Sacramento County District Attorney's Office Prosecuting Cold Cases Using DNA

The Sacramento County District Attorney’s (DA’s) Office seeks to create a Cold Case DNA Prosecution Team (Team) which will be devoted to the goals of increasing the number of violent crime cold case prosecutions and decreasing the number of unsolved violent crime cold cases awaiting prosecution.  The first objective is the prosecution of violent crime cold cases where DNA evidence has been obtained, but no suspects have been identified.  There are currently 1,367 violent crime cold cases in Sacramento County where suspect DNA profiles failed to match known profiles in CODIS or other databases.  The second objective is to decrease the number of cold case violent crimes where suspect DNA has been identified.  This program would increase the capacity to address these cases and expand our capabilities by utilizing investigative and lab personnel to do the necessary follow up and dedicating prosecutors to trying the cases.

The DA’s Office, in partnership with allied agencies, has identified suspects using forensic genetic genealogy and has successfully prosecuted three cases.  In addition, we currently have two active prosecutions where the suspects were identified by forensic genetic genealogy.  The first successfully prosecuted case involved the notorious rapist and serial killer Joseph DeAngelo, also known as the “Golden State Killer.”   This case was prosecuted in Sacramento County in collaboration with five other counties.  While the DA’s Office has had some success solving violent crime cold cases, we have many cases left to solve and will demonstrate the need for additional resources to accomplish this goal.

The Team will consist of three project groups: genealogy, investigative, and prosecution.  Each project group will be staffed by the DA’s Office and will include an Investigative Assistant, Criminal Investigators, Criminalists, Victim Advocates, and a team of experienced prosecutors devoted to resolving violent crime cold cases.  Using the DA’s Laboratory of Forensic Services, this Team will obtain DNA STR profiles from preserved items of evidence and upload them to pursue match leads and familial searches.  Where no matches occur, the Team will develop genome profiles to pursue forensic genetic genealogy.  The mission will be to develop single nucleotide polymorphisms profiles or full genome sequencing from evidence samples and pursue forensic genetic genealogy to identify those responsible, eliminate the innocent, and seek prosecution where the evidence warrants it and bring justice to victims long overdue to receive it.