title: The first successful use of a low stringency familial match in a French criminal investigation.
abstract: We describe how a very simple application of familial searching resolved a decade-old, high-profile rape/murder in France. This was the first use of familial searching in a criminal case using the French STR DNA database, which contains approximately 1,800,000 profiles. When an unknown forensic profile (18 loci) was searched against the French arrestee/offender database using CODIS configured for a low stringency search, a single low stringency match was identified. This profile was attributed to the father of the man suspected to be the source of the semen recovered from the murder victim Elodie Kulik. The identification was confirmed using Y-chromosome DNA from the putative father, an STR profile from the mother, and finally a tissue sample from the exhumed body of the man who left the semen. Because of this identification, the investigators are now pursuing possible co-conspirators.
authors: Institut de Recherche Criminelle de la Gendarmerie Nationale, Division Criminalistique Identification Humaine, Département Biologie, 1 Boulevard Théophile Sueur, 93110 Rosny-Sous-Bois, France.
authors: Emmanuel
authors: E
authors: Pham-Hoai
authors: Frank
authors: F
authors: Crispino
authors: Greg
authors: G
authors: Hampikian
mesh_terms: D041322:Chromosomes, Human, Y; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics*; D016172:DNA Fingerprinting; D030561:Databases, Nucleic Acid; D005220:Fathers; D053803:Forensic Genetics; D005602:France; D006708:Homicide / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D010375:Pedigree; D011902:Rape / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D012661:Semen / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D004247:DNA
keywords: STR; database search; familial search; forensic science; low stringency search