Y-STR DNA to be Included in Boston Dorm Rape Trial

Hana Eddib 1/1/18

Forensics current event 12

Augenstein, Seth. “Y-STR DNA to Be Included in Boston Dorm Rape Trial.” Forensic Magazine, 29 Dec. 2017, www.forensicmag.com/news/2017/12/y-str-dna-be-included-boston-dorm-rape-trial.

In Seth Augenstein article discussing the Boston Dorm Rape trial, Augenstein discussed the recent approval of a Y-strand DNA to be included in the trial. 21 year old former MIT basketball player Samson Donick has been charged with rape. The trial is set to take place next month. Donick and his team had motioned to exclude the DNA evidence that came from a supposed victim. Defense attorneys argued the crime occurred in an area of Boston and with a school that has a large Jewish population, according to court records. Greg Hampikian, a Boise State University scientist who has worked extensively with the Innocence Project argued on behalf of the defense claiming, “ Risk of unfair prejudice looms large over this case, because as the average juror well knows, DNA is often described as a genetic blueprint of an individual’s physical characteristics...f the jury were to mistake the limited Y-STR DNA evidence concerning Donick for more definitive autosomal DNA evidence, it would likely wrongfully convict Donick.” However, the judge moved to have the DNA evidence included as he stated, “While there is undoubtedly a greater percentage of Ashkenazi Jews in the vicinity of the Dorm than there is in the United States generally, there is no evidence regarding the percentage of Ashkenazi Jews who had access to (the victim’s) bedroom on the night in question.” The defense is allowed to discuss the Jewish population’s effect on the evidence at the trial but the court believed it would not be enough to convict Donick. The analysis of the genital swab and Donick’s buccal swab was performed by the Serological Research Institute in Richmond, California. It focused on Y-STR, paternally-linked genetic markers. The scientists at the lab concluded “approximately one in 8,631 males in the general population could be included as the contributor” of the DNA – and one 2,488 Caucasian males. As Donick is an Ashkenazi Jew, The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office claimed it was inculpatory evidence.

This article is very relevant to our society. Sexual assault cases are becoming more and more prominent in courtrooms, and this new evidence could be helpful to others who find their defendant to be an Ashkenazi Jew. Regardless of if the defendant is or isn’t, this evidence could open up forensic evidence based on race, or ethnicity as certain races and ethnicities have similar features and therefore similar DNA strands.

This article was very informative and I thought it was very well-written. The author did a good job of explaining both sides of the argument and the impact the new evidence could have on the case.  The only problem with the article that I found was that the author failed to include a description on the Y chromosome and the effect it has on a DNA strand. It would’ve been helpful in understanding its significance if the author had provided an example on how the Y versus the X chromosome would affect a DNA strand.

Bloody Clothing Near Dead Baby’s Body in NJ Leads to Composite of Mother’s Face

Augenstein, Seth. “Bloody Clothing Near Dead Baby's Body in NJ Leads to Composite of

Mother's Face.” Forensic Magazine, 20 Dec. 2017, www.forensicmag.com/news/2017/12/bloody-clothing-near-dead-babys-body-nj-leads-composite-mothers-face.

In “Bloody Clothing Near Dead Baby’s Body in NJ Leads to Composite of Mother’s Face” Seth Augenstein discusses how a popular phenotyping service was used to reconstruct what the mother of a decapitated newborn baby - found at a recycling facility in New Jersey in November 2014 - may have looked like based on the evidence that she left behind. The handbag and two bloodstained blouses found near the little girl’s remains were determined forensically to have belonged to the mother. Parabon NanoLabs, a Virginia-based DNA phenotyping company which uses DNA profiles to generate composite facial likenesses, predicted that the mother would look like a Latina woman who had Central or South American ancestry. “It’s certainly not a perfect science—but it’s a best estimate based on the DNA pulled from these clothing items that were recovered,” said Christopher Gramiccioni, the Monmouth County Prosecutor. “Keep in mind – this is not a photograph. It’s a predictive composite.”

This article is important to society because it focuses on a controversial DNA science and the mystery surrounding a newborn’s death. Parabon’s phenotyping service have “produced some successes in recent cases where just a general appearance had helped guide investigators” but the DNA technology has also faced scrutiny for its limitations. It will therefore be interesting to see if this composite will be helpful in leading investigators to the mother and the truth surrounding the death of this poor baby.Augenstein did a great job summarizing this case and providing a lot of information on the facts and sciences. For example, he included many details on the phenotyping science and discussed how unknown deceased baby cases have been rising. I also love how he included a composite image of the baby, pictures of the mother’s belongings, and the featured composite image of the mother. However, I think that the author could have included more information on the facts of the case because it would provide the reader with a more thorough understanding of the case if Augenstein had explained what investigators have learned over the past three years.  

Body of Florida Man Missing 17 Years Discovered. Homicide Investigation Underway

Lucy Rizzo

December 21, 2017

Forensics

Current Event #12

https://www.forensicmag.com/news/2017/12/body-florida-man-missing-17-years-discovered-homicide-investigation-underway

Augenstein, Seth. “.” Forensic Magazine, Advantage Business Media, 21 Dec. 2017, www.forensicmag.com/news/2017/12/body-florida-man-missing-17-years-discovered-homicide-investigation-underway.

