Astrea Forensics

12/07/2024

Two game wardens found her body under a tarp and brush near Ridge and Tomstown Roads in Union Township on Oct. 10, 1973. The area is about 47 miles from where she lived.

10/11/2024

This case is a milestone. It was the case that led to the founding of Astrea Forensics. And is one of the first uses of the breakthrough technology for sequencing rootless hair DNA for IGG purposes. Good luck on the search.

The DNA Doe Project has partnered with the New Hampshire State Police to take a fresh look at the case of a little girl who was the daughter of serial killer Terry Rasmussen.

Read more here: https://dnadoeproject.org/case/bear-brook-jane-doe-2000/

Investigative Genetic Genealogy research is always provided pro bono at the DNA Doe Project - since this case already had an existing DNA profile, our team of 6 experts got started immediately.

05/08/2024

Another name given back to her family.

DNA Doe Project was honored to work with the Maury County Sheriff's Office to identify Annie Carolyn Jenkins, missing since she boarded a plane from Chicago to Tennessee in 1974.

https://dnadoeproject.org/case/maury-county-jane-doe-1975/

05/01/2024

Teamwork! With a little help from whole genome enrichment, whole genome sequencing and SNP imputation.

A cold case murder mystery out of midtown Manhattan is now closer to being solved. The victim, who had been classified as a Jane Doe after she was killed five decades ago has been identified through one of her relatives, who died on 9/11. On West 46th Street between 8th and 9th avenues in Hell’s K...

04/24/2024

DDP was honored to work with the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office in California to identify Jeffrey Rupen, formerly known as Motorcycle Mountain John Doe. Read the full press release on his case page on our website here:
https://dnadoeproject.org/case/motorcycle-mountain-john-doe-2001/

03/15/2024

Teamwork. 💪

The DNA Doe Project was honored to work with the Ross County Office of the Coroner in Ohio to identify Ward Raymond Thomas, formerly known as Scioto River John Doe. Read more here:
https://dnadoeproject.org/case/scioto-river-john-doe-1996/

02/28/2024

Intermountain Forensics (IMF) is honored to join our partners, the Bensalem Township Police Department (https://bucks.crimewatchpa.com/bensalempd), the Bucks County Coroner's Office (https://www.buckscounty.gov/337/Coroner), Innovative Forensic Investigations (https://www.innovativeforensic.com/) an...

02/19/2024

Some details about a “current” cold case. Luckily our methods showed that the DNA from the hair strand was well preserved. We can do our part to help identify this little one.

UPDATE: 1971 Cold Case Homicide Involving a Newborn


Investigators have gotten one step closer to solving Rowan County’s oldest documented unsolved murder. Hair evidence recovered from the forgotten case file of an unidentified murdered infant discovered on March 20, 1971, underwent testing at Astrea Forensics, a private laboratory in California who specializes in processing hair for DNA. Preliminary results proved that DNA is still present in the hair, allowing further testing to be done to hopefully help in identifying the victim.

Detectives have not been successful in locating anyone in the community who remembers helpful details in the case, however they have identified the exact spot at which the baby was found. In 1971, the property located at 1015 Dunns Mountain Road just outside of Granite Quarry was the site of an abandoned quarry. The dirt road that led to the quarry was used by some as a trash dumping site, which is where the infant’s body was located. Detectives identified the person who located the body as Arthur Joe Trexler who passed away in 1984 at the age of 76. Today, the property is owned by Piedmont Diving and Rescue Association and the quarry location is used as a diving facility.

Details of the death are gruesome and outlined in the medical examiner’s report. In it, Dr. Elizabeth Mayrand, the Medical Examiner for Rowan County at the time, listed the cause of death as a stab wound to the head. On all official records, the African American infant was named “Unknown Baby Girl Found in Trash Dump”. Her remains were held at the medical examiner’s office for a year, and she was cremated on March 21, 1972 at Rowan Memorial Hospital, a common practice in the 1970’s. Investigators with the sheriff’s office have named the girl, “Baby Eva”, in order to put a name to the case. The name was derived from the Christian Bible’s Eve, which in Hebrew means “life”. With the name, the sheriff hopes to give her back at least symbolically what was tragically taken away from her shortly after birth.

Detectives are being assisted by agents with the North Carolina SBI’s Cold Case Investigation Team who are funding the DNA testing. For now, they’ll have to wait on further results from Astrea’s analysts before progressing with the case. If anyone has any information to aid in the investigation, please contact Lt. Ryan Barkley at (704-216-8711).

02/14/2024

DNA Doe Project was honored to work with the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department's Cold Case Unit to identify Robin Fay Hedrick, formerly known as Pine Flat Road Jane Doe 1983. Read more here:
https://dnadoeproject.org/case/pine-flat-rd-jane-doe-1993/