Kenosha County medical examiner says DNA, genealogy aiding long-running cold cases
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Summary
At the March 3 Human Services Committee meeting, medical examiner Patty Malliard described active work on John/Jane Doe and other cold cases dating back to the 1960s–1970s and said recent advances in DNA and genetic genealogy have helped resolve several older matters.
Patty Malliard, Kenosha County’s medical examiner, told the Human Services Committee she is working on a number of cold cases and unidentified-remains investigations that reach back into the 1960s and 1970s.
"I subspecialize in John and Jane Doe cases," Malliard said. "We're currently working on several cases. We have everything cleared up until the 1970s… our oldest case is from '79… and I have ones from '74, '73, and one from '63 that I want to work on."
Mall iard said advances in DNA technology and genetic genealogy have solved several cold cases in recent years and that continuing work remains time-consuming because older files, reports and documentation can be difficult to locate. She described the work as a passion and said the office will continue to pursue identification efforts as resources allow.
Why it matters: resolving unidentified remains provides answers to families and can bring long-running investigations to closure; Mall iard said genetic genealogy and modern DNA methods have materially increased the office’s ability to make identifications.
Mall iard invited committee members to suggest any additional data fields for the public dashboard and said she will include information on solvable cases where appropriate.