A wounded killer leaves the scene of the crime, leaving drops of blood behind him.
Investigators have the blood analyzed and identify the criminal’s DNA. However, if this person has never provided DNA and is not listed in the National DNA Data Bank (NDDB) of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the identification of the killer may be impossible.
This is where genetic genealogy comes in, a process that promises to advance unsolved crimes in Quebec and elsewhere.
“When it works, it’s spectacular,” explains Emmanuel Milot, professor of genetics and forensic science at the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières. You find someone after 40 years, someone no one suspected, who had nothing to do with crimes that happened a long time ago. It’s like pulling a rabbit out of a hat. »
Genetic genealogy is a technique that allows a suspect’s DNA to be matched against the millions of DNA profiles found in many genealogy databases maintained by people who build their family trees online.
The key to this technique is that it can work even if a suspect has never provided their DNA to anyone, Milot notes.
It is that the genetic information of the suspect’s extended family – people he has never met and who may live in another province or state – can be used to identify him. There may be overlaps.
Emmanuel Milot, professor of genetics and forensic science at the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières
If so, the police can ask for the surnames of people who are genetically related to the suspect, and thus compile a list of potential surnames.
“They can also go back in the genealogy to identify, for example, the great-great-grandparents that the person sought has in common with the person known in the system. Then, we can go back down the family tree to try to find out who can be a third cousin with this person. »
Investigators end up with a list, and hopefully the perpetrator is on it. They can also cross-reference surnames uncovered through genetic genealogy research with the names of suspects or other people closely or remotely connected to the crime, and thereby identify a person to investigate further.
“If they’re looking for a male suspect, they can eliminate the women. If they are looking for someone in a certain region, they can eliminate people from other provinces, and so on. »
Males, who are the only ones with a Y chromosome, can also be identified based on their surname, which has traditionally been passed down from father to son for generations. “The Y chromosome is passed down as it is, so it becomes a lineage marker. So it can make it possible to narrow the number of candidates quickly, and it can also be an exclusion tool, to close doors and exclude candidates as well. »
Arrest in Ontario
Last November, Ontario Provincial Police arrested Joseph George Sutherland, 61, charged with the first degree murder of Susan Tice, 45, and Erin Gilmour, 22, who were both sexually assaulted and stabbed to death in their bed in Toronto a few months apart in 1983.
DNA collected from the crime scene showed that the same person was present in both cases. But investigators were unable to identify the suspect because his genetic profile was not in any database.
It wasn’t until last year that they were able to use genetic genealogy to trace the suspect. If convicted of the murders, Joseph George Sutherland would be the first person in Canada convicted thanks to genetic genealogy.
Typically, once investigators identify a suspect using this technology, they will attempt to obtain a warrant signed by a judge to be authorized to collect that person’s DNA without the person noticing. In the case of Joseph George Sutherland, attempts to collect DNA failed, so a judge authorized the police to directly collect DNA from the suspect by blood test.
In 2020, Ontario police also used genetic genealogy to identify the perpetrator of the murder of Christine Jessop, a 9-year-old girl killed in 1984. The suspect in this case, however, died in 2015.
In Quebec
According to our information, genetic genealogy is potentially already used by police forces in Quebec in certain investigations.
Emmanuel Milot notes that no Quebec police force has so far announced that it was working with this technology.
I don’t know if they use it, but if they do, I think they’re going to have to be transparent and say so, because there’s an element of social acceptance in all of this.
Emmanuel Milot, professor of genetics and forensic science at the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières
He notes that this innovative method will have to be supervised. “If we are talking about a very serious crime, I think the population will understand and agree. But what happens in the case of a less serious crime? Are we gonna do it? »
As the method can target several people, people who have nothing to do with a crime could end up on the lists of suspects. “If you are a suspect, can your employer suspend you for the duration of the investigation? I don’t have an answer, but the question arises,” he says, adding that people who contribute their genetic information to genealogy databases will also have to accept that the data can be used in police investigations.
PHOTO OLIVIER PONTBRIAND, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
John Allore, best-selling author Wish You Were Here
John Allore, best-selling author Wish You Were Here about the unsolved murder of his sister Theresa Allore, found dead in the Eastern Townships in 1979, is generally excited about the promises of genetic genealogy.
However, he notes that Quebec police forces have “thrown away, misplaced or destroyed” a number of objects containing DNA linked to crime scenes over the years, including murders, which could limit the scope of this technique for many files.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY JOHN ALLORE
Theresa Allore, found dead in the Eastern Townships in 1979
“For example, the Sûreté du Québec in Sherbrooke told me that my sister’s underwear had been destroyed five years after the murder,” he says.
And his case is not isolated, adds Mr. Allore. “I’ve been doing this for 20 years, and I’ve spoken to so many families of victims who have been told the same thing. DNA is no longer there to be analyzed,” says Allore, who also hosts the podcast. Who Killed Theresa? which focuses on the unsolved murders in Quebec.
“I’m happy if it can help solve crimes, but I’m not holding my breath,” he said.