US EditionGilgo Beach serial killer case a key test in use of advanced DNA techniques in criminal trials
The court may set a precedent by admitting whole genome sequencing, a technique used to analyze highly degraded DNA, in a case involving seven victims, officials said.
- A state judge is weighing whether to admit Astrea Forensics' whole genome sequencing evidence into Rex Heuermann's trial at a Wednesday hearing in Riverhead, New York.
- Facing degraded evidence, investigators sought new methods that years ago led Long Island law enforcement to use Astrea Forensics, California lab, to analyze rootless hairs found with victims' remains.
- Astrea Forensics reconstructs full genomes from tiny DNA fragments and identified hairs recovered from victims, while Mitotyping Technologies also linked hairs to Heuermann or family members.
- If admitted, the ruling would set a New York precedent by allowing whole-genome sequencing, combined with cellphone call and tracking data, to strongly implicate Rex Heuermann in the killings.
- Defense experts say the methods are prejudicial and unvalidated, while prosecutors and commentators defend Astrea, acknowledging some mathematical concerns but affirming the lab's techniques.
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Gilgo Beach serial killer case could be test of advanced DNA evidence in criminal court
The Gilgo beach killer trial could mark the first time advanced DNA techniques could be admitted in a New York court, and one of just a handful of such instances nationwide, according to experts.
·New York, United States
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Associated Press News+40 Reposted by 40 other sources
Gilgo Beach serial killer case a key test in use of advanced DNA techniques in criminal trials
The case against Long Island’s suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer has emerged as a potentially precedent-setting battleground in the use of advanced DNA techniques in criminal cases.
·United States
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Total News Sources44
Leaning Left13Leaning Right4Center23Last UpdatedBias Distribution57% Center
Bias Distribution
- 57% of the sources are Center
57% Center
L 33%
C 57%
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