DNA: ID

We all hear stories almost daily now about cold cases being solved by investigative genetic genealogy. This new crime-solving tool answers the “who” question about these often decades-old crimes... but what about the why? This podcast will look at crimes solved by genetic genealogy, and examine the connection - if any - between the victim and the killer, and why the crime occurred. Each case is unique, and has its own story behind the headline. Join us for DNA: ID. New episodes will come out every other week on Mondays.

Introducing: Clues with Morgan Absher & Kaelyn Moore 07/07/2025

A conversation with former FBI agent Julia Cowley 06/30/2025

A conversation with former FBI agent Julia Cowley Episode 153 A conversation with former FBI agent Julia Cowley Our guest today is Julia Cowley, who retired from the FBI after 22 years at the agency. She has a bachelor's degree in chemistry from the University of Oregon and a master's degree in forensic science from The George Washington University. Before joining the FBI, Julia was a Special Agent/Forensic Scientist with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. When she joined the federal agency, Julia was first posted to the Boston Division. She was also a member and team leader on the Boston Division's Evidence Response Team. Julia then joined the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit, and was also assigned to the Evidence Response Team Unit. In her career as an FBI special agent, Julia investigated serial killings and sex offenses, white-collar crime, public corruption, and civil rights. She is certified in Behavioral Analysis by the FBI and was the lead FBI profiler on the Golden State Killer case. She now hosts the hit podcast "The Consult." This is the last episode of DNA: ID before the show goes on summer hiatus. We’ll be back in late August with all new episodes! This episode is sponsored by Mint Mobile; wireless service that's easy. Listeners of DNA ID qualify for the following special offer from Mint Mobile; as a new Mint Mobile customer, you will get 3 months unlimited wireless plan for just $15 a month when you use our special link to signup at . (up front payment of $45 required, limited time new customer offer for first 3 months only. Speeds may slow above 35GB on unlimited plan. Taxes and fees extra. Visit our special link above for full details.) To listen to every episode of DNA: ID ad-free and get other benefits, simply on Apple Podcasts to get started with an AbJack Insider subscription. Of course, you can also support DNA: ID with a . Follow us on social media; find all of our social media links in one spot at our Linktree: /episode/index/show/538b5014-ddfa-4453-a65e-c0d092e74b1b/id/37209725

