Stories

Tue, 20 Oct 2026

Tue, 20 Oct 2026 The tech helping crack decades-old cold cases

Investigative genetic genealogy can help hunt down criminals but raises worries over privacy.

* A 34-year-old woman named Randy Gail Sperino was murdered in Granite City, Illinois on November 9, 1993.
* DNA evidence from the crime scene was initially tested against standard law enforcement databases but no matches were found.
* The case remained unsolved for over 25 years until detectives sent genetic evidence to Othram, a company that uses DNA technology to help identify perpetrators in cold and current cases.
* Othram used investigative genetic genealogy techniques to identify a male family member of the killer based on profiles submitted by relatives.
* This lead helped investigators track down Albert "Buddy" Zigler, 70, who confessed to the murder and was charged in May.
* The technique that led detectives to Zigler has been credited with revolutionizing how forensic cases are solved and has helped solve thousands of cases globally.
* Othram's CEO David Mittelman likens investigative genetic genealogy to a GPS system that helps build a map of family connections.
* However, DNA technology has its limitations and can only go so far before "a cascade of investigative steps" are needed.
* The case also highlights the use of AI in cold cases, with detectives using Centerline AI to analyze evidence and identify potential leads.
* However, there remain concerns about the ethical implications of using ancestry databases for law enforcement matching and a lack of funding for these types of investigations.