DNA Doe Project - General Discussion #3

[summergirl1]

I wouldn't have thought of it coming from scattered cremated remains. Interesting. Perhaps it's not the only case like that out there. It certainly may not be the last.

 

[MarziPanda]

It's wild that whoever spotted the piece of skull (which was quite small, coin sized) even saw it in the first place, but then also recognised it as a piece of skull and also recognised it was human. I wonder if that person was a doctor or something! It's always better to be over cautious than under cautious. A piece of bone that small could be all that's left of someone's missing and/or murdered loved one.

The cremation place should have ground up the bones better. I've scattered the ashes of my granny and my grandad and there were no big pieces, it was all very fine. I am glad the mystery has been solved and the case closed.

 

[iamshadow21]

It's wild that whoever spotted the piece of skull (which was quite small, coin sized) even saw it in the first place, but then also recognised it as a piece of skull and also recognised it was human. I wonder if that person was a doctor or something! It's always better to be over cautious than under cautious. A piece of bone that small could be all that's left of someone's missing and/or murdered loved one.

The cremation place should have ground up the bones better. I've scattered the ashes of my granny and my grandad and there were no big pieces, it was all very fine. I am glad the mystery has been solved and the case closed.

What's very remarkable is that they got DNA at all from a piece of bone that had gone through commercial cremation. I would have assumed it would be completely calcinated. That there was a piece that big not ground to powder suggests maybe the place was cutting corners.

MOO

 

[doggybag2355]

It does make me wonder where Mr. X is in terms of testing, I know that case has been a thorn in their side because of failed profile generation

 

[ntt1]

The cremation place should have ground up the bones better. I've scattered the ashes of my granny and my grandad and there were no big pieces, it was all very fine. I am glad the mystery has been solved and the case closed.

My thoughts too - of course, hindsight is 20/20 in this case, but it sure seems like a lot of time and money was used to solve this case, whereas this could have been avoided if the cremains were processed better.

 

[djanga]

New identification! Three Points John Doe 1988 identified as 17 years old Rogelio Morales Caudillo, who vanished from Tucson in 1986

Three Points John Doe 1988 | DNA Doe Project

dnadoeproject.org

 

[djanga]

https://www.facebook.com/100068121797204/posts/pfbid0JE9e5MUxL91KPbR9QG7nLEKNug88RGNzJEZLDSLTn7kJyBPv3k2bTszz4wnzxLcHl

 

[djanga]

A team worked on this case for five months, using Mexican birth records and American obituaries to construct a family tree for the unidentified male. Eventually, they narrowed in on a particular branch of the family and contact was made with a potential relative. This relative didn’t know of any missing family members but she promised to ask around, which led to a crucial revelation – the disappearance of Rogelio Morales Caudillo, a cousin of hers who’d vanished in 1986.

“Although this relative was not aware of anyone missing, her decision to ask some of the older members of her family led to someone who did know of a missing cousin,” said team co-leader Emily Bill. “Thanks to a single question, Rogelio’s family finally has the answers they’ve been seeking for nearly 40 years.”

Shortly afterwards, with the genealogical evidence and the timing of his disappearance lining up, Rogelio was presented to the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner as a possible candidate. Further DNA testing facilitated by the Pima County Sheriff’s Department later confirmed that Rogerlio Morales Caudillo was, in fact, the boy formerly known only as Three Points John Doe.

 

[doggybag2355]

East Point John Doe is also active now

 

[Lebowski]

general question about forensic genetic genealogy for anyone who knows ...

you build up a family tree for one case, and you solve it. then, does someone keep the genealogical information stored somewhere in case it's useful for future cases?

I assume there would be privacy and legal issues, so you couldn't just make it public. but it seems workable with controlled, need-to-know access. and potentially a time and labor saver.