DNA Doe Project - General Discussion #2

[djanga]

The DDP has just announced a new case, I am trying to locate a thread here, but I think it was not created, their fourth case from Florida

Baker Co John Doe 1995 - DNA Doe Project Cases

 

[doggybag2355]

The DDP has just announced a new case, I am trying to locate a thread here, but I think it was not created, their fourth case from Florida

Baker Co John Doe 1995 - DNA Doe Project Cases

Always good to see cases from states with huge numbers, this looks like that county's only case too.

 

[carbuff]

The DDP has just announced a new case, I am trying to locate a thread here, but I think it was not created, their fourth case from Florida

Baker Co John Doe 1995 - DNA Doe Project Cases

There is a thread: FL - Baker Co., WhtMale, 25-40, UP2350, Sep’95

Not much information there, though.

 

[Tired Professor]

Wonder who the 11 are?

 

[doggybag2355]

A few aren't mentioned, like Wendy Stephens and Karen Knippers

 

[djanga]

A few aren't mentioned, like Wendy Stephens and Karen Knippers

Seven missing are
Live Oak Doe 1986: (undisclosed)
Bones 10: Wendy Stephens
Jackson County: Dennis Regan McConn
Kern County: Shirley Ann Soosay
Pulaski County: Karen Kaye Knippers
Marion County: John C. Kraicinski
Hudson County: Richard Bunts

It makes 22 identified and announced and according to the poster 11 more identified but not announced yet! And also I think a few cases could have been identified prior to 2021 and were not announced because of different reasons.

 

[djanga]

From the DDP pin post
The information in this post will be moving soon! If you use this post to follow the work of DNA Doe Project, please tell us what you like about it in the comments below.
We are committed to sharing case information with our followers and are building tools to do it even better!

 

[doggybag2355]

I'm not very familiar with Canada's equivalent of NamUs, but is Trinity Bellwood JD's profile already down?

 

[MadMcGoo]

I can hardly stand the wait for Grant County John Doe and Plainview Jane Doe(s)!!!

DDP has made such a difference in the unidentified person cases this year!

Here’s to 2022!

 

[djanga]

I'm not very familiar with Canada's equivalent of NamUs, but is Trinity Bellwood JD's profile already down?

Good find! It was definitely removed, can’t find it any longer

 

[djanga]

NEW identification
Ada Jane Doe (Kent County Jane Doe) identified as Stephanie Renee Judson

https://www.fox17online.com/news/local-news/kent/1997-ada-township-homicide-victim-identified

Grand Rapids woman killed in 1997 homicide identified

KENT COUNTY, MI – Police identified a woman killed in a 1997 homicide.

The remains of Stephanie Renee Judson were found July 31, 1997 in a roadside park east of Ada, the Kent County Sheriff’s Office said. A maintenance worker found her remains, and the medical examiner ruled the death a homicide.

Judson, 31, was originally from Benton Harbor and moved to Grand Rapids in the late 1980s, police said.

She was identified through DNA testing with the DNA Doe Project. Police had worked for years to try to identify the remains.

Police previously used a clay model to try to figure out Judson’s identity and thought the victim was a black woman between 18 and 25 years old, between 5-feet, 2-inches and 5-feet, 8-inches tall.

The investigation into Judson’s death is continuing.

Anyone with information about Judson is asked to call Detective Dustin Cook at 616-632-6136 or anonymously call Silent Observer at 616-774-2345.

 

[doggybag2355]

NEW identification
Ada Jane Doe (Kent County Jane Doe) identified as Stephanie Renee Judson

https://www.fox17online.com/news/local-news/kent/1997-ada-township-homicide-victim-identified

Grand Rapids woman killed in 1997 homicide identified

KENT COUNTY, MI – Police identified a woman killed in a 1997 homicide.

The remains of Stephanie Renee Judson were found July 31, 1997 in a roadside park east of Ada, the Kent County Sheriff’s Office said. A maintenance worker found her remains, and the medical examiner ruled the death a homicide.

Judson, 31, was originally from Benton Harbor and moved to Grand Rapids in the late 1980s, police said.

She was identified through DNA testing with the DNA Doe Project. Police had worked for years to try to identify the remains.

Police previously used a clay model to try to figure out Judson’s identity and thought the victim was a black woman between 18 and 25 years old, between 5-feet, 2-inches and 5-feet, 8-inches tall.

The investigation into Judson’s death is continuing.

Anyone with information about Judson is asked to call Detective Dustin Cook at 616-632-6136 or anonymously call Silent Observer at 616-774-2345.

First solve of 2022! I had good feeling about her case.

 

[wary]

First solve of 2022! I had good feeling about her case.

