Trackdown: Dallas police use DNA technology to solve decades-old cases
Trackdown: New technology solves Dallas cold cases
Dallas Police's cold case unit has had success in solving decades-old unsolved cases through the use of new technology. FOX 4's Shaun Rabb has more in this week's version of Trackdown.
DALLAS - Dallas has thousands of unsolved murder cases, but with modern DNA technology, detectives at the Dallas Police Department are solving decades-long cold cases.
Finding a suspect
What we know:
Detective Andrea Isom and the Dallas Police Department's Cold Case Unit are working to track down suspects using DNA technology that did not exist when the crimes occurred.
This includes a DNA database containing DNA taken from people who have been arrested, as well as investigative genetic genealogy, using DNA left at a crime scene decades ago to map biological relationships and find a suspect.
September is National Cold Case Awareness Month.
Breaking Through Cold Cases
Modern day technology has led to the arrest of Willie Jones 44 years after Virginia White was sexually assaulted and strangled to death in 1981. Earlier this year, Marvin Lee Holloway was identified through DNA as the killer in the 1986 murder of Ruby Battee. Holloway was already in prison for a sexual assault.
What we don't know:
The unit has made major breakthroughs. However, thousands of unsolved cases still remain in storage boxes underground.
What they're saying:
"I'm just picking up what the last detective started," Detective Isom said. "Most of the time, they did fantastic work. I'm just doing the last 10% that didn't exist for them." She called genetic genealogy "the new frontier for investigations."
"We arrested an individual from a 1981 case before I was born," Isom said. "It feels good knowing you can still catch them. People thought they got away with it, but now they will face justice."
"Every case matters," Isom said. "We want to solve every single case we can. They killed someone, and they deserve to answer for it in court."
What's next:
Next week, units from across North Texas will meet to share information and techniques on solving cold cases.
The Source: The information in this article comes from an interview with Detective Andrea Isom.