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Author: Yujiemi Chisholm
Accreditation Document Repository

Large Office: Health and Safety Documents

These documents pertain to ethics, organ procurement, tissue removal, health, safety – including safety apparel – and procedures at the scene and address standards for NAME General, section “A”. These examples are reflective of a large office that performs autopsies in-house.
July 2025
Accreditation Document Repository

Medium Office: Health and Safety Documents

These documents pertain to health, safety, ethics, organ tissue donation, court responsibilities, personal firearms, and guidance around cultural/religious differences and address standards for IACME Agency Practices, section “A”. These examples are reflective of a medium-sized office with autopsies performed at their state medical examiner’s office.
July 2025
Accreditation Document Repository

Small Office: Safety, Confidentiality, and Quality Documents

These documents pertain to biohazard and other agency exposure, donation, confidentiality, quality review, and quality improvement and address standards for IACME Agency Practices, section “A”. These examples are reflective of a small office that performs autopsies in-house.
July 2025
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Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Air Force veteran identified from DNA 37 years after his death in Tarrant County

In 1987, the remains of an unidentified man were discovered in Tarrant County, Texas. Despite investigative efforts, the individual could not be identified, and the case remained unresolved for decades. In 2024, as part of a cold case review initiative funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Missing and Unidentified Human Remains (MUHR) Program, the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office submitted a biological sample for advanced DNA testing and Forensic Genetic Genealogy. The DNA profile was uploaded to a genealogy database, where it produced matches to potential relatives and generated investigative leads. Outreach efforts and follow-up investigation identified family members, including a relative who reported a missing family member from 1987. Investigators then obtained historical fingerprint records associated with the individual and confirmed a match, establishing the decedent’s identity as Shirlee Lewis Henkel, a U.S. Air Force veteran reported missing from Colorado in 1987. Henkel was officially identified on June 25, 2025, and his family was notified the following day. His cremated remains were later located and returned to his family in April 2026, providing long-awaited resolution nearly four decades after his death.
June 2025
Accreditation Document Repository

Large Office: Postmortem Examination Documents

These documents pertain to autopsy reports and performing forensic examinations, and address standards for NAME Morgue Operations, section “C”. These examples are reflective of a large office that performs autopsies in-house.
June 2025
Additional Resources

National Technology Validation and Implementation Collaborative (NTVIC)

The National Technology Validation and Implementation Collaborative (NTVIC) was established in 2022 with a vision to collaborate nationally on forensic science validation, method development, and implementation in the public sector. The group is not associated with any organization, corporation, or non-profit. However, the group is connected with prominent forensic science membership organizations, universities, and private technology and research companies. The NTVIC members are federal, state, regional, and large local forensic science laboratory directors with validation needs and resources. The NTVIC members have a common vision to share existing resources to work together on validation and implementation projects to lessen the burden on individual forensic science and forensic medicine providers to perform the work. Their website contains a list of laws and court cases related to Forensic Genetic Genealogy.
June 2025
Events

3rd Annual BJA Forensics Programs Grantees Meeting

On behalf of the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), the Forensics Training and Technical Assistance (Forensics TTA) Team, led by RTI International, is hosting the 3rd Annual BJA Forensics Programs Grantees Meeting on June 9-10, 2025! 

This year’s virtual meeting will offer a series of educational case studies and sessions, covering key topics of significant interest to grantees across the BJA Forensics Programs. These include the application of forensic genetic genealogy in wrongful conviction investigations, innovative strategies for solving long-term missing and unidentified person cases, the evolving legal landscape for forensic evidence in light of Smith v. Arizona, implementing Rapid DNA technology in accordance with upcoming standards updates, the impact of turnaround times on death investigations, essential grant management practices, and more.

Program-specific breakout discussions will also be featured to provide grantees with a unique opportunity to learn more from respective BJA staff and other grantees. 

June 2025
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Highlights

Remains recovered in 2007 identified as diver who went missing in Florida, deputies say

Using funding from the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Missing and Unidentified Human Remains (MUHR) Program awarded to Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), and the work of FDLE’s Genetic Genealogy Investigations team, Volusia Sheriff’s Office detectives were provided a lead in 2025 for an unidentified human remains case that originated in 2007 after a diver went missing while off the coast of Ponce Inlet, Florida. With the help of the Volusia County Medical Examiner’s Office and funding from the MUHR Program grant, the recovered remains were DNA sequenced and databased, after which FDLE’s Genetic Genealogy Investigations team conducted extensive analytical and genetic genealogy research. Their research resulted in an investigative lead that ultimately led to the positive identification of the victim—providing answers in a case that had remained unresolved for nearly two decades.
June 2025
Accreditation Document Repository

Small Office: Health and Safety Documents

These documents provide guidance for health and safety, autopsy refusal, organ tissue release – including peer review quality assurance – and address standards for NAME General, section “A”. These examples are reflective of a small office with autopsies performed at a hospital facility.
June 2025