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FBI Presents 2023 Biometric Identification Award to Oakland County Sheriff's Office After NGI Match Leads to Conviction
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Summary
The FBI presented its 2023 Biometric Identification Award to the Oakland County Sheriff's Office for using the Next Generation Identification (NGI) system to identify a 2020 homicide victim, which led investigators to suspect Jeffrey Bernard Morris; he was later convicted and sentenced to life without parole.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation presented its 2023 Biometric Identification Award to the Oakland County Sheriff's Office, honoring investigators who used the Next Generation Identification (NGI) system to identify a badly burned woman found on July 13, 2020, at Pontiac Lake State Recreation Park and to develop leads that resulted in a conviction.
A forensic laboratory investigator with the Oakland County Sheriff's Office said the autopsy team recorded a postmortem fingerprint after the victim was found “burned beyond recognition.” The investigator said the print yielded no match in the state database, so they entered it into the NGI system and “got a hit,” which was then confirmed by a second examiner. "Thanks to the NGI system, I was able to positively identify the victim and turn that information over to the White Lake Police Department," the investigator said.
Once the victim's identity was established, investigators obtained the victim's cell phone records and used them to trace her movements and locate a motel she had visited on July 12, 2020. According to the account presented at the ceremony, investigators matched phone records and surveillance footage to a suspect and identified purchases consistent with the crime scene, including restraints and a gas can. The investigators said those links helped place the suspect at the scene and preserve evidence that prosecutors used in the case.
The transcript names the suspect as Jeffrey Bernard Morris. An unidentified speaker summarized the charges in the case as three counts: first-degree premeditated murder, felony murder, and “criminal ****** conduct in the second degree” as stated in the transcript. The speaker said Morris was convicted on all three counts and "about a month later, he was sentenced, and the sentence is life without parole." The speakers praised members of the Oakland County Sheriff's Office and the White Lake Police Department for their investigative work.
At the close of the presentation, an FBI representative encouraged other agencies to "tap into the power of NGI," directed listeners to www.fbi.gov for more information, and provided an email, biometrichit@leo.gov, for submitting nominations for the biometric identification award.
The FBI presented the award to recognize use of biometric tools in solving major cases; no further policy changes or formal actions were announced during the presentation.
