is rather difficult to determine which projectile caused the lethal injury – often the crucial point
with regard to legal proceedings,” they write. “With respect to fundamental law it is the duty of the
public authority to make every endeavor in order to solve every homicide case.
“To improve forensic examinations we present a forensic proteomic method to investigate biological
material from a projectile’s surface and determine the tissues traversed by it,” the authors add.
The lead author on the study, Sascha Dammeier of the Medical Proteome Center at University
Hospital Tuebingen, told Forensic Magazine work is still underway on the final presentation of the
study.
Pigs have been used as stand-ins for homicide victims in recent studies. In September, a New Zealand
team published the results of a series of experiments analyzing gunshot backspatter – using headshots
on live pigs.
Seth Augenstein, Digital Reporter Reprinted from
Cybergenetics TrueAllele® Solves DNA Cases by Computer
Mark W. Perlin, PhD, MD, PhD
DNA is a powerful way to connect crimes to criminals. Investigators collect crime scene evidence,
and crime labs turn those items into DNA data. But often crime labs cannot interpret their data. They
mistakenly call it “inconclusive,” or incorrectly give a low match statistic. Critical DNA in a violent
crime becomes useless evidence.
In 2006, Pennsylvania State Trooper Kevin Foley savagely murdered dentist Dr. John Yelenic in his
Blairsville home [1]. The key physical evidence was DNA under Yelenic’s fingernails, a mixture that
was 93% victim and 7% killer. The state crime lab forwarded the case to the FBI, whose lab
developed informative DNA data. But the FBI couldn’t properly interpret their mixture data. They
reported a match statistic of just 13 thousand.
Where did the FBI go wrong? Their interpretation method had an analyst first throw out most of the
DNA data. Then the analyst subjectively decided whether Foley was included in the mixture data.
Finally, they calculated an unproven statistic unrelated to identification information [2].
In 2009, Cybergenetics Dr. Mark Perlin testified about TrueAllele computer analysis in the Foley case.
TrueAllele connected Foley to the fingernails with an accurate match statistic of 189 billion. Foley
was convicted of first-degree murder, and is serving a life sentence. His unsuccessful Pennsylvania
appeal led to a TrueAllele precedent.
What did TrueAllele do right? TrueAllele used all the viable DNA data, so important evidence was
preserved. The validated computer objectively analyzed the fingernail data (not knowing Foley), and
unmixed the mixture to find the killer’s profile. Afterwards, TrueAllele compared the killer’s profile
with Foley to calculate an accurate match statistic.
TrueAllele has been used on complex DNA evidence in over 65 Pennsylvania cases, and over 500
worldwide. It provides reliable match statistics that help secure convictions and exonerations. The
computer routinely resolves handgun mixtures containing 3, 4, 5 or more contributors. TrueAllele
separates mixtures of relatives, solving Pennsylvania homicides (e.g., family members on shotgun
shells) and incest rapes (e.g., unmixing father-daughter DNA) [3].
Crime labs excel at generating high quality DNA data. But they do not know how to interpret that
data to give reliable match information. They often incorrectly call important DNA “inconclusive.”
Police, prosecutors and others can rely on Cybergenetics to get a real answer about their DNA
evidence. At no cost, the company will screen the lab’s DNA data, and provide an informal
TrueAllele report with match statistics.
On a larger scale, Cybergenetics can set up a TrueAllele database for a county or region. Unlike state
or federal CODIS labs, all DNA mixture evidence (not just the easy 10%) is uploaded, and
automatically matched. TrueAllele can compare questioned evidence items with each other (without
knowns) to find DNA matches that connect crime scenes.
If you want more information out of your DNA evidence, and your crime lab can’t help you, please
contact Cybergenetics (www.cybgen.com) at info@cybgen.com, or call 412.683.3004.
[1] http://www.cybgen.com/information/publication/2013/DNA/Perlin-The-Blairsville-slaying-andthe-dawn-of-DNA-computing/page.shtml
[2] http://www.forensicmag.com/articles/2015/11/dna-mixture-calculation-method-just-randomnumber-generator-says-new-study
[3] http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2015/07/12/Pittsburgh-tool-helps-shed-light-on-incestcrimes
Dr. Mark Perlin is Chief Scientific and Executive Officer of Cybergenetics, a Pittsburgh-based
company that has developed TrueAllele DNA analysis computer technology for over twenty years.
PENNSYLVANIA HOMICIDE
INVESTIGATORS ASSOCIATION
2016 SPRING TRAINING CONFERENCE
The Pennsylvania Homicide Investigators Association is hosting a training conference for law
enforcement officers and their affiliates. This year we are featuring the one-week ADVANCED
PRACTICAL HOMICIDE INVESTIGATION® SEMINAR presented by Lt. Commander
(Retired) Vernon J. Geberth, President of P.H.I. Investigative Consultants along with three additional
speakers; Dr. Wendy Lavezzi, Forensic Pathologist, Lt. Tracy Harpster, Moraine, Ohio PD and Ms.
