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Using DNA evidence, the district attorney’s office in Orange County, Calif., said it had identified a 1968 homicide victim as Anita…
First GEDmatch, the DNA database that helped identify the Golden State Killer, was hacked. Then email addresses…
Welcome to Mind Over Murder. In this episode, hosts Bill Thomas and Kristin Dilley interview forensic genealogist Dr. Colleen Fitzpatrick to discuss her work in…
Welcome to Mind Over Murder. In this episode, hosts Bill Thomas and Kristin Dilley interview forensic genealogist Dr. Colleen Fitzpatrick to discuss her work in…
The first step was to separate 17-year-old Barbara Blatnik’s DNA from that of the man who authorities say killed her in 1987 and dumped her body in Cuyahoga Falls. Investigators next entered the suspect’s DNA into genealogy databases, tracking down the man’s distant cousins.
Last summer, investigators reopened the case into Barbara Blatnik’s 1987 killing. Authorities in Ohio have filed murder charges against a 67-year-old Cleveland man, alleging DNA evidence proves he was responsible for the 1987 rape and strangulation murder of 17-year-old Barbara Blatnik.
AKRON, Ohio – Police have made an arrest in the 1987 murder of a 17-year-old Ohio girl using DNA genealogical research. James E. Zastawnik, 67, of Cleveland, has been charged with murder in the death of Barbara Blatnik, whose body was found in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.
Cuyahoga Falls police today announced the arrest of 67-year-old James Zastawnik of Cleveland for the December 1987 murder of Barbara Blatnik. Blatnik was just 17 when her nude, strangled body was found near Blossom Music Center, some 30 minutes away from her home, five days before Christmas.
Genetic genealogy is helping to crack cold cases and identify victims left nameless for decades. The process is surprisingly effective—and controversial.
Colleen Fitzpatrick has always had a passion for genealogy. And languages. And math. She grew up in New Orleans, studied physics at Rice University, and earned a PhD in nuclear physics at Duke University in 1983.