Lacey declined to detail the specific method used to capture Vaultz, citing the ongoing investigation. But she likened the process
to the one that cracked open the Golden State Killer case last year.
“We are talking about the commercial DNA databases that have been built over the years ... law enforcement accesses those databases by uploading DNA material from the crime and finding a relative’s match,” she said, speaking about the process in general. “From that, that can point to a suspect. Once you have a pool of suspects ... you’re then able to find that person and get the DNA.”
The use of genealogy websites and familial DNA searches to identify predators who would have otherwise skirted law enforcement has become increasingly common in recent years.
In addition to the Golden State Killer case, Los Angeles investigators finally arrested the so-called Grim Sleeper after matching DNA from the initial crime scenes to
a relative of convicted killer Lonnie Franklin Jr. The relative’s DNA had been collected after he was convicted of a felony.
[...]
Vaultz has traveled “all over Southern California” since the 1980s, according to Kay, who said the defendant’s permanent residence is in Bakersfield but that he “has a connection to Texas.”
Prosecutors have contacted other policing agencies to “determine if the defendant is responsible for other unsolved murders in California,” the district attorney’s office said in a statement.
“There’s definitely patterns that we’re trying to look at,” Kay said.
L.A. prosecutors use genealogy search to make arrest in 1980s killings of two women
ETA: There's info about his history of domestic abuse in this article but I'm skirting pretty thin with the 10% rule as it is.
