OFM_GenealogyFeature_0319v3FINAL_orlando mag 2 / 22 / 19 3 : 03 PM Page 3 victims . ” they have the same ancestral mix because they have Moore agrees . In her estimation , Parabon so far all the same ancestors , ” she says . ties that bind has helped close about 35 cases all over the United OPD was able to collect DNA from one of the States . Although , none of these have made it to trial brothers , who ended up not being a match to the young woman . as of yet . DNA from the crime scene . That meant the other Then in 2018 , the Golden State Killer , a moniker “ Over the next months and years , hundreds of brother had to be the unknown suspect . for the unknown man who committed a series of cold cases , and not - so cold cases , should be resolved With a warrant , police collected DNA from the rapes in California over a number of years , was thanks to genetic genealogy , ” she says . last brother . Lab testing confirmed that he was arrested after investigators used GEDmatch , an open - indeed who they had been looking for all these years . source genealogy database , to ascertain his identity . In a press conference in November 2018 , OPD In the aftermath , the Lake Worth - based personal A S S E S S I N G H E A L T H R I S K S announced that 38 - year - old Benjamin Lee Holmes genomics website changed its terms of service to ex - Today , without making an appointment with a of Orlando had been arrested for the murder of plicitly allow for law enforcement to use the database doctor , anyone can use mail - order genetic testing Christine Franke . He is currently awaiting trial . for homicides , sexual assaults or identifying an un - services to see if they carry an inherited condition , Last year during the course of the Christine known deceased person , opening the door for such as sickle cell anemia or cystic fibrosis , or to see if Franke murder investigation , the Florida Department agencies all over the United States to use it in they are at risk for a certain disease such as specific of Law Enforcement ( FDLE ) created its own genetic solving their own cases . cancers . genealogy program . This new investigative unit That’s when OPD began working with DNA Ryan Bisson , a certified genetic counselor with works collaboratively with Parabon and Florida’s technology company Parabon NanoLabs to use Orlando Health’s UF Health Cancer Center , says law enforcement agencies to offer genealogical and genetic genealogy to find the man who left his although this kind of testing has brought awareness analytical assistance , as well as funding for testing . It DNA at the scene of Christine Franke’s murder . to what genetics can tell people about their health , is headed up by chief of forensic services for FDLE “ We asked all the agencies with outstanding he worries patients are not being educated properly Orlando , Lori Napolitano . cases if we had permission to give them a genetic ge - on what they’re really being provided . Coincidently , Napolitano had already been nealogy assessment , ” CeCe Moore , a genetic ge - As a genetic counselor , Bisson helps people de - nealogist who works with Parabon , says . “ And termine if they have an inherited or hereditary Orlando jumped right on it . ” disease running in their family . In particular , Even before Parabon began offering this he focuses on a person’s risk of developing forensic service , OPD says one of its own had cancer . already started the process of trying to apply “ I think people are putting too much stock genetic genealogy to the Christine Franke in these mail - order tests , ” he says . “ And they murder case . Detective Michael Fields was sometimes will refuse to meet with a health inspired to do so after his family had participated care provider like a genetic counselor because in a commercial genealogy website . they think the mail - order test covered every - With GEDmatch now openly letting law thing . ” enforcement use the database , investigators 23AndMe states on its website that its Library patrons now had the tool they needed to move forward reports are not to be used as a replacement for review photos without concern that they were violating any visiting health care professionals and that results at the West Oaks Branch Library terms of service or trampling on the privacy from its tests should not be used to make and Genealogy of people who’ve uploaded profiles . Companies medical decisions . Center in Ocoee . such as Ancestry.com and 23AndMe do not Bisson says it’s important for people to un - doing genetic genealogy in her personal life including give out information to police unless a court order derstand that direct - to - consumer testing for health helping an adopted friend put her biological family compels them to do so . factors is limited because these companies only test tree together and another adoptee find his biological Like most genetic genealogy databases , GED - for specific genetic variants , which leaves a lot of parents . In fact , she was preparing to retire after 29 match works by comparing long stretches of DNA possibilities still on the table . years with FDLE to start her own genetic genealogy to all of the profiles stored in its system . “ I always tell patients , it’s like your favorite em business , but after seeing what happened in the “ We’re looking for blocks of shared DNA , ” author writes 24 books [ and ] this test that 23AndMe yst Golden State Killer case and assisting with the Moore says . “ The larger those blocks are and the is offering only lets you read some chapters of two S ry Christine Franke murder case , she instead pioneered more plentiful they are , the closer that shared ancestry books , ” he says . “ But not even the full two books ibra the creation of FDLE’s genealogy unit . is in time between the match in the database and and none of the other 20 some books . ” L ty Napolitano first started doing genetic genealogy the unknown suspect . ” Additionally , if you take an at - home genetics oun in her personal life about three years ago after her In the case of Christine Franke , the unknown test and receive a positive result , this does not mean C e mom , who was working to track down some of the suspect’s DNA did not yield a close match but you have that disease or will for certain develop it in ng family , got her into it . rather many distant matches . To narrow down what the future . Ora “ We eventually found through DNA testing part of the family the suspect belonged to , OPD in - “ It’s not actually diagnosing anything , ” Bisson hy / my dad’s father and my half aunt , ” Napolitano says . vestigators collected DNA from identified family says . “ I think that’s where the public gets confused . ” urp “ Since then — my dad’s deceased so he’s not part of members and sent it to Parabon where lab techs Bisson hasn’t seen many patients who were M a it — but we’ve met his half - sister that he never knew conducted kinship testing to see how closely related spurred to come to the UF Health Cancer Center and he had and some second cousins . ” each person was to the suspect . because of a result from one of these tests , although Am She says there is tremendous potential in using “ And we kept doing that until one of the he suspects that is because 23AndMe only started of y genetic genealogy as a lead generator for police . samples [ OPD ] sent us was a first cousin , ” Moore offering testing for certain genetic variants related to tes “ This has so far shown amazing ability to quickly says . “ That told us we were getting really close . ” breast cancer in March of 2018 . our resolve cases that have been sitting for long periods Eventually , Moore was able to narrow down “ Even if somebody comes to me with a report , c e of time with the inability to solve them , ” she says . g the field to just two brothers . the Food and Drug Administration says I have to ma “ And it is providing hope to victims and families of “ You can’t get it further than brothers because look at the quality of that and I have to confirm it I 28 ORLANDO FAMILY march 2019 ORLANDOFAMILYMAGAZINE.COM