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Forensic Files is a television show on TRU TV and it’s a great resource for crime or mystery writers. Each episode highlights a real case and demonstrates how forensic science is used to find and process evidence.  Unlike other shows which dramatize police investigations and have a small group of characters who do it all, there are actually many experts and fields of science involved.  You may decide to fictionalize parts of your story, but you should know the facts first. 

The following case was highlighted on a recent episode -

Marlene, a 25 year old mother of two disappeared and it would be 20 years before her fate was known.  At the time of her disappearance, Marlene’s husband Bill reported they had a fight and she just drove away.  Bill told his children their mother abandoned them. 

A year after Marlene’s disappearance Bill remarried.  He was physically and sexually abusive to both of his children until they confided in their step mother and she called authorities.  Bill was arrested and the children were sent to live with their grandmother.  That was when Lalana, Marlene’s daughter, learned her mother didn’t leave voluntarily. 

Lalana discovered a clue in her mother’s diary.  Marlene hinted she had found her husband Bill molesting her son and was preparing to divorce him.  Bill knew that Marlene was a danger to him and he planned the perfect way to dispose of the body.  Bill had told associates he would cut her head off and remove her jaw, then spread body parts across the state. This way if the remains were found, they couldn’t be identified. 

Lalana believed the top of her mother’s skull had been found in 1991.  A forensic anthropologist determined the skull belonged to a woman, because it lacked a brow ridge, while most males have a heavy ridge.  Scientists were also able to extract DNA from the mitochondria of the cells, which is passed only from the mothers.  A bone fragment was frozen with liquid nitrogen and ground into powder. The sample was amplified, creating millions of copies, so there would be enough material to test the DNA from the sample and compare it to Lalana’s DNA.  Mitrochondria DNA is passed from mother to child as an exact clone.

Marlene’s diary provided motive and once positive identification was made on the skull, Bill was charged with premeditated murder.  Bill confessed to the murder and was sentenced to life in prison.  Bill believed he committed the perfect crime but he couldn’t imagine how far science would advance in 20 years time.  Criminals today may know a great deal about police investigations and evidence today, but they have no idea what will be possible in the future.

Information on Mitrochondria DNA (mtDNA)

Because it is passed from the mother only, mtDNA is a powerful tool for tracking ancestry and is used to identify individuals.

Mitochondria are considered “cellular power plants” because they generate most of the cell’s supply of ATP.  When ATP is broken apart, energy is released from the bonds.

DNA is usually extracted from the nucleus of a cell.  As the sample ages, there is a lack of nucleated cellular material, however mtDNA remains.

Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) is a National database of DNA samples recovered at crime scenes or taken from suspects.  It has been used to identify suspects and link serial crimes to each other.