Forensic Genetic Genealogy (FGG) has developed into a game changer for violent offenders and unidentified humans remains cases. Although the news of the identification of the Golden State Killer using FGG grabbed the headlines in 2018, the application of FGG to cold case work actually started with the Sarah Yarborough homicide in 2011. As of December 2023, over 1100 cases have been made public that were solved using FGG. This talk will discuss (1) how FGG happened, (2) how FGG works, and (3) how well FGG works, all illustrated with simple to understand case studies.
About Our Speaker
Colleen Fitzpatrick, PhD is widely recognized as the founder of modern Forensic Genetic Genealogy. She has pioneered the use of genetic genealogy Y-STR and autosomal SNP analysis for generating forensic intelligence on cold cases sometimes decades old. Dr. Fitzpatrick’s expertise with compromised DNA has led to identifications that otherwise were believed to have gone beyond the reach of modern technology.
Dr. Fitzpatrick has twice been awarded fifth place in the prestigious international Gordon Honeywell Thomas Cold Case Hit of the Year competition – in 2018 for solving the 1992-1993 Phoenix Canal Murders, the first case solved using genetic genealogy (2015), and in 2020 for her work on the 1991 Sarah Yarborough Homicide, the first case where genetic genealogy was used to generate investigative leads (2011).
Dr. Fitzpatrick collaborates with both domestic and international law enforcement agencies. She is a Member of the Vidocq Society, the Australia New Zealand Forensic Science Society (ANZFSS), a Fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Science (AAFS) and an Affiliate of the Victoria Australia Institute of Forensic Medicine.
Dr. Fitzpatrick is the founder of Identifinders International. She lectures widely in the US, Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. She has appeared in hundreds of domestic and international newspapers and magazines, and on international radio and television programs. She is the author of three books: Forensic Genealogy, DNA & Genealogy, and The Dead Horse Investigation: Forensic Photo Analysis for Everyone.
This program is not sponsored or endorsed by L.A. County Library.