AP. “Prosecutor: New DNA Tests Solve 1991 NJ Rape, Murder Case.” AP NEWS, Associated Press, 2 Feb. 2020, apnews.com/2028a133af1cc5008c2a7f46fcb5f04b.

    Thanks to recent technological and scientific advances in the field of forensic DNA investigation, a 1991 New Jersey Rape and Murder Case has been solved. After a private laboratory, making use of the aforementioned technological advancements, obtained the permission to exhume the body of the main suspect, the identity of the rapist-killer could finally be confirmed. The recent advancements allowed the private laboratory to test DNA from the victim’s dress, stockings and body, which remained unknown as they were previously un-testable. The eventual confirmed killer initially came to the attention of law enforcement because he lived 300 yards away from the location where the victim’s body was discovered and a block away from the hotel she was staying in at the time. What remains an issue in this case is confirming the identity of the victim. She is believed to be Christa Engel, but her identity cannot be confirmed because there are no known relative samples available to investigators for comparison. This is due to the fact that Mrs. Engel was born in West Germany, and had no contact with her family. 

    This news story presents another compelling example of how advances in technology can help bring justice, even to cases that have gone cold for multiple decades. Although the timing of this discovery is rather unfortunate, given that the perpetrator passed away 4 months prior to the discovery of his wrongdoings, the revolutionary new testing capabilities available to forensic investigators can continue to shed light on likely thousands of cases across the country. This also provides another compelling example on which to rest the case that investment in further research and development in this field in a larger context should be supported, as there are clearly demonstrable examples of success in this regard. 

    One of the main positive aspects of this article was that it was written coherently and in a very concise manner. The author conveyed the information effectively and painted an impressively context-rich image of the crime and the people involved. One of the major shortcomings was that the article failed to ever describe in detail the advances in DNA testing technology that made the discovery possible. The fact that this entire story essentially rests on this exact detail makes it a rather questionable choice on the part of the article’s author to exclude this from the text. The biggest way the article could be improved would be to discuss the exact technological development further and to include the technical details of this advancement as well. This would help to clear up the obvious gap in the article that exists otherwise.