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Todd Barket enters court Tuesday, August 20, 2019, charged with first-degree murder in the 1998 stabbing and bludgeoning of Sondra Better. Better, 68, was killed during her last week of work at Lu Shay’s Consignment Shop in Delray Beach.

Sheila Desjardins testifies in front of a photo of her consignment shop during the trial of Todd Barket Tuesday, August 20, 2019.

Mary Jane Hartog testifies about seeing a man in the store who matched the police sketch of the suspect in the murder of Sondra Better.

Circuit Judge Cheryl Caracuzzo examines a police sketch of the suspect during the trial of Todd Barket Tuesday, August 20, 2019.

Tyler Smith talks about checking the body of Sondra Better for signs of life after finding her in the store during his testimony.
Photos: Todd Barket Murder Trial
 
For two decades detectives saved a fingerprint found on a marble ball.

They say Todd Barket, the man now on trial, became their main suspect when fingerprints he gave for a job search matched their print.

In 1998 61-year-old Sondra Better was days away from retirement and a marriage vow renewal to her husband Zeke.

Sadly, her life was cut short.

She was brutally stabbed at Lu Shay’s consignment shop in Delray Beach by a person who left with two-hundred fifty dollars.

Detectives say they connected Barket to the case in March of this year when he gave a fingerprint for a job search

Investigators say that print matched a fingerprint found at the murder scene.

They say his blood is a perfect match for blood found on the shop’s cash register.

Today the same investigators who responded to the scene in 1998 took to the stand to testify.

All of this as better’s family watched over, hoping for closure they’ve been waiting decades for.
Accused Delray Beach cold case killer appears in court
 
Niala Charles‏ @NialaCharles 19h19 hours ago
RIGHT NOW: trial in the 1998 cold case of 68 y/o Sondra Better who was killed inside a Delray Beach consignment shop.

Now, 21 years later Todd Barket is facing trial for her murder. Detectives connected him to the killing w/ a fingerprint he gave during a job search. @CBS12

ECbCm88WsAAmTET.jpg




Niala Charles‏ @NialaCharles 19h19 hours ago
On the left is a sketch made based on a witness statement in 1998 in the killing of Sondra Better at a consignment shop in Delray Beach. On the right is Todd Barket who is now facing trial for her murder 21 years later. @CBS12

ECbGVqcWwAAN4SV.jpg
ECbGVqWWwAAIbvp.jpg

ECbCm88WsAAmTET.jpg
 
Witnesses describe scene before, after alleged Delray robbery turned fatal in 1998

Aug 20, 2019

"WEST PALM BEACH - Several witnesses who were in and out of the consignment store where 68-year-old Sondra Better was killed on Aug. 24, 1998, testified Tuesday in the first-degree murder trial of 51-year-old Todd Barket....

Civilian witnesses, police officers and crime-scene investigators testified Tuesday in the first-degree murder trial of Todd Barket in the 1998 fatal attack of the 68-year-old Better....

During opening arguments Monday afternoon, Assistant Public Defender Joseph Walsh told the jurors to pay close attention to the evidence in the case, especially to the evidence that is missing, such as the third marble ball alleged to have Barket’s fingerprint on it...."

Witnesses describe scene before, after alleged Delray robbery turned fatal in 1998
 
imstilla.grandma said:
DNA from a cigarette butt has helped to indict Ralph E. Bortree, 55, of Logan County on a charge of attempted aggravated murder stemming from a crime he is accused of committing 26 years ago.

DNA leads to charge of attempted murder in 1993 Logan County case
Click to expand...

I was reading about this case on another board and it appears a private company other than GEDMATCH may have been involved in identifying the suspect in this case through the use of genetic genealogy:

https://advancedna.org/services

DNA helped solve 1993 rape case; county man indicted | Peak of Ohio


Here is part of the above article:

In 2019, the DNA profile was submitted to AdvanceDNA, a private forensic genealogy company that utilizes DNA from genealogy sites to further investigative leads in criminal investigations. AdvanceDNA was able to provide an investigative lead by providing the names of a family line in Logan County. Using this information, detectives were able to narrow their search to a couple of potential suspects. This summer they were able to collect a DNA sample from a cigarette butt discarded by Ralph Bortree. This sample was sent to BCI who compared his DNA and the DNA from the 1993 case and found a match.
 
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The Golden State Killer case demonstrated that consumer DNA databases in the United States are substantial enough to track down many (if not most) people through a DNA sample and the branches of their family tree, even if they have never had genetic testing. The same process has now been used to solve dozens of cold cases involving murderers and rapists- great news, right? But genetic testing is being used in new and inventive ways – and some are nefarious.

China is using DNA testing to target and track a group of their own citizenscalled Uighurs, a Muslim ethnic group. China has already detained up to one million Uighurs and sent them to “re-education camps.” They are creating DNA databases to further this mission.
Genetic Testing Unleashed: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
 
When Todd Barket applied for a job at a Florida nursing home, he likely didn't expect to end up on trial for first-degree murder.

The 51-year-old was living in Tampa's suburbs until March, when there was a knock on the door of his beige stucco apartment complex. It was the police, and they had some questions. For more than 20 years, authorities in Delray Beach, Florida, had been trying to figure out who killed Sondra Better. Now, thanks to the job application that he had sent several months earlier, they were there to arrest Barket.
He applied for a job - and ended up on trial for a murder that took place 2 decades earlier
 
jaejae said:
Here is an article about the FBI's involvement with the use of genetic genealogy. The article I think mentions the FBI Agent involved in identifying the Golden State Killer and GEDMATCH is also mentioned:

Customers Handed Over Their DNA. The Company Let the FBI Take a Look.

