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Just reposting one of the early article about this infamous serial rapist....
Interesting how the language about DNA sounded rather primitive in 2020 --only 5 years ago! Shows us how much we have learned from Othram!!!
The affidavit said a break in the case came recently, when police arrested Koehler’s son in an unrelated case. The prosecutor later declined to press charges against the son, according to court records.
As a result of that arrest, police obtained the son’s DNA, helping investigators determine that Robert Koehler may have been the rapist in the 1983 case, the affidavit says.
The redacted version of the affidavit does not fully elaborate on how that link was made.
But police have been known to use a technique called genetic genealogy to link crime scene DNA – say, the evidence in the 1983 case – to relatives of whoever left that DNA. Once a relative is identified, investigators determine who on that relative’s family tree could have been around to commit the crime. When they identify a possible suspect, police may try to obtain DNA from that person – such as from saliva left on a trashed napkin.
In this case, investigators determined from the son’s DNA that they needed to find Koehler’s DNA and check it against the 1983 evidence. He had been living in Miami-Dade County in the 1980s, the affidavit says.
On January 16, police watching Koehler’s home followed him to a public area “where DNA swabs were obtained from objects he had touched,” according to the affidavit. The samples were analyzed, leading to probable cause for his arrest, the affidavit says.
Police will need to collect DNA directly from Koehler’s body to confirm that his DNA matches the evidence from the 1983 case, the court affidavit says.
Interesting how the language about DNA sounded rather primitive in 2020 --only 5 years ago! Shows us how much we have learned from Othram!!!
The affidavit said a break in the case came recently, when police arrested Koehler’s son in an unrelated case. The prosecutor later declined to press charges against the son, according to court records.
As a result of that arrest, police obtained the son’s DNA, helping investigators determine that Robert Koehler may have been the rapist in the 1983 case, the affidavit says.
The redacted version of the affidavit does not fully elaborate on how that link was made.
But police have been known to use a technique called genetic genealogy to link crime scene DNA – say, the evidence in the 1983 case – to relatives of whoever left that DNA. Once a relative is identified, investigators determine who on that relative’s family tree could have been around to commit the crime. When they identify a possible suspect, police may try to obtain DNA from that person – such as from saliva left on a trashed napkin.
In this case, investigators determined from the son’s DNA that they needed to find Koehler’s DNA and check it against the 1983 evidence. He had been living in Miami-Dade County in the 1980s, the affidavit says.
On January 16, police watching Koehler’s home followed him to a public area “where DNA swabs were obtained from objects he had touched,” according to the affidavit. The samples were analyzed, leading to probable cause for his arrest, the affidavit says.
Police will need to collect DNA directly from Koehler’s body to confirm that his DNA matches the evidence from the 1983 case, the court affidavit says.
