Serial killer/rapist caught with DNA

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the last week, you’ve no doubt heard that the Golden State Killer, aka East Area Rapist, guilty of at least twelve murders and fifty-one rapes in the 1970s and 80s, was recently captured using a DNA match found through a genealogy site. That site is GEDMatch.com. My DNA sequence has been uploaded to that site. Since that time I’ve seen several news story about people having, or needing, increased awareness/concern about their privacy on DNA sites. Spokespeople for other sites like 23andMe and Ancestry.com have appeared on news shows to emphasize that they do not share DNA information with law enforcement without compulsory legal process, i.e. subpoena or court order.

I don’t get it. Why the concern for privacy and why this policy? Are there really people out there who don’t want serial killers and rapists caught? The serial rapist/killers themselves, I suppose. But are you really concerned that police might catch your fourth cousin twice removed that you’ve never heard of because they linked a killer’s DNA to yours? I’d be thrilled if my DNA led to catching another Golden State Killer even if it turned out to be close relative. Some people may think they could wrongly be suspected based on a DNA “hit” but that’s simply wrong. A DNA test can positively confirm or eliminate a match. At the very least, the users of such sites should have the option of checking a box that allows law enforcement access to their DNA without legal process. What kind of person (expletive deleted) wouldn’t opt in to that? I think this case could lead to a huge increase in clearing such cold cases, or even some quite hot cases. Lives could be saved. Rapes could be prevented.

Some people might say, well, then, all the cops have to do is get a subpoena or court order. That shows a woeful ignorance of the law. To get either you need one of two things: a grand jury convened for your case (only available for a major active case) or a search warrant, which requires probable cause. Probable cause requires that you have good reason to believe the DNA in a company’s data base contains useful evidence in a specific case. That’s almost never the case; that is, you can’t prove to a judge in advance that it’s likely a DNA match will be found. The simple fact is that in most criminal cases, especially cold cases, subpoenas and warrants or other forms of court order are simply not available to investigators. I’ve had a few people challenge me on this and find it hard to believe, but, unlike me, they weren’t lawyers or experienced criminal investigators. Take my word for it. It’s true.

Anne Wojcicki (CEO of 23andMe), your pro-rapist, anti-police policy is reprehensible. Not only are you protecting rapists and killers, but you are hindering the freeing of wrongly convicted prisoners by your policy. Shame on you!

The post Serial killer/rapist caught with DNA appeared first on OnWords.