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30-Jun-2025
Pennsylvania v. Christian Bey
On July 17, 2019, off duty Pittsburgh Police Officer Calvin Hall was fatally shot after a block party. The murder weapon was a firearm found near the scene. The county crime laboratory analyzed the gun for DNA. But they couldn't interpret the mixture data. Their inconclusive DNA results were uninformative.
Testing the same DNA data, TrueAllele casework separated the mixture. The computer connected the gun to suspect Christian Bey with an appreciable match statistic of 7.02 nonillion (a 1 followed by 30 zeros). For the grips, the TrueAllele match statistic to Bey was 73.4 billion.
In March 2023 a Cybergenetics expert witness testified about the DNA match results. An Allegheny County jury convicted Bey two weeks later. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
These cases underscore how better technology can help protect our local community. Reminders like National Gun Violence Awareness Month can help prevent future tragedies.