US serial killer case opens door to using cutting-edge DNA data in courts

A judge in New York rejected a request on 23 September to disqualify the use of cutting-edge DNA sequencing as evidence in a case against an alleged serial killer. The ruling paves the way for a type of DNA analysis known as whole-genome sequencing — used to decipher ancient DNA in fossilized remains, for example — to be admitted as evidence in US criminal trials.

“This is a big step forward for the use of DNA evidence, because it will allow comparisons and matches with evidence that was previously considered too minuscule, too old or too badly degraded to be considered useful,” says Nathan Lents, a biologist at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. “You can bet that cold-case units all over the country are going back through their evidence lockers to see if there are samples that can now be tested with a reasonable chance of success.”

A technology matures

The Gilgo Beach killings were a series of murders that occurred in Suffolk County, New York, between 1993 and 2011. Many of the victims...