Training - Why is DNA Important in Human Identification

5 December 2009 - The training presented here will be short and directed toward those who have never had a science course and communicate in every day language. If you have a question, you may e-mail untcenterforhumanid@yahoo.com . The questions along with daily events will help direct which topics are covered. When ever possible a public source information link will be provided which highlights the subject matter for educational purposes. So, why is DNA analysis so important in human identification:

There is and continues to be case after case worked by investigators often for decades where assumptions/events have directed the investigation off course. In this process thousand of man hours and untold amount of financial resources have been spent without ever a chance of resoultion while the family continues to be re-victimized daily. Presentations have been made at various conferences of the first sixteen Texas missing person cold hits ( cold hit: no investigative connection between the missing person and the remains of the deceased ) made through the center in which circumstances or expert opinions directed the investigation off course in up to thirty-one percent of those cases. Granted 31% is a very high number, but it is very reflective of the mire in which investigators often find themselves. All the time, we see cases that come to investigators where information related to the deceased was inaccurate - sex, age, identification documentation found on the body, dental, and dates of last contact. When we look at an NCIC (National Crime Information Center) record or investigaive hit releated to a unidentified deceased person, the information must be taken with a grain of salt. The missing person investigator often may not know who provided the opinion/information, the qualifications of the individual, or the circumstances under which the unidentified deceased was found. Any good investigator will realize that circumstances and past experience will bias his/her view of the case. Therefore, he/she will question each and every one of his/her conclusions or piece of evidence related to the case. Now, let's allow the actual experiences of others teach us. Two excellent cases are presented in the following links to help you learn.

The story which still attracts international interest begins on page twenty-two and written by the prosecutor:
http://www.tdcaa.com/files/newsletter/SO05Prosecutor.pdf

The family waited over four decades for an answer:
http://www.baldonart.com/glaze.html