Othram - General Discussion

[JovanSrna]

New Othram case just dropped!
Who is Sam Houston Baby Doe (2005)?
This would be local to them, as in from Texas. A black infant girl was discovered in a dumpster on campus grounds of Sam Houston State University in Huntsville. The case is from 2005 and the girl is as NamUsless as she is nameless. Identifinders International is also working on the case and you also have Texas Rangers and SHSU University Police Department involved too. A campus mystery. Good luck! This is also Walker County, Texas, home to three cases on NamUs including the very famous Jane Doe from 1980.

 

[othram]

New Othram case just dropped!
Who is Sam Houston Baby Doe (2005)?
This would be local to them, as in from Texas. A black infant girl was discovered in a dumpster on campus grounds of Sam Houston State University in Huntsville. The case is from 2005 and the girl is as NamUsless as she is nameless. Identifinders International is also working on the case and you also have Texas Rangers and SHSU University Police Department involved too. A campus mystery. Good luck! This is also Walker County, Texas, home to three cases on NamUs including the very famous Jane Doe from 1980.

Yes! New case and already fully funded. Is there a Websleuths thread for this case or can someone make one?

 

[othram]

I noticed that Christy Crystal Creek suddenly has a radically different reconstruction, done by Lois Gibson.

Was something new found out during admixture testing, and did you guys commission Lois to make the new reconstruction?

Good question to ask. We did commission the work. We love Lois and we felt she could really bring value on this case. This new forensic reconstruction is not based on DNA but rather on anthropological analysis of the bones and a review of all the supporting documents prepared by previous investigators.

We should have DNA testing results soon and then we can also assess admixture.

 

[doggybag2355]

Good question to ask. We did commission the work. We love Lois and we felt she could really bring value on this case. This new forensic reconstruction is not based on DNA but rather on anthropological analysis of the bones and a review of all the supporting documents prepared by previous investigators.

We should have DNA testing results soon and then we can also assess admixture.

I thought so! And I love Lois' reconstructions too, I had a lot of fun putting her ones into new cases I was adding to the UID wiki with so many Houston cases.

 

[othram]

We want to invite folks to join our growing Facebook group, DNASolves Advocates. We post a lot of case updates and general announcement. Of course, we love Websleuths and will always continue to update folks here too!

 

[othram]

Hi everyone, we have a new case and it looks like there might not be a thread for this case. If someone could confirm, we would be grateful.

DNASOLVES: Who is Saginaw John Doe (1988)?
NBC: Saginaw Police and Othram team up in hopes of identifying teen killed in 1988

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Yes! New case and already fully funded. Is there a Websleuths thread for this case or can someone make one?

I searched and couldn't find a thread for Sam Houston Baby Doe, so I just created this one:
TX - Sam Houston Baby Doe, BlkFem, found in dumpster at Sam Houston State Univ., Huntsville, May 2005

 

[imstilla.grandma]

The Saginaw Police Department has partnered with an independent DNA laboratory in hopes of learning the name of a homicide victim whose identity has remained a mystery for more than 30 years.

Newly working with the department is Othram Inc., based in The Woodlands, Texas. Founded in 2018, Othram is self-described as “the world’s first private DNA laboratory built specifically to apply the power of modern parallel sequencing to forensic evidence.”

The case dates to October 1988, when police responded to a report of a body inside a house in the 400 block of Carroll Street. Officers arrived to find the body of a young Black man who had died a few hours prior from a shotgun wound to his face.

The slain man had brown eyes and black hair, with a slightly raised mohawk and fade on the sides. He stood 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighed about 165 pounds, and is believed to have been 15 or 16 when he died, said Detective Sgt. Matthew Gerow.

The victim also had a very light mustache and was wearing a green and yellow T-shirt, black jeans, white Nike Air tennis shoes, and two gold chains. He bore some birthmarks on his abdomen and several keloid scars — overgrowths of scar tissue — on his knees and right shoulder.

More:
Saginaw police partner with Texas DNA lab to ID teen killed in 1988

 

[othram]

I searched and couldn't find a thread for Sam Houston Baby Doe, so I just created this one:
TX - Sam Houston Baby Doe, BlkFem, found in dumpster at Sam Houston State Univ., Huntsville, May 2005

So appreciative! Thank you!

 

[othram]

View attachment 286097
The Saginaw Police Department has partnered with an independent DNA laboratory in hopes of learning the name of a homicide victim whose identity has remained a mystery for more than 30 years.

Newly working with the department is Othram Inc., based in The Woodlands, Texas. Founded in 2018, Othram is self-described as “the world’s first private DNA laboratory built specifically to apply the power of modern parallel sequencing to forensic evidence.”

The case dates to October 1988, when police responded to a report of a body inside a house in the 400 block of Carroll Street. Officers arrived to find the body of a young Black man who had died a few hours prior from a shotgun wound to his face.

The slain man had brown eyes and black hair, with a slightly raised mohawk and fade on the sides. He stood 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighed about 165 pounds, and is believed to have been 15 or 16 when he died, said Detective Sgt. Matthew Gerow.

