6-Aug-2025

IHIA 2025- Prosecuting homicide with "inconclusive" DNA

Virginia was the first state in America to use TrueAllele – or any kind of probabilistic genotyping – in its forensic laboratory. Many of the earliest stories of how computers cracked "inconclusive" DNA mixtures in major crimes come from the Commonwealth.

On August 6, Chief Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Nicole Wittmann (Loudoun, VA) and Cybergenetics Chief Scientist Dr. Mark Perlin (Pittsburgh, PA) spoke at the International Homicide Investigators Association (IHIA) training symposium in Louisville, KY. Their topic was Prosecuting Homicide with "Inconclusive" DNA – Virginia Case Studies.

Covering six horrific violent crimes (mainly murder), their two-hour presentation graphically taught police how TrueAllele computing made the forensic difference. Unreportable without TrueAllele, the computer consistently turned "uninterpretable" DNA into persuasive state's evidence, leading to consequential convictions.

Bowman, Brady, Gardner, Castillo, Cellucci, Black. In case after Virginia case, the essential message was the same – when a lab says your DNA is "inconclusive," call Cybergenetics. A free TrueAllele look can completely revive your unreported DNA evidence.