NY senator from LI introduces ‘familial DNA’ legislation

A day after the Queens district attorney announced he’d asked the state to approve a new type of DNA analysis in hopes that it would help police develop additional leads in the case of a female jogger found strangled this summer in Howard Beach, State Sen. Phil Boyle on Friday introduced legislation that would authorize the use of the controversial method in some cases.

Boyle (R-Bay Shore) said he drafted the measure after speaking with Philip Vetrano, father of Karina Vetrano, 30, whose body was found near a jogging path at the north end of Spring Creek Park in Queens on Aug. 2. The NYPD said she had been sexually assaulted.

“Having worked on DNA-related legislation for over 25 years, I see the use of ‘familial’ DNA testing as the next significant step in assisting our law enforcement officials in solving these sickening crimes and getting these violent criminals off our streets,” Boyle said in a statement.

Boyle’s proposal came one day after District Attorney Richard A. Brown asked the Division of Criminal Justice Service’s Commission on Forensic Science to...