Here’s her WS link:

Identified! - MI - Ada, BlkFem 22-45, UP2681, healed broken nose, leg warmer, Jul'97 - Stephanie Renee Judson

 

[djanga]

St Louis John Doe was added to a spreadsheet, his highest match is 199.1 cM

 

[30Anne]

New article about all DDP’s ongoing Phoenix cases, there is also information on last month identification of Baseline John Doe, he is confirmed to be identified, his identity was not released:

Murdered Phoenix Man Identified After Nearly 40 Years — But There's Hundreds More Waiting


The 1983 Baseline John Doe, depicted in a police sketch here, was identified on November 5, 2021.
DNA Doe Project
On September 11, 1983, the murder victim was found in a field near Baseline Road and South Central Avenue. He was bludgeoned to death.

The victim was likely 50 years old when he was killed in a drunken altercation, based on matching details reported in the FBI's Supplemental Homicide Report.

The Phoenix Police Department, teaming up with the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office and the California-based nonprofit DNA Doe Project, identified the victim last month.

Loved ones had been searching for answers for decades.

“This man had a family who missed him,” said Cairenn Binder, the genealogist who led the DNA Doe Project team that closed the timeworn case. “He was a clever man who had experienced mental illness and misfortune in his life”

I am glad he has his name back, this is one of my pet cases.

 

[djanga]

I am fascinated how fast Stephanie was identified (in less than a week)! It is also interesting that both she and Monique have families in Mississippi, I just wonder if extended family trees from can help in other cases as well.

from the DDP website:

Ada Bones Jane Doe 1997 - DNA Doe Project Cases

The Kent County Sheriff’s Office contacted DDP in 2020 to attempt to create a DNA profile from Judson’s bones. Initial lab work failed to produce a workable DNA sample, but in April, 2021 samples were combined and enriched at HudsonAlpha Discovery Labs, and a successful DNA profile was obtained. After uploading this profile to GEDmatch, it took DNA Doe Project’s volunteer genealogists only a week to come up with a likely candidate. The identity of the Jane Doe was confirmed with a buccal swab from a family member.

Team leader Eric Hendershott said, “We were fortunate in this case we had some decent matches. Stephanie’s top match ended up being a second cousin.”

Once the top match was identified, the team built family trees to make their way to the right branch of the family. Hendershott explained, “The team pretty quickly narrowed things down to a particular county in Mississippi. From there, we were able to tie together some descendants of common ancestors who relocated to Benton Harbor, MI. We then were able to identify Stephanie as a potential candidate.”

 

[ntt1]

I am fascinated how fast Stephanie was identified (in less than a week)! It is also interesting that both she and Monique have families in Mississippi, I just wonder if extended family trees from can help in other cases as well.

from the DDP website:

Ada Bones Jane Doe 1997 - DNA Doe Project Cases

The Kent County Sheriff’s Office contacted DDP in 2020 to attempt to create a DNA profile from Judson’s bones. Initial lab work failed to produce a workable DNA sample, but in April, 2021 samples were combined and enriched at HudsonAlpha Discovery Labs, and a successful DNA profile was obtained. After uploading this profile to GEDmatch, it took DNA Doe Project’s volunteer genealogists only a week to come up with a likely candidate. The identity of the Jane Doe was confirmed with a buccal swab from a family member.

Team leader Eric Hendershott said, “We were fortunate in this case we had some decent matches. Stephanie’s top match ended up being a second cousin.”

Once the top match was identified, the team built family trees to make their way to the right branch of the family. Hendershott explained, “The team pretty quickly narrowed things down to a particular county in Mississippi. From there, we were able to tie together some descendants of common ancestors who relocated to Benton Harbor, MI. We then were able to identify Stephanie as a potential candidate.”

I wonder if that Eric Hendershott is the same detective working in Ohio who was in charge of the Twinsburg JD case. If so, nice to see him volunteering with (presumably) more cases, and learning the technique!

 

[doggybag2355]

Looks like Trinity Bellwoods JD is suddenly a DDP Funded case

 

[doggybag2355]

Hey @DNA_Sleuth , just some small things I've noticed with the site, nothing that breaks it, just things that might need fixing: Kim Casey/Barn John Doe's icon in the list doesn't have the identified tag on it yet, also the links on Luce County John Doe and Jonesport John Doe's pages are just plaintext, and not hyperlinks.

 

[djanga]

I wonder if Lake Michigan Jane Doe is one of the 2021 identified cases, as her highest match is 422cM, she is one of three Does who have a match over 400cM on Gedmatch, the other two are:

Tukwila Doe with 489,4 cM,
Chattanooga John Doe with 404,6 cM

Also two Does have matches over 400 cM on FamilyTree DNA:

Nation River Lady with 445cM
and Mowry Jane Doe has a match of 485,7 cM but on the new FamilyTree DNA sheet her highest match appears as 236cM, still very good!