To Catch a Killer: A Fake Profile on a DNA Site and a Pristine Sample
Click to expand...

I want to quote part of this interesting article. I might be reading the article wrong but it appears to be another genealogy website may have been used to try and identify the Golden State Killer before GEDMATCH:

The FBI declined to make Mr. Kramer available for comment. “It is important to note that investigative genealogy is for lead purposes only. All arrests should be based upon independent criminal forensic DNA testing,” an FBI spokeswoman said.

When there is a genetic match in the FamilyTreeDNA database, the FBI sees what a regular customer sees: the name of the person if the customer has provided it, the amount of DNA that is shared in common, and contact information if the customer lists it.

The dead child’s identity wasn’t revealed through matching in the FamilyTreeDNA database. But the rape case did generate leads, according to Mr. Greenspan. He said he learned much later the suspect was the man police alleged was the Golden State Killer, who was arrested in April 2018, and has been charged with multiple crimes. Police suspect him of murders and rapes over the course of decades.

The announcement of the Golden State Killer’s arrest electrified the public. It also drew attention to the notion genealogy databases could help solve crimes. The suspect’s DNA file had been uploaded to an open database run by the genealogy website GEDmatch.
 
Venting/ need help & input please:

Does anyone here know what the potential backlog, processing time, etc is at Parabon? Cheryl’s family ( @mocity ) has been waiting on HPD to get this DNA thing rolling forever...I’m trying to figure out what the hold up/problem is.

mocity said:
It seems absolutely crazy we cant get HPD to move faster on the genetic phenotyping. My family has offered to pay whatever fees are associated. In my opinion it seems like a perfect case to use it on. If anyone feels like contacting them and asking to push it forward please do! We are doing our best and believe it will happen at some point but so far it hasn't.
Click to expand...

TX - TX - Cheryl Henry, 22, & Andy Atkinson, 21, Houston, 21 Aug 1990

There was obviously a very active rapist and SK in Houston during that time (see my last 3 posts in that thread listing potentially connected cases) - this could be another SK case that will hopefully break wide open as they have a DNA match to Cheryl and Andy’s case to another rape case...

Thanks in advance for any input.

Also for those in here that follow SK cases, the killer in their case was quite expressive and I think there are potential signatures there which may match other cases out there.

It seems they’ve had this on the agenda since 2017??

Missing Pieces: Police using new technology to help solve 'Lovers Lane murders'
Author: Shern-Min Chow
Published: 11/18/17

“HOUSTON - Cold case detectives are trying a relatively new DNA approach to the notorious Lovers Lane murders. The brutal killings remain one of Houston's most infamous unsolved slayings.”
 
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margarita25 said:
Venting/ need help & input please:

Does anyone here know what the potential backlog, processing time, etc is at Parabon? Cheryl’s family ( @mocity ) has been waiting on HPD to get this DNA thing rolling forever...I’m trying to figure out what the hold up/problem is.



TX - TX - Cheryl Henry, 22, & Andy Atkinson, 21, Houston, 21 Aug 1990

There was obviously a very active rapist and SK in Houston during that time (see my last 3 posts in that thread listing potentially connected cases) - this could be another SK case that will hopefully break wide open as they have a DNA match to Cheryl and Andy’s case to another rape case...

Thanks in advance for any input.

Also for those in here that follow SK cases, the killer in their case was quite expressive and I think there are potential signatures there which may match other cases out there.

It seems they’ve had this on the agenda since 2017??

Missing Pieces: Police using new technology to help solve 'Lovers Lane murders'
Author: Shern-Min Chow
Published: 11/18/17

“HOUSTON - Cold case detectives are trying a relatively new DNA approach to the notorious Lovers Lane murders. The brutal killings remain one of Houston's most infamous unsolved slayings.”
Click to expand...
From that article and video it looks like they were trying something a bit different. Get a suspect, find a willing relative to give DNA, compare genetic markers for a match and get a warrant for suspect's DNA based on a match - rather than upload to a DNA database for matches. Screenshot from video:

Cheryl and Andy.JPG

I haven't heard of Cheryl and Andy before, so apologies if I'm getting this mixed up. From what I've read is does seem like a good candidate for forensic genealogy though. And I don't have an idea on backlogs, but it's not just the processing it's also the complexity of building a family tree from any matches. I think one tree had over 40,000 family members.
 
jaejae said:
I want to quote part of this interesting article. I might be reading the article wrong but it appears to be another genealogy website may have been used to try and identify the Golden State Killer before GEDMATCH:

The FBI declined to make Mr. Kramer available for comment. “It is important to note that investigative genealogy is for lead purposes only. All arrests should be based upon independent criminal forensic DNA testing,” an FBI spokeswoman said.

When there is a genetic match in the FamilyTreeDNA database, the FBI sees what a regular customer sees: the name of the person if the customer has provided it, the amount of DNA that is shared in common, and contact information if the customer lists it.

The dead child’s identity wasn’t revealed through matching in the FamilyTreeDNA database. But the rape case did generate leads, according to Mr. Greenspan. He said he learned much later the suspect was the man police alleged was the Golden State Killer, who was arrested in April 2018, and has been charged with multiple crimes. Police suspect him of murders and rapes over the course of decades.

The announcement of the Golden State Killer’s arrest electrified the public. It also drew attention to the notion genealogy databases could help solve crimes. The suspect’s DNA file had been uploaded to an open database run by the genealogy website GEDmatch.
Click to expand...

There is a little bit information about how the FBI Agent was involved in the identification of the Golden State Killer suspect:

Debate Grows Over Allowing Police to See DNA Data Stored by Genealogy Firms | The Crime Report
 
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