Danielle Houchins Part 2 of 2 06/23/2025

Danielle Houchins Part 1 of 2 06/23/2025

Listen Now: The Rise & Fall of Diddy: The Federal Trial 06/17/2025

Doe ID: Anthony Gulley 06/16/2025

Sarah Yarborough Part 2 of 2 06/09/2025

Sarah Yarborough Part 1 of 2 06/09/2025

Doe ID: Kay Adams Medin 06/02/2025

Doe ID: Kay Adams Medin Episode 149 Doe ID: Kay Adams Medin In February 1993, a man walking along Trinidad Head; a rocky promontory beach area near the town of Trinidad in Humboldt County, California, made a shocking discovery. He found what he believed to be a piece of human skull. He contacted authorities who verified his hunch. DNA from the skull fragment would be entered into various databases in an effort to learn the identify of the donor with no luck. Years later, the skull fragment would be connected to another case through DNA. In November, 1987, the Humboldt County Sheriff's dept received an package in the mail from an anonymous sender. It contained human skeletal remains and an accompanying letter provided directions to more human remains near Ammon Ridge Road in Humboldt County. Investigators went to the location, and found more human remains. An examination of teeth found with the remains confirmed that they belonged to 48 year old Kay Adams Medin. She had been reported missing from her Trinity County home by her husband in August 1987. The location in Humboldt County where her remains were found is over 100 miles away from her home. Eventually, Othram Labs did DNA work on the skull fragment found in 1993 at Trinidad Head, and their work led them to ID the skull fragment as belonging to Kay Adams Medin. That skull fragment was found 45 miles from Kay's home. It remains a mystery as to how the skull fragment wound up so far away from the rest of Kay's remains. Theories include that it was carried by flowing water, or that a large bird may have carried it. Police long suspected that Kay Adams was murdered by her husband Nikolas Medin, but they lacked the evidence to prove it. They theorize that he was the anonymous mailer of the package containing Kay's bones, and the letter directing police to more remains. They believe he only directed them to her remains, so she could be declared dead, and he could collect on her life insurance policy. Nikolas Medin died in 2018, and was never charged in connection with his wife's death. While Kay never got the justice she deserved, she at least got her name back, and this is her story. This week's episode is sponsored by Masterclass. MasterClass is the streaming platform that makes it possible for anyone to watch or listen to hundreds of video lessons taught by 200+ of the world’s best. Whether it be in business and leadership, photography, cooking, writing, acting, music, sports and more, MasterClass delivers a world class online learning experience. Video lessons are available anytime, anywhere on your smartphone, personal computer, Apple TV and FireTV streaming media players. Listeners of DNA ID will receive at least 15% off of their subscription when they . /episode/index/show/538b5014-ddfa-4453-a65e-c0d092e74b1b/id/36803500

Velma Nesset Part 2 of 2 05/26/2025

Velma Nesset Part 1 of 2 05/26/2025

Velma Nesset Part 1 of 2 Episode 148 Velma Nesset Part 1 of 2 64 year old Velma Nesset set out on April 19th, 1982, at 4:30 a.m. to walk to her job as a cleaning lady at the Permian Mall in Odessa, TX. When she did not show up for work, people looked for her, and then called the police. Velma’s partially undressed body was found in a drainage culvert under the mall parking lot. She had been stabbed, bludgeoned and raped. The logical suspect, a mentally challenged man who worked at the mall, was tried for her murder. But after that, her case went cold. A Texas Ranger reinvestigation in the mid 2000s isolated a male DNA profile, but the offender was not in CODIS. When he was finally named through IGG, police tracked the man down, and he had quite a story to tell them. According to him, he did not act alone. This week's episode is sponsored by Mint Mobile, and Masterclass. Mint Mobile; wireless coverage your way. Listeners of DNA ID will receive their first 3 months of Mint Mobile service for only $15 when they . MasterClass is the streaming platform that makes it possible for anyone to watch or listen to hundreds of video lessons taught by 200+ of the world’s best. Whether it be in business and leadership, photography, cooking, writing, acting, music, sports and more, MasterClass delivers a world class online learning experience. Video lessons are available anytime, anywhere on your smartphone, personal computer, Apple TV and FireTV streaming media players. Listeners of DNA ID will receive at least 15% off of their subscription when they . To listen to every episode of DNA: ID ad-free and get other benefits, simply on Apple Podcasts to get started with an AbJack Insider subscription. Of course, you can also support DNA: ID with a . Follow us on these social media outlets: - - - - - - Find all of our links in one spot at our Linktree: For all things DNA: ID, visit the to buy DNA ID Merch /episode/index/show/538b5014-ddfa-4453-a65e-c0d092e74b1b/id/36703900

