DNA profiling is most commonly used as a forensic technique in criminal investigations to identify
an unidentified person or whose identity needs to be confirmed, or to place a person at a
crime scene or to eliminate a person from consideration. There was no better tool for
solving mysteries and inquiring cold case than DNA profiling.
9 The Missing Titanic Survivor DNA solved a 70-year-old question of whether
Loraine Allison survived the Titanic crash. Many have wondered what happened to the two-year-old
little girl who disappeared from the crash more than 100 years ago.
The story begins with Hudson and Bess taking their two kids, Trevor, seven months, and
Loraine, two years of age, across the Atlantic on the Titanic. At the time of the sinking,
it is said that Trevor was rushed to a lifeboat by their maid and that the other three died
on the boat. However, only Hudson’s body was found, leaving the mystery of what happened
to Loraine and her mother. The unknown remained until 28 years later
when Helen Kramer came forward on a radio show called “We the People”, and said
that she was the two-year-old missing girl. Only a few of the distant relatives believed
her story, but immediate family members denied the claims and kept her out of the inheritance.
When Helen died in 1992 the claims seemed to have died with her. However, in 2012 the
granddaughter of Helen, Debrina Woods, resurfaced the claims by saying she had inherited more
evidence from her grandmother and that the truth should be told.
With all of this evidence, and with a desire to solve this case, a group of Titanic researchers
put together a project to help unlock the mystery.
They did just that, by convincing descendants from each family to have a DNA test done.
The results from the tests show that there is not a relationship between the two families,
suggesting that this was a hoax or a complete misunderstanding.
We don’t want to downplay the tragedy of this story to those involved but rather highlight
that we have a tool that will help us unlock the mysteries of our past with DNA testing.
8 Case of James Hanratty DNA tests are being carried out to determine
whether a man was wrongly hanged for the 1961 murder of an Abbots Langley scientist.
It is possible scientists may have to exhume the body of James Hanratty, which is buried
at Carpenders Park Lawn Cemetery, to solve the 37-year-old mystery.
Hanratty was executed in 1962 for the murder of Michael Gregsten, of Shirley Road, Abbots
Langley, and the rape and shooting of Valerie Storie, from near Slough, in a lay-by off
Deadman's Hill on the A6. Hanratty, who was 25, was buried at Bedford
Prison and moved to Carpenders Park in 1966. Campaigners have continued to battle to prove
his innocence and a new inquiry into one of Britain's most notorious criminal cases is
being carried out by the Government's Criminal Cases Review Commission.
A spokesman from the commission could not confirm or deny whether Hanratty's body would
need to be exhumed from its resting place at the Brent Council-owned cemetery in Oxhey
Lane. Mr Bob Langford, director of the cemetery,
said: "The fact that James Hanratty is buried here does create quite a lot of interest.
"Every time there is something new in the case there are a few people who come and see
the grave - we recently had someone visit from Sheffield.
"I think until it is proved one way or the other whether he was guilty, it will always
be in people's minds." The spokesman for the commission said they
will be closer to solving the mystery in the next three months following exhaustive scientific
tests, which include DNA tests. It is believed DNA samples found on Miss Storie's
underwear have already been compared with samples taken from Hanratty's relatives.
It is also reported that samples have recently been taken from Miss Storie, who was crippled
for life after the shooting, but exhuming Hanratty's body would provide vital evidence.
Family and supporters of Hanratty have staged a 36-year long campaign for a posthumous pardon
making it one of the most enduring and controversial cases in Britain.
Finally, in 2002, Hanratty’s body was exhumed, so that DNA testing could be performed on
evidentiary material, including semen samples found in Storie’s underwear and a handkerchief.