I read the recent article “Body of Florida Man Missing 17 Years Discovered. Homicide Investigation Underway.” In 2000 Mike Williams was declared missing after never returning from a solo duck hunting trip on a Florida Lake. After searching for his body for 44 days, Investigators declared that Williams must have drowned and his body was eaten by alligators. This however did not fully close the case. When law investigators were tipped off with “new information” they reopened the search investigation and found Mike William’s body 50 miles from his original hunting spot. Williams best friend, Brian Winchester, and widowed wife Denise Williams have been called into question on the mysterious murder of Mike Williams.

Because this is an recently new and ongoing investigation there was very little information let out to the public by investigators. This did not help readers further understand what the next steps were being taken in the investigation. There was also no reference to forensic science and technology being used to process and analyze William’s remains, although they mentioned that the body had been so well preserved they knew exactly how he died even though it had been almost two decades ago. The article could have included quotes or statements from the wife, best friend, or any one involved in the investigation on the law enforcement side. This would have brought much needed life and additional information to the article and for the readers. In a follow up article on updates of the case, the author should provide a very in depth and descriptive account of how the investigation has progressed and where it is headed. The direction of where the investigation is going currently was lost and that would have been very helpful.

This article caught my eye because it had recently been updated. I am interested in homicide and murder investigations and this piece really caught my eye. I hope that the author will include more information on the forensic science being used in this case and how it connects the victim to its perpetrator. I am excited to read the future articles on this case and to see if it attracts nationwide coverage.

Otto Warmbier Suffered Extensive Brain Damage, Coroner Confirms

Jack Baxter

Current Event

December 15th

Forensics

Kolata, Gina. “Otto Warmbier Suffered Extensive Brain Damage, Coroner Confirms.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 28 Sept. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/09/28/health/otto-warmbier-north-korea-autopsy.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FForensic%2BScience&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=collection.

The Article “Otto Warmbier Suffered Extensive Brain Damage, Coroner Confirms” written by Gina Kolata talks about Otto Warmbier and what happened to him and what was reported by the coroner's office. Otto F. Warmbier was the college student that was held in North Korea for allegedly trying to steal a propaganda poster. He was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for his alleged crime. The North Koreans claim that his condition was caused by sleeping pills and botulism. But his parents are claiming that he was greatly tortured by the North Koreans. He died six days after being returned to the US. Dr. Lakshmi Sammarco was the coroner who performed the autopsy on the body. She could not find any signs of torture but at the same time she couldn’t rule it out as a possibility. “There are a lot of horrible things you can do to a human body that don’t leave external signs behind.” she said. She has stated that the most frustrating thing about this whole ordeal is the lack of what happened to him in North Korea.

This Article was brought to my attention because it is something that is going on in our world and something that people should be aware of. We don’t always hear of these things but at this time with everything that is going on between North Korea and the US it feel important that people hear this. The forensic science was done by Dr. Lakshmi Sammarco as she looked through the body she looked at the teeth as well as many other things to look for signs of torture.

This article was well written and a good read. I thought that is was a little lengthy but when you started to get bored of reading it something new popped up and made you want to continue. The title could have been a bit different. The title I personally feel like gave off that they were only going to be talking about the brain damage but if you actually read the article you learn that that is not true. It was overall a good read and I enjoyed it very much.

Using DNA to Sketch What Victims Look Like; Some Call It Science Fiction By ASHLEY SOUTHALL OCT. 19, 2017

Zach Zucker

12/14/17

Using DNA to Sketch What Victims Look Like; Some Call It Science Fiction

Southall, Ashley. “Using DNA to Sketch What Victims Look Like; Some Call It Science Fiction.”The New York Times, The New York Times, 19 Oct. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/10/19/nyregion/dna-phenotyping-new-york-police.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FForensic%2BScience&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=9&pgtype=collection.

After a bird watcher found a severed hand from an unknown person washed up on the shire in Brooklyn, remains of other body parts such as a foot and ribcage weer found which could possibly be linked the the same person. The medical examination examined the parts and concluded that it is likely that they belong to the same body. ALong with this,the examiner analysed that the parts would have come from a woman from ages 20-45. On a flap of skin in the calf of the body, was a tatoo with the name Monique. After no more progress was made on the case, the police headed to go into the direction of phenotyping. Phenotyping uses DNA from the biological matter people leave behind, like skin and blood, to predict their appearance. “Once we identify the deceased, it’d go a long way to solving the crime itself,” said Chief Patrick Conry, who was chief of Brooklyn detectives and is now a senior official at Police Headquarters.

By using phenotyping, scientists can discover variation traits in the person such as eye color, freckling, and geographical ancestry. AFter this step, the scientists put these traits into an algorithm that creates a profile for the individual. Recently, pharmaceutical companies have used programs that can generate faces for these traits. It resulted that Monique had a sub-Saharan African ancestry, and not white like what the scientists originally believed as it look from the severed limbs of the body. This is how scientists can use a new type of technology called phenotyping to identify bodys.

I feel that this article and very informative and very relevant in today's society. For example, as crime rates have been drastically rising, it is important that we are able to get true justice and we deserve to know what happened in certain cases. Along with this, technology is rapidly expanding and improving so it is very interesting to see how phenotyping call eventually solve many unsolved cases and mysteries and how it could possibly lead to suspects involved with cases.

After reading this article called “Using DNA to Sketch What Victims Look Like; Some Call It Science Fiction”, I feel that this article is very well written. I think the article is well written because it is very easy to understand and shows purpose in today’s society and our advancing technology. Although this article would be improved. FOr example, the article could have explained and gone more into detail on what happened to Monique and if they ever caught a suspect. To improve this article I would suggest writing, about another story on which phenotyping was used to identify a body.