Kintelligence vs Microarray: A Case Study

Lauren began her career with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department as a crime analyst in 2007. In 2012, she graduated from the OCSD Academy as a Deputy Sheriff. She worked patrol in the cities of Laguna Hills and Aliso Viejo and was chosen to be one of the first Master Field Training Officers in 2019.

In 2021, she was promoted to Investigator and worked Financial Crimes before transferring to Homicide in 2022.

In 2024, Lauren received the Orange County Sheriff’s Department Medal of Merit for her work in identifying Michael Ray Schlicht (“1974 Laguna Hills John Doe”).

She is currently assigned to cold cases and actively practices Investigative Genetic Genealogy to identify unidentified human remains.

“Every Doe Has a Story” and “The Not So Obvious Answer”

Follow two identification stories: First, a John Doe that never made the news. We’ll look through the research and with a genealogy twist learn the identity of this man and, secondly, an unexpected DNA match between two women sheds a whole new light on their families. See how their other matches confirmed a not so obvious result. Updates from both families included.

Christine is a professional investigative genetic genealogist with Parabon Nanolabs. For the past 6+ years, she has helped law enforcement make identifications in 50+ violent crimes and Doe cases in North America. A DNA test in 2012, sparked her interest in genetic genealogy. She has resolved hundreds of misattributed parentage cases as a volunteer in CeCe Moore’s DNA Detectives Facebook group and regularly assists with the DNA Interest Group (DIG) for both Southern California Genealogy Society (SCGS) and California African American Genealogy Society (CAAGS).

Public Perspectives on IGG and Public Policy: Implications and Opportunities

Christi Guerrini is Associate Professor in the Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), where she also serves as Director of the Health Policy Pathway. At BCM, she lectures on various health and science policy topics and conducts research on the ethical, legal, and social implications of biomedical research and technologies, with a focus on genetics and genomics. She has served as principal investigator or co-investigator of multiple NIH-funded studies, including a four-year investigation of public preferences and policy options related to investigative genetic genealogy.

Prior to joining the BCM faculty, Christi practiced law in Chicago and Houston. She received a JD from Harvard Law School, MPH from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health, and BA from the University of Virginia.

Thinking outside of the box: Multi-MPE Within One Case

Dawn discovered the power of DNA testing first hand in 2016 when she identified and reunited with her own unknown biological father. This life-changing experience ignited her passion for genetic genealogy, leading her to assist others in uncovering their own biological roots. Dawn became a search angel for DNA Detectives and Search Squad as well as an admin for the DNA Detectives & Unknown Father’s Groups. This experience led her to solving more complex cases.

Dawn is now self-employed as a Genetic Genealogist and volunteers as an IGG for Moxxy Forensics. Dawn is also a board member for DNA Justice, a 501(3)(c) nonprofit DNA Database for law enforcement.

Tackling Brick Walls with DNA Matches: Tools, Techniques, and Real-World Applications

Dana Leeds is a professional genealogist with over 25 years of experience. She is the creator of the highly regarded Leeds Method, a tool for identifying unknown biological parents and grandparents, confirming biological relationships, and breaking through genealogical brick walls. Despite not having a formal background in artificial intelligence (AI), she has been an early adopter and has become a leader and innovator in using AI applications for genealogists. Dana is a well-known and sought-after speaker, educating genealogists on how DNA and AI can enhance their research.

Through her presentations, blog, and YouTube channel, Dana helps genealogists see the possibilities of these tools and empowers them to apply these ideas to their own work.

Early Days in AI-assisted Genetic Genealogy: Enthusiasm, Expertise, and Caution

Steve Little is the AI Program Director for the National Genealogical Society and founder of AI Genealogy Insights, bringing decades of experience at the intersection of technology, linguistics, and genealogy.

In this session, Steve offers a thorough survey of current AI tools, clearly defining their practical capabilities and highlighting their existing limitations.

Attendees will gain valuable insights into realistically integrating these tools into their genealogical research, along with thoughtful perspectives on developments anticipated in the near future.

Finding Your Roots Season 12: DNA Case Studies

The intriguing family mysteries of Season 12 Guests Kristen Bell, Laurence Fishburne, and Melanie Lynskey will be explored, and the various research methodologies utilized to solve those mysteries will be explained.

Kimberly is a Lead Genealogist and Associate Genetic Genealogist for the PBS series Finding Your Roots, completing primary research for Guests as well as working closely with series DNA Expert CeCe Moore to solve decades-old family mysteries and reconstruct previously unknown branches of family trees.

Over the past five years, Kimberly and CeCe have utilized DNA and leveraged their unparalleled expertise in research methodologies to successfully solve incredibly complex genealogical mysteries for Guests, including Joe Manganiello, Carol Burnett, Viola Davis, Richard Kind, Wes Studi, Rubén Blades, Melanie Lynskey, and Laurence Fishburne.

Harnessing the Power of BanyanDNA

BanyanDNA is a powerful software tool that allows building, visualizing, and analyzing complex family trees. The application utilizes a novel statistical approach to predicting genetic relationships through multiple paths, providing expected shared DNA amounts between any two DNA testers regardless of how they’re related. BanyanDNA can help validate trees and determine the relative likelihoods of hypothetical locations for a person of interest.
We’ll explore advanced techniques that help us to do so. As more of the consumer testing companies now report match-to-match shared DNA amounts, we can harness this data through BanyanDNA to break down brick walls and solve tough mysteries.

Margaret Press, PhD, is a co-founder of the DNA Doe Project, the Investigative Genetic Genealogy Accreditation Board, the DNA Justice Foundation, and BanyanDNA, LLC.

The Algorithm That Solves Crimes

Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG) is a powerful tool for solving criminal cases and for identifying unidentified human remains (UHR). The building of a speculative family tree for the perpetrator in a criminal case (UNSUB) or the UHR is time consuming. Various tools have been developed to assist with this process, including an interactive algorithm in which GEDmatch data is used to predict the location of a connecting couple between the maternal and paternal lines in the speculative tree. The tool generally is intended for use on virgin cases.

We have tested the algorithm in five rape cases which remained unsolved using traditional means, i.e., these are not virgin cases. For all five cases, the UNSUB is Black, the top match is less than 130 cM, and the amount of DNA shared amongst the matches (other than first or second-degree relatives) generally is less than 25 cM. We have to date potentially solved four of the initial five cases to which we have applied the algorithm.

I will discuss how the interactive algorithm has been of assistance in solving these difficult cases.

IGG Case Study – search for a Mexican-American murder suspect

This case study will cover a complex murder investigation which spanned 18 years until the perpetrator was ultimately identified through Investigative Genetic Genealogy. Walk through the investigative journey and hear details of the SNP-based DNA tools and complex genetic genealogy research which narrowed the search to a set of brothers.

Carol Rolnick is a professional investigative genetic genealogist with Parabon NanoLabs since 2018, and a leading researcher in the genetic genealogy community since 2011. In her role with Parabon, she has aided law enforcement agencies across the US and Canada in the positive identification of over 60 persons-of-interest, both unidentified decedents and suspects in violent crimes. Carol also serves on the Investigative Genetic Genealogy Accreditation Board, a non-profit industry board developing standards, best practices and a proficiency exam for the field of Investigative Genetic Genealogy.