Hanratty’s DNA turned out a perfect match, providing conclusive evidence that he was
guilty all along. 7 The Conviction Of Roger Keith Coleman
If there was an American equivalent of James Hanratty, it would probably be Roger Keith
Coleman, who initially seemed like a poster child for the unjust execution of innocent
people. On March 10, 1981, 19-year-old Wanda McCoy was murdered inside her home in Grundy,
Virginia. She was raped, stabbed to death, and nearly beheaded. The prime suspect was
McCoy’s brother-in-law, Roger Keith Coleman, who had a previous conviction for attempted
rape. Coleman’s pants had small spots of blood on them, and two male pubic hairs found
on McCoy’s body were consistent with Coleman’s. Coleman would eventually be convicted of rape
and murder and sentenced to death. However, the evidence against Coleman was very circumstantial
and numerous witnesses placed Coleman at other locations during the time period the crime
took place. While on death row, Coleman spent the next several years appealing his sentence,
and his case garnered enough publicity that he gained a slew of supporters—including
Pope John Paul II—who believed in his innocence and petitioned for clemency. Nevertheless,
Coleman was put to death in the electric chair on May 20, 1992. Before his execution, Coleman
stated, “An innocent man is going to be murdered tonight,” and expressed hope that
his death would play a role in bringing an end to the death penalty. Coleman’s supporters
and anti–death penalty activists never stopped fighting to clear his name. Finally, in 2006,
they successfully lobbied for DNA evidence from the crime scene to be tested. To their
shock, the DNA test officially confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt that Roger Keith Coleman
was the perpetrator. 6 The Reunion Of The Hagans Household
On June 11, 1968, three-year-old Jonathan Hagans disappeared during a family gathering
at Jacksonville Beach in Florida. Police assumed that Jonathan walked into the ocean and drowned,
but his family wasn’t sure. Shortly before Jonathan went missing, witnesses had seen
him following his father toward a snack bar. His family became convinced that two unidentified
men and a woman standing near the establishment had abducted Jonathan. The case remained cold
until 1989 when authorities were contacted by a 24-year-old Buffalo man named David Bonnabel,
who had recently seen an age-progressed photo of Jonathan Hagans. Bonnabel told the Haganses
that he believed he was their long-lost son. According to Bonnabel, he had been raised
in the swamps of Louisiana by a Romanian woman named Rita. Bonnabel claimed that Rita imprisoned
and sexually abused him throughout his childhood before he managed to run away during his teen
years. He had no idea he had been abducted from his real family until he heard Jonathan’s
story. The Hagans family believed Bonnabel’s story at first, but suffered a major heartbreak
when DNA testing was performed on him. It confirmed with 100 percent certainty that
David Bonnabel was not Jonathan Hagans. In fact, Bonnabel was nothing more than a ruthless
con man. Bonnabel had spent the previous few years peddling a fabricated story to various
TV shows about being an abducted child searching for his parents. It turned out Bonnabel was
actually a Mexican citizen living illegally in the United States and was hoping to be
adopted by an American family to gain US citizenship. Sadly, no trace of the real Jonathan Hagans
has ever been found. 5 The Adoption Of Heather Robinson
For years, a Chicago couple named Don and Helen Robinson had hassle conceiving a child
or adopting one through traditional channels. Nevertheless, in January 1985, they have been
contacted by Don’s brother, John Edward Robinson, and have been shocked to be taught
that he had an toddler lady with him. In keeping with John, the kid’s mom had just lately
dedicated suicide in a home violence shelter. If Don and Helen would pay John a pair thousand
for authorized charges, he might act as a liaison and prepare for them to legally undertake
the kid. The Robinsons agreed to the association and John quickly introduced them with adoption
papers to signal. The kid now formally belonged to Don and Helen, who would elevate her underneath
the title Heather Robinson.
Sadly, the couple didn’t know that John Edward Robinson made no authorized preparations
for them in any respect and had solid the adoption papers. Even worse, he was a serial
killer and had possible murdered the kid’s actual mom. Robinson had a historical past
of legal conduct, together with embezzlement and sexual assault, however issues took a
a lot darker flip when the our bodies of 5 ladies have been discovered inside barrels
on each his property and a close-by storage locker. Robinson was given the dying penalty
for 3 counts of homicide, however he’s believed to be answerable for many extra deaths.
In January 1985, a girl named Lisa Stasi mysteriously disappeared alongside her four-month-old daughter,
Tiffany. On the time, she had just lately turn out to be acquainted with Robinson. In
2000, DNA testing would affirm that the lady raised as Heather Robinson was Tiffany Stasi.
Though Lisa Stasi is presumed lifeless, her physique has never been discovered.
4 The Fate Of Dr. Josef Mengele After the end of World War II, Dr. Josef Mengele
was one of the most wanted Nazi war criminals in the world. Known as the “Angel of Death,”
Mengele was the notorious physician at Auschwitz concentration camp who performed horrific
experiments on Jewish prisoners for the purposes of genetic research. After Auschwitz was liberated,
Mengele was held in custody at two American prisoner-of-war camps, but they inexplicably
released him. Mengele eventually managed to flee to South America, where he would spend
the next three decades on the run. By the ’80s, rumors began circulating that Mengele
was dead, but there were still unconfirmed sightings of him throughout the world, and
$3.5 million in reward money was offered for his capture. In February 1985, a mock trial
was held for Mengele in Jerusalem where 106 of his survivors testified about his atrocities.
Two months later, West German police would raid the home of one of Mengele’s friends
and find a letter from a couple named Wolfram and Liselotte Bossert which mentioned the
death of a mutual friend. The Bosserts were soon located in Brazil and interrogated. They
finally led authorities to a cemetery in Embu containing the grave of a man named Wolfgang
Gerhard. According to the Bosserts, Gerhard was actually Josef Mengele. He had drowned
after suffering a stroke while swimming on February 7, 1979. Even so, there was still
some skepticism that the remains belonged to Mengele. In 1992, the long manhunt was
finally brought to a definitive end when DNA testing was performed on Gerhard’s remains,
confirming that the dead man was Josef Mengele.
3 The Fake Teenager In 1997, Brianna Stewart, a 16-year-old high
school student from Vancouver, Washington, accused 47-year-old security guard Charles
Blankenship of raping her. Blankenship would be charged with having sex with a minor and
sentenced to one year in jail. This seemed to be the latest in a long line of sexual
assaults suffered by the enigmatic Brianna Stewart. She spent her teen years living in
foster homes, garnering a lot of sympathy with her tales of past abuse. Brianna claimed
she ran away from home at age 12 to escape an abusive Satanist father who had murdered
her mother. In 2001, Brianna was hoping to attend college, but would need to obtain a
birth certificate and Social Security number. During a fingerprint check, a surprising discovery
was made: This high schooler was actually a 31-year-old woman named Treva Throneberry.
