Police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, realized this spring they had reached a dead end in the search for a serial rapist and killer. DNA gathered at crime scenes linked the murders of at least five women over an eighteen-month period. An eyewitness reported spotting a white male leave the vicinity of one crime scene in a white pickup truck. That and other reports led to a dragnet as police collected DNA samples from more than 1,000 white males.
But the dragnet turned up no matches. In March, as police contemplated their next move, they received an intriguing phone call from Tony Frudakis, head of a small genomic testing company in Florida. Frudakis promised he could provide a physical description of the killer based on a novel genomic test.
“They were looking for a needle in a haystack,” says Frudakis. “The problem was they were looking in the wrong haystack.”
The genomic test revealed that the killer’s heritage was approximately 85 percent African and the rest Native American. That changed the focus from a white suspect to one of mixed racial heritage. Frudakis predicted that the killer would have a moderately dark skin tone.
Based on that prediction, police broadened their search to include black males and obtained a DNA sample from Derrick Todd Lee, a 34-year-old area resident with an extensive criminal record. Lee’s DNA was an exact match to that found at the crime scenes. A warrant was issued and Lee was apprehended May 27. He is awaiting trial in Baton Rouge.
http://www.genomenewsnetwork.org/articles/06_03/serial.shtml
But the dragnet turned up no matches. In March, as police contemplated their next move, they received an intriguing phone call from Tony Frudakis, head of a small genomic testing company in Florida. Frudakis promised he could provide a physical description of the killer based on a novel genomic test.
“They were looking for a needle in a haystack,” says Frudakis. “The problem was they were looking in the wrong haystack.”
The genomic test revealed that the killer’s heritage was approximately 85 percent African and the rest Native American. That changed the focus from a white suspect to one of mixed racial heritage. Frudakis predicted that the killer would have a moderately dark skin tone.
Based on that prediction, police broadened their search to include black males and obtained a DNA sample from Derrick Todd Lee, a 34-year-old area resident with an extensive criminal record. Lee’s DNA was an exact match to that found at the crime scenes. A warrant was issued and Lee was apprehended May 27. He is awaiting trial in Baton Rouge.
http://www.genomenewsnetwork.org/articles/06_03/serial.shtml
