A lot of people are concerned about how their DNA will be used by third parties. They only wanted to understand their ancestry when they submitted their DNA samples.
I'm curious about which of Kohberger's family members uploaded their DNA to genealogical analysis sites. Was it his father, or a 3rd cousin? If Kohberger knew about it, he didn't put two and two together to realize how easy it would be to identify him via DNA.
"Members of the public
voluntarily send their biological sample to a company for DNA analysis, in the hope of gaining information about their family ancestry. Then, it is
their decision whether to upload their individual DNA data to one of the free genetic genealogy databases, knowing that these databases are accessible to anyone.
Investigators are simply making use of this same public tool. There is no privacy violation because people choose of their own accord to make the genetic information available that can lead police to identify a potential person. Also, it isn’t solely the genetic information that makes this identification possible. The genetic record is used in combination with other genealogical work to help narrow down the number of people of interest and potentially identify a suspect.
In a nod to concerns about privacy and ethics, though, law enforcement officials are required to jump an additional hurdle. They must use a portal of the database (in this case, GEDmatch PRO) that requires a paid membership available only to certified police and forensic teams.
Through this membership, professional users have access to all of the system’s data to aid in the identification of human remains. However, if the goal is to identify the perpetrator of a crime, professional users can only search data for which the files’ owners have “opted in” to permit use by law enforcement."
But it’s also crucial for people to give informed consent to have their genetic information used this way Read More
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