Doe ID: 'Dumpster Jane Doe' Laurie Potter 05/19/2025

Doe ID: 'Dumpster Jane Doe' Laurie Potter Episode 147 Doe ID: 'Dumpster Jane Doe' Laurie Potter On October 5th, 2003, a maintenance worker at at the Country Hills Apartment complex in Rancho San Diego, made a horrific discovery in a dumpster when he found a set of severed legs. It was just the beginning of a shocking and perplexing mystery. The legs were found to have come from an adult woman who was deemed to be a homicide victim. Although police did not find any more of her remains, they did find an important clue; the military-style bag that had held her legs was also recovered, and years later, it would lead to the woman's killer. When police ran out of clues early on, and could not match the legs to any missing person in the area, they buried the remains, but not before collecting DNA from them. Years later, investigators employed investigative genetic genealogy and were able to learn that 'Dumpster Jane Doe' was actually Laurie Potter. She had gone missing from Temecula CA not long before her legs were found in the dumpster. Most troubling to detectives, was that her husband Jack Potter had never reported her missing. They began an investigation of him that revealed surprising details, and a 'concerned neighbor' helped them fill in some blanks. When Jack Potter's DNA was found on the bag which had contained his wife's legs, that combined with his neighbor's story, was enough to arrest him. He pled guilty to her murder, and was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. 'Dumpster Jane Doe' now has her name back, it's Laurie Potter, and this is her story. To listen to every episode of DNA: ID ad-free and get other benefits, simply on Apple Podcasts to get started with an AbJack Insider subscription. Of course, you can also support DNA: ID with a . Follow us on these social media outlets: - - - - - - For all things DNA: ID, visit the to buy DNA ID Merch /episode/index/show/538b5014-ddfa-4453-a65e-c0d092e74b1b/id/36616520

Sharon Hammack and Dusty Shuck Part 2 of 2 05/12/2025

Sharon Hammack and Dusty Shuck Part 1 of 2 05/12/2025

Sharon Hammack and Dusty Shuck Part 1 of 2 Episode 146 Sharon Hammack and Dusty Shuck Part 1 of 2 In mid 1990s Grand Rapids, Michigan, someone was killing sex workers. Sharon Hammack, a mother of two, was hogtied, stabbed, strangled, raped, and dumped on the side of a road. Despite many suspects, her case remained unsolved; all investigators had to go on was semen left behind by Sharon’s killer. A DNA profile from the semen was entered into CODIS, and while it did not identify Sharon’s killer…it connected her case to a murder 10 years later, in which Dusty Shuck was stabbed and dumped on the side of a road. It would take IGG to figure out who the common thread was in the two cases… and it did so just in time. SPECIAL NOTE: Thanks to a listener's feedback/input, we wanted to make one clarification or correction to something mentioned in this episode. It was mentioned in this episode that "Dusty was diagnosed with Schizophrenia, now known as Bipolar Disorder." The correction is, that Schizophrenia is not now known as Bipolar Disorder. They're completely separate disorders. Bipolar Disorder used to be called manic-depressive disorder decades ago. Schizophrenia is still called Schizophrenia. This episode is sponsored by Masterclass. MasterClass is the streaming platform that makes it possible for anyone to watch or listen to hundreds of video lessons taught by 200+ of the world’s best. Whether it be in business and leadership, photography, cooking, writing, acting, music, sports and more, MasterClass delivers a world class online learning experience. Video lessons are available anytime, anywhere on your smartphone, personal computer, Apple TV and FireTV streaming media players. . To listen to every episode of DNA: ID ad-free and get other benefits, simply on Apple Podcasts to get started with an AbJack Insider subscription. Of course, you can also support DNA: ID with a . Follow us on these social media outlets: - - - - - - For all things DNA: ID, visit the to buy DNA ID Merch /episode/index/show/538b5014-ddfa-4453-a65e-c0d092e74b1b/id/36523830

