2024/01/31

Forensic Magzine, January 29, 2024: Next Generation Sequencing Accepted in Court for First Time

For the first time in the U.S., evidence derived from next generation sequencing (NGS) has been accepted in a court of law. In this specific case, NGS testing was used to establish the location of the crime scene, as well as to help determine the circumstances of the violent assaults and murders.

Analyzing DNA using capillary electrophoresis is traditional, and still considered the “norm” for many forensic and crime laboratories. However, NGS technology has been making waves ever since it first burst onto the scene. Initially seen as a win for the clinical research field, the decreasing cost of NGS over time—in combination with the rise of investigative genetic genealogy—has made the technology an increasingly popular choice for forensics.

Due to its newness, though, NGS had not been through and approved by the U.S. court system. Now, the solving of the murders of two homeless women in Kern County, California has changed that—mostly likely altering the entire forensic DNA landscape in the process.

“NGS is a groundbreaking advancement in DNA evidence testing. I’m proud of our Kern Regional Crime Lab for pioneering this state-of-the-art method and introducing it for the first time in a U.S. trial,” said District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer. “This technology is a game-changer for solving crimes, as the extensive information it provides will lead us to even more significant discoveries.” more