DNA: ID

About the host:

DNA:ID is hosted by Jessica Bettencourt who co-hosts, co-produces, or writes and researches for other AbJack podcasts including Missing Persons, Scene of the Crime, Campus Killings, and Beyond Bizarre True Crime. She also does research and writing for True Crime Garage.

About the show:

We all hear stories almost daily now about cold cases being solved by investigative genetic genealogy. This new crime-solving tool answers the “who” question about these often decades-old crimes.... but what about the why? This podcast will look at crimes solved by genetic genealogy, and examine the connection - if any - between the victim and the killer, and why the crime occurred. Each case is unique, and has its own story behind the headline. DNA: ID is hosted by Jess Bettencourt, and publishes every other Saturday.

For DNA: ID Merch visit this link

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Latest Episodes

Michael Morford Michael Morford

Episode 143 Doe: ID 'Mentone John Doe' Derrick Burton

In October, 1991, a hunter in the area of Mentone, CA discovered a human skull. The skull was devoid of teeth and a mandible. Based on the size of the skull, it was estimated to be a child's. The San Bernardino County Sheriff's department searched the area for more remains but they didn't find any. However, they found a bag containing a child's clothing, and took it into evidence. An autopsy confirmed initial beliefs that the remains were that of a child; a young boy between 4 & 8 years old. A cause of death could not be determined.

The authorities considered local missing persons cases, but didn't link the remains to any of those missing children, and the dead boy was referred to as 'Mentone John Doe'. It wasn't until decades later that the authorities turned to IGG to determine the identity of  Mentone John Doe. He turned out to be, Derrick Burton. Incredibly, Derrick had been reported missing to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's dept when he was four years old  by his mother Patricia Clark in 1991. How the agency failed to make the connection between Mentone John Doe, and Derrick Burton early on is a mystery. Derrick had gone missing while in the care of his stepfather; Christopher Hammond. Hammond did time for charges related to Derrick's abduction, but not his death. 

Sadly, it doesn't seem as if there is much movement in the case since Derrick was identified, or how much his death is being investigated. 'Mentone John Doe' now has his name back; it's Derrick Burton, and this is his story. 

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Michael Morford Michael Morford

Episode 142 Laura Kempton Parts 1 & 2

Vivacious, fun-loving, and popular twenty-three year old Laura Kempton was a fixture in the downtown Portsmouth, New Hampshire social scene in 1981. On the night of Sunday, September 27 th , she was seen out late at a local club with a girlfriend. And then she went home,
alone. Sometime in the wee hours, someone broke a panel out of her front door, entered her apartment, and raped and killed Laura. Her vicious slaying shocked the small city, and police had their hands full with a complex investigation trying to ferret out the killer among all the
people Laura knew. And then, a year later, it happened again. Tammy Little’s murder bore undeniable similarities to Laura’s, and both remained unsolved for decades. Now, we have a resolution in Laura’s case, thanks to IGG. Whether Tammy was indeed killed by the same
person remains to be seen.

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Michael Morford Michael Morford

Episode 141 Doe: ID Evelyn 'Dottie' Lees

On June 28,1988, the remains of a woman were found in a remote area of Pinal County, AZ along state Route 79 South of US 60. The body was found in a shallow grave, and appeared to have been placed there with care leading police to believe that someone close to her may have placed here there. She was determined to be an elderly woman and it appeared that she had been strangled to death. She has been there for about a year. Police were stumped as they didn't have any missing women that matched her description in the area. The case of this Jane Doe went cold until years later when genealogy finally provided answers. She was Evelyn "Dottie" Lees, a grandmother who was in her late 80's when she died.

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