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Author: Yujiemi Chisholm

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Highlights

Texas State University’s Operation Identification uses MUHR funding to assist rural jurisdictions with unidentified human remains cases

Operation Identification (OpID) within the Forensic Anthropology Center at Texas State University started ten years ago with the aim of locating, exhuming, and working towards identification for long-term unidentified human remains (UHRs) in South Texas. These UHRs represent border crossing deaths that had no DNA samples in CODIS, and little attention given to investigation efforts. While OpID still works with long-term UHRs, OpID is also now assisting rural jurisdictions with more recent deaths thanks to the FY 2022 MUHR award. With the continual rise in migrant deaths, many counties are overwhelmed with UHRs and have little resources to process them and work towards identification. To ensure these UHR are not buried and forgotten, OpID proposed to work with local jurisdictional authorities to remotely assist with identification efforts. Recently, OpID was able to put this prosed work into action with funding from the MUHR Program. OpID was contacted by the Brooks County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) on May 9, 2022, regarding the discovery of a recent UHR that was decomposed beyond recognition. Two Guatemalan identification cards were found within clothing on the remains; however, this cannot be considered an identification. The consulate was notified and contacted the family to obtain several familial reference samples (FRS). BCSO does not take DNA samples from UHRs nor do other jurisdictional authorities within the county, therefore an OpID team member traveled a few hours to Brooks County to obtain a DNA sample from the UHR in the BCSO refrigerated storage unit. Due to the strong identification hypothesis, following county protocols and chain of custody procedures, the OpID team sent the FRS and UHR DNA sample to a private laboratory for comparison at the request of the consulate. Two weeks later, OpID was notified of a positive genetic association that was then compared to all circumstantial information. The appropriate jurisdictional authority signed off on the identification and the repatriation process began. The MUHR funding allowed OpID to hire more staff allowing OpID members to travel to Brooks County for DNA collection and to provide a quick turnaround for this case. Without the capability of assisting Brooks County, previous turnaround times for DNA comparisons have been anywhere from six months to two years.
October 2023
Events

1st 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 1st Annual BJA Forensics Programs Grantees Meeting, scheduled for October 2-3, 2023!
October 2023
Forensics TTA

DNA Capacity Enhancement for Backlog Reduction (CEBR) Program – Demystifying Performance Measures

Originally appearing in the Forensics TTA Program’s 1st Annual Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) Forensics Programs Grantees Meeting hosted on October 2-3, 2023, this Program Specific Workshop Session features members of the BJA team providing information to DNA Capacity Enhancement for Backlog Reduction (CEBR) Program grantees regarding performance measures. During this session, BJA provides a background on why the CEBR Program has performance measures, why supporting documentation is needed, why performance measures change over time, and what peformance measures are used for. BJA also provides examples of supporting documentation for performance measures, additional resources, and contact information for CEBR grantees needing assistance.
October 2023
District Attorney’s Office, Denver, CO

People’s Motion to Admit Evidence of Another Act of the Defendant (State of Colorado v. Jason Groshart)

Prosecution’s motion to admit evidence of a prior act of the defendant in a Colorado sexual assault case that occurred in 2004. The prosecution seeks admission of incriminating items that share commonalities with evidence in the 2004 sexual assault the defendant possessed during an arrest in 2007 and provides an analysis of applicable legal standards, including referencing Rule 404(b), in support of the motion.
September 2023
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CNN

DNA testing leads to exoneration of California man imprisoned nearly 3 decades on kidnapping and sexual assault convictions

In January 1995, a man and woman were robbed at gunpoint by two men who had also sexually assaulted the woman. Days after the crime, Gerardo Cabanillas, who was 18 at the time, was arrested because he generally matched the description of one of the suspects. Mr. Cabanillas was coerced by the investigating detective into giving a false confession after 7 hours of interrogation and promises of leniency. Mr. Cabanillas was sentenced to 87 years to life in prison for kidnapping, sexual assault, carjacking, and robbery. After 28 years in prison, DNA was shown not to match Mr. Cabanillas, and instead pointed to other perpetrators. The court used this information to dismiss the case and declare Mr. Cabanillas factually innocent.
September 2023