Treva Throneberry was born in Wichita Falls, Texas in 1969. Even though she was sexually
abused by an uncle during her childhood, her tendency to fabricate stories started at age
16 when she falsely accused her father of raping her at gunpoint. After she reached
adulthood, Treva spent most of the 1990s traveling the country and passing herself off as a teenager
under different aliases. She usually lived in homeless shelters and foster homes and
chronicled many outrageous stories of abuse, which often involved Satanism. After the fingerprint
check uncovered Treva’s real identity, she was arrested and charged with theft, fraud,
and perjury. Even though she continued to maintain that her real name was Brianna Stewart,
DNA testing conclusively determined that she was Treva Throneberry. The false conviction
of Charles Blankenship was promptly expunged from his record and Treva was sentenced to
three years in prison. 2 The Identification Of Scott Morris
The invention of DNA profiling has often been a godsend for resolving missing persons cases.
Sometimes, a dead body will be found and remain unidentified for years until DNA testing matches
the deceased victim to a missing person. Even though DNA profiling can provide closure for
a victim’s family, there are also rare occasions when it takes closure away. On August 14,
1978, 14-year-old Scott Morris mysteriously disappeared after leaving his Indianapolis
home to walk to a nearby market. At the time, Scott was known for being a runaway, so police
did not take his disappearance seriously. Scott’s family never saw him again, but
a family friend received a strange call in 1989 from a man claiming to be Scott, who
confirmed he was still alive and working at a carnival. Years later, Scott’s family
received surprising news about a seemingly unrelated cold case. On January 7, 1990, a
nude unidentified young man was found beaten and shot to death in Daviess County, Kentucky.
Since the victim’s hands and feet had been cut off and all his teeth were removed, identification
was difficult. However, in 2007, a search of the missing persons database led authorities
to Scott Morris, who bore a striking resemblance to the victim. The body was tentatively identified
as Scott. He was returned to the Morris family and given a proper burial. Unfortunately,
it turned out the identification had been premature. In 2009, the final portions of
the DNA identification process were completed and authorities were horrified to learn they
had made a mistake: The unidentified victim was not Scott Morris. Sadly, two separate
cold cases have now reverted back to their unsolved status.
1 The Heart Of Dauphin Louis XVII Of France One of the great mysteries of European history
was resolved after DNA tests revealed that the son of executed
French King Louis XVI and Queen Marie-Antoinette died as a child in prison. Royalists have
argued for 205 years over whether Louis-Charles de France perished in a grim Paris prison
or managed to escape the clutches of the French revolution.
Last December the presumed heart of the child king was removed from its resting place to
enable scientists to compare its DNA make-up with samples from living and dead members
of his family -- including a lock of Marie-Antoinette's hair.
"It is the heart of Louis XVII," said historian Philippe Delorme, announcing the results of
the analysis. "This is a great day for an historian. It
is very exciting to put an end to one of the greatest enigmas of French history. To draw
a close to a mystery that has given rise to more than 800 books," he told Reuters.
Eight-year-old Louis-Charles de France automatically became King Louis XVII when Louis XVI was
guillotined before huge crowds in central Paris at the height of the revolution in 1793.
At the time, the boy was held in the forbidding Temple Prison to prevent any monarchist bid
to free him, and was forcibly separated from his mother.
At her subsequent trial, a signed statement from the boy was produced claiming that she
had forced him to commit incest. Marie-Antoinette was executed shortly afterwards. Louis-Charles
was treated like a caged animal and was reported dead in 1795 from what is today recognised
to have been tuberculosis. An autopsy was carried out on the boy's body at the prison
and his heart was removed by the chief doctor.
Reports however quickly spread that the body was not that of Louis XVII and that he had
been spirited away alive by sympathisers with another child's body left in his place.
Would-be royal heirs popped up across Europe and some of their descendants still have small
retinues of followers today. Wednesday's news was welcomed by the Bourbon family, which
lays claim to the defunct French throne via blood ties dating back to Louis XIV.
"Science has come to the rescue of history," said Louis de Bourbon, Duke of Anjou. "The
memory of this young prince, who died aged 10 after terrible suffering, should be a symbol
for us of martyred childhood," the Duke told reporters.
The boy's heart changed hands many times and was finally placed in 1975 at the royal crypt
in the cathedral of Saint Denis outside Paris, burial place of French kings. It was ceremonially
removed on December 14 by a handful of aristocrats. One fragment was tested by Professor Jean
Cassiman of Louvain University in Belgium and another piece by Professor Ernst Brinckmann
of Muenster University in Germany in 2000. Scientists from the two laboratories said
the DNA fragments were not perfect, but they could determine enough of a pattern to be
sure that Marie-Antoinette was the child's mother.
The heart was finally given a proper burial at the royal crypt.