Liam Grealy
April 30, 2018
Forensics D-even
Current event 23
Arango, Tim, et al. “To Catch a Killer: A Fake Profile on a DNA Site and a Pristine Sample.”The New York Times, The New York Times, 27 Apr. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/04/27/us/golden-state-killer-case-joseph-deangelo.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FForensic%2BScience&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=collection.
The article “To Catch a Killer: A Fake Profile on a DNA Site and a Pristine Sample” by Tim Arango, talks about how in an attempt to catch a killer forensic analysts created a DNA profile for a perpetrator after decades of the case being cold. They used the DNA found at the scene and recreated what the suspects genealogy would have been. After making this fake DNA profile they found out a few candidates for who the rapist could have been. Although at first not everyone was on board with using this DNA profile to catch him but after chasing down countless suspects over the last decade they decided that anything was worth a shot. It took 4 months from the time of completion of the profile to the arrest of the prime suspect, 72 year old Mr. DeAngelo. The investigators involved were shocked by how well this profile worked after coming up short for years. The real problem using the DNA was that since the 1980’s the DNA has begun to disintegrate. Luckily there was another set of DNA still in the freezer. Mr. DeAngelo was not charged for the rape cases as the statute of limitations have expired but he will still be prosecuted for a number of murders.
This new method of investigation opens up the door to countless possibilities in the field of forensics. This means that we can recreate DNA profiles to find the perpetrator and give closure to families even if they can't be arrested due to the statute of limitations. The article also talks about how these profiles help to pick up the slack from when the police run into a wall in their investigations. The profiles are useful with identifying murderers or rapists or burglars or really any crime that leaves behind any salvageable DNA.
Overall the article was pretty cool. However I wish that the author talked about how the creation of the DNA profiles. The article talks about how it helps to create the profile but never discusses how the creation of the profile occurs.
1 comment:
Jimmy Hennessy Current Event Comment #3:
Arango, Tim, et al. “To Catch a Killer: A Fake Profile on a DNA Site and a Pristine Sample.”The New York Times, The New York Times, 27 Apr. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/04/27/us/golden-state-killer-case-joseph-deangelo.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FForensic%2BScience&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=collection.
Liam’s review of “To Catch a Killer: A Fake Profile on a DNA Site and a Pristine Sample.” is really well written. The article is about, how an attempt to catch a killer forensic analysts created a DNA profile for a perpetrator after decades of the case being cold. Forensic scientist then used the DNA found at the scene and recreated what the suspects genealogy would have been. After making this fake DNA profile they found out a” few candidates for who the rapist could have been.” Liam does a really good job of summarizing the events which helps the reader. I chose to review this article because the title. It is so shocking that a case that has not been touched for so many years could re open and start up again. It is really fascinating that forensic scientists were able to recreate the DNA found at the crime scene to re evaluate the case.
This article review does fall short at times. Liam makes some unlear generalizations and does not back them up with specific textual evidence or proof. For instance, “This means that we can recreate DNA profiles to find the perpetrator and give closure to families even if they can't be arrested due to the statute of limitations.” He does not explain why we can recreate DNA after making this statement or how. Had he explained or rephrased his conclusion differently it may have been more clear. Liams language at times also did not feel very academic, “Overall the article was pretty cool.” is not a great point to end the article on. For Liam to improve he needs to explain better how the DNA is created and why. Also, when it comes to a scientific article you cannot write as you speak and use informal language.
Overall, I liked how this article was very clear and concise ; there was nothing confusing about it. I learned from this how cases can be reopened many years later using DNA. This is really important and emphasises the necessity of forensic scientists. I chose this because I was shocked to learn about the DNA profiling. Next, this will encourage me to think that a case is never closed or could never be unsolved.
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