Annual Report FY 2022-2023

OC SHERIFF COLD CASES

Giving victims a voice I nvestigators Lauren Felix and Bob Taft spend long hours poring over case files, working to make connections in cases that are decades old.

“It can take hundreds of hours of education and training to apply this technique,” said Investigator Felix, who has worked for the Department for 16 years. “It’s a combination of using the science of DNA with knowing how to track down a paper trail.” Investigative genetic genealogy first received widespread recognition in 2018 when it helped solve the infamous Golden State Killer case. DNA, and building a complex family tree to find connections, was how Joseph James D’Angelo was ultimately held accountable for the murder of 13 women across California, including in Orange County. At that time, the Sheriff’s Department partnered with the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) to use investigative genetic genealogy on the case.

For them, connections can lead to answers.

Penned in dry erase marker on a large white board is the beginning of a genetic tree – a work in progress for a process that can take months. This technique, known as investigative genetic genealogy, uses DNA and historical documents to trace the stories of people whose lives are unknowingly intertwined. It takes meticulous application and immense patience, but the outcome could mean solving a crime that has long seemed unsolvable.

orange county sheriff’s department

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