The victim also had a very light mustache and was wearing a green and yellow T-shirt, black jeans, white Nike Air tennis shoes, and two gold chains. He bore some birthmarks on his abdomen and several keloid scars — overgrowths of scar tissue — on his knees and right shoulder.

More:
Saginaw police partner with Texas DNA lab to ID teen killed in 1988

We are excited to get started. Crowdfund details are here:
Who is Saginaw John Doe (1988)?

 

[MadMcGoo]

Hi everyone, we have a new case and it looks like there might not be a thread for this case. If someone could confirm, we would be grateful.

DNASOLVES: Who is Saginaw John Doe (1988)?
NBC: Saginaw Police and Othram team up in hopes of identifying teen killed in 1988

MI - MI - Saginaw, BlkMale UP9891, 15-20, shotgun wound to face, mohawk, Oct’88

Thanks for all you do!!

 

[othram]

MI - MI - Saginaw, BlkMale UP9891, 15-20, shotgun wound to face, mohawk, Oct’88

Thanks for all you do!!

Thanks for creating this thread!!

 

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

Good morning, othram! Just a simple question for you: What's the status quo of conducting forensic genealogy in New York State? I know there's been laws preventing organisations like yours to offer their services in the state, but the last time I heard something of the matter was last autumn when Parabon Nanolabs were given permission to work in NY, only to denied a month or so later. Or was that only limited to New York City, or simply deploying PN, but open to work with similar organisations, like yours? I could obviously getting this completely wrong (and I hope so, since many of us WS'ers have "our special Doe" located in NY state).

Sources:
Parabon Receives First Permit Granted in New York for Advanced DNA Analysis

NYPD won’t work with Virginia firm that creates digital police sketches with DNA analysis

 

[JovanSrna]

State approves use of familial searching to help identify crime victims
Those laws in New York are now more permissive.

 

[doggybag2355]

I'm going to try to get in contact with some agencies tomorrow or this week that have very little cases of John/Jane Does. Most agencies I've contacted have seemed uninterested, however Morrill County, with only one case seemed to have some interest. I'm curious if I can get similar results with other smaller agencies.

 

[JovanSrna]

I'm going to try to get in contact with some agencies tomorrow or this week that have very little cases of John/Jane Does. Most agencies I've contacted have seemed uninterested, however Morrill County, with only one case seemed to have some interest. I'm curious if I can get similar results with other smaller agencies.

Have you tried searching for infant cases? Agencies and communities are seemingly very receptive to these kinds of cases.

 

[doggybag2355]

Have you tried searching for infant cases? Agencies and communities are seemingly very receptive to these kinds of cases.

Well before I had only been suggesting the DNA Doe Project, which normally don't take those cases, so no. But I may try. A few months ago I added all of the cases from the NCMEC's map of active cases to the Unidentified Wiki, so I should have plenty of reference, I can link the map here too if you want to try:

ArcGIS Web Application

 

[JovanSrna]

Well before I had only been suggesting the DNA Doe Project, which normally don't take those cases, so no. But I may try. A few months ago I added all of the cases from the NCMEC's map of active cases to the Unidentified Wiki, so I should have plenty of reference, I can link the map here too if you want to try:

ArcGIS Web Application

I'm familiar with this map but I've noticed that it's not up to date. For example, Jane Anaheim Doe 1987 with NamUs number 7660 should not be on that list anymore as she has been identified. I'm not American so calls to these agencies would be prohibitively expensive for me and I'm not sure if they'd take e-mails from a foreigner seriously. Colorado has been an extremely enthusiastic state for solving Doe cases in general and their agencies have contracted just about every famous and obscure actor in this field. Texas and Ohio are good too, especially with Othram being in Texas they can establish contact with agencies with more ease. I'd look at smaller places where these deaths are more likely to be remembered, where most people know most people and sometimes entities like funeral parlors, churches and police unions cough up some cash to cover the costs.

 

[doggybag2355]

I'm familiar with this map but I've noticed that it's not up to date. For example, Jane Anaheim Doe 1987 with NamUs number 7660 should not be on that list anymore as she has been identified. I'm not American so calls to these agencies would be prohibitively expensive for me and I'm not sure if they'd take e-mails from a foreigner seriously. Colorado has been an extremely enthusiastic state for solving Doe cases in general and their agencies have contracted just about every famous and obscure actor in this field. Texas and Ohio are good too, especially with Othram being in Texas they can establish contact with agencies with more ease. I'd look at smaller places where these deaths are more likely to be remembered, where most people know most people and sometimes entities like funeral parlors, churches and police unions cough up some cash to cover the costs.

I hope Virginia takes on more, but it's difficult here with Parabon being the dominant company and almost all of the cases being put through Quantico with one or two points of contact for all of them.

 

[djanga]

I hope Virginia takes on more, but it's difficult here with Parabon being the dominant company and almost all of the cases being put through Quantico with one or two points of contact for all of them.

And what about the nearby states Delaware and Maryland? I am curious, because I
I lived in these states when I was in the USA.