Crime laboratories can find DNA mixtures of two or more people challenging to interpret.  But many labs just give up when those mixed DNA people are related to each other.  This means that critical DNA evidence from father-daughter rape crimes is often not used for criminal justice. 

Science reporter David Templeton writes how prosecutors are now using Cybergenetics TrueAllele data analysis to separate incest rape DNA mixtures into the genotypes of father and daughter, yielding strong match statistics that help obtain convictions.  Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala called the technology "revolutionary," saying "It convicts the guilty and exonerates those not responsible for the crime."

A New York father who had raped his daughter for seven years pleaded guilty based on TrueAllele match results, and received consecutive sentences in the Bronx and Westchester.  Cybergenetics scientist Dr. Mark Perlin testified about TrueAllele mixture statistics in a Pittsburgh trial where the Pennsylvania father was sentenced to serve 40 to 80 years.

A new open-access TrueAllele article is now available at the Journal of Forensic Sciences website.  "TrueAllele Genotype Identification on DNA Mixtures Containing up to Five Unknown Contributors" was jointly written by Cybergenetics and the Kern Regional Crime Laboratory in Bakersfield, California.  This is the sixth peer-reviewed validation paper that demonstrates TrueAllele reliability for DNA mixture interpretation. 

Twenty high school summer campers from Grow a Generation visited Cybergenetics to learn about the TrueAllele forensic mixture analysis technology.  In their 90 minute 2015 STEM Careers Tour of our Pittsburgh facility, chief scientist Dr. Mark Perlin explained how TrueAllele works.  Chocolate cake was served.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology held an International Symposium on Forensic Science Error Management: Detection, Measurement and Mitigation in Washington, DC.  Cybergenetics scientist Dr. Mark Perlin gave a talk on "Objective DNA Mixture Information in the Courtroom: Relevance, Reliability and Acceptance."  The narrated YouTube movie (live audio & slides) is viewable from Cybergenetics website. 

The Indiana Court of Appeals granted Darryl Pinkins' petition for successor post-conviction relief.  Pinkins was convicted of a 1989 rape in Lake County.  Frances Lee Watson, Director of the Wrongful Conviction Clinic at Indiana University School of Law, filed the petition. 

Cybergenetics pro bono TrueAllele work for the Innocence Project showed there were five people (unrelated to the accused men) in the DNA evidence as major or minor contributors.  Watson used these TrueAllele results to persuade the Indiana Court of Appeals that the crime scene evidence did not contain Pinkins' DNA.

In New South Wales, Robert Xie is accused of bashing his brother-in-law Norman Lin, Lin's wife Lily, their two young boys, and Lily's sister to death with a hammer-like object in their home.  The Sydney court has heard how a stain found by forensic investigators on Xie's garage floor could be a DNA mixture containing blood from these five related victims. 

Cybergenetics TrueAllele technology was used in this case to resolve DNA mixtures of relatives.  By separating a mixture into genotypes, TrueAllele replaces complex statistical arguments with simple comparisons that juries can understand.  Cybergenetics scientist Dr. Mark Perlin was in Sydney this June testifying about TrueAllele match results on DNA mixture evidence.

Joseph and Evelyn Bland, Colonial Heights residents aged 84 and 80, were found dead in their Virginia home in January of 2011.  Matthew Brady was arrested for the crime a week later.  DNA potentially linked items stolen from the home to Brady. 

The 2010 SWGDAM guidelines had introduced a second interpretation threshold that led to Virginia's reevaluation of 375 cases with DNA mixture evidence.  Cybergenetics issued TrueAllele reports on 72 of those cases, including the Bland homicide.  Cybergenetics provided match statistics for DNA mixtures from a stolen gold earring and hundred dollar bills, as well as Brady's T-shirt. 

Recovering "inconclusive" DNA mixture evidence through TrueAllele computer interpretation generally leads to guilty pleas.  In Louisiana, Brian Williams pleaded guilty to homicide.  In Pennsylvania, Delmingo Williams received 3-7 years on gun charges, and Lauren Peak pleaded guilty to robbery. 

Dr. Mark Perlin testified in Schenectady at jury trials about TrueAllele match results for complex DNA mixtures on handguns.  New Yorker Sylvester Young was found guilty of homicide.  Nahkiem Fields was sentenced to 12 years for weapons violations and assault. 

Congratulations to Supervising Deputy District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer for receiving an award from the Kern County Law Enforcement Foundation for her work on the Billy Ray Johnson "East Side Rapist" case in Bakersfield, California.  TrueAllele results on eight "inconclusive" DNA mixtures found across three crime scenes provided key physical evidence in that case. 

Cybergenetics will be attending the International Homicide Investigators Association (IHIA) meeting in Washington, DC starting August 16th.  We will also have a booth at the International Symposium on Human Identification (ISHI) meeting in Grapevine, Texas the week of October 12th.  See you there!

Cybergenetics would like to introduce our new National Sales Manager, Jeffrey Robinson.  You will be hearing more from him in the coming months. 

The TrueAllele Cloud is now being used regularly for student training and system evaluation.  The Cloud also provides TrueAllele services for extra capacity, trial discovery, DNA databases, distributed delivery, protocol assessment, university courses, and validation studies.  No TrueAllele hardware required.  Contact Jeffrey for more information about getting started with TrueAllele on the Cloud. 

Cybergenetics offers a "no cost" TrueAllele evaluation of challenging or "inconclusive" DNA mixtures from criminal cases.  To find out the real identification information in your DNA evidence, contact Jeffrey.