Idaho murders: Bryan Kohberger's cousins matched his DNA in public ancestry database which led cops to suspect him
This article is based on sources and MEAWW cannot verify this information independently.
MOSCOW, IDAHO: Before apprehending the suspect, detectives working on the quadruple murders case involving University of Idaho students reportedly were having no success with the DNA they found in the horrifying crime scene. They eventually sent samples to a private lab and identified 28-year-old suspect Bryan Kohberger in one of the first cases of using genetic genealogy to solve a hot case.
Moscow detectives discovered a Ka-Bar knife sheath lying on the bed next to one of the bodies. The DNA they found on that sheath initially led them nowhere -- not a single match turned up on the national criminal DNA database. Investigators subsequently came up with a novel idea to send the DNA to a private lab to see if they could find a match on a public ancestry database -- a strategy typically used only in cold cases. And voila, it worked like a charm.
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Why was genetic genealogy used?
"Genetic genealogy was crucial in identifying the defendant in the Idaho murder case," said Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg, as quoted by ABC 25 WPBF News. A source close to the investigation team told the outlet how the lab entered the DNA samples into a public ancestry database. Cousin matches started showing up within a matter of days. Genealogists subsequently started the family tree with the closest cousin they could find. "We use tools such as Ancestry.com to help build those trees. So once you get this individual's name, you can start building their family tree. And there's a lot of public records," explained forensic scientist Julie Sikorsky of the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.
Detectives, however, continued to look for other clues. They eventually found that surveillance cameras caught a white Hyundai Elantra cruising around the crime scene at the time of the slayings on November 13, 2022. Moscow authorities then asked other law enforcement agencies to be on the lookout for similar white Elantras. On November 29, 2022, Washington State University police found at least one, which was registered to the 28-year-old criminology student, Kohberger. However, that name apparently did not mean anything to investigators at the time, considering they made a public plea for information about white Elantras on December 7, 2022. Authorities began scouring through 22,000 registered Elantras — a mammoth task in itself — and that's where genetic genealogy played a pivotal role.
The Kohberger family tree
Within days, the lab furnished the tree leading to the Kohberger family and their only son, who drove a white Elantra. "And now you find out that he's living less than ten miles away. You've got a prime suspect," retired FBI Special Agent John MacVeigh remarked. Authorities obtained search warrants on Kohberger's phone shortly after and began tracking his movements. When he drove home to Pennsylvania with his father for the Christmas holidays, FBI agents retrieved some of the family's trash. Upon running DNA on it, they found Kohberger’s father, Michael, was likely the father of whoever left their DNA on the knife sheath. Bryan Kohberger was arrested the next day, December 30.
"Now, with such a high profile case, I think that police departments all across the country are going to want to try to follow the lead in Idaho because it's incredibly powerful," Aronberg explained, highlighting the rapid results in a difficult case that could have taken months to solve or even gone cold at some point. According to MacVeigh, genetic genealogy could change crime-solving for good and make criminals think twice before acting on their urges. "Because you never know when they're going to knock on your door and say, 'Hey, we got a match,'" MacVeigh quipped.