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Houston forensic expert talks using DNA to crack cases
Othram, a forensic DNA lab in The Woodlands, confirms they are in talks with all law enforcement working the Guthrie case. FOX 26's Sally MacDonald spoke to Othram co-founder Kristen Mittelman about how their lab uses tiny DNA samples to crack cases.
THE WOODLANDS, Texas - Is a Texas lab the key to solving the Nancy Guthrie disappearance?
DNA crime fighters at Othram forensic lab in The Woodlands say they're actively engaged in conversations with all law enforcement working the Guthrie case.
Chief Development Officer Kristen Mittelman says any confirmation that DNA has been delivered to their lab would have to come from the FBI or Pima County Sheriff's Department.
Othram takes tiny, degraded samples of DNA to build a family tree that could eventually lead investigators right to the criminal's front door when other methods have hit a dead end.
What is genetic genealogy?
Genetic genealogy uses DNA testing in combination with genealogical records to infer relationships and find ancestors.
"When there's no match in the known perpetrator database, we build profiles that have hundreds of thousands of markers, and together with genealogical methods, we're able to infer someone's identity from all the DNA left at the crime scene," said Mittelman.
"We can build these profiles in less than a day," Mittelman added.
High-profile cases solved
What they're saying:
Othram played a big role in solving the Idaho quadruple stabbing. The technology was the bridge that connected the physical evidence at the scene to the suspect Bryan Kohberger's family tree.
"We were able to build Kohberger's profile in 24 hours and give information to law enforcement within 30 hours," said Mittelman.
"We run the largest database consented for law enforcement use for forensics, known as family tree DNA. There are a few million profiles in that database, and that is enough because the technology is not premised on a match. You only need a few percent of the population to match everyone because you're looking at fifth, fourth cousins. There are enough people in these databases who have already consented for law enforcement use for us to be able to solve almost all the investigations we're a part of fairly quickly."
What's next?
We don't know if Othram will test the DNA in the Guthrie case or how much DNA investigators have gathered from the home. The FBI confirmed to Fox News Digital on Tuesday that IGG, investigative genetic genealogy, was being used to test DNA found on a glove discovered two miles from Nancy Guthrie’s home and other DNA samples found inside her house.
The Source: Sally MacDonald interviewed Othram forensic lab Chief Development Officer Kristen Mittelman.