DNA Clears JonBenet's Family

Investigators will 'never give up,' says journalist

(NEWSER) - Colorado cops are seeking to again question the older brother of murdered beauty pageant tyke JonBenet Ramsay. Burke Ramsay was just 9 when his 6-year-old sister was found bound with cord, bludgeoned and strangled in the basement of their Boulder home. Burke was questioned and cleared by DNA after the 1996 murder, but investigators are hoping to jog new memories that may help them crack the troubling case, Daily Beast contributor Lawrence Schiller revealed on the Early Show. More»

But questions arise over genetic privacy of innocent relatives

(NEWSER) - Law-enforcement agencies are using DNA of family members—often without their consent—to identify and convict criminals, the Washington Post reports. Privacy advocates object that it turns family members into unwitting informants, and subjects innocent relatives to “lifelong genetic surveillance” because someone in their family committed a crime. But investigators say it could increase DNA-solved cases by as much as 40%. More»

Missed chance on DNA, staked out wrong house,

(NEWSER) - The alleged serial killer known as the Grim Sleeper could have been stopped two years earlier if the police had collected his DNA. Lonnie David Franklin should have been added to a DNA database under a 2004 law called Proposition 69, finds the LA Times . He wasn't—apparently because it took the cops too long to get organized. "If only,” laments the mother of one of the victims. “Her life could have been possibly saved.” More»

Murder convict Hank Skinner granted last-minute reprieve

(NEWSER) - A death row inmate in Texas was spared Wednesday just as he was finishing his last meal on earth—chicken, a bacon cheeseburger, fries, catfish, onion rings, and a salad. Hank Skinner, who had been on death row since 1995, was convicted of bludgeoning to death his live-in girlfriend and her two mentally disabled sons. He has always maintained his innocence. More»

(NEWSER) - FBI forensics experts found a blood stain in the shape of a child in fetal position in the trunk of Casey Anthony’s car, according to newly released documents. One intelligence analyst pointed out the silhouette in an email to another bureau employee last September. “You can make out what may be the back, bottom, and legs most clearly,” she wrote. “Several of us can see this image.” Anthony's murder trial is scheduled to begin in January. More»