Andrea Zaferes, Forensic Aquatic-Death Investigator. Topics covered by our four featured speakers
include Advanced Investigative Tactics, Procedures and Techniques, Sex Related Homicides, Lust
Murders, Suicide and Equivocal Death, Deviate Sexuality, Crime Scene Investigation, Pathology and
Autopsy Section, Analysis of 9-1-1 calls, and Homicidal Drowning Investigation. For additional
information about this curriculum please visit (www.practicalhomicide.com) or (www.pahia.us)
Date:
April 11 through April 15, 2016. (Monday – Friday)
Registration: Monday (04/11/16) from 7:30AM to 8:00AM
Instruction Period: 8:00AM to 5:00 PM
Location:
Ramada Inn and Conference Center (www.ramadasc.com)
1450 South Atherton Street
State College, PA 16801
(814) 238-3001
Accommodations:
A block of rooms has been reserved for those attending the PHIA conference.
Individuals are responsible for making your own reservations. Our rate is
$72.00+tax per night. Deadline for this rate is 04/06/16.
Conference Fee:
Cost for the five-day conference is $635.00 per person.
This includes five days of top notch instruction as well as applicable
hand out materials. PHIA membership fee is included in the seminar
package cost. Early applications are encouraged due to space
limitations (100 attendees).
Registration:
Please send the registration form and the checks to the training coordinator.
Deadline for registration is April 06, 2016. Checks should be made payable to
P.H.I.A.
Training Coordinator:
Thomas N. Jordan (PHIA Treasurer)
District Court 49-3-04
2795 Earlystown Road
Centre Hall, PA 16828
Meals:
Continental breakfast and mid-morning and afternoon
refreshments are included with seminar costs.
Lunch and dinner not included.
P.H.I.A. REGISTRATION FORM
ADVANCED PRACTICAL HOMICIDE INVESTIGATION
FIVE DAY SEMINAR
April 11 – April 15, 2016
Ramada Inn and Conference Center
1450 South Atherton Street
State College, PA 16801
(814) 238-3001
$ 635.00 Per Person -Includes P.H.I.A. Dues for 2016 and Lt. Cmdr. Geberth’s SexRelated Homicide and Death Investigation Text Book
FULL NAME:_________________________________________________
TITLE/RANK:________________________________________________
DEPARTMENT / TROOP:______________________________________
UNIT:________________________________________________________
WORK ADDRESS:____________________________________________
CITY:___________________________STATE:__________ZIP:_______
WORK TELEPHONE WITH AREA CODE:_________++++____________
WORK FAX NUMBER:_______________________________________
PAGER NUMBER WITH AREA CODE: ________________________
E-MAIL ADDRESS:
(PHIA EIN # 47-2400053)
MAIL APPLICATIONS TO:
Thomas N. Jordan, PHIA
District Court 49-3-04
2795 Earlystown Road
Centre Hall, PA 16828
Phone: (814) 364-1492
E-mail (tomjordan129@yahoo.com)
CHECKS OR PURCHASE ORDERS ONLY PAYABLE TO
P.H.I.A.
This is the only time the Advanced Practical Homicide
Investigation® will be held in the northeast in 2016.
Tuition includes membership into Pennsylvania Homicide
Investigator’s Association and Lieutenant Commander
Geberth’s book SEX-RELATED HOMICIDE AND DEATH
INVESTIGATION: PRACTICAL AND CLINICAL PERSPECTIVES,
SECOND EDITION.
Vernon J. Geberth, M.S, M.P.S., B.B.A.
Lieutenant Commander (Ret.) NYPD
Practical Homicide Investigation®
www.practicalhomicide.com
Commander Vernon Geberth is retired Lieutenant-Commander of the New York City Police
Department with over 40 years of law enforcement experience. He has an undergraduate
degree in Business Administration and holds dual Master’s degrees in Forensic Psychology
and Criminal justice. Commander Geberth is a graduate of the FBI national Academy and is
also a Fellow in the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS).
Lieutenant Commander Geberth, is the author of Practical Homicide Investigation: Tactics,
Procedures, and Forensic Techniques, now in its Fourth Edition and is recognized in the
law enforcement field as "The Bible of Homicide Investigation" and the Practical Homicide
Investigation Checklist and Field Guide, which is considered by professionals as an
essential prerequisite in conducting proficient death inquiries. Commander Geberth is also
the author of Sex-Related Homicide and Death Investigation: Practical and Clinical
Perspectives Second Edition, which is considered the framework textbook on sex-related
murder.
