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Federal Bureau of Investigation scientists have adopted a new method of analyzing DNA samples, generating thousands of fresh potential leads in cold cases from the world’s largest genetic database of suspects.
The change doesn’t affect how the FBI collects or tests samples, but how it compares them at its laboratory facilities in Quantico, Va.
In May, scientists using the new methodology for the National DNA Index System generated about 7,000 fresh potential matches in the system. Those matches are now being subjected to closer scrutiny to see if they offer any new suspects or evidence in cold cases, officials said. Scientists expect many to be matches that confirm the guilt of people already caught, but others, they hope, will provide a jump-start to long-dormant unsolved cases.
In Texas, for instance, the new method generated about 1,000 new potential matches. Investigators pored over the results and determined about 65 of those could provide new information for criminal investigations, according to state forensic officials.
Tom Vinger, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety, called the new approach “extremely helpful to...