Doe ID 'Singer Island Jane Doe' Susan Poole 05/05/2025

Doe ID 'Singer Island Jane Doe' Susan Poole Episode 145 Doe ID 'Singer Island Jane Doe' Susan Poole On June 16, 1974, a man and his two sons were searching for driftwood on Singer Island in the Burnt Bridge area of North Palm Beach, Florida when they found human remains. Investigators descended on the area and found more of the skeletonized remains along with tattered and weathered pieces of clothing. There was no ID with the body, and police would face an uphill battle identifying the remains which were thought to be those of a young woman or teenage girl between the ages of 14 and 25. It was believed that the girl had stood between 4ft11 and 5ft'2 tall, and that she weighed between 83 and 103 pounds. Police found evidence that she had been tied to a tree, leading them to believe that she was likely the victim of a homicide. With not much to go on, the case of the girl that would become known as 'Singer Island Jane Doe' went cold. Although police didn't know who their victim was, they thought they knew who killed her; a vicious, and sadistic serial killer and predator named Gerard John Schaefer. Schaefer worked as a sheriff's deputy for the Marin County, FL sheriff's department, and he had murdered and attacked several women and young girls in the area where Singer Island Jane Doe had been found. If Schaefer did indeed kill Singer Island Jane Doe, he took his secrets to the grave after he was murdered by a fellow inmate whil in prison. In 2022, after the Palm Beach County sheriff's office teamed up with Othram Labs to perform genealogy on the DNA from Singer Island Jane Doe, they finally learned who she was; Susan Gale Poole. She had been reported missing from her Brower County trailer park in December, 1972 when she was 15 years old. Police are confident that she's the victim of Gerard John Schaefer, and in fact, he was responsible for the murder of another girl that lived in the same trailer park as Susan. Although it will likely never be established how she crossed paths with her killer, her family is relieved to have her remains so that they could give her a proper farewell. 'Singer Island Jane Doe' has her name back now; it's Susan Poole, and this is her story. This episode is sponsored by Masterclass. MasterClass is the streaming platform that makes it possible for anyone to watch or listen to hundreds of video lessons taught by 200+ of the world’s best. Whether it be in business and leadership, photography, cooking, writing, acting, music, sports and more, MasterClass delivers a world class online learning experience. Video lessons are available anytime, anywhere on your smartphone, personal computer, Apple TV and FireTV streaming media players. . To listen to every episode of DNA: ID ad-free and get other benefits, simply on Apple Podcasts to get started with an AbJack Insider subscription. Of course, you can also support DNA: ID with a . For all things DNA: ID, visit the to buy DNA ID Merch /episode/index/show/538b5014-ddfa-4453-a65e-c0d092e74b1b/id/36425075

Angelica Ramirez 04/28/2025

Doe ID: 'Mentone John Doe' Derrick Burton 04/21/2025

Doe ID: 'Mentone John Doe' Derrick Burton Episode 143 Doe ID: 'Mentone John Doe' Derrick Burton *WARNING* This episode discusses the murder of a child. Listener discretion is advised. In October, 1991, a hunter in the area of Mentone, CA discovered a human skull. The skull was devoid of teeth and a mandible. Based on the size of the skull, it was estimated to be a child's. The San Bernardino County Sheriff's department searched the area for more remains but they didn't find any. However, they found a bag containing a child's clothing, and took it into evidence. An autopsy confirmed initial beliefs that the remains were that of a child; a young boy between 4 & 8 years old. A cause of death could not be determined. The authorities considered local missing persons cases, but didn't link the remains to any of those missing children, and the dead boy was referred to as 'Mentone John Doe'. It wasn't until decades later that the authorities turned to IGG to determine the identity of Mentone John Doe. He turned out to be, Derrick Burton. Incredibly, Derrick had been reported missing to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's dept when he was four years old by his mother Patricia Clark in 1991. How the agency failed to make the connection between Mentone John Doe, and Derrick Burton early on is a mystery. Derrick had gone missing while in the care of his stepfather; Christopher Hammond. Hammond did time for charges related to Derrick's abduction, but not his death. Sadly, it doesn't seem as if there is much movement in the case since Derrick was identified, or how much his death is being investigated. 'Mentone John Doe' now has his name back; it's Derrick Burton, and this is his story. To listen to every episode of DNA: ID ad-free and get other benefits, simply on Apple Podcasts to get started with an AbJack Insider subscription. Of course, you can also support DNA: ID with a . For all things DNA: ID, visit the to buy DNA ID Merch /episode/index/show/538b5014-ddfa-4453-a65e-c0d092e74b1b/id/36235020