Yujiemi Chisholm, Author at Forensics TTA

Forensics TTA

FY2023 Grantee Orientation Webinar – Prosecuting Cold Cases Using DNA (COLD) Program

This webinar features the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and the Forensics TTA teams welcoming FY2023 grantees of the Prosecuting Cold Cases Using DNA (COLD) Program. BJA Policy and Program staff provide a brief overview of the grant program, provide examples of allowable activities that fall within guidelines of the grant, and address questions or concerns from attendees. During the webinar, presenters overview the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) and BJA, highlight details and specifics of the COLD program, provide updates relevant for FY2023 grantees, discuss the roles and functionality of the BJA Programs and Operations teams, and introduce the Forensics TTA team.

January 2024

National Institute of Justice

Improving Analysis of “Trace DNA” Evidence

Sometimes forensic labs can find ample DNA in the evidence collected at a crime scene. Other times, investigators are not as fortunate. Evidence samples with low amounts of DNA may not yield a profile that investigators can use to match or exclude potential suspects. Researchers have a potential solution: direct polymerase chain reaction (PCR). This DNA amplification method allows scientists to add a swab or sample directly to the PCR, which eliminates the loss of DNA that traditionally occurs during DNA extraction and quantification [Description provided by the NIJ website].

January 2024

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Highlights

Florida Man Indicted in NY’s First Use of Investigative Genetic Genealogy to Solve Cold Case Rapes

Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, and New York City Police Commissioner Edward A. Caban announced that a Florida man has been charged in separate indictments for raping a woman in the Bronx and a woman in Manhattan two decades ago, after new DNA technology linked him to the brutal attacks. These are the first sexual assault cases in the state solved with Investigative Genetic Genealogy. A three-year, $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance to the Bronx District Attorney’s Office to solve cold cases was used to fund Investigative Genetic Genealogy. This entails taking crime scene evidence and sending it to a private laboratory to develop a profile which is used to search for consumer DNA databases for genetic relatives who consented to assist law enforcement. Using the suspect’s DNA found at the scenes, a family tree was developed by NYPD’s Forensic Laboratory, and those results helped identify the defendant as Jancys Santiago, 48.

December 2023

Forensics TTA

FY2023 Grantee Orientation Webinar – Competitive DNA Capacity Enhancement for Backlog Reduction (CEBR) Program

This webinar features the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) introducing Competitive DNA Capacity Enhancement for Backlog Reduction (CEBR) Program grantees to the overall BJA team that works collectively to administer their award funds including the BJA Policy Office and BJA Programs Office. This webinar provides useful training information on how to accept awards; submit progress reports; submit Grant Award Modifications; performance management and measures; and other information to support the award management and grant monitoring activities of this project. This webinar also introduces the Forensics TTA team and how this TTA program aims to support CEBR grantees.

December 2023

Forensics TTA

FY2023 Grantee Orientation Webinar – Postconviction Testing of DNA Evidence (Postconviction) Program

This webinar features the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) introducing Postconviction Testing of DNA Evidence (Postconviction) Program grantees to the overall BJA team that works collectively to administer their award funds including the BJA Policy Office and BJA Programs Office. This webinar provides useful training information on how to accept awards; submit progress reports; submit Grant Award Modifications; performance management and measures; and other information to support the award management and grant monitoring activities of this project. This webinar also introduces the Forensics TTA team and how this TTA program aims to support Postconviction grantees.

December 2023

Bureau of Justice Statistics

Publicly Funded Forensic Crime Laboratories, 2020

This report provides data on the workloads, staffing, resources, policies, procedures, and budgets of the 326 standalone forensic laboratories and multi-laboratory systems in 2020 [Description provided by the BJS website].

December 2023

Highlights

San Diego County District Attorney’s Office’s COLD funding leads to conviction of suspect in a 34-year-old cold case homicide

The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, alongside the San Diego Police Department, convicted the killer of Larry Breen whose murder occurred on May 24, 1990. Mr. Breen was a petty officer and cook in the U.S. Navy stationed aboard the USS Fox CG-33. At the time of his death, he had been selected as the President’s chef at Camp David. Mr. Breen’s body was found at his home, slumped against a fence in the backyard. He had been stabbed several times. His car was missing and was later found abandoned over a mile from the crime scene. Despite a thorough investigation by both the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the San Diego Police Department, the murder went unsolved. This 34-year-old cold case homicide was reviewed with funding provided by the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Prosecuting Cold Cases Using DNA (COLD) Program and investigated using Forensic Genetic Genealogy (FGG) and the expertise of the San Diego District Attorney’s Cold Homicide and Research Genealogy Effort (CHARGE) team. A beer bottle with the suspect’s DNA was left at the crime scene. Using FGG, the CHARGE team generated an investigative lead regarding the suspect’s identity. The suspect also cut himself during the attack. Further STR DNA testing of both the bottle and blood confirmed the identity of the suspect, Brian Koehl, leading to his arrest and prosecution. Brian Koehl was sentenced to 16 years to life for the murder of Mr. Breen on November 17, 2023.

November 2023

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Highlights

Attorney General Nessel Announces Vacated Wrongful Convictions in Calhoun County

The convictions of Louis Wright, 65, have been vacated pursuant to a collaborative review by the Michigan Department of Attorney General’s Conviction Integrity Unit, the Calhoun County Prosecutor’s Office, the Michigan State Police Forensic Science Division, and the Western Michigan University Cooley Law School Innocence Project. This review concluded that Mr. Wright was wrongfully convicted of sexual assault and breaking and entering in 1988 for which Mr. Wright was sentenced to 25-50 years in prison. DNA testing of the sexual assault kit in 2023 excluded Mr. Wright as the perpetrator and his sentence was subsequently vacated.

November 2023

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Highlights

The City of Charlotte’s Coverdell funds help support evidence documentation that led to a U.S. Postal Worker being indicted for stealing business checks worth over $1.9 million

In 2023, the DCS5 Fingerprint Enhancement System, which was funded by the City of Charlotte’s Coverdell award, was used to document processed evidence in a case involving financial crimes and fraud. The case involved 1.9 million USD in checks that were stolen and fraudulently deposited. A single fingerprint impression developed from the evidence led to the arrest of a United States Postal Service employee.

October 2023

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Bureau of Justice Assistance

Broward County, Florida Fellow hired as a staff Forensic Pathologist following successful completion of Fellowship Program

The fellow started promptly on July 1, 2018, and successfully completed all phases of the program. She completed over 200 autopsies, attended training from NAME and the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS), and presented a well-received poster concerning a very rare cause of sudden death. In the spring, she attended courses on forensic anthropology, forensic botany, and forensic entomology. Over the course of the year, she consulted with and learned forensic toxicology from an in-house laboratory and board-certified PhD toxicologist. With the opioid epidemic, this was a lot to undertake and master, and she became well versed in the properties, analysis, and interpretation of hundreds of prescription and nonprescription drugs. She received more than 30 hours of training from the staff pathologist, as well as hands-on training while doing cases. She was eventually hired as a staff forensic pathologist.

October 2023

Author: Yujiemi Chisholm