A Busy Month For Gene By Gene, Dr. Barbara Rae-Venter, And Law Enforcement

A MOTHER, A GRANDFATHER, AND A FORMER CLASSMATE AMONG THOSE ARRESTED AS SUSPECTED MURDERERS AND RAPISTS

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Nov 21, 2019, 14:50 ET

HOUSTON, Nov. 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Gene By Gene is playing a crucial role in helping law enforcement solve cold cases. According to Dr. Barbara Rae-Venter, Director of Gene By Gene's Investigative Genetic Genealogy Unit and pioneer of the game-changing approach, who has solved more than twenty-five cases, including the Golden State Killer, "Gene By Gene's laboratory and matching DNA database have helped solve three high-profile cases in the past month."

Port Washington, Wisconsin - Police solved the 35-year-old cold case murder of 18-year-old Traci Hammerburg, who was sexually assaulted and murdered by a former classmate.
Racine County, Wisconsin - The identification of Peggy Lynn Johnson, a Jane Doe for the past twenty years, that helped police identify the suspected killer. The suspect, a registered nurse, is accused of the murder of the 23-year-old cognitively impaired young woman.
Livermore, California - A longtime neighbor and grandfather was arrested as the suspect in two rape cases from the late 1990's. Earlier this year, Gene By Gene and Dr. Rae-Venter used investigative genetic genealogy to help Livermore PD identify the suspect in the 1981 double homicide of Thomas and Alice Green.

Dr. Connie Bormans, Director of Gene By Gene's highly accredited laboratory, which processes DNA samples from crime scenes, with oversight of law enforcement registration and uploading of crime scene DNA into the company's FamilyTreeDNA database, says, "Finally, after years of waiting, victims and their families are getting long-awaited and much-deserved closure. As more agencies adopt the use of investigative genetic genealogy, we expect more headlines like these cold cases and anticipate a future where crimes of murder, sexual assault, and kidnapping are solved in real-time."

ABOUT GENE BY GENE Gene By Gene d/b/a FamilyTreeDNA, the pioneer of the genetic genealogy and direct-to-consumer DNA testing industry, is the only consumer DNA test company with its own CAP and CLIA accredited genetics laboratory. Located in Houston, Texas, Gene By Gene is a privately held company. www.genebygene.com

SOURCE Gene By Gene