Commander Geberth is a nationally renowned lecturer, author, educator, consultant and
expert witness on the subject of death investigation. He has appeared in numerous local,
national and international television programs answering questions on the subject of murder,
and providing insight, analysis and commentary with respect to all aspects of homicide and
death investigations. Geberth has been referenced as a media consultant on a myriad of
national major cases across the United States and Canada. Over 60,000 members from over
7,500 law enforcement agencies have attended Geberth's Practical Homicide Investigation
seminars.
In his seminars Geberth focuses on Advanced Tactics, Procedures and Forensic Techniques
and presents Equivocal Death, Suicide and Missed Investigations as well Serial Murder
Investigation and the application of abnormal psychology to the investigative process.
DR. WENDY LAVEZZI, M.D. FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST
Forensic Pathologist
Chief Medical Examiner, District 5, State of Florida
"Dr. Wendy Lavezzi is Deputy Medical Examiner for District 5, which covers five
counties in the State of Florida. Prior to her present assignment a Deputy Medical
Examiner at the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office in Chicago, IL. She is board
certified in Anatomic Pathology, Clinical Pathology, and Forensic Pathology.
She completed her medical school and residency training in Albany, NY, and then
finished her training with a fellowship in Forensic Pathology in Chicago. Before
attending medical school, Dr. Lavezzi had a 15-year career as a registered nurse, with a
specialty in critical care. She has given lectures and seminars in Forensic Pathology at
the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology, the American Society of Clinical
Pathologists, the Chicago Bar Association, and various medical residency programs. She
also provides clinical teaching to medical students, resident physicians, and paramedic
students, and police trainees."
ANDREA ZAFERES
Forensic Aquatic-Death Investigator & Expert Witness
Medicolegal Investigator
Homicidal Drowning Investigation
Team Lifeguard Systems, Inc.
Andrea Zaferes serves as a medicolegal investigator for Dutchess County in New
York State. She is also Vice President of Lifeguard Systems Inc. and RIPTIDE Inc. Ms.
Zaferes serves as a course director and instructor trainer and is a well published author
and noted public speaker and award winner, As a program designer, Andrea Zeferes is
one of the leading trainers in the international water rescue and recovery industries
today.
Andrea graduated from University of Michigan with a BA in Psychology and has
completed numerous courses in basic death investigation and is a graduate of the
Master’s Conference in Death Investigation, St Louis University. Andrea has been
certified in numerous states and has been presenting forensic training since 1999
throughout the United States and Canada. She has also taught in Puerto Rico, Asia, The
Caribbean and Costa Rica.
Andrea Zaferes has investigated and worked on more than 30 scuba accident and
fatality lawsuits and has consulted on more than 150 water related death cases. She is an
Expert Legal Witness for diving and other water-related incidents and assists law
enforcement in homicidal drowning investigations.
Andrea Zaferes has published extensively in both journal articles and textbooks
and has over 100 publications based on her research and experience.
Tracy Harpster, M.S, B.S., FBINA
Lieutenant Moraine, Ohio Police Department
tharpster@moraineoh.org
(937) 535-1153
Lieutenant Tracy Harpster is a thirty-year veteran of the Moraine, Ohio Police Department
and a graduate of the FBI National Academy. He has served as a patrolman, Sergeant, Detective
Sergeant and Lieutenant in various assignments including supervising the Tactical Crime Suppression
Narcotics Unit, The FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force and the Ohio Organized Crime Investigations
Commission.
Lt. Harpster has a Master’s of Science in Criminal Justice from the University of Cincinnati
and Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Bowling Green State University and is a 2004
Graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia.
Lt. Harpster is a nationally renowned authority and has published extensively on the
analysis of 9-1-1Calls. Lt. Harpster and Dr. Adams have co-authored an article entitled , “911
Homicide Call and Statement Analysis: Is the Caller the Killer?” in multiple publications. In 2013, Lt.
Harpster was accepted as a member of the Vidocq Society, a crime-solving organization that meets
monthly at the Union League of Philadelphia
In 2006, Lieutenant Harpster achieved a Graduate Degree from the University of Cincinnati where
his Master’s Thesis examined the indicators of innocence and guilt of 911 homicide callers reporting the
offense. The study defined and analyzed the indicators in order to assist homicide detectives gain insight into
the offense, suggest offender probability, and explore pertinent issues during the interview and interrogation
phases of the investigation.
Lieutenant Harpster has directly assisted on over 500 homicides and has analyzed over nine
hundred 911 homicide calls, using the research to help solve the murders. Lt. Harpster has shared his research
at homicide conferences across the country including the National Homicide Conference (2006, 2008, 2012,
and 2014) and the International Homicide Conference (2010).