Clue to Solving the 'Golden State Killer' Case... Genetic Genealogy Expert Visits Korea

Dr. Barbara Rae Venter Keynote Speech at CSI Conference on the 19th

Geneticist Dr. Barbara Rae Venter will deliver the keynote speech at the '2022 International CSI Conference' held on the 19th at Songdo Convensia, Incheon. /Photo by the National Police Agency

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] On the 16th, the National Police Agency announced that geneticist Dr. Barbara Rae Venter will deliver the keynote speech at the '2022 International CSI Conference' held on the 19th at Songdo Convensia in Incheon.

Dr. Rae Venter will introduce a technology that extracts DNA nuclei from hair without hair follicles and showcase recently developed genetic genealogy-related tools. She was named one of Time magazine's '100 Most Influential People in the World in 2019' and one of Nature's 'Top 10 People of the Year' in 2018.

Dr. Rae Venter provided the decisive breakthrough in solving the 'Golden State Killer' case, which remained unsolved for 45 years. From DNA evidence collected at the crime scenes, she extracted information that could identify familial relationships, then found individuals presumed to be relatives of the suspect to create a kind of 'genetic family tree.' By analyzing relatives one by one and excluding those who were not the perpetrator, the suspect was caught 45 years after the crime.

This technology, known as genetic genealogy, analyzes how much DNA people share according to general genetic principles to reveal familial relationships. Dr. Rae Venter first used this technology in July 2016 to identify a woman who had been abducted as a newborn and whose identity and origin were unknown. Since then, over 50 cold cases in the United States, including the Golden State Killer case, have been solved through genetic genealogy, attracting significant attention.

The 2022 International CSI Conference, where Dr. Rae Venter will be the keynote speaker, will be held at 10 a.m. on the 19th. Participation is possible both offline in person and